carbtech72

Just got 10x on audiobook and "Think and grow rich" on Kindle. Ive been listening to 10x for a few hours before and after I open and close. Been reading think and grow rich but it seems to be a slow read so far. Ordered Slingshot and Internet marketing on amazon.

has anyone read Slingshot by Dave Dickson or Internet marketing for auto shops by John Hemmingway?

I only have one employee and I pay him flat rate/flag hours. He's good and doesn't have any problem making hours. Works out for both of us.

Im in SC and its hit or miss. Luckily we've managed to stay busy every day, there's always something to do. Ive been busy and seen a lot of other shops slow and ive been slow when others are swamped. Its just the nature of this business sometimes

What have you found to be the more successfully ways of advertising. I've been using just word of mouth and craigslist and it's been working so far but I really need to increase my car count. Any thoughts?

got a true nightmare. Replaced 2 broken timing chain guides in a 2010 Hyundai sonata with a 2.4. Now it wont start and im getting error codes p0340 & 365 and have no spark. My last tech walked off with my lab scope so finding waveforms is not happening. Car ran fine when arrived(other than noisy). Anyone ever come across this

a new fan assembly direct from the ford dealer did the trick. Fixed the problem, customer happy, 1 more headache gone

Half day on Christmas eve and new years eve. Closed Christmas and new years day and those weekends

2010 Ford Edge, came in for fans inop. Replace cooling fans assembly and they worked fine. Customer returned a few days later with complaint of fans now not shutting off. According to the wiring diagram the only pieces in the fan system are the coolant temp sensor, PCM and cooling fan module on the fan assembly. I replaced the fan assembly again hoping that would fix it but they still stay on. Replaced the ECT sensor, still staying on. Anyone ever come across a bad PCM keeping the fans on?

I have the same model, have you ever had battery issues? Mine wont charge but works if you plug it in to the ALDL connector

thanks for all the feedback. I took a bit of advice from everyone and implemented a lot of changes, some quick fixes and some for the long haul. First thing was I took a 4 day weekend, no phone, no talk of the shop at home. Just spend 4 relaxing days with my family. That was a big relief and cleared my head and gave me insight on what to do next. Also designated 12-24 to 1-2 as vacation, closed, no work, calls get sent to my cell phone and im taking appointments for when I get back. I basically hit the big "reset" button and went back to how I ran things when I first opened. Let my 2 techs go and went back to just me doing everything myself, comebacks have stopped.. Stopped taking in as many big, time consuming jobs(engine swaps/rebuilds) and focused on bringing in more "gravy" easier said than done but with less stress and aggravation its easier to sell the easy work, my mind is focused on that and not the 30 other things going on. Plus now I have a little extra time to do some marketing/advertising. I keep less hours. As long as there isn't pressing things that have to be done, shop closes at 6 and 615 im gone. Saturdays are slowly being phased from 9-1 to 9-1 by appointment only. So i can take in what I want or if I want the weekend off then I just don't book anything. I plan on staying a 1 man shop for at least 6months, long enough to be able to interview and screen for a new tech. I want to hire someone based on that he is perfect for the job, not just a body to get things done. I feel a lot more focused and don't dread coming in. Time to have me run the business, not the business run me. Its a slow process but getting there one step at a time. Thanks again for all the advice

Thanks mspec. I go in every day with a positive attitude and there are days when it seems all the planets are in a line and everything flows absolutely perfect. And then theres the days where you just want to lock the doors and say screw it. Ive been looking to join a small business owns type of group. Just hard to find the time. But its nice to know there are people who know what its like

