Certified Car Consultant idea.

[dirtybird91]

Wouldn't it be neat if you belonged to a club that protected you against shops that only wanted to rob you for you money while messing up your car! Example: My neighbor, a single mother, went to the shop to get her brakes worked on and she left with a $550.00 bill! :eek: I could have taken her rotors and had them surface or replaced for $80.00 tops for the parts! Then if you include brakes (front/rear) and bleeding the system, I estimate $100 bucks! Now if I am am right that leaves about $320.00 LABOR!
Geez! People get ripped off every single day. Now with that being said, you have shops that have been known to do an outstanding job for a reasonable price out there.
I had a situation the other night where the pulley bearing locked up on my serpentine belt. Needless to say, the belt slipped off and took out the little bypass hose on the water pump. My car wound up smoking on the side of the road and it looked pretty serious. My brother hauled the car home for me with his rollback so I avoided a serious tow bill.
My point here is that I fixed the car myself for $34.00 after a new belt, hose and antifreeze. Now, many shops are crooks and I guarantee you that if I my mom had been in a similar situation the bill would have been $500.00

This is where my idea takes over. ;)
If there was a club or organization that you could pay a small monthly membership fee to for services such as:
1.) They could arrange towing to a trustworthy shop.
2.) Work with shop on the client's behalf to troubleshooot issues with the car in order to avoid inappropriate or unwarranted charges.
3.) Negotiate a completion date.
4.) Negotiate a firm charge.
5.) Visit the shop if a situation looks suspect in order to investigate.
6.) Review shops in area in an effort to rate the shops for performance, timeliness, and customer service. Also provide the club members with a performance review annually in the local area.
7.) Follow up with customer to make sure that the issues with the car were resolved with the car.
8.) Included with the membership should be an insurance agreement that covers you against fraudulant acts that occur in the shop.

This would be also benifit the repair shops and protect both parties in most cases.

Any suggestions??? :confused:

[tim]

Guess that I am lucky. We have two really good regular car, not S.C. shops in the area. Both guys are real gear heads. The one shop did my complete dual exhaust system for $350. I have to take the wifes crow vic over Sat. for front end work to the other shop. Its good when you have people you can trust.

[Michael Mattix]

Good idea. I think the overhead would be quite high though. And one would have to have a staff that was pretty knowledgable about each brand (little differences and such). I know what you mean about people getting ripped off. I heard some lady being told at a brake shop at my college town that a pulsation in the brake pedal meant that the calipers weren't working properly. After the idiot salesman left, I told her to just have her rotors turned and maybe opt for getting brake pads changed since they are in there. They came back and told her that they didn't think that would fix it. Since her car was ahead of mine, her's was done first. She came back inside after a test drive and gave me 50 bucks for helping her. She said her bill was going to be much more.

[tbirdfan1993]

Maybe overhead would be high, but if you start small, I believe that could be a very successful venture. Start locally, get five people or so with different ideas on makes and models to come in with you. Your only issue would be marketing. This would be a service people like me, who are not car savvy would completely dig. I really think it could work. Hell, I would pay like $200 a year for a service like that.

[dirtybird91]

You guys are great for taking time to see my "vision". I had thought about being critizised and started to not post this. I always try to think of things that I would be good at. It would sort of be like an attourney for people with car issues. I may persue this further..... :)

[MIKE 38sc]

Frank I thought you were already in the salvage and towing buiseness with Fred. Thinking about expanding?

[dirtybird91]

Now Mike you must admit that this would fit like a piece of a puzzle. :D

Hell I am not a great mechanic, but I have lots of experience around the car business. I just feel like a few guys could come together and start an upscale business with many clients. :cool:

[MIKE 38sc]

Now Mike you must admit that this would fit like a piece of a puzzle. :D

Hell I am not a great mechanic, but I have lots of experience around the car business. I just feel like a few guys could come together and start an upscale business with many clients. :cool:

Oh I agree Frank, I was only wondering. I've had to to diversify as well in order to put beans on the table, so I know where you're coming from. :)

[dirtybird91]

Oh I agree Frank, I was only wondering. I've had to to diversify as well in order to put beans on the table, so I know where you're coming from. :)

I want to approach this thing in an effort to see if it is viable. Anyone have a suggestion on how to get it going? :confused:

[MIKE 38sc]

I want to approach this thing in an effort to see if it is viable. Anyone have a suggestion on how to get it going? :confused:
I sure cant be of any help Frank, I cant even sell radiators to the SC crowd.
I'll bow out on this one and hopefully one of our more successfull entripinuers(WOW I murdered that word) will step in and offer some advice.

[MrBlvd]

From the consumer's perspective..what is in it for me?
lower cost
done right the first time
"logistics" (calls to shop(s), pick up and drop off of car, answers to tech. questions) handled by someone else
loaner car provided while mine is in the shop

From the business owner's perspective...how can I make money / can I make money / what liabilities / what overhead?
fee based on flat rate (/hr) or %of overall bill ...using % might lead the consumer to believe you are not going to always be in their corner
what type of guarantee are you going to offer? Fix it right the first time or it's free...you could get burned on this real quick for no fault of your own...shop guy does good work but replacement engine bad from supplier...even with cost of replacement engine covered you will still have to pay labor
if you were to offer a loaner car or taxi service ... this could be a hassle based on the number of clients you handle at a given time...here is a thought---work a deal with a local car rental agency so that you can get preferred rates for your clients
you are a "consultant" your customers are "clients"

Potential Target "Clients"
Joe Blow looking to save a buck .... I don't think you will have much luck here, once all is said and done, will you be able to reduce shop bills to the point were the difference (rip off rate - proper rate) + your fee (% proper rate or flat rate) will make it worth the clients time or $ saved?
Mr. or Mrs. Big Wig ...I'm too busy to **** with this car ... not to worry Joe's Car "consulting service" will take care of all the hassle for you and will even put you in a ride while the work is done!
Little old Lady, single mom next door, older gentleman .... this client is worried about getting ripped off, in their minds the anxiety associated with this fear is taken care of by your thoughtfull and sincere efforts to work on their behalf

A couple of final thoughts
This is a total service oriented business --- you should do some reserch on what types of business practices have made other service businesses flurish...Fed-X, financial planners, tax consultants, architect, hair care, etc...
All you have to offer is your knowledge and your reputation...protect your reputation at all costs!!!
People pay mechanics to look at cars before buying them, this is sort of an extension of this service
Since you will most likely be driving other people's cars and since some cars are worth major$, you may want to look into getting some sort of bonded type insurance
Think about the image you want to project into your clients minds....define that and proactively project it using advertising mediums and your "presence" when in front of clients
In the end, the majority of purchasing decisions are based on emotions...this is especially true for a service oriented business...you could have the best widget at the best price but if I don't feel comfortable...I may not bite....think of the anxieties associated with car care, dealing with mechanics, etc....Your job is to take all of this away and convince poeple to pay you for this service!!

In an age where people pay to take their dogs to "doggy