Jeff

I started out moonlighting as well. I DID NOT work more than 4 hours a night and tried to get bigger jobs scheduled for weekends. Mostly neighbors and church family. I was charging a fair labor and markup on parts. Finally got to the point I was busy all the time and quit my job. Took me about 3 monthS to realize I was no where near prepared. I had some biz mgt in HS and thought that was enough. Had $700 left in the bank. Was in a miserable location because I thought people would follow me. 1) New shop...more overhead..increase in prices...followers went elsewhere! 2) Poor location...hard to find...fewer new customers.. 3) 3 hurricanes..no money for cars, all going into home repairs 4) Recession hit...people bailed out of toxic mortagages..customer base dwindled What I am trying to say is BE PREPARED FOR EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING!!

And this is the reason I kinda sorta look forward to retirement!!

Consistent steady car count.

I have a Heavy Line Rate that is roughly 20% greater than the standard rate. I allow 2 days extra for an engine job, less for a trans. That allows time for other work that comes in. Then on an engine job it gets new hoses, belts, filters, plugs, etc. Transmission I try to sell new axles. In all if I schecdule right I can get those done and not run off my good regular customers. I dont do a lot of engine work...couple a year. So many "shed shops" around here that will do it for half of what I quote. Mostly my regulars that have an older car and dont want car payments. Last one was a 2010 Sport Trac with a 4 cylinder. Was at 200k and burned a valve. Client opted for a 40k used engine over head reapir. Took 4 or 5 days and never missed a regular customer. Cant say I enjoy doing them but it is revenue and good if it is worked right. Just my 2 cents.

Had a new Store open here called "Just Brakes". Now with a name like that would you take your trcuk there for an A/C repair? Well had one last week did just that. Expidition not blowing cold. They tell the owner to go buy all his own parts at NAPA. They installed the compressor and told him to return the drier and valve. Well if you dont replace those components the warranty is void on the comprerssor. Owner was told they coludn't change the drier because the nuts were siezed to the evap. Compressor lasted 24 hours. Brings it in here. I check it, Sure enough the compressor is burned up. Checked the drier and guess what...flanged at the evap and spring lock at hose..no threaded fittings!! I gave them an est for repair and guess what...."I am broke..just brakes got all my money. Can you call NAPA and try to help me out" Well I cant and Heres your sign!

I was a master tech...was being the key word. I took a lot of pride in that. BUT as years passed and I saw adds in all the trades and not a one in anything my wife or mother read I dropped them. What good does it do if the avg consumer does'nt know what it is or stands for. When they start promoting the certification to the public then I will recertify. As a side note I never studied and took all 8 in one setting.

Just talked to manager at the Carquest/Advance store I use. He said he had not heard this yet. After the buyout they were told to do the free scans. He trys to discourage it and I tend to believe him. Seems they get the DIY folks in and they want the freebie scan and the parts to go with it. Then when it aint fixed guess whos the bad guy!

I am seeing a decline in service also from my Carquest/Advance store. Biggest issue is the new help on th counter. Have had to reorder an ebrake cable twice and no one seems to know why the order keeps getting "lost". Haven't seen in real change in the pricing.

Gotta go with XRac on this one. Excatly what I was thinking.

I use square..2.75% across the board, money in the bank next day. No statement fess, no hidden charges. I raised my rates a while back to cover increasing expenses. At the same time if someone ask I will encourage cash payments and offer a small discount. In 10 plus years in business I have only had 3 checks bounce,collected on 2. It's just another cost of doing business.

Maybe thats whats wrong with me...not maintained properly!

Local Toyota dealer gives a lifetime warranty, as well as tires and batteries for life, if you have all their "recommended" services done. That would amount to 30k tune ups, 15k injector service, 30k trans service, etc. The buyers dont realize they are paying for it in increased services. I can win them over once I get them in and show them they are paying for the "free"!

Welcome. Early to the shop and late to the house...been that way since I opened. Don't have a family so it isn't so bad.

What is Identifix pricing the complete package at?

Yea but on the flip side of that...rent, insurance, utilities and food come before auto repairs.

Yes the forum if a great place to pick up tips. I would also highly recommend one of their training seminars. I been to one and would like to attend another just as a refresher. They also recently added several training videos. Check it out!

I just had my third best April ever. Now with that said it was all in the first 3 weeks. The last 10 days or so have been DEAD! 2 different parts houses called this week to see if I was open. They tell me everyone in they area is dead. Just have to ride it out and see what happens. Using this slow time to catch up paperwork and develop some fresh marketing pieces.

Mayber your wife could take a Quickbboks course at the local community college.

Are you using Quickbooks? If not I recommend it. It will integrate with your Shop Key. Have an acct help you set it up and put EVERYTHING in the system. That is one of the best things I ever did. My ex was a numbers cruncher for a large company. When I started QB she set up all the accounts that didn't set up when Mitchell/Shop Key did their initial inistall. AfteR that it's just putting everything in the system IN THE CORRECT ACCOUNT .

Are you using Quickbooks? If not I recommend it. It will integrate with your Shop Key. Have an acct help you set it up and put EVERYTHING in the system. That is one of the best things I ever did. My ex was a numbers cruncher for a large company. When I started QB she set up all the accounts that didn't set up when Mitchell/Shop Key did their initial inistall. AfteR that it's just putting everything in the system IN THE CORRECT ACCOUNT .

Welcome Vince! I am 58 with a 35 year old son. He has worked in the shop off and on since I opened. He now works as an electrician, but when he was in the shop we would lock horns often. Ultimatly it is my name on the bottom line. I make the decisions. He would come up with good ideas on occassion but not having the years in the trade some of it just wasn't do-able. And I will admit he has had some ideas that I wish I had put into play sooner. Just hang in there. I would say if the shop your in has been in biz for more that 10 years and doing well they are doing something right. And I do still run a lot of ideas by my son just to see if it appeals to the younguns. Good luck and visit often.

I was gonna throw in a comment earlier but I only talk about superstions on Wend. I am very attached to my pocket screwdriver as well. Just seems like it rains crap in the shop if I dont have one in pocket. Used to work with an old man that swore up and down he couldnt work without his pocket knife. The shop was across from a Home Depot. He came in one morning and when he went into his pocket to get his toolbox ket his knife wasn't there. He walked acroos the street and bought a new one before he did anything else. Said he felt neckid without a knife!

I had one come off years ago working at a Jeep store. I personally believe that the crud on the aluminum wheel hung on the steel hub causing it to not pull down properly. Luckily no one was hurt and the only damage was a rotor and my pride. Now it's torque sticks followed by torque wrench.

Glad

Gald it worked!