About MABA
The Michigan Auto Body Association was incorporated in February 2025 with a goal: to build, over time, a unified voice for collision repair professionals in Lansing. We are modeled in part on the Auto Body Association of Rhode Island.
The Michigan Auto Body Association was incorporated in February 2025 with a goal: to build, over time, a unified voice for collision repair professionals in Lansing. We are modeled in part on the Auto Body Association of Rhode Island.
Michigan is the birthplace of the American automobile. Generations of skilled workers have built, maintained, and repaired vehicles in this state. Yet when it comes to the collision repair industry — the professionals who restore damaged vehicles to safe, pre-collision condition — Michigan has lacked an organized voice in the state legislature.
The Michigan Auto Body Association was founded to change that. We are a statewide professional association committed to a strict code of ethics, dedicated to ensuring the integrity of the collision repair industry and serving Michigan's motoring public through honesty, quality, and service.
MABA is proudly modeled in part on the Auto Body Association of Rhode Island (ABARI), which has advocated for Rhode Island's collision repair shops and the consumers they serve for more than 25 years. Laws ABARI has supported include:
Mandatory annual labor rate surveys based on actual shop rates. Anti-steering protections ensuring consumer choice. Recognition of OEM-recommended repair procedures in covered repairs. Sublet service and markup reimbursement codified into law. Direct payment to the consumer's chosen shop when the consumer requests it. Enforcement of these standards through the state's unfair claims practices law.
These are laws on the books in Rhode Island today, and they show what an organized collision repair community can accomplish over time. Bringing similar protections to Michigan is the goal we are building toward.
Michigan has thousands of licensed collision repair facilities, yet the people who repair Michigan's vehicles have had little organized voice in Lansing. Decisions about repair standards, consumer choice, parts, towing and storage, and claims practices are made every legislative session, often without input from the shops and technicians who do the work.
That gap matters to drivers as much as to shops. Today's vehicles depend on manufacturer repair procedures, sensors, and calibrations, and the rules that govern how they are repaired affect every family on the road. When repairers are not part of the conversation, consumer safety and choice can be left out of it too.
MABA exists to give Michigan's collision repair community, and the drivers it serves, a seat at the table. We start by monitoring legislation, keeping members informed, and organizing their voices. As the association grows, we will build toward the representation that lets us work constructively with legislators, regulators, and every part of the industry, including insurers, toward proper, safe repairs at a fair price.
MABA members commit to the highest standards of professional conduct. We believe that ethical practices, quality workmanship, and honest communication are the foundation of public trust. Our members pledge to:
Perform all repairs in accordance with manufacturer procedures and industry best practices. Provide honest, transparent estimates and communicate clearly with customers. Never compromise vehicle safety to reduce costs. Support consumer choice and oppose insurance steering. Maintain current training and I-CAR certification. Treat every customer's vehicle as if it were their own family's.
MABA is led by a board of Michigan collision repair shop owners. Meet the board, our cofounders and our advisor →
Whether you're a shop owner, a technician, a supplier, or a Michigan consumer who believes in safe repairs and fair practices — there's a place for you in MABA. We are building something historic, and we need your support to make it happen.
Join the founding generation of MABA and help build an organization that will protect Michigan's collision repair industry for decades to come.
Become a Founding Member →