Where People Come First, and Millimeters Matter: Inside Modern Precision Auto Body Repair

A tiny measurement can decide whether your airbag fires on time. That’s the line that stayed with us as we sat down with Megan Mueller of Ozzie's Body Shop, a Loveland institution that’s been restoring vehicles—and trust—since 1967. What starts as a neighborhood story quickly opens into a masterclass on modern collision repair, from high-strength steel and aluminum to carbon fiber, ADAS calibration, and the precise steps that bring a car back to safe operation instead of just looking good.

Megan walks us through Ozzie’s evolution from a family-run garage to certified collision care for northern Colorado drivers. We dig into how structural design, mixed-metal construction, and sensor placement mean that millimeters truly matter, especially for airbag timing and driver assistance systems. She explains why the right equipment, OEM repair procedures, and ongoing technician training aren’t extras—they’re essential—and how thorough documentation and calibrations protect owners on the road and at the negotiation table.

We also unpack the tricky world of insurance recommendations. Some carriers still prioritize quality, but cost-driven networks can steer work toward shops that skip the tools, training, or calibrations required by today’s vehicles. Megan’s advice is blunt and empowering: you choose the repair shop, not your insurer. Ask about OEM procedures, calibration capability, technician education, and measurement reports. If a shop can’t show their process and proof, keep looking.

Beyond the bays, Megan leads the Mountain States Collision Repair Association, advocating for higher standards across Colorado and Utah. Her north star never wavers: serve the vehicle owner first. When a repaired car leaves the shop and a family climbs in, the structure, sensors, and restraint systems must work as designed. That’s the promise Ozzie’s works to keep.

If this conversation helped you see collision repair in a new light, follow the show, share it with a neighbor, and leave a quick review. Your support helps more drivers find the knowledge—and the shops—that put safety first.

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.

SPEAKER_01 (00:11):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today we have the great pleasureof introducing your good
neighbor, Megan Mueller, withOzzy's Body Shop.
Megan, how's it going today?

SPEAKER_02 (00:21):
Hey Nick, I'm doing great.
I really appreciate you havingme on today.

SPEAKER_01 (00:25):
No problem.
Glad you're here.
Tell us all about Ozzy's BodyShop.

SPEAKER_02 (00:29):
Okay.
Where to start?
So Ozzy's has been located herein Loveland since 1967.
We used to be down kind of southLoveland, down by the old
fairgrounds, and um moved to ourcurrent location in 2001, which
is on north 287.
So um kind of north Loveland,very, very south Fort Collins.

(00:52):
So just a nice central locationfor a lot of our um northern
Colorado uh community.

SPEAKER_01 (00:59):
Tell us how you got into this business and why is it
called Auszy.

unknown (01:02):
Okay.

SPEAKER_02 (01:03):
Um, well, I grew up in it.
Um, so it's called Aussies.
Uh the original owner, Ozzy, um,was the one that started it in
1967.
And then my dad was actually apainter for him in the um late
70s and early 80s.
At the time, there were fiveemployees when Ozzy was ready to

(01:24):
uh retire.
And my dad and three others wentahead and bought it together.
Slowly, over about 15 years orso, my dad um became the sole
owner.
And I left my career in 2017 andcame down full-time, but had
handled some marketing and somebehind-the-scenes stuff um for
years before that.

SPEAKER_01 (01:46):
And did you have any experience in the automotive
world before you decided to uhto take over this position?

SPEAKER_02 (01:53):
Um other than just kind of growing up in it, uh not
necessarily, but you know, I hadalways been in the garage
working with my dad.
He he called me the boy of histhree girls.
Um and so yeah, just spent a lotof time out there with him and
uh was in a lot of the paradesgrowing up, that sort of thing.
Now my boys get to be a part ofthat, which is a lot of fun.

(02:13):
And um, yeah, when I when I leftmy career, came down full time
and slowly just started learningthe business from all aspects
internally.

SPEAKER_01 (02:25):
What are some myths or misconceptions in the body
shop world that you'd like todispel or that your customers
are easily dispelled by oncethey get to know you?

SPEAKER_02 (02:33):
Absolutely.
Um I would say the oh goodness,just two.
The first one is how incrediblycomplicated collision repair is
these days.
Um, vehicles are made now out ofmany different metal substrates
depending on where they are onthe vehicle.
Um there's even you knowaluminum structural parts, there

(02:57):
are um carbon fiber structuralparts.
It's it's very complex.
And with the automatic drivingsystems these days, millimeters
matter.
Um with the airbag timing,millimeters matter.
So it's I actually come fromdental, is where my career was
before I came down here fulltime.

