Jeffrey

Congratulations Joe! Hate to see you go as a shop owner, But I know you will be able to provide even more great support and knowledge to other shop owners. I read and share in other shop owners posts as much as my time allows. I hear so much negativity (from friends and customers, Not here) about technicians and shops ripping people off. Its reassuring to see so many caring and qualified techs and shop owners who want to do what's right. What I would like to see is a place for customers to go where they can be confident they are being heard by those good techs. Not a place for complaints, second free opinions or advice. But Maybe a way to help them find the best shop in their area. Help them find a reliable and fair shop they can trust. I realize this is out of your realm, but maybe it will spark an idea. Thank You Joe for all the support you provide us.

Those customers who receive that price break and poor work end up being some of my best customers.

We were at 89 and went to 110 the beginning of August. Only 1 comment since we adjusted our hourly rate and that was from our supplier when I turned in warranty paperwork.

Very interesting. I will be releasing a new management software program next year that will address prepayments and many other issues. It will be perfect for smaller shops and mobile as well. I have tackled many areas of todays programs that are lacking. I'm excited about it and would love to share it with you now but when its ready We will be advertising on AutoShopOwner. We are looking at a release date of about May 2022.

We raised ours over the weekend from $89 to $110. The big tire shops around are $120. Independents are mostly still under the $100 mark. Looks like I may lead the way. The tire shops are using mechanics. We employee ASE Certified Master Tech.

We have been looking into PPP loans and unemployment. I am a one man shop. Information for both as refers to the CARES act is limited. I've been told by my accountant that PPP will not cover self employed owners just employees salaries. Not sure that is true, But we have decided to close temporarily and apply for unemployment. Government has not released all information yet and my state won't let me apply for either yet. Juan. I feel your pain. Like you hoping for better days soon. See you on the other side brothers !

We are about 1 hour from New York City. People here are being extremely cautious. My business is down 90% or more. Joe was mentioning the PPP Loan. Waiting for the details to come out on that. Sounds like the PPP will help a lot of shops make it through a couple tough months.

I feel your pain. It took me years of searching prices before I realized its not about price! I have very dedicated customers and most use Amsoil. We believe in the product and educate our customers on the benefits. If you don't keep your customers informed and offer them fair and superior service you will always be competing with the shop down the road. Customers are looking for service they can trust. If you are selling by price you will always be looking for cheaper items and lets face it, We cannot compete with internet prices. We do not install customer supplied parts, We stopped because so many cheap online parts were costing us more time to install and when the part fails the customer blames the shop. We install using quarts or gallons. Oh by he way I am the shop owner, technician, service writer, bookkeeper, etc so we are a small shop as well.

10 years ago this month I started Fetch & Fix auto repair. I started in my own garage with 1 lift. I payed cash for everything I needed and made due with what I brought in. 5 years ago I moved to a commercial location in a body shop. Business has been good. I was doing a lot of mechanical work for the body shop but that has stopped. Not because of any issues between the businesses but an outside issue. (its a long story but one I never would have imagined when I started). Anyway I explain the work required to my customers, I make the estimate and get the approval, I do the work. It is possible to run the show by yourself but it is hard. I have made a lot of great friends (customers) and enjoy helping them with their car repairs. I pay about $1000 for 1 bay with utilities and I make a living wage. I would love to have a second bay now. I think if you are a good mechanic and just as important a person who likes people you can make a good business. Matthew Lee can help with some marketing ideas and I highly recommend attending an ATI one day shop owner training. It has made a huge difference in my bottom line. Wish I had done that years ago. Ask ATI how you can attend the class for free. You won't regret it. Good Luck. Jeff

Thanks for the input and discussion we are going to use more generic maintenance items in our recommendations. This will help simplify our tracking and I believe will help our customers to better maintain their vehicles. Right now we are missing quite a few maintenance items just because we don't have the time to research each vehicle.

I have personally seen transmissions fail shortly after replacing the fluid on a high mileage trans. I make the customer sign a statement that we advised against it and its their own risk. Recently a customer had the fluid changed and an inline filter installed. After 1,000 miles we changed the filter and fluid again. Good plan I guess. The problem with high mileage trans fluid is new fluid will loosen the wear debris and it clogs the filter. We are currently looking at a trans flush machine but we want one we can circulate the fluid with that will also filter it. Then I would put in new fluid and circulate it through the filter to remove debris. Of course the question comes up will the machines filter remove debris before it gets in the trans filter? I am not a trans guy but would really like to know the truth about replacing trans fluid and flushing !!!

