Dnzauto

Thank you yes I already tried that, and got some seriously unreasonable quotes.... some quotes came out to $ 600/hr/guy !!!! lowest was $300/hr/guy! It is more economical for me to get my techs to do it than paying $300-600/hr to lift a company, and I am sure my techs will do a very careful/safe job

hi , I have 5 parking lifts that need to be moved 7 miles. They can be moved without disassembly on a trailer , or disassembled and moved and reassembled at the location that is 7 miles, 12 minutes away. If anyone knows qualified, reasonable vendors, I would appreciate that. there is NO rush. Thank you

I had few of those kind of customers in the past.... If they call to cancel/reschedule, I always accommodate and tell them I appreciate them letting me know. The ones that are 'no show', I make a note in the system....if they are regular and use my shop exclusively , I would let it slide....if they are from online, I just reschedule them few days ahead and dont expect them to show up and plan accordingly, if they show up and i am busy, then i tell them it will be done the next day ...I dont think doctors etc charge for missed appointments in my area, and I dont think a regular customer would return if I tried to bill them for a missed appointment.... But my issue right now is, the very good customers returning my cars back with fully emptied gas tanks . I am going to place a black tape below the 1/4 line to try to eliminate that, lol

I am amazed how mobiles they get away with BAR, Osha, City, Fire, Carb etc..... Sounds very unacceptable to me.....mobile should do code reading ,bulb replacement, glass replacement and such.....anything else seems to me as they have to clean up the dirt afterwards which they do? Who is keeping an eye on their mobile garage libaility etc? .

From the offer, it seems like they are proving FREE carfax reports in return...but they can stop doing the free service anytime...and leave you with nothing....while they took all your customer info! Including a valid email address! Which they can market to and become competition! To me it sounds unfair to start with

Hi everyone, did any of the shops that started the CARFAX Service Shop program ever read the TERMS ?????? ( https://service.carfax.com/csn/csnTerms ) So, basically, they are collecting VIN & Email ( meaning they can target the vehicle make/model/year/valu etc AND customer contact -email )..... they can sell this info to competition ; especially to brand specific shops!!!! or dealerships !!!!! on top of it ... they can STOP The free service ANYTIME they like, and keep using all the data they gathered! anyone else see a problem with all this and other stupid clauses ( ie : no jury , no class action ..) ??? CARFAX® Service Network.pdf

Dear fellow Repair People, We are in need of an additional closeby location to our current shop, mostly to service some of our fleets and overload for the time being. ( We will start reorganizing and a major update on our shop sometime in the next 12 months, so we will definitely use the 2nd location more during that time). I believe we can live with 2 bays and 6 additional parking spots. We will NOT open at night or Sundays or weird stuff like that. We have excellent reputation and the team that will work in this remote location has been together for over 5 years now, they are super knowledgeable, nice and honest people. We will never interact with your customers or techs, and same is expected from you. Whenever you need help, we will be happy to help! We will sign a lease/sublease for 12 months with 2 six month options. Who knows, we might keep it even longer depending on the fleet work. If the bays do NOT have lifts, that is NOT a problem! We can purchase&install lifts as long as the floor is solid enough for 9K-12K lifts. Location: has to be within a few miles of 92627 Costa Mesa, preferably in the west side, the closer it is to our main location, the better. It MUST have Auto Repair zoning and all other necessary permits. We will add this location to our BAR, OSHA, insurance etc accounts. Price : depends on location, size and terms. We have been in the same location for 7 years with excellent reputation with the landlord and customers and neighbors, you are welcome to get reference checks. Move in date: we can sign the lease sometime in June, and I don't know when we will actually start using the location, I just want to have it ready soon. Occupation Frequency: we will use it from time to time OR keep at least 1 tech there all day (currently undecided), between hours of : MON-SAT : 8:00-19:00 (we do NOT plan on doing any work outside these hours) Size: MUST have at least 2 bays inside, and at least 6 additional parking spots around it. I will be happy to pay extra for a small/medium sized office too. NO waiting area necessary for the time being, BUT a small one with 3 chairs would not hurt. Utilities: as long as there is electricity, we can make it work. Air, New & Waste oil tanks etc are nice to have, but NOT a must. Please let me know if you have something available with details on location, pictures, availability, price and any special terms. Thank you very much

1- correct, lots of franchise dealers bump up the msrp.....especially ones with urban location!! also, they print different MSRP numbers to customers as they wish ....!!!! I get 15-25% off of dealers msrp most of the time... they make huge $$$, and they really hate us because they think we steal jobs from them.... 2- we NEVER charged a cent over msrp from number from mithell or worldpac! I am super careful on that, as customer can easily go online and see if we overcharge and would get the wrong idea. we have a high labor rate and stick to little margins on the parts, and when it comes to that, I explain how our total price is the same as others....

