HarrytheCarGeek

Ah, all about Intellectual Property if you ask me. In regards to the DEF, simple chemistry: https://www.cumminsfiltration.com/sites/default/files/MB10033.pdf And the why behind the problem? Pollution. Here is some interesting history to put it in context: http://bytesdaily.blogspot.com/2011/07/great-horse-manure-crisis-of-1894.html The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894

TIre Rack makes up part of their mark up on shipping charges. Their lowest price to the consumer is offset by the price they charge on the shipping they add to the tire. I have learned to play them by comparing prices and have a big sign out front that says "Shopping for Tires OnLine? We have better Deals Come In Now!" I usually save them $20 to $40 bucks.

http://www.moderntiredealer.com/uploads/stats/facts-section16.pdf Page 12 is interesting.

I second Xrac's, you may also want to contact Max Finkelstein 800-229-8900, Jack Williams 800-833-8473. I use tirerack wholesale only on special order tires. I can get local pricing between $5 to $25 lower per tire locally, exclusive of shipping costs.

I agree with you. But that is not the problem. Imagine someone trying to fix an emission related problem without knowing the difference between a combustion issue or a hydrocarbon evaporative malfunction? And that's what we have with government, 99.9% of the people are completely ignorant as to the fundamentals of government! Just witness a simple process at a municipal court. People do not know how to protect themselves from corrupt government people, not how to achieve their will. Look at the marijuana issue, it's through sheer mass will that they will repeal those laws, the majority of the people do not agree with what has happened with government and pot. Just like with alcohol and prohibition. You want less regulation? You want less government? Get educated in civics, law, ethics, etc. then get involved and push back.

Last week I attended a dinner meeting that was sponsored by one of our biggest part suppliers. There was there an opportunity to collectively discuss the local status of the industry. Many were complaining that customers are not maintaining their cars, that they don't replace worn parts even when they are presenting a safety issue, etc. etc., etc. For some background and context, New Jersey discontinued doing safety inspections back in August of 2010. They only do emission inspections now. Back then, the state inspectors would check brakes, suspension, lights, wipers, glazing, etc. This created a tremendous demand for auto maintenance and repair, it was the regulatory actions that assured the demand for our industry. When the point came up to lobby the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, there was tremendous opposition from the majority of the crowd. From the " I don't get involved in politics" to the "I am a Libertarian and hate government regulation." Funny enough, the ultra rich owners and controllers of Insurance companies are not against government regulations when they know the regulations the legislature pass is in their favor and benefit their pockets.

tea.

Postal worker is caught on video dumping bin after bin of mail in the woods http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/20/us/mail-dumped-woods-trnd/index.html?sr=twcnni102016mail-dumped-woods-trnd0230PMVODtopVideo&linkId=30160922

xrac, jeff: It's not only the guns that keeps us free, it is the knowledge of who we are and what are our principles that keeps one free. The system has been perverted, it is the institution of central banks that makes it much easier to control the lives of others. I hope we don't come to have a civil war, that would be our next grandest tragedy since the last one. If we wish to remain free as a nation, we have to teach our children civics, law, ethics, and to participate in their communities' political process. God willing, we can find our way back.

Congrats! That speaks loud and clear that your customers have found you a very valuable resource, you have managed to master developing productive relationships. Kudos to you!

Money wise, what are you looking to get our of it? What is you exit strategy? What kind of return on investment are you willing to find acceptable? Is the capital you are taking into this new location better invested elsewhere? More important, your TIME, are you getting an acceptable return for your time that will be invested in this location? Let me give you a hint, can you control an interest in the new location within an acceptable return on you investment? There are some people that control and have interests in dozens of independent and franchised shops that do not take much of their time and are very profitable interests.

If you only knew all the mistakes I have made trying to find this answer you would think I was nuts. Just for example March 1st I spent 20K on a Every Door Direct Mail campaign that not a single call or lead came through. To be honest, I suspect the post office trashed it and didn't delivered. Not a single test house or business received my piece, I complained with the local post master but all I got was that their record showed it was sent out and delivered. I am still steaming about that. Anyhow, I won't go into details but this I can tell you, profile your customer. What does that mean? It means know what his/her average income is, how old and how many miles on average does he/she put on her car per wk,mo,yr. There are other parameters you need to figure out what works best for you. Here is another thing, study the statistics and know and compare your customer profile to the national average. See, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the department of transportation make their data available for your to know where to find your best customers. Another thing, you can figure your customer profile down to a T, but if that customer does not have the income or inclination to spend it on car care, he is not your prospect or possible customer. I have figured this out, it costs me about $280 dollars to acquire a customer in advertising and marketing, and that typical customer has returned on average $3,600 in three years revenue.

I kept wondering how could they keep doing that, then I came across this very disturbing book, it really explained things for me. This is a link to the pdf file since it's not that easy to get it in print. http://stoptheglobalists.com/FruitsFromaPoisonousTree.pdf LINK

You know, if I were younger, I would whole heartily agree with you. But now that I am older, and as a businessman, I am aware that our whole economic system is political. That's why they used to called the subject "political economy". See Adam Smith "Wealth of Nations." "Political" has not been left out of the subject theme by accident but by purposeful design to avoid addressing the subject by its true nature. The Political class do not want the majority of small business people getting involved into politics because it would muddle the interest of the large multinational patrons. So, by all means let's talk about politics in the context as to how it affects our economic well being, how regulation and tax policy affects all of us and who we can support to help us butter our own bread.