(03:17):
And it blows my mind becausewhen you're thinking about
teeth, you measure everything inmillimeters.
And to do that and on a vehicle,right, you compare a tooth to
the size of a vehicle, and toknow that airbag timing is not
going to be the same if it's notwithin this certain spec of
millimeters is a veryintimidating task to take on.

(03:40):
Um so yeah, so there's just somuch more complex complexity to
doing a proper repair.
Um, and that I guess what scaresme with our industry is the fact
that you don't actually to be atechnician, there's no
certification or trainingrequired.
So over in Europe, you have toactually go and get a degree um

(04:03):
to be able to repair vehicles.
And here in the States, youdon't have to.
You can just be anybody and youcan repair these vehicles, even
as complex as they are now.
So um continuing education,training, um, certifications,
that kind of stuff, findingtechnicians that are really
putting time into the continuingeducation with how quickly the

(04:24):
vehicles are changing is of theutmost importance.
Um and then God, fallacy numbertwo, I would say, is it used to
be that a lot of like thepartnershops between um
insurance companies or like therecommended shops were often the
ones that were doing thequality, we're doing the
training, we're doing um, we'reinvesting in equipment.

(04:48):
Um, those were the ones that theinsurance companies would often
recommend.
And that is still true with someum companies.
However, a lot of other oneshave chosen to go the route of
where they can save the most.
And um, those companies, ifthey're offering the work for a
lot less expensive, are probablynot investing in all of that
training and the equipment.

SPEAKER_01 (05:11):
Outside of podcasting, um, what are the
ways that you're reaching out toyour customers digitally right
now so that they know thatyou're out there?

SPEAKER_02 (05:20):
Um digitally, we can certainly be sound or I'm sorry,
found on our website atwww.ozzy's body shop.com.
Otherwise, we are, I'm notreally of the techie world, if
I'm honest, um, but you can findus on YouTube.
We've got some videos there.
We are also on um Facebook,Instagram, and really hoping to
expand into the podcastdepartment.

SPEAKER_01 (05:42):
And uh it looks like Ozzy's Body Shop is the best way
to find you on all thoseplatforms right now?

SPEAKER_02 (05:47):
Yes.

SPEAKER_01 (05:48):
Awesome.
So um I can't remember if wetalked about whether or not I'm
allowed to ask this question ornot before we started the
podcast, but I'm just gonna becandid and ask it.
Um, is there a uh a hardship ora life's challenge or a struggle
that you went through in yourlife that uh that made you so

(06:09):
resilient about perfection andand making this business uh
something spectacular?

SPEAKER_02 (06:16):
I love that question.
Um hardship.
I would say a lot of thosequalities are just instilled
from my father.
Um it's it's what he built thecompany on and and um you know
what I'm trying to build upon aswell, even though we're taking
it in that we've had to adapt tothe times as all businesses do,

(06:36):
especially when you're aroundfor 60 years.
Um, and so so adapting from theum kind of insurance world over
to the certified collision worldum has been a really big
challenge.
As far as personally, I I'vealways just been a nerd when it

(06:56):
comes to education andeverything, and and to see some
of the things that I've seen inthis industry, I I am pushing
really hard for the industry asa whole to have higher standards
and higher values.
Um, so I actually am thepresident of the um Mountain
States Closure and RepairAssociation, and we represent uh

(07:19):
Colorado and Utah independentshops that are really just
trying to do the right thing andhopefully you know advocate for
consumers uh because a lot ofpeople have no idea what happens
throughout the course of arepair.

SPEAKER_01 (07:32):
What do you want people to take away from this
interview?
What is the most important thingyou'd like for them to take away
from this interview about you,Megan, and Ozzy's body shop and
what it represents in theindustry?

SPEAKER_02 (07:43):
Um that I really believe that we are a shop that
works for the vehicle owner.
Um, we don't answer to anybodyelse.
We do work with all insurancecompanies, but we don't work for
them.
Um, we repair the vehicles theway that the manufacturers want
them repaired, and um, which Ibelieve is in the vehicle

(08:04):
owner's best interest.
Um, and and we just every singleperson down here uh has a, I
believe, a higher level ofexpectation as far as what needs
to be done before that vehiclegoes back out on the road and a
family gets in it.

SPEAKER_01 (08:20):
Well, Megan, we really appreciate you being on
our show, and we definitely wishyou and Ozzy's Body Shop the
very best moving forward.

SPEAKER_02 (08:27):
Thank you, Nick.
It was a pleasure.
I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 (08:31):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on the
show, go to gnpfortcollins.com.
That's gnpfortcollins.com orcall nine seven zero four three
eight zero eight two five.