We use pace software and try to customize as much as possible. I do agree to some of your generic but I strongly disagree on others. Cabin air filters should be done 1 year or 15,000 miles, They get moisture in there and start growing mold. Go ahead and smell one of those next time you take it out. I also try to use the carbon impregnated one whenever its available. I also disagree on the auto trans fluid, We recommend a change at every 30,000, you cant get to all the fluid and more and more vehicles are making the filters non replaceable. We also recommend synthetic fluids everywhere except brake fluids. How about CVT trans? How often should that fluid be changed? That is something we are researching but would appreciate any feedback. We feel strongly about preventive maintenance and agree that even if the interval is too long its better than not doing it at all. We also learned from experience that if a trans hasn't had a fluid change in 90,000 its best to leave it alone. keep up the good work Tyrguy !

Buying online can be risky. Each year billions of $ worth of counterfeit parts are sold. Remember Amazon, Ebay etc. allow any business to sell on their website. There is no way to know if the Moog, Denso, or even Dorman parts you order are real. Companies overseas are copying parts, boxes etc to match the original and then they end up on the internet. I buy parts online but usually its one supplier who I feel confident is using original parts suppliers. Buying from the cheapest supplier or using a website that allows anonymous suppliers is just asking for trouble. As far as labor reimbursement from local parts suppliers its a sad story today. Just a couple years ago 1 year warranty was the standard. Today its 90 days. I do understand their reluctance to warranty parts because as you know ost parts today are junk!

I don't see Pace on the list? We have been using them for almost 10 years. I like the preventive maintenance tracker. Its prints due dates and mileage on the invoice and allows you to send out emails or postcards with maint. due. If you have problems they are very quick to respond and resolve the issue. I would recommend checking them out. http://www.pacecomputer.com/

I wouldn't mind them selling to diy'rs if they would allow us a little room for profit. I had a customer come in a while back and he paid less for the part then I would. How is that good for my business? Then when I mark it up I'm way out of the ballpark. Then they give you a retail price. If thats retail then why are they NOT selling it over the counter for that?

Seems to me no matter where you buy parts today a large majority are junk. My pet peeve is resellers putting whatever they want into boxes with their name and logo. I used to use Carquest brand suspension parts (raybestos) They had zerk fittings and were a quality product. Then with no warning, no box change, and of course no price reduction they started using Mevotech. I have had many problems with their junk but they were hiding behind the Carquest name. Stop putting products in Napa, Advance, Oreilly, Etc boxes and show me the brand I'm buying. I use Advance for brake pads because I can buy Wagner Thermoquiets today, tomorrow when I buy brakes I'm still getting Thermoquiets. The other resellers in town only sell their brand, what am I getting? I asked a counter person one day what pad should I use for a customer who always complains about noise. He pointed me to the highest priced pad. Why? He said they were the best. Why? Look at the price they are the most expensive. Nobody and I mean nobody really knows whats in those reseller branded boxes, and even if you think you know, tomorrow they may change.For example Carquest filters were Wix filters with Carquest. After Advance bought them out they changed to Baldwin, Now Advance has worked a deal with Purolator and their changing again, Of course the box has and will never reflect the change.

We recently had an Advance move into our area. I noticed they provide many of the same brands as NAPA. I have been having an issue with their billing and like any big company there is a lot of red tape. nobody wants to take responsibility for the problem or even admit it exists. I continue to use them even with that issue because their prices on MANN Filters are the best anywhere. With that said Carquest is always my first call. I am in the Northeast and spoke with my local Carquest owner. He told me one warehouse and a group of company owned carquests were sold. He assurred me that my service and parts would remain the same. From my understanding the Northeast is too broad a term for this buyout its going to effect a much smaller area than that.

I allow scheduling on my website, It has been used very little. http://www.fetchandfix.com Jeffrey

I am a big fan of Synthetic oils. Amsoil is my oil of choice and about 75% of my customers use it. I have had 0 complaints and many exciting experiences with it. regular motor oil has been proven to sludge engines and looses its ability to protect engines quickly. If I am persuaded to use regular oil 3,000 miles with a WIX filter are required. Premium filters are not just for premium oils, Remember the oil filter has to filter out particles that get by that dirty air filter. My oil of choice is Amsoil XL for 7500 miles with a WIX filter. I take the extra time to consider each vehicle, How its driven, What its used for and its condition. Honda now recommends 10,000 miles, I wouldn't do that with less than Amsoil XL, Wix, and at least a monthly check of the oil level.

Our website is a convenient place for our customers to schedule repairs. It is quite new and the feedback has been positive. FetchandFix - Fetch and Fix Auto Repair that comes to you!