mspecperformance

LOL Gonzo. Your daughter was really stringing him along. I can't believe he stayed on the phone that long without getting mad!

shopcat, I agree completely. I was looking for the best way to NOT give a price quote but also minimize damage with a phone customer. People don't like to hear no. Also someone that is not open to listening to reason is obviously a selfish person and my experience is that if they are slighted it wouldn't be beyond them to write a bad review or something to that effect. Yeah I have VERY little faith in the character of the people living in my city LOL

I agree Elon that is sound advice. I was most certainly going to be instituting preventative maintenance measures and a specific inspection process tailored to my fleet clients. Other than sprinters I may be able to attract some luxury car rental/livery companies depending how they do business (do they spend money to maintain their vehicles). The largest advantage I see with Fleet work for me is having vehicles on schedule to ensure car count. Elon when you mention "priced properly" what are some generally accepted practices? How much should be "discount" our labor in order to attract these accounts. I am not a fan of discounting and maybe that isn't the right word. I am guessing I may have to set a separate labor rate entirely for Sprinter work as it is a "truck" and my pricing is based off of passenger vehicles. How about parts? what kind of GP should i be looking at if my regular GP margine is >50%

Thank you for your post, my question really is directed at the phone customer you have already tried everything with. Use analogies, assure them that whatever price will most probably be inaccurate, point out what unknown variables, offer COMPLIMENTARY inspection of the possible issue, etc etc. End of all that I'll sometimes get, "Yes I understand you make a lot of sense, but what if its the water pump. It looks like its leaking from there. I JUST WANT A PRICE."

A fresh rebrand or update to the brand would do wonders imo. Also what percentage is wholesale? If you were to pursue that route in s major way it eould be in your best interest to go out abd establish relationships with every shop in your area.

Great. I feel the same i just need to hammer down a script to follow wheb challenged with this situation

What do you say exactly when they are adamant about getting an estimate?

Ive been asked for work in sprinters before. Feels like there may be an opportunity

Just curious about this. Had a call this morning, tried to get to come to the shop so we could inspect his cooling system for a leak. Was adamant it was coming from the water pump. Acknowledged he could have other issues was super insistent on getting a price for the water pump. Do you give him the price or tell him something different? I find that not giving someone a price once they have made up their mind that's all they want is a recipe for disaster. Thoughts?

Thanks for your post! We also have a Autologic unit dedicated strictly for Mercedes. From what I understand the factory MBZ tool actually no coverage for Sprinters. Thanks bstewart. I've read those articles already as well as another one from shopownermag.com that were helpful. I want to go into this with my eyes wide open to make sure we are profitable and waste little time with getting it up and running when it comes time.

Elon, thank you again it was great information and will be implementing the sales process for 2015.

How far do you expect your furthest oick up and drop to be?

kingwoodshell, if you'd like to ask any questions feel free to PM me. I am an Elite client.

Excellent advice thank you

Thanks shopcat at! When it comes to fleet work what do y'all recommend a for labor charge? Parts charge? Warranty? Contract terms.

thanks Elon. What price point is your recommendation for the Road Hazard Warranty.

20 mins to rack, remove from car, dismount, clean bead, mount, balance, install on car is impressive. I have never seen that done and probably couldn't count on hitting those times.

Thanks xrac

I guess no one likes sprinters or fleet work?

Also what is your percentage of fleet work to your total sales?

Some of you may know my shop is a German Car specialty shop. We Service BMW, Mercedes, Audi/VW, Mini (no Porsche not sure if I want to invest in that). We do ZERO fleet work. My general outlook on fleet work is that I would be competing against a ton of bottom dollar shops out there and there are just too many people out there that do not understand what quality work is. With that being said I am thinking about how to rearrange a few things in my shop and also add a 6th lift for productivity and efficiency purposes. If and when I do I was thinking why not add a lift capable of working on Sprinters. It is after all sort of a Mercedes LOL and from what I am told I should be able to charge a decent rate for labor and the parts are expensive. If I can attract a few accounts that may see value in a German Car shop servicing their German work vans/trucks I may be able to add some significant dollars. I'd like to get some input on what I should expect with this also specifically if anyone works on a lot of Sprinters. What payment terms do you set with fleet accounts? Your price on labor and parts comparatively to your normal rate? How fast do they expect turn over?

Carmandp sorry to hear that! I hope everything turns around for you. If you are interested in bouncing ideas off each other feel free to PM me. I am in contact with several members on this great forum. I'm just another guy trying to absorb as much information from the pros.

Sales Tax ID on file with the appropriate paper work. Whatever your state requires.

http://www.boston.com/food-dining/restaurants/2014/12/09/harvard-business-school-professor-goes-war-over-worth-chinese-food/KfMaEhab6uUY1COCnTbrXP/story.html Imagine this guy bringing their car with his own parts to your shop.