Anyone ever get the feeling of being burned out from your shop. Ive been open for a little over 4 years and its just worn me out. Between the long hours, lack of quality technicians,dealing with taxes insurance bills...ect, excess of unreasonable/cheap customers and the general "all work, no play, little reward" has just broken me. How do you all deal with the "burned out" feeling

we do everything to establish a good relationship. Shuttle rides to and from work, always courteous, our prices are very affordable. Everything we do to the vehicle is explained very carefully and even the old parts are saved and shown. We do a callback 2-3 days after the vehicle is picked up to make sure that everything is good and the customer was happy with their experience and we always get a positive feedback, very happy. Generally we do a follow up callback 2-3 months afterwards on other repairs that we had found and explained to them. Most of the time its "i had so and so come out and do it because they only charged me X amount" That seems to be the biggest factor anymore is price. And its a price that I just cant do. Sorry brakes installed for 40 including parts isn't going to put food on the table or keep my lights on. But the good ones are out there, just need to find them

our fall downturn has reared its ugly head and we've had a pretty rough summer as well. Losing a lot of the general repair/maintenance/gravy work to mobile mechanics and their traveling side shows. So our bank account took a huge kick to the bag and we need to do a little more advertising. We gone the Craigslist route, a customer referral program and well made postcards that we place everywhere that they will let us. Anyone else have any ideas when you are operating on a shoestring budget but need to advertise

I have this happen a lot. Being a carburetor shop about half my work is pre-1985 vehicles and most of those customers are great. Never an issue with price, just hand me the keys and see you later. But I do get a lot of newer cars in for service and repairs. a few days ago I had that typical customer come in and start the usual clueless ramblings. "Wow you have a lot of nice cars in here. Whats your labor rate?" "75/hr, what seems to be the matter with your car?" "well my cars running rough, i was told to bring it here but I tried to fix it myself blah blah , internet forums said blah blah, your rate is kind of expensive blah blah" "my rate is now $85" "well my friend though he knew..blah blah, my father in law thought blah blah"" "my rate is now $95" " well what will you charge me. Its an old car(1997) so it should be cheap blah blah, back in my day blah blah, I used to me a mechanic blah blah" "my rate is now $105, do you want to give me the keys and be at $75 or tell more story and see if I can get to $155" Being an owner I know sometimes I have to kiss a little ass, but I don't have to take any sh*t. When they start that "why is it so much", its old"...etc. I just give them blunt and honest. Usually they will leave the car, or just leave. Either way I win

I'm in need of a new tech. I interviewed one yesterday who was so rude and arrogant that I couldn't see strait. He couldn't have been more than 25 and said he had 5 years experience. He said he had all his ase certs but refused to show me any proof. Refused to answer any technical questions, said his work speaks for itself. When I asked him what he was looking to make he had the nerve to DEMAND 40/hr, no flat rate and 10% of my parts profit. That pretty much ended the interview right there. Anyone else ever have a disastrous interview?

change an electrical outlet, but i'm no electrician. I can cook a steak, but i'm not a chef. I can nail wood together but I'm not a carpenter. But let someone change their brakes and do 1 tune up on their car and suddenly they are a "mechanic".

What I've been doing is giving "free" diagnostics when you buy the repairs, but charging a little extra on every item so the diagnostic cost is recovered. The customer think they got something for free and I didn't lose any money.

I totally agree with you alfredauto. I would love to have good well paying customers. But sometime we have to play the hand we are dealt. I try to avoid installing used parts whenever possible. And when the customer wants used parts because it's cheaper I usually have them buy the parts themselves. But there are always those few who insist that I buy them. Of course they are fully aware there is no warranty and even sign off on that on the RO. But some days you just need the money and money from a used part is better than no money at all.

What is a good markup strategy for used parts some of my customers just can't afford new parts.

I've had that same problem before. Caused by a bad crank sensor

im in desperate need of a good A tech. Ive tried using craigslist and have lost patience dealing with the parade of drunken losers that have been answering my ad. What is so hard about understanding "Experienced only"???????? I'm more than willing to pay for a good tech. I just cant find one. Anyone have any input?

www.coastalcarburetor.com get a bit of business from it

Ive been having Saturday hours from 9-2 since I opened 4 years ago. Its never been a great day, every once in a while im busy but mostly its small stuff and not really worth staying open. Does anyone do Saturdays by appointment only and if so how does it work out for you? Im not opposed to working on sat. just want to make it worthwhile. and also have the option of having 2 days off if I want.