By my rule of thumb, that $7 would translate into a $21 per hour labor rate increase. There is no free lunch in our business, you know that we are subject to the ebb and flows of the market demands. If you have not planned your marketing and seasonal flow well, having a valuable employee cleaning the shop could prove a very painful experience.

See, this is a catch-22, the phone is your greatest sales tool. You need to speak to your customer and qualify him, bring him in and sell him. On the other hand, this is why it is important to learn to say no, so you don't trash your schedule and instead spend your time on calls that bring in the revenue. Here, I will give you another great tip. Set a time when you take sales calls and give them a minute to do their sales pitch. For example, Tuesdays or Thursdays 8:30 to 11:00 am. So when they call you, ask them, "is this a sales call?" If they keep rambling on, tell them the times you take sales call, and keep to it. If they are professionals they will call you when you are taking sales calls. My best supplier relationships have been made this way. Regarding the accident, lucky your friend didn't get seriously injured, but this close call should serve as a warning to stay alert in the shop area. I am really pedantic about safety in the shop.

Hi, Vinny! Running a one man shop was the hardest thing for me to do! It's insane the discipline and organization you must follow to stay sane and successful. Here is the secret to success, and it's so simple you will dismiss it out of hand because it is so simple to be true. It's all about your way of thinking, change how you look at things and think about them. 1. Fear of losing out. You don't have to take all the work all the time. Customers are looking for a reliable, trustworthy mechanic. Be honest, let them know you are a one man shop, and hold them to a higher standard, don't let them muck with your time. If they are no shows, drop them as clients. 2. Plan your Budget, know your dashboard numbers by heart and hit your targets. If you know you have to sell $2,500 a week in revenue, stick to it, if you have to stay late do it, then slack off. In the opposite side, if you make your numbers within a few days, don't waste your time shaming around, instead clean the shop, pickup the phone and sell, market, teach a clinic, etc. 3. The number one time sink will be the phone, learn to be brief and courteous. LEARN TO SAY NO! All kinds of people will come to try to sell you stuff, do yourself a favor, be polite and learn to say no. It helps them and you by keeping your time on YOUR schedule. 4. Hire professional help, use the best program to track your business. You accountant/bookkeeper will help you save money and grow your business, excellent accountants can help you make wise decisions on how to grow your money and business by investing wisely. 5. As soon as you can, hire the best help you can afford, they paid themselves and make you money. Good help is never an expense, they pay for themselves my knowing exactly how to do the job right. 6. CHARGE WHAT THE MARKET WILL BEAR! Know the difference between markup vs margin. YOU NEED TO MAKE A PROFIT TO STAY IN BUSINESS! Turning wrenches just for the sake of turning wrenches is no fun as a business owner, besides your kids need to be properly fed, clothed, and raised. If you can't make a profit, leave the business and get hired as a tech. else wise you hurt yourself and other by driving prices down. ...

This is the art about being a professional business owner. Glad you figured this out. It is my impression most techs that become business owners, they have a very difficult time transitioning to a profit making mentality. The other thing I notice, that those that are extremely greedy get into trouble by doing shady stuff and end up just stealing from their customers. I had a very steep learning curve, mostly because I wanted to do high end vehicles, and fixing the high end vehicles was not the problem, it was charging those customers the amounts that I could charge them that I had an issue with. Eventually I understood that Suzy Cashier at the local super market cannot pay me what Jack Bucks CEO can pay me to maintain his toy 1995 Supra Twin Turbo. edit: a word.

Ah! The joys of running an auto repair shop! Yep, many memories of the wacky stuff we go through running shops. I could write a book on the stuff that happens at the Newark, New Jersey shops. A large portion of the customers there are independent pharmaceutical representatives, the other part undercover cops. Thank you for a fun read!

Would it be viable to create a senior discussion forum where more advanced issues of shop management are discussed? For example, mergers and acquisitions, creative financing, equity management, exit strategies, estate planning, etc?

$1,911.00? Really? What is it that they do for almost two grand a month?

Check your declaration page and see how they are pricing the limits, I had this happen to me in the past and it wasn't a renewal but new coverage they were churning my account.

What are the limits?

When I finally understood "buy low, sell high,"; "margin never exceeds 99%", and you always mark up cost.

I think you are running par for the course. With the economy being so tight in our area, all kind of creeps are coming out of the woodwork. We give our customers the benefit of the doubt, but right now the stuff that is coming through the door as walk ins is really scary. For example, 2013 Audi Q5 2.0T comes in on the back of the tow truck, customer states that he tried to flush trans fluid, but could not fill it back up. Can you say RED FLAG! S.A. tells them that we can refill system, but we don't know the condition of the transmission and cannot guarantee it will work. Customer signs off on all waivers, we refill and vehicle seems to work fine. Following week, vehicle comes on the back of the tow truck leaking oil, customer is furious that vehicle is leaking oil and states we messed up. We push vehicle onto the lift for inspection, find engine oil leaking from loose drain plug, we tell customer it's not transmission fluid that is leaking, but motor oil. He says we must have loosened the plug last time it was here, meanwhile the master mechanic points out there is a 5qt jug of oil in the passenger seat floor! Customer then admits he did change the oil, but he says he didn't touch drain plug!!! Ugh! He signs waivers, we do an oil service, and tell him we cannot service his car anymore.