Intro

[jayjacque]

Well, so far I have been called a mesiah, a wizard and an expert. Let me try to clarify things with my last post.

We are a group of 4 individuals working on starting a company that serves the independent contractor. We have developed a product line which consists of materials, marketing aids, training materials, etc. We are in a beta test stage and are currently doing work for select dealers.

We are not experts. We do not say our materials or procedures are better than anyone else's. In fact, our position is that as long as you use proper materials and methods, you will most likely get acceptable results.

At some point we will be selling our products. We never intended to use this forum as a selling tool. We have never even mentioned the company name or website. I am fully aware who sponsors this forum and thought we were helping other HLRs by explaining our business model.

As I said before, many HLRs are good at restoring, but maybe not so good on the business end. If you are, good for you. If not, maybe you could try something new such as a business model.

There was never any intention to sell product on this forum. In fact, it is prohibited by the forum rules. I also don't agree that using a business model to increase productivity is not a valid idea or that many people on this forum wouldn't benefit by developing one or using ours.

Our goal was to add to the pot ideas to help other HLRs. I thought things like using a polarizer to take before and after photos or using a half-restored headlight to show dealers were viable ideas. We were about to include some ideas on adding services to headlight/windshield repair such as using ozone to de-oderize vehicles since you're already there. However, from the response I've gotton recently, I must be trying to sign you up to some franchise deal.

Ray6

So, to make sure everyone understands, we do not sell franchises and we don't claim to have a better method.

Ray, your input is much appreciated. I haven't seen you cross the line here. I don't think Brent did either, or he would've said that. Please continue to share. For me this is an another add-on, making about 6 things I do. Am just getting started in it, so all the info I can get is good.

[GlassStarz]

Jac
If the Dealer Market is that soft (And i do buisness at several place that just buffed and were happy or at least thought they were until I SOLD em on the difference) You might want to loo into retail thru lube/tire and smog shops etc they are always looking fo a way to increase the profit offer to spend the day working thier customers I charge them $45 and the dealer retails it for $75 you spend the day sell 4 customers all the while showing thier guy how to sell it. If you did it right he is excited and just found there is a way to put a couple hundred extra dollars in the till every week with no expenditure on his part then move on to the next guy down the street 8 of these guys calling you for 4 repairs a week is $1,440 a week or $74,000 a year imagine what 15 would make you? and most of these guys hand you a check on the spot

[mrchip]

freightshaker...sorry to hear you were laid off and now your back is to the wall..so turn the negative into a positive..as far as h/l ..go to junk yard and get a really bad h/l and just clean half and take to dealers..I used a dodge neon for my show and tell and it had eally had positve results..remember the law of averages is on your side ... just keep going to places until you get a yes and build from there ..I wish you well

[ray6]

Has anyone had any experience with deoderizing cars for dealers? Either cars driven by smokers or water damage/mildew/spilled food? We have had some interest by 2 dealers so we just purchased a commercial ozone generator. And no, we don't sell them or have any relationship with the manufacturer.

This technology has been used for years by fire and water damage specialists and also by some hotels when they convert a smoking room to a non-smoking room. There's nothing new about it, except recently the cost of generators has dropped to an affordable level for some.

The idea is that since you're already there, you could add this service to your bag of tricks. Or maybe this service is enough to get you on the lot on it's own.

We just received the unif Friday, and will be testing this week. The unit is around $400, so we were thinking of charging $25-30 per vehicle. The nice thing is that all you have to do is set it in the car (plug it in to 110VAC) and wait 20 -30 minutes.

Evidently there is another method whereby they use steam, but it is labor intensive.

Has anyone heard of this?

Will advise next week on how it goes. On another note, Chris, our marketing guy was reading these posts and had a question for whoever posted the notice about dealers polishing their own headlights. His question is, if they are not putting on a new hardcoat, is there anyway you could put the coat on for a fee since they've done most of the work already.

Regards,
Ray

[GlassStarz]

The deodor machines have been around for a long time Most larger dealerships have thier own they work well but to be effective need to be left running for several hours do you want to be there that long? or make several trips back and forth for $30? Lots of better places to spend you time making money with less effort IMHO (bear in mind I spent 20+ years in Dealerships prior to doing this so I have forgotten more today about what makes the car buisness tick than most will ever want or need to know) There is a ton of money in dealerships if you can find your nitch.
That said if you have a good producing customer who asks you about the deodorizing buy one if it means you are going to be more valuable to him I have several hundred dollars worth of tape stripe that I use with one of my bigger customers It will take a year to recoup my costs but its a lot harder for someone to replace me there and he gives me a ton more buisness because he knows I go the extra mile for him

[t4k]

I have a buddy who is also a lot jumper like me and he does odor removal exclusively. He stop using his ozone machine several years ago because of the time issue. It took several hours and the car had to be running with the A/C on to remove the odors in the vent system. He now does it by hand with some secret concoction he has developed over the years.

[jayjacque]

This much I know that the ozone machines do a much more thorough job than a fogger, changing the molecular structure of the air or something like that. I've been tempted to get one.

[GlassStarz]

The foggers drown the car with a deodorant and partialy nuetralize. The Ozone machine nuetralizes the odor both work both have a place

[Brent Deines]

We used to sell the foggers years ago, but we didn't sell enough of them to make it worth the time and effort. They worked reasonably well, but I think the ozone machines work a little better if you have the time to allow them to work properly. GlassStarz is right, both have their place, but dealerships often already have ozone machines.

Recently I was given a "revolutionary" deodorizer spray to evaluate. It was supposed to be the best "aren't they all", so I decided to give it a try on a used car that my son bought. The car, a 1987 Cadillac Seville, had been owned by a heavy smoker, so I followed the manufacturer's instructions and sprayed the entire interior with the deodorizer, and watched, much to my dismay, as the headliner dropped. In fact, all the glue on the upholstered doors, A pillers, etc., came loose. To add insult to injury the smoke smell wes temporarily masked, but certainly not eliminated. I could not believe I had been so dense, but it never even crossed my mind that wetting the upholstery on an older vehicle is a very bad idea. If any of you get into the car deodorizing business, be sure you don't make the same mistake. I never had this problem with the foggers or ozone machines.

The bad thing about ozone machines is that you can only do one car at a time and they take quite awhile, while the foggers only take a couple of minutes so you can dozens of cars in an hour.

[chips1144]

Deodorizing... Personally I'm a fan of the fogger too, like Brent says its quick and easy, when you find interiors that have been saturated they are using too much product.

I've seen dealers use zone machines, all it does is replace the smoke smell with a Ozone smell that I don't care for, sometimes it may need a second treatment, I'm sure the same could be said for foggers, its all about personal opinion and success.

I hate to be negative but I was charging $25 per car, soon after buying my fogger system a detail supplier started selling the small aerosols for $4 a can, the dealers dropped me fast, they still buy these yellow cans today (10 years later) and I still find them really offensive, it leaves a disgusting smell and transfers to my clothing, these yellow cans originate from Germany.

I once read that Ozone machines damage the gold contacts on air bags and the fabric and rubber seals can deteriorate, I'm not sure how true that is, it was an article in a magazine many years ago, I cant remember the name.