At Your Service

At Your Service By Kelly de la Rocha, photo by Dan Epstein Car Repairs Step into the Light Budd's Auto Body explains details—then gets them right enturing into an auto body shop can be a scary proposition. If you know nothing about how cars work, it's easy to feel like you're entering with a "rip me off" sticker on your forehead. Roberta Ferrara knows how it feels to be in the dark like that. When she married into the family that ran Budd's Auto Body in Cedar Grove, she knew nothing about cars. "I was a homemaker and never got involved in the family business," she recalls. But when her husband, Matthew, passed away in 1999, Ferrara found herself in the driver's seat. Faced with the decision to either sell the business or learn how to run it, "I chose the latter," she says emphatically. Her first order of business was to get educated. She went to night school and earned a degree in collision repair from Morris County School of Technology. en Ferrara turned her attention to running Budd's Auto Body's 5,800-square-foot shop. ere, craftsmen with up-to-date knowledge of the latest industry advances specialize in collision repair and expert paint matching. All work is done with state-ofthe-art equipment. When a repair is complete, workers clean the vehicle inside and out, touch up all nicks and surface scratches— and even include a bottle of touch-up paint for the client. Pickups, deliveries, and loaners are available, too. "We take pride in our work," Ferrara notes. "Every detail matters." About 80 percent of Ferrara's customers are women, because they feel comfortable at Budd's, she says. And that's not just because of the lavender office walls, watercolor paintings, or even the burning candles that hide the smell of fresh car paint—although these touches do create a relaxing, welcoming atmosphere. At Budd's, Ferrara treats each person who walks in the door with respect, makes him or her feel comfortable, and takes the mystery out of repair jobs. Customers get a cost estimate, a clear explanation of the work to be done, and a realistic date for getting their vehicles back. Although Ferrara doesn't do the auto body work herself, "I personally examine every car for quality craftsmanship and color match," she stresses. V Roberta Ferrara, owner of Budd's Auto Body And all repairs at Budd's are guaranteed for as long as the customer owns the vehicle. e business is considerably more hi-tech than it was when Ferrara's father-in-law, Anthony, started it back in 1927. However, the cornerstones of his enterprise have remained constant: quality and customer service. Ferrara believes those two attributes go hand in hand. "We take pride in both our customer service and our quality workmanship," she says. What makes Ferrara so determined to ensure that Budd's Auto Body offers all its customers a great job at a great price? "Your car is your second most expensive purchase," Ferrara replies, "and we treat it as such."  Budd's Auto Body 1416 Pompton Avenue, Cedar Grove • 973-256-4566 • BuddsAutoBody.com October 2009 SuburbanEssex.com 55

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