How is the Windshield Repair buisness this year so far???

[GlassStarz]

I think when a franchise is sold to someone who really cant sell (and lets face it this is a sales job) the guy tends to take the easy way out and often ends up sitting on the corner waiting for someone to stumble in a guy who can sell is out hustling and selling himself result lots of customers. Its easy to buy a franchise its harder to make a good income at it.Im sure there are plenty of guys making a living with a Mars franchise but the one guy I know who spent the 50k is back to selling cars with a garage full of tools he doesnt use

[harrellbenjamin]

I agree that you can not do all things well , but for some cases just limiting your skills to only w/shields you can also limit your $$$ potential .I just like the idea of being valuable in more then one trade and gives me easier access to a customer base by being a little less specialized.I was a lucky one that worked in the industry for most of my years and had a good working knowledge of what to expect,pay and get tech help and training with out selling my soul to a"pie in the sky"franchise .Even with that head start it was not easy getting going and not for the faint of heart LOL.I could not imagin how some of the franchise system owners ever make it.The amount they pay to get in plus the royalty some as high as 17% eguals just buying your self a not so great job..................its a shame as so many good guys just buy a dream and lose it all.Not too fair IMHO

[the big welshman]

Hi there, Thank you for the feed back, I did have ago in getting into doing headlamps as a extra add on, but its hard work for short money. Maybe windshield replacement may be a better add on ,the glass shops where very busy this winter???? I find that the people that have all these extra add ons are not very good at anything they do???

[Brent Deines]

I never did headlight restoration, but I would have had it been around when I had a retail windshield repair business. I did try pin striping, interior repair, and window tinting, but for me it was more of a distraction from building my windshield repair business than anything else.

I have to admit though, I never did feel like I was all that good at any of those add on services, and they took me far longer than those that are really good at it. I also did not do much with dealerships which is where I think the pin striping, and interior repair make sense, so I think your business model, and also how proficient you are, or can become in a short period of time, are key factors in how successful add on businesses are.

As for windshield replacement, I did that too, and found it to be very complimentary to my windshield repair business and vise versa. In some ways the glass replacement business has gotten easier to get into, but in other ways it has gotten more difficult.

The software that is now available tells you every part you need to replace the shield, whereas in my day we had to have that knowledge. In addition to the knowledge of which parts needed to be replaced with the glass, I used to have to stock all the clips, moldings, etc., in order to provide same day service, but now the glass distributors stock nearly all these parts so you can order accessory parts with the glass, and return them if you don't use them. The tools have also gotten much better, so if you invest in the proper equipment, removal and replacement is much easier.

On the other, there are now so many different windshield configurations, each with their own set of challenges, that the learning curve for windshield installation is greater than it used to be, and because the windshield is now a structural part of the automobile, it is critical that the windshield is replaced correctly by a qualified technician.

I think a technician should have at least 6 months of supervised installation experience before being turned loose on their own, and a year would be better. Even my windshield replacement technicians with more than a year of experience needed my help from time to time on difficult installations or tempered glass replacements that they had not done before, so although I think glass replacement is very complimentary to glass repair, I strongly recommend working for someone else for awhile before jumping in with both feet.

That is the beauty of windshield repair in my opinion. I can often have someone doing good repairs with only an hour or two of practice, and after one day of training can have most doing excellent windshield repairs. The same just cannot be said for windshield replacement. Other than the learning curve though, I still think there is money to be made in the glass replacement business.

I am also very intrigued with the headlight restoration business. It's not just a cosmetic issue like interior repair, pin striping and window tinting, but a safety concern as well. Some say there is good money in it, and some say there is not, but then again, isn't that the case with every business.

I have found this thread very interesting so far. March 2007 was the best month ever for Delta Kits, and we are well on our way to making March 2008 even better, so obviously business is not slow for all windshield repair technicians. Of course some of our growth is in new customers, but I would say that the vast majority of it can be attributed to existing customers buying more product.

Is anyone out there having a better than average year so far?

[scratchy]

This year is not as robust as last year. People are neglecting their chips in favor of having some cash to buy gas or diesel. We are doing fine though. If somehow someway the price of fuel would go down business would pick up something fierce. I would hate to be trying to get into repair right now. It would be much tougher than when we got in back in 03.

[starstruck]

I've had record setting months for the first 3 months of this year and April has started of incredibly busy as well! At this pace, 2008 is going to substantially exceed 2007!

[Bois]

This year, so far, has been bad for me. Dealers are not moving cars. I see the same cars on the lots month after month. The weather has not cooperated either. Too cold or too much rain. It's been a bad Spring. Finally, road construction has ceased - at least for now. I'm told that some major work will begin again in my tent location area within a few months. Oh, I did locate another tent location (rent free) so I'm alternating weekends.

[ghost rider]

I have some ideas for some of you in larger cities. If you use some imagination, you can find a lot of work in commercial glass. When I lived in a large metro area, I went to a 50 story office building with 28 elevators lined with 8 mirrored panels. These panels had small stress cracks across the corners. I spent a day and a half there and gave him a bill for $3500. He showed me an est. to replace the same panels I just repaired. The est. was for $30,000. He was dead serious when he asked if I was charging enough. I did many more repairs in his bldg after that. When you are out shopping or just walking around, look for damage in glass, think about how to make it look better and contact the building mgr. or maintenance mgr. Another good place is printing companies. They use glass printing plates that cost several hundred to thousands of dollars. A small surface pit will make a black mark in the print and thats why they replace it. ask the mgr to see his damaged plates to see if they are repairable. Printed cicuit printers are also good. more expensive plates. they have vacuum chanels that seal the plates together that get chipped and lose vacuum. you don't give much of a guaranty, I fixed the same plates over and over every few months for about $100. each. You need a very good imagination and a very good resin and you can add a lot of income in the slow times. good luck.

[chips1144]

Ghost Rider, Thats beautiful, really thinking outside of the box.

Big Welshman, have you considered you may be undercharging on headlights, other people seem satisfied.

[GlassStarz]

I find headlights to be a fairly easy repair .After I switched to useing the cordless drill with the 3m hook it and thier sandpaper disks each one takes about 5 min In Vermont I get $45 the Same here in Fresno I do give a price break to dealers If they give me 3 or more at a time $40 it has been a good add on money maker