my experience.. in 6 years... called the cops once on a female driver (not a customer) that recently purchased the car from a customer of ours...she demanded FREE stuff.... and was blocking one of the lift, did not move the car ( a stretch limo!) .. I called the customer that sold her the car... took a while till he arrived and moved her out of premises.. cops came right at that moment.... 5-10 minutes of my time wasted.... another occasion, I threatened to call the cops on another female (customer this time) ... I moved her car to the front and asked her to leave 20 times while she was shouting at me in front of customers that were laughing at her ... finally she took off and I had some joy out of it with the customers that saw the whole incident for half an hour... both these occurred in the first 2 years of my ownership, nothing for the past 4+ years, knock on wood.... oh, and I almost forgot... within the first 6 months of me buying the shop, had two customers blaming me for wrong doing ( one was a price, the other I don't remember) .. I asked them to contact CA BAR... both cases resolved in my favor quickly... I was ready to never accept these people back as customers, so it was an easy call to ask them to leave.... in my current customer portfolio, I don't think we have anyone that might take issues to that level... we charge a premium for our service and our prices are listed on a board openly and if they are not willing to sign the check in sheet with the estimate on it, we do not even move the car into the shop... this is just my experience....when I moved the prices up within the first 12 months, I don't see these problem , free lunch seekers anymore... hope it stays that way

on Mitchell I close the invoices only when paid, but when I am 'posting' them, I post it to the day it arrived or work was performed, so when I pull reports, it doesn't look like one day was $0, the next day was $ 10000 hope this input helps

thank you everyone for your input, customer is a good and loyal one and understands how hard I tried for insurance to cover the initial repair and how skillful I was when I noted the possible future prematurely worn out parts... so if it comes to that, I will collect the difference from the customer anyhow, but my main thing is, although I am only adding 25% premium to my cost, I am not willing to let anyone know what they don't need to know I wish everyone who deserves it, a successful shop, life and happiness ))) the ones causing bad reputation to our line of work, I am hoping the public will eventually separate the lemons

unfortunately, I had a similar scenario with a friend's friend 6 months ago, we got blamed for coolant tank expansion hose connector break on a 2003 C230 with 200K miles on it, which the expansion tank looked like never replaced before....guess what, I told him i will put a new one at no charge to him,,, he still didn't calm down...( he was coming from 40 miles away) .. but such a calm person turned into such an idiot... result: i put the new tank, made sure no more leaks...and when done, I parked the car on the driveway, left it running and told him ' it was great meeting you, but I don't think I will be able to help you with your car issues anymore", i immediately turned around and walked into the shop, without looking at him... I wish him good luck with the attitude change he had....anyone else should have kicked him out right away when he used accusative words.... but, he was a friend's friend... so... I let this one go this time

totally agree with this.... having control over the work done is the same thing, any sublets we do, even a simple tire balance, we re-adjust the pressures and do road test!..... quality control is very important and pays off big time in the long run! We also check every cars parking spot after an oil change, to make sure there are no drips!

I'd like to give my input as well.... When i first bought my shop 6 years ago, within 12 months, I gradually increased the LOF price from $16 to $40.... Then past 5 years, only increased it 3% a year. It eliminated most of the customers I didn't want pretty quickly. Car count decreased rapidly first 12 months.... Then slowly started to increase.... What i saw was, we had more time to spend with each car and customer, which resulted in a more close relationship, and ( the bomb!) MANY REFERRALS! But due to lower car count and higher averages, the revenue fluctuates alot....didn't foresee that at the time On diag charges: the ones that use me exclusively, I never charge. The referrals: i tell them, i count the diag charge towards repairs. The others: they approve it before I start looking at it, and again, I count it towards repair labor.... So far, its been OK. On customer supplied parts: honestly, i have no problem with that as long as I charge full pop on labor at my rate ($115 and above)... I tell them there is absolutely no warranty, and also, if its the wrong part, they need to get to correct one within an hour, otherwise pay extra hour for occupying the lift The ones that want to get big jobs somewhere else: i have no problem as well... As long as I charge my diag and full price on LOF, I did my job.... What pisses me off is other shops doing $20 LOF and not even doing it right in my area! They also advertise " we beat all estimates"... That is whats damaging the industry, but guess they are having a war on price because they can't win in the quality battle So far, I am happy with the route I took.... Wish I could buy out my nearest competitor though

thank you everyone, I am hoping this thread will be informative to us all hope all are having an awesome Sunday

