carolinahigear

We took delivery of a new Hunter system in February and it is an astounding machine. It has a 16,000 lb. scissor lift and all the bells and whistles. We can now check the alignment and get a print-out in 3 to 5 minutes. Many of our 4-wheel alignments are performed in only 15 to 20 minutes. Thursday afternoon a 2015 Corolla came in for a tire rotation only, but the front tires were slick and the rear were down to the wear bars. This was at 4:20 PM. I showed the new client his bad tires and gave him a price on tires and alignment. He said to go ahead, and my son installed new tires in 25 minutes and then took the car to the alignment tech. The complete job was completed and test driven in 45 minutes. We definitely enjoy our new Hunter set-up.

I have bought my last 3 lifts from Advance Auto Parts at a great price and received 12 months no interest financing. The payments show up on my regular statement and I pay one or more payments per month. It's great for cash flow. Just talk with your commercial manager and he may or may not involve the area sales manager to get it set up for you. These lifts are the asymmetrical 10,000 lb. lifts manufactured by Champion and they're great!! Hi-Gear

We do not ever talk about cleaning the headlamps. We tell the customer that they will be able to see MUCH BETTER at night if we replace the headlamp assemblies, and we sell a butt load of headlamp assemblies. Just 2 weeks ago we installed a set in a Chevy Equinox for around $770.00 and the client was absolutely delighted to see her new lamps in place. Last week we installed a pair in a 2007 Impala, and today I ordered a pair for a 2006 Dodge Caravan. These replacements make for a very high profit job and a very satisfied client!!

My invoice now reads: Diagnostic and Troubleshooting 89.95 I believe I will now make it read: Troubleshoot, Test, and Analyze $110.00

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If it's a small GP for you, then you aren't charging enough. We charge$12.95 to $18.95 for regular blades (cost $4.50 or so) and charge $30 to $35 for beam blades. Cost $9.00 each. We sell a butt load of blades because my techs make $3.00 per pair or $5.00 for three installed. Tremendous GP for us!! Hi-Gear

I have 7 tow trucks available. Brian has 4, Jimmy has 2, and Jerry has 1. 3 telephone #'s....7 trucks. Zero expense until I call one of them, but then it's Zero expense, also, because the customer pays for the tow and I mark it up and make money. Forget about buying a tow truck and concentrate on your ARO, GP %, profitability, customer retention and acquisition, and putting lots of money in the bank. Hi-Gear

Where will it be held??

I break out my oil services and tires from my weekly report to get a true GP% and labor efficiency %. I have been working on raising my "measured" gross profit for almost 2 years and it is coming up gradually. You must measure it to chart it!

A girl called me yesterday, made an appt. for today and came to see me. So I listened to her as I'm going to change my processor by March 31( my self-imposed deadline.) She told me that she (the company she works for) will process ALL my credit cards for 1 %, and process ALL my debit cards (Pin #) for 0%. Will charge me $129 per month for machine, plus a $31 fee, and that's it. *** She did say that AMEX is 1.77%. Others are 1% and 0 for debit cards. I'm going to call some of her referrals and check her out. She's local and works out of an office 30 mins. from my shop. Have any of you EVER heard of a processor this cheap? Any recommendations of what I should look for or questions I should ask her?? Thank you in advance!! Hi-Gear

I just started reading Be Obsessed last night.

If a person is the brother, father, son, mother, sister, etc. of the manager of the local Home Depot store manager, that person "may" get a 10% contractor's discount. I believe that is all. With that said, my friends and family members get standard pricing at my shop, because it costs the same to service/repair their vehicle as it does anyone else's. We strive to give them the same excellent service that we give our other clients.

If I had 30 cars in stock I would concentrate on turning my inventory and make a butt load of money in the used car business, and hire another B tech to do more work. It sounds like you have a gold mine right there.......you just will want to get everything running as smoothly as you can. Hi-Gear

I have always hesitated to specialize because I have always served a large variety of customers. In my auto parts and machine shop business, we served everybody from do-it-to-yourselfers, racing, garages and service stations to large construction, trucking, industrial, quarry, and mining concerns. Plenty of times we would be align boring something like a Detroit V-12 block and 2 machines down the line an outboard block was being bored and honed. All the money from these jobs was deposited in the same bank account, so I did not want to turn any of them down. With that said, each person thought that we specialized in the particular job that they needed done, and we DID SPECIALIZE in that job because we performed it with care and precision. I believe what Alfred said is true: Advertise that you service and repair Subarus and you will have plenty of them to do.

Albert, I must say that I miss the "Swag Master" personna, but I guess you like changing up every now and then. We use 5W20 and 5W30 5 qt. jugs, and 0w20, 0w40, 5w20, 5w30, 5w40, and 10w30 Synthetics in quarts. I love synthetic oil change services because we actually make a good profit on them.

