Real world opinions needed

[TraceDaddy]

Hi All,

I've been toying with the idea of becoming an owner of a mobile auto repair business. That is, one of those guys with a van who can fix up minor scuffs, scrapes, door dings and scratches. I'd also be doing minor interior repairs, wheel touch up and window repairs.

What has been your experience with these businesses? Anyone use them on a personal level. Maybe to fix some road rash or a nick in a custom paint job. Is the mobile aspect nice rather than going to a specific location? For anyone at a car dealership, do you like them, hate them, would like them if they did a better job.

I'm only in research mode right now so please feel free to share openly. (Hopefully you think it's a good idea though.) :)

Thanks.

[BR3W CITY]

I used to deal with some mobile repair/lube guys called Movin N Lubin' a couple years back when I worked with napa. They stayed busy, but mostly small maintenance. It was a niche market but worked ok for people downtown who wanted their car serviced while they were at work or similar.

[Crawlin]

I know someone that does the paintless dent removal and does VERY WELL. BUT... you have to get into a steady supply business, like a car dealership that constantly needs the work. There's a bunch of dent and chip guys and most of them have had the dealerships locked up as clients for years. If you can do the interior side of things, that's be a step forward to seperate yourself from the others.

Good luck!

[animal]

I know someone that does the paintless dent removal and does VERY WELL. BUT... you have to get into a steady supply business, like a car dealership that constantly needs the work. There's a bunch of dent and chip guys and most of them have had the dealerships locked up as clients for years. If you can do the interior side of things, that's be a step forward to seperate yourself from the others.

Good luck!

Same here. I know a couple of guys that do dents too. Follow the hail storms is all I got to say :) Thats where the real money is in dent removal.

[TraceDaddy]

Crawlin'. You're exactly right. Finding dealerships is the way to go. New or used. Volume to start then fill in with retail customers. I think the mobile aspect helps. From what I understand, only about 35% of the dealerships in the area have a body shop. (or the room for one) Most of them do have a spot to park a car for prepping. I've seen glass repair, wheel repair, dent repair outfits before but what I like about this is being able to say "Yes" to everyone.

Plus I get to work with cars all day. :)

[pOrk]

I avoid those guys like the plague, better known in the dealer world as bumper gypsies I think they give any fix-it man a bad name. Most of those guys specialties is turd polishing so the dealer can sell the car when it looks OK and few months later the shit is flaking off or whatever.

Must be decent money in it, I know a few guys that do it. I wouldn't let any of them touch my car with a 10 foot pole though.

[Crawlin]

I avoid those guys like the plague, better known in the dealer world as bumper gypsies I think they give any fix-it man a bad name. Most of those guys specialties is turd polishing so the dealer can sell the car when it looks OK and few months later the shit is flaking off or whatever.

Must be decent money in it, I know a few guys that do it. I wouldn't let any of them touch my car with a 10 foot pole though.

This is very true. Alot of the guys are just for the quick fix. I've seen some stuff last a decent amount of time, but like most dealerships, they want quicker and cheaper. They won't pay $20 extra even if it's gonna last longer.

As for the 35% thing, well realize that a majority of dealerships are all related. SO like Wilde Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge and Wilde Subaru don't have a body shop themselves, but Wilde Honda next door does so they send the car there. So you have to make sure you know who has what. I may be wrong in specifics, but you get the idea.

Best bet, if you are VERY good, and can get a high-line group of customers, that's the ticket. Look at the guy on one of the tv shows that they showed just detailing cars. Detailed a Lambo over 3-4 days and made it look awesome, and got paid $2500. Some people on this board won't make that a month. But the market for that here is very little

[TraceDaddy]

I would agree. Even if I had 100% market penetration into Lambos, I doubt I'd make gas money for the month. :) The business model would be to do the volume work at dealerships at lease return time or when a quick aesthetic dress-up is needed on a used vehicle in need of a quicker turn around. No 3 or 4 day events. Probably no 3-4 hour events.

So Pork, have you seen poor workmanship on a regular basis? If so, that's something I can take back and see about avoiding.

