Let’s take a field trip back to a time and place that few of us remember well. In 1963, the communities of the Treasure Valley were quite different. Boise’s population was only about 40,000 and had just opened its second high school. Boise College was still years away from becoming Boise State University. Meridian, Idaho’s fastest growing city for the last 25 years, had a population of only 2,000, and it’s lifeblood since the Great Depression was the creamery run by a local cooperative of dairy farmers.

It was in this time and place that Gerald Cope saw a need that he was well suited to fill, opening Cope Auto Repair in Meridian. Thus began a journey that continues to this day, more than 56 years later. The business has grown, moved, rebranded, and has been passed from father Gerald to son Rick, but one thing hasn’t changed — the Cope commitment to quality work.

It is, in fact, the Cope name that has become synonymous with auto body repair in the Treasure Valley. The Cope Collision Center, as the business is now called, is a family-run affair. Many of the Cope lineage have dedicated their talents to the family trade. But Rick Cope is not one to turn down talent when he finds it, rounding out their needs with skilled and dedicated operators wherever they find them.

Cars have become incredibly more complicated than they were when Rick’s father first started the business, with new models having more lines of code in their computer systems than most airliners.

That’s why the Cope team is very dedicated to continuing education. The technicians are constantly taking classes and receiving instruction, always updating their education. Their team has the highest possible rating in the industry as I-Car Gold Class certified professionals. Outside of the Honda dealer, they have the only shop in town that is Honda certified. You can add to that virtually every other major car manufacturer, including Nissan, Ford, Dodge, GM, Chevrolet, and more.

Danielle, the Vice President of Cope Collision Center, also emphasized that consumers have a lot more power than most realize. If, like me, you’ve ever been steered to one business or another by an insurance adjuster, she stressed that you don’t have to listen to them. In Idaho, consumers are legally free to take their vehicles to be repaired anywhere they want. Get that estimate; get that second opinion, and make an informed choice!

Cope Collision Center happily works with all insurance companies and agents, but won’t allow themselves to be influenced by them. Cope will return your vehicle to you in pre-accident condition and document it so that insurance will cover it, and their work will come with a lifetime guarantee.

Cope Collision Center might be an old dog, but it’s a reliable one that has learned all kinds of new tricks to stay modern and relevant. It’s how they’ve been an essential part of the community for more than 50 years, and in all likelihood will still be going strong in 50 more.