I have sold hundred's, probably thousands, of Trico's through the years, as well as other brands. The premium level blades have always served me well. I have also sold plenty of Rain-X Blades. Today the Pep Boys sales girl came by and had a rack of 30 Rain-X beam blades for $270, so I ordered one for display. $9.00 each was a good deal and they sell for about $29.95 for a good GP. Don't ya love having good blades on YOUR ride??!!

When someone who is not a client calls us for an estimate (other than tires or alignment), we use that opportunity to set an appointment for them to come in. We do not give price estimates over the phone because we have not seen the vehicle, checked, diagnosed, or tested it. If they set an appointment and show up, fine. If they don't set an appointment, that's fine too. If they are a client, the same thing applies with a few exceptions.

We mark up local tows from $10 to $25. Longer tows we add $40 or more. I don't own a tow truck, but with my phone I call Tow #1, occasionally Tow #2, and seldomly Tow #3. As far as the Admin fee goes, I would rather work it into the repair order. That way "No questions asked." Usually. Arranging towing can be a pain sometimes, so I charge for it accordingly. When I enter my weekly data into my sales grid, I look for a pleasing profit on sublet work. IE, I sent a truck dealership diesel tech on a service call last week. I was charged $619, so I charged $889, and have already been paid. If it makes sense to me, then it makes sense. It helps the bottom line.

I grew up in the NAPA AUTO PARTS business with my dad. He coined the term "DO-IT-TO-YOURSELFERS" which I still use today. I always thought it was often appropriate and enjoy saying it as it always reminds me of him.

I'm ready to see more positive posts on this forum, so I'm starting with one tonight! On Wednesday, a lady called and said she had a blowout and wanted her car towed in. Once the 2006 Buick Lucerne got to the shop we found that it needed a new tire. We had sold a set of 4 tires to her in July 2016 with road hazard warranty. So she's getting a free tire now on the house. Along with the tire purchase in July we also performed $1400 in repairs and service. So on Wednesday my technician jacked it up on the floor and installed the new tire. Then he told me he was putting the car on his lift to do an inspection. The car had been well maintained, but while doing his inspection he found that it needed repairs. It had a timing cover coolant leak, oil pan leak, rt. rear caliper leak, cracked serpentine belt, needed an oil service, and a couple of other things. I called her and told her that the tire needed replacing. She asked if it was warrantied, and I replied that I had good news....she had purchased warranty coverage and I was replacing it free. She loved that. Then I told her that we performed a safety inspection and told her of our findings. I didn't wait for her to ask "HOW MUCH?" I immediately told her that I could get started on the work the same day and it would be $2150. She then asked if I had something she could drive, and I told her I would provide her with a loaner car and could have her car ready by Friday. She asked if I could put the work on a credit card, so I said "SURE!!" Just come on by and pick up my Altima to drive while your Buick is in the shop. She got a ride and came by about thirty minutes later. Today she picked up her Buick and handed me her credit card. She was one happy lady, thanked me for finding what her car needed, and left smiling. Ladies and Gentlemen, I call that a VICTORY in MY LIFE!!! We need these victories daily in our businesses. Do you know any shops around your town that would have replaced her tire, done no inspection, eaten the cost of the tire, and would have been in a bitchy mood after eating it?? So remember, Be an Optimist, Be Positive, Be Excited, Service Cars Properly, Make Money, and Achieve a Victory in Your Life!! Thank you for listening, Hi-Gear

My main word of advice is to remember the three rules of business: 1) Get the money. 2) Get the money. 3) Get the money. Several of my fleet clients pay w/ credit cards on pick up. Several pay within 10 days. A select few pay in 30 to 45 days. Make sure you know in advance if, how, and when you will be paid. I suggest faxing or e-mailing each and every invoice to the payer so there is no question if Jim Bob took the invoice to the office. Hi-Gear

I have been selling a butt load of Westlakes with a great margin and an alignment with nearly every set. Easy Sell for the folks wanting a lower priced tire. We sell a lot of mid-range tires, also, so we are able to serve a wider demographic on tires and alignments vs. general repair work.

My clients never know when I've raised my prices. I don't tell them!! I also do not post my hourly rate, because I charge more hourly if it is German, Swedish, PITA job, etc. I have been in my present location 12 years and have had only about 10 or 11 suspects ask me my hourly rate. Usually I have found that these folks do not fit my profile.

I ordered two struts, mounts, and rear shocks for a 2007 Kia Sedona today for tomorrow morning. Napa was 1st call: none available for tomorrow. O-R 2nd call: available but more than Advance. Advance: ordered for tomorrow and had best price. Monroe is my first choice also. I use some KYB with good results. I used some Chinese quick struts 3 times. ** !st, last and only ** for total of 3. Bad ride and made noise. You could look at them at they looked sh--ty.

I am in my second year with ATI, and I have benefited greatly from this relationship. My car count is higher, my ARO is higher, and my parts profit is MUCH higher. I enjoy the accounting aspect as well as the weekly reporting and coaching sessions. I'm extremely glad I traveled 100 miles to attend an introductory seminar and found out about this program.