Here at ReconExpress.com we’ll be adding PDR Tool manufactures who create paintless dent repair tools, lights, fog/line boards for the PDR industry. We’ll also demonstrate how they work and what use they bring. From hand tools, to light reflections, you’ll get to almost feel and touch a product before you buy! This feature will be added to our official site called PDR Tools & Products.
Stay tuned and coming soon!
Back in the early days of auto reconditioning everyone was operating separately. Nobody interacted with each other. Some still do but why? More and more divisions are combining their services to work hand and hand with each other. If you notice, there seems to be a need for the other at one point or another. If it’s not PDR, it’s bumper repair. If it’s not bumper repair, it’s a panel spot repair, wheel repair and so on and so on.
Networking seems to be the new thing. PDR companies either use or have their own paint guy and vise versa with the mobile paint n body. Actually, the mobile paint n body guys love working with PDR guys. It cuts down the repair time by 1-2 hours in some cases. In benefit, less or no filler is needed, which leads to a better repair. Everyone wins. Customer and technician.
We always say, work smarter, not harder. Our opinion, we think the future of auto reconditioning is about groups of companies either networking tightly or joining forces to work together as a team. The results are usually fantastic but it all depends on professionalism. On-time, dependable and quality is a must.
As you see in the video, a PDR tech is used to help level the dent without using a lot of filler. In most cases, little or no filler is used at all. This seems to be a very good selling point to the customer who may have a concern. It also shows that a company is going the extra mile to help retain the appearance of their vehicle as well.
A pair of professionals from Orange County, California -Vince from DentsNoMore.com and Rick from MobilePaint.net were the team who worked hand n hand.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP2NJjnaCUA[/youtube]
More and more dealerships are gaining opportunity to sell automotive reconditioning plans such as; windshield repair, interior / leather repair and the newest addition, paintless dent removal (PDR).
One major company promoting these up-sale packages is Dent Zone. Dent Zone is a company who provides the service for the sponsored manufactures. Packages are presented to the dealerships at a set price and the dealerships sell the packages for what ever they wish. This package is geared not only for the new car owner but EVEN an existing customer who visits the service center for normal service. In other words, this package can be offered for pre-existing damage. So, if a customer comes in for regular maintenance, the service drive has an opportunity to sell the “Ding Plan” right then and there. Even if the customer has dings or no dings they can be covered.
How Long is the coverage and how much?
For the public, it will range from $300-$800 depending how many years (paintless dent removal). Most dealers will be selling plans from 1-5 years. Now this can good or bad for a PDR tech. Good for the PDR tech who is already servicing the account. Bad for the outside PDR companies who try to target retail. Bad, the customer can be stuck with a PDR company who isn’t capable or not willing to cover the plan to his/her best ability.
When is this going to be in effect? NOW! It’s happening already and just approved from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in California.
Here’s a related article regarding the same subject.
The question really depends if you are in the wholesale market or the retail market. Or even both? Both can be profitable markets but in our opinion the retail side seems to be the better future of the two.
Wholesale Automotive Reconditioning
Lets talk about the whole sale first. No matter what service you provide such as; paintless dent removal, bumper n scratch repair, touch up, wheel repair and so forth, it’s a hassle to service the dealer accounts. Why? Well for one reason, you have to deal with all the competition. Whether your competition is good or not, that’s a different story. The real problem is the low balling. Unfortunately, the wholesale market is flooded with all kinds of companies like that. The only people who are benefiting from the price wars are the UCM’s (Used Car Managers) and dealership owners.
Wholesale can be though very profitable. Though this really depends on the UCM’s business manor. How loyal he/she is, respects good work and retains the best vender he/she can get. But for the most part things change quite often in the wholesale market. Be prepared because the delaerships and wholesalers are always thinking of ways to save money.
A Personality
Mainly it’s your personality that keeps you in the door. I know plenty of companies who really aren’t that great at what they do but they have a nice personality. I believe there are some main reasons why a UCM will keep you and here are some; #1 A good personality, experience, dependability, quality and unfortunately the most important, is price.
Price plays the most important factor with the wholesale market. UCM’s don’t have much concern for perfection, “just make it look better so we can sell it”, attitude. What they don’t see right away with this attitude is that it invites lazyness from his or hers venders. Which then costs them money in the long run because soemthing that would have normally been done by a vender is now passing up. Which in turn ends up in the body shop or some other costly option. You heard the term “buy cheap, buy twice?”
Either way, you won’t win the price war. You’ll win a few battles but it’s never ending because it’s been in existent since mobile auto reconditioning came about. I have been personally serving dealerships for over 17 years. Just like anything else that you are good at, it’s an art.
The Retail Market
This is probably the most rewarding of the two markets. It’s not all fun n games though. It takes a lot of work and creativity besides physical work. A smart business plan with organization and a good marketing strategy will eliminate a lot of mistakes. Just like anything else, you have to work at it. There can still be competitors who low ball but there are a lot of customers out there who care more about quality rather than price.
Your future is bright if you believe your experience and quality has value. The moment you play the price war, you should think about getting into a different career. There are two levels of service; The high end market and the low end market. Which one are you? Once you believe your service has value, your customers will too.
This post is will enlighten you if you already have an auto reconditioning business or thinking about owning one in the future such as; paintless dent removal, bumper repair, wheel n repair ect.
One thing we would like to get clear about is just because you know the technical part of the job, which is most likely doing the job, doesn’t qualify you as a business owner. This is why most business’ fail within the first five years and 80% of them within the next five years. Of coarse you went into business for yourself to be your own boss but soon you might find out is, that you are becoming your own slave instead.
Making sure your business is organized and developed into a system is key. If you don’t have a system, you don’t have a business. The system runs the business and people run the system.
Take a moment and look on the outside of your auto reconditioning business. Does it have a system? A system where it can run itself that your customers can expect to get the same service every time they experience it?
How can you achieve this? Simple. Are you prepared to do a thorough business plan? Because if you haven’t at least written down how your business should run, then it will never run the way you intend it to. This is an unfortunate and true factor why small business’ fail in the first place. No direction, no achievements. If you have no written plan to count on, the only plan you will can count on, is not really owning a business at all, but owning a job instead.
We’ll talk more about a business plan later. So please feel free to comment if you’d like.
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