OnSiteAutoandTruckRepair

I only use to do mobile repairs. Than I branched out into towing. The towing grew faster in 6 months than my repair business did in two years. It also allowed me to pick up additional work at my descretion. I became affiliated with a motor club. Their rates were not the greatest , but 7 out 10 times, I did the repairs. Snow storms were great because repairs were slow, but towing was through the roof. Winch outs was my big earner this winter. Start up can be pricey because of the truck and the insurance, but, I had my truck almsot 90% payed off within 12 months.

My shop is not open yet. But I have extensive knowledge on how these big box stores work. Yes, your are doing a rotation for free, but, it opens up other avenues for revenue. You take those tires off and you get to look at the brakes. Check the suspension, look at bushing, etc. People hear free and they take advantage of it, but it gets people in the doors. As far as profit in tires, there is not much. 20% at most and thats for the cheaper tire. When we open, I will not offer a free rotation with tires bought from me, I will offer a free rotation with my oil change. It takes me 2 minutes to do, and I do it while the oil is draining. I make it habit to roll the tire to the other end of the car and look for nails or any foreign object. Feathering of tires , etc. If I see something, I spray it, If it leaks , I notify customer. They are happy I picked up on it before it became a problem and now I just made money on a quick tire repair. This is how these big box stores survive, upselling and upselling quick services. Wipers, tire repairs, bulbs, belts , alignments. Free is not always free, you will make money some how. I laugh when I see ads for a $60 brake job, it's to get people in the door. Once there in a $60 brake job becomes $300. It's not a bait in switch its, clever marketing. $60 was just for a pad slap, but than you factor in the caliper thats hanging up, the warped rotor and so on.

So I have good friends in the restaurant business. They run a very eclectic locally sourced food place. There mission statement is phenomenoal and they go above and beyond on educating their customers on sustainable food source. One thing that I loved about there business was there rewards program. So i started to pick the brain of the owner and she told me what a success its been for them offering rewards. Pretty much she said, that without the rewards program they would have not made it to there 12th year of business. They started this after their 3rd year of business. They use a company that does everything for them. The mail outs, the points system tracking. Apparently for every dollar they invested, she said they made $34. She showed me the program that shows her who got rewards, when they were redeemed, and how much they spent. It was very interesting. So it got me thinking, the only companies i see offering rewards, are the big box stores (kohls,best buy etc), airlines and credit card companies. Why not the automotive repair business. Pretty soon I will be moving into my shop and I have been thinking about signing up for this. It's one of those things that if you do not get people to sign up your not going to make it work. Do any of you guys do this?

Hey, My name is Luis and I am on the verge of opening up my first shop in Monticello NY. I am 30 years old with extensive experience in repairs and shop management. I've spent a majority of my career working at big box repair shops. Started off as a service adviser, moved up to a tech and eventually management. 3 years ago I left my job because I was tired of corporate politics, to start my own mobile repair business. My mobile repair business took off , but, I found myself maxed out half way into my second year. I spent a lot of time driving and not being able to get to my clients fast enough. This resulted in a lot of lost revenue. I even expanded into towing, which I saw a huge increase in revenue. Eventually , I realized I need a brick and mortar shop. I need employees and I am better off managing than trying to do everything myself. Shortly, a shop that I've had my eye on for a number of years went up for rent. It has been my dream shop, for as long as I can remember. It's an 8 bay shop on a busy rd, in a town that is getting a new casino in the next few years. I'm in the process of a trying to negotiate a reduced rent for 6 months, so I can get my feet planted. Things are looking pretty good so far.