VIN Etching

[repare-brise]

Here in Quebec there is a company that does nothing but vin etching(and when they make mistakes they call me to erase them)and they do a great business of it. They use the sandblast method, they do the glass, wheels, some body parts, lights, and some engine components. They do not use the serial number of the car but a sequential number that they assign. They etch there phone # along with the number for retracing the vehicule. Most insurance companies demand that this be done, and give a discout that is equivelent to the price of the etching. If the insurance companies didn't think it was saving them money I don't think that they would have it done. For those of us doing scratch removal, vin etching is a good thing. I do work for several reputable recycling yards that have me come in on a regular basis to de-etch doors, and rear hatches. They recieve a higher price ofr a non etched door that one that is etched. I won't go for under 20 doors, and they have a person at my disposition to move the doors for me, assembly line fashion. Removing etching takes less than 5 mins.

Merci

[DaveC]

Hmm... rather than VIN etching, has anybody ever checked into the possibility of becoming a lojack dealer? That could possibly be one heck of an addon business.

[repare-brise]

Dave

What is lojack?

Merci

[DaveC]

http://www.lojack.com

would provide the best answer. They are quite a bit more difficult for thieves to detect/disable as compared to an OnStar equipped vehicle.

[Glass Medic]

I recently bought a Hyundai and all of their vehicles had vin etching. They also pass the cost onto the buyer by adding $99 to the cost of the vehicle. I complained to the manager that it couldn't possibly cost that much, and after haggling a bit he agreed to remove it. I don't know if the dealer has someone do it, if they do it themselves, or if it comes from the factory that way. As was posted previously, you could inquire at your current dealer accounts if they'd be interested. Most people don't look at all the fine print in contracts and the dealer could inflate the price and pass it on to the customer as one of their bogus charges and you both make a profit.
Doug

[switchlanez]

Dave,

Once again I'd like to say I'm not bashing Vin Etching but only sharing my personal business experience with it. When I owned this glass shop (Auto One Glass & Accessories) it was a franchise. Our franchise company promoted Vin etching through radio, cable, newspaper, mailers, to dealerships and in the yellow page ads for 4 years than dropped it because not one of our 30 locations was successful in profiting from it. Our failure wasn't due to lack of advertising or educating the consumer (it simply didn't sale!) As far as explaining insurance discounts to customers for Vin Etched vehicles.... be very careful what you say because you may have to back it up! In this area (Michigan) insurance only offers 2%-5% discounts for Vin etched vehicles (not the 15% that you mentioned) and that's only off the comprehensive portion (not the full) insurance premium. If you really sit down and calculate this discount it adds up to very little savings for the consumer. (maybe $10-$30 per year) The dealerships around here won't buy it from you. Why? Because they don't need to pay a middle guy to sale this when they can simply purchase these kits themselves and have any "Joe" in their department apply it(the process is a no brainer) I can't tell you not to try promoting this because it's possible it might work for you in your area but lets be serious here for a moment! How many people do you know personally (family or friends) that have had their vehicle stolen in the last ten years? I live in Detroit (one of the major theft areas of this country) and I can only name 3 in my lifetime! Vin etching is not as profitable as some may believe. It's a misleader!!!

I'm sorry to sound so negative about this Vin etching add-on when your looking for only positive replies but I'm just being honest and "you did ask the question"

What scratch removal system did I use to remove etching in less than 5 minutes? GT Scratch Hog. Do you think all the crooks haven't got this figured out yet? BTW, I sold my scratch hog system 4 months ago....it also wasn't as profitable as a add-on as I thought it would be. To much time, to much mess and to much stress to deal with! I prefer to keep things simple;) My advice is focus on repairs, that's where the money is!

Just my opinion;)

I am thinking of removing these VIN etchings on the front, sides, and rear windows one of my dad's cars. I think a local company uses Scratch Hog. The etching is pretty shallow (you can feel almost nothing when you run your finger over it and your fingernail won't get caught in it) but you can still see it. The factory D.O.T. window etching is much deeper/rougher. Considering the shallowness, would Scratch Hog be able to remove it without distortion? These etchings are on the window corners a couple mm above the D.O.T. etchings. Could the buffing be isolated to the corner spots of the windows or larger? Would the nearby D.O.T. etching or corner location within a few inches of the car's body panels make buffing hard to blend?