Car wash repairs

Post your windshield repair tips, questions, advice! Note there is a sub-forum specifically for business development questions.
ProfessorCrack505
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Car wash repairs

Post by ProfessorCrack505 »

Hi everyone Professor Crack windshield repair here!! This is a brand new business for me and I am very excited. I had a couple of questions about this opportunity. I am being allowed to setup a tent location at a local car wash that does about 300 to 400 cars a day on the weekend. One of my concerns is when the cars come out of the car wash obviously the damaged area will have been potentially contaminated with water. I know that I can buy the moisture evaporator from Delta kits, which I will end up doing, but because of my time constraint I will not have a chance to do this. Can I use a heat gun or is this to powerful? Please any suggetions or recommendations will be greatly recommended. The second issue is with the owner. He is wanting a very big percentage of the sales. Now being that I am just starting I know I will have to make some connections and pay a little upfront. I am going to tell him that anything over $599 I will have to 1099 him. Has anyone ever had an issue with people receiving 1099's? Thank you so much for the information.
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Brent Deines
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Re: Car wash repairs

Post by Brent Deines »

Welcome to the forum Prof. I recommend placing a Chip Saver over the damage before the vehicle goes through the car wash to keep moisture, soap and hydrophobic coatings from contaminating the damage. Of course there could already be moisture present so you may still need to use heat to remove it but covering the damage before it goes through will save you time and money in the long run. If you don't like the Delta Kits chip savers I think the NWRA still sells something similar and there are likely other sources as well. even a good packaging tape will work although just not as convenient. Chip Savers are also a good marketing tool and I'm always amazed how many finicky car owners will remember to put them on immediately after they get a rock chip if you provide them.

Heat guns will work but it is very difficult to control the temperature and know exactly how long to heat the glass. Lots of technicians use heat guns and torches but if you go that route be very careful!

We have to 1099 a lot of small companies each year and it's no big deal but if it is a corporation you won't need to. Just be sure you have them fill out a W-9 if you are not sure they are a corporation. Telling them you will have to 1099 them for over $599 is going to phase them one way or another if they are reporting their income honestly.

I'll let others respond on how much is too much to pay. My personal opinion is it doesn't matter how much you have to pay, only how much you net after paying, that really counts. $500 is a lot if you only make $1000 but it's nothing if you make $10,000.
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Re: Car wash repairs

Post by GlassStarz »

Seriosly? you dont 1099 a landlord duh you are being charged a varied rent depending on the volume of work you do.Rent is a buisness expense and you write it off. Also consider the fact that you are being allowed to work on his buisness all the costs are paid by him and you are dealing with his customers a reasonible fee of say 25% isnt out of line :)
ProfessorCrack505
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Re: Car wash repairs

Post by ProfessorCrack505 »

Thank you vert much for the responses. I do not have any stickers to put on the windows yet before they go through the car wash. I will invest in some of those right away. Thank you for the info on the 1099. This will be my first tent location so I will negotiate with the landlord after this weekends. With the chip stickers is it possible to get those with my logo or phone number on them?
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Re: Car wash repairs

Post by screenman »

My biggest worry is that you are coming into the trade like many others do, without proper training or tooling. In the time it took you to post on here you could have ordered a Drystar.

My words are harsh I know that, but I get called out everyday or used to to look at repairs that are so bad they do not look like they have been attempted.
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Re: Car wash repairs

Post by Kgobin »

You can get custom chip savers created but there is a minimun order of 1,000.
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t4k
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Re: Car wash repairs

Post by t4k »

I agree, get some serious training! I get asked almost everyday if I can fix a repair that was done at a car wash. Most of these attempted repairs were done while the chip was full of moisture.
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Mr Bill
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Re: Car wash repairs

Post by Mr Bill »

You can buy clear packing tape at an office supply store.
Put a little square of it over the chip before the carwash happens.
I have never seen a good repair that was done at a carwash.
Let us know how it works out.
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Brent Deines
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Re: Car wash repairs

Post by Brent Deines »

GlassStarz wrote:Seriosly? you dont 1099 a landlord duh you are being charged a varied rent depending on the volume of work you do.Rent is a buisness expense and you write it off. Also consider the fact that you are being allowed to work on his buisness all the costs are paid by him and you are dealing with his customers a reasonible fee of say 25% isnt out of line :)
Professor, I suggest you get your tax info from a CPA, not from this forum. I would also ask a CPA if commissions can legally be considered rent. Not saying it can't be, I just think the question is worth asking.

This is direct from the IRS.gov website:

"Box 1. Rents

Enter amounts of $600 or more for all types of rents, such as real estate rentals paid for office space (unless paid to a real estate agent), machine rentals (for example, renting a bulldozer to level your parking lot), and pasture rentals (for example, farmers paying for the use of grazing land). If the machine rental is part of a contract that includes both the use of the machine and the operator, the rental should be prorated between the rent of the machine (reported in box 1) and the operator's charge (reported as nonemployee compensation in box 7).

Public housing agencies must report in box 1 rental assistance payments made to owners of housing projects. See Rev. Rul. 88-53, 1988-1 C.B. 384."

"Exceptions. Some payments are not required to be reported on Form 1099-MISC, although they may be taxable to the recipient. Payments for which a Form 1099-MISC is not required include:

· Generally, payments to a corporation; but see Reportable payments to corporations on page 2;

· Payments for merchandise, telegrams, telephone, freight, storage, and similar items;

· Payments of rent to real estate agents, but see Regulations section 1.6041-1(e)(5), Example 5;"

And from an article in on the Forbes website:

The penalties for failing to file 1099’s with IRS by the due date have been increased to $100 per 1099 (up from $50), with a maximum of $1,500,000 (up from $250,000). Businesses can be assessed another penalty for failing to supply the 1099 to the service provider of $100, with overall limit between the two penalties of $3,000,000.
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GlassStarz
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Re: Car wash repairs

Post by GlassStarz »

What you pay the owner to be there is Rent not a commission. What you pay a employee is a commission. SIMPLE. As a guy who started aout doing repairs in a Carwash with a similar rent I can tell you exactly what the IRS told me when I called thier office. You are paying a rent that raises with production :o What you pay the Landlord is Rent in every part of the world and finding one who will let you pay based on what you do is a great deal. especially when you are getting started. I was approached by a Carwash owner to help him do his own repairs in house awhile ago he has 9 locations and was charging $3000 a month to the people working there (per location). Explained to him he was getting a good deal and advise he continue rather than do his own.Obviosly if they were willing to pay that much to be there they were doing alot more in sales
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