[FoxStang]

I know a guy that specializes in interiors, he used to be a sales guy but gave that up to pursue the interior refinishing side of things. He does good work and is busy as hell, so I imagine that interior specialty would be the thing to pursue. The exterior paint guys have been at it for a while and probably have the high volume dealers locked in.

[houstonsaxton]

I actually do what your talking about as a second fulltime job, and to be honest most of my work is stuff i have to do out of my shop. People generally think that if you can do it on the spot it must be hack work.So for the most part people prefer to bring to my shop instead so they know how to track u down, and it seems to make them more comfortable about the repair. This is just my experience with it. But depending on where your located you might have better luck with the mobile aspect than me.

[pOrk]

One of the things that drove me nuts when working at ___________ is these guys would be working on a car in the parking lot and any vehicle within spitting distance would get misted with over spray. The quality aspect is the hardest thing for me to swallow with most of these guys and thats a hard nut to crack.

[TraceDaddy]

Houston. If I go through with this, I don't plan to have a shop. I suppose I could rig something up in my garage but I'm sure my neighbor would go bonkers. (Not to mention zoning laws.) If a client insists, I'll know to pass them along to you then.

Pork, what you're saying is almost a good thing in my eyes. If existing vendors aren't doing a good job, that would give me an opportunity to set myself apart. Shouldn't be too hard to develop some sort of screening etc.

Still in research phase though. Haven't bought a thing.

[1320PNY]

http://www.awrswheelrepair.com/milwaukee/contactus.html

Stefano Panozzo is a stand-up guy that does great work. Had the Bullett wheel on the '06 vert done in '07. No issues. Looked so good you couldn't tell which one was damaged.

Nick at Dent Spa in Delafield is great. He has Soren's business. I was in for an oil change at Sorens and I ran into him fixing some cars out of a little truck. I had 3 small dents near my gas filler on the rear fender. He took them out, no problem. Been a few years and not noticeable.

Dent Spa
P.O. Box 180561
Delafield, WI 53029
(414) 331-7662

I think if you are going to do something like this, the biggest thing is advertise. I know too many good guys that don't get business because they are so hard to track down. Keep the name simple and easily recognizable. Nothing fancy.

I would do your website for free if you started this business.

[jbiscuit]

And if you need assistance with logo design, photography or other marketing services I am your guy there :)

[TraceDaddy]

Shaun. I agree. Advertising is key. Even Googling makes it tough to find local guys. (Though I did find your kind words for Dent Spa.) A name is proving tougher than I thought. I want something that explains the entire range of services in a concise form but don't want the only words to be Ding, Dent, Paint. Though I thought Zing a Ding was cool. (But taken.) We'll see. I'll take you up on the website and open a "Tab" for you to draw on. Think GoDaddy will cut us a break if I send them a pic of my car? Probably not. Would probably sue me.

And Biscuit, a cool logo would be a large part of that. Something that catches the eye quick and gets the point across in a glance. (I watch the Apprentice so I know these things. :) )

So things I've picked up on the operations side include, doing a decent job that doesn't flake and keeping the surrounding area clean. Obviously getting dents out and blending paint to match well. I'd also try to emphasize a quick turn around. Have a buyer who will be back to pick up tomorrow afternoon? I'm there.

So "Quick" or "Speedy" or "Flash" or some such thing much need to be in there. (Yeah I know all those are lame. It ain't easy.)

Maybe I should just lean into it and call myself "The Bumper Gypsy". I kinda like that.

Thanks for the input guys.

[1320PNY]

Logo stuff I can help J on too. The most important thing is embroidery. You want your logo to be cool enough that people want your shirts and hats. If you can run a good business great, but if you can get people to love your hats, jackets, shirts, without really knowing your business, even better. Word of mouth and guys wearing your "schwag" at shows is what is going to get you the business.

[TraceDaddy]

That probably would've happened whether you suggested it or not. I'm a sucker for embroidered ball caps. I probably have over 200 on display downstairs. It's my souvenier of choice whenever we go anywhere. Brew City Muscle should sell'em. :)