Dear all, I have a question... we are a very reputable mechanic shop in Southern California.... we sometimes have to deal with insurance companies ( not extended warranty), and this is the first time I am running into this.. so I want to get your opinion and if anyone knows the law on this....I also want to note, I don't have anything to hide from them, I just disagree with anyone/any company that wants to see more than they are required to see...... We need to do a cat converter and O2 sensor replacement on an 2006 BMW X3 , long story short, customer put diesel instead of gas 6 months ago, and thank God I made a note that the cats and O2s might prematurely go bad due to this at that time.... now insurance approved the job.... they asked to see my parts invoice...... technically I have nothing to hide.. my local dealer gives me 25% off the list, and the estimate is based on the list price.... Question is, again, do they have a right to see my parts invoice that I receive from the dealer, and am I in the clear to sell it at list while I am getting a 25% discount.... Really appreciate any input.. Regards E

Make sure you get PIN BASED DEBIT pad! Thats the lowest possible rate, 30% of my transactions are Pin based so I am happy. I always try to do business with my customers, ( ex: office supplies etc), ao my cc processor is also my customer... I am happy.... Email Chris if you like ... [email protected].

Dear all, I am considering selling turn-key my shop, as I might (nothing is concrete yet) move out of country in about a year (I do NOT turn the wrench and I am present at the shop around 20 hours/week). Excellent location, excellent reputation, ZERO advertising $$$, Very busy with big jobs (not known as an oil change place at $48/basic oil change! - although it used be known for cheap oil changes 4+ years ago - I CHANGED IT ALL). We work on EVERY make/model! Most tools are owned by techs that are VERY WELL qualified and know how to run the shop. It is NOT small, has 3 lifts and 2 pits, ample parking space etc, and it is NOT big - VERY manageable size!. Location is incredible, on main street, no need for A/C or heating year long! indoor & outdoor waiting area...etc... building is OLD and it shows but it is OK. I will also transfer ownership of BMW & Mercedes OEM level equipment, as well as complete database of Mitchell with all necessary computer equipment including back ups. Although California does NOT allow Non-Compete agreements, I promise not to perform automotive repair within 3 mile area for 3 years (If I move, I will be 10K miles away anyhow). I guarantee NOT to steal custoemrs or become a competitor! My shop can be run absentee with current employees. I can sell just the business OR the corporation that's established over 4 years (there will be an extra charge for that) Also, loaner cars (not crap cars, nice BMW, VW etc - 5 of them) are included with the sale. I perform diagnostics on the BMWs only, as that is my speciality, but as mentioned above, our custoemr database ranges from 1970s VW Buses to Camaros to newer Bentleys etc. If you are interested , please send me a private message. I am in no hurry to sell, as I know even if I move out of country, it will continue growing fine, BUT it will be very hard to manage that way, especially with 10hr. time zone difference to SoCal. IT is a Franchise, although there is not much left on the contract and they haven't even stopped by in 2+years! ( you can make it independent soon) Some numbers for the interested parties: This business treated me VERY well, if you know what I mean. Employees : 2 full time + 1 part time + Myself (Part Time) Average ROs per week : 50-55 (open 8-5:30 MON-SAT) ( Used to open Sundays and expect revenue to grow 10+% if you do) Average $/RO : $225+ (there were weeks that average RO came out to $350 with 50 cars) Marketing & Advertising : for the last 3 years, ZERO dollars is spent!!! All customers are repeat, referral or from Yelp etc. no Marketing fees to Franchisor as well - made a deal ~3 years ago) Inventory & Lifts & electronic Equipment : Probably around $50K - included with the sale. Selling Price/Wages/Any other details: to be discussed with the potential buyer in person. If I was the buyer, I would NOT change a thing on the operations! Please do NOT mention anything to employees on this issue, they have been very loyal ( 1 of them with me since I started 4+ years ago, the other one is with me for 3 years, and the last one with me since I started but went away to school and came back 1 year ago), they LOVE the shop and the current business structure, they are VERY ethical, and NO SALESMEN! They are NOT on commission , so they do NOT have an incentive to smash my reputation! Business and Corporation has VERY good relationships with suppliers and other neighboring businesses! I personally am ASE Consultant Certified, and do NOT turn the wrench ever. My background was Quality Assurance and I am an amateur car racer) Business has gone up and in the direction I wanted since the day I took over. I will be more than happy to stay and help the buyer for 3 months at 20 hours/week at my convenience at a very reasonable pay. I want to assure the customers will be taken care of the way they are used to, so there is NO issue with reputation or revenue. Send me a PM message if interested. If it is sold, I will also provide you with the ideas I had (but didn't have a chance to realize yet) which is supposed to double the profits in 2-3 years! YES, I said PROFITS, not just the revenue! This is a great opportunity and I personally guarantee all information you have and will receive will be 100% true to the best of my knowledge, and I will stand my shop 100%. ( the reviews and reputation speaks for itself anyhow)