Oil Change Facilities .....

[DaveC]

Some of y'all havbe mentioned that you repair windshields at oil change facilities. And as a mattert of fact, I decided upon this venture having had my windshields repaired by three brothers that had facilities at oilc change businesses.

Anybody have any hints/suggestions as to establishing such relationships?

[Jeremiahswindshieldrepair]

very bad idea ... we lost alot of money doing just that ... in fact just 2 weeks ago we pulled all of our guys out of them and quit that venture altogether.

just my 2 cents worth ...

[mmonk]

Dave,
First off let me say congrats on the move to TN. (used to live in Memphis). Hope everything is going well for ya there.
I have had good experiences with both car wash and lube places. I have always been straightforward with the mang. or owner and let them know my intentions. I've also given "incentives" like a free repair on their personal vehicle (what's it cost me $1.00) in exchange for referals and repairs. also I have built a relationship with the "wash" and lube" guys for their keen eyes when a car comes through. Some are jjust happy to get 6 pak of soda and pizza. I have never done less than 3-4 a day at these places and I don't work them but 1-3 times a week. I have however had a couple of places want a % of my profits(one guy wanted 50%) to those guys just walk away. Patronize the places that are nice to you. Hope that helps.

[DaveC]

I just moved up from just north of Montgomery. I hate the idea of having to collect/pay sales tax on repairs, but rendering unto Caesar seems to be the name of the game.

Thanks for the info., I'll certainly look into it:)

[Jeremiahswindshieldrepair]

when I said it was a very bad idea I was reffering to the portion of your statement that said you were considering putting facilities in the lube shops .. now if you do it on a refferal basis it can be very profitable if you can find one in that sort of situation.

[Scott Tyner]

Short Term...YES! Long Term...NO!

I talked to a guy who had locations at three car washes. He was making some serious money even after giving the owner his cut. The problem was that after one year, the owner didn't renew this guys contract. The owner figured out that he could make all the profits himself!

The good thing was that this repair tech was putting the majority of his profits in savings and came out pretty good.

I watched one of the local "quick oil change" companies (they have four locations) make a deal with a windshield repair guy who setup techs in all of the locations, only to be given the boot after about six months.

This oil change company now offers the repairs themselves.

The people that own these businesses are intelligent business people. They figure out real fast that they can make 100% of the profits for themselves.

I know each area may be different, but here in my area....you'd have a better chance of waking up to snow (it averages 70 degrees here year-round 8) ) than you would of landing an oil change or car wash long term.

I suppose it might be worth a shot. Even the short term could end up being very profitable.

All I'm saying is....is to not go out and buy that brand new 5,000 square foot home with the matching his and hers mercedes in the driveway, if you land one of these accounts and the money starts pouring in. The faucet could be turned off at anytime!

Scott

[DaveC]

Jeepers,

I was going to bid on acquiring Graceland, but neither Priscilla nor Lisa-Marie was going to be part of the deal;) So I had to balk!

Actually, could not this "negative" be turned into a positive?

If Quickie Lube Shop owner decides that he can do it on his own, why not become his WSR vendor and provide training, equipment, restocking and technical support?

In other words, turn this fella into an "authorized" franchise of my WSR business and make a few extra $$$ supporting/servicing his account?

[GlassStarz]

As you may know(previos posts) I recently started working out of a local car wash so far so good I have been working noon to 4 pm on days when its not snowing almost all have been below 10 deg even in this weather I did 15 insurance jobs in 3 days working I can see that when the weather picks up so will buisness. I try to make myself useful between customers so he looks at it as a free helper with profits coming in hope it stays that way. also part of my agreement is to take care of his rental car buisness gratis he was spending as much as a grand a month with another guy so maybe this savings will keep me in the location, your right though it would be a pain to get the boot after building buisness in a location

[DaveC]

That is why I believe in "Branding!"

I do not want my customers to think that I am a "Quickie Lube" WSR shop.

Their windshield was repaired by my company, and ONLY my company offers the best quality of service and repairs in the tri-state area!

Anybody else is just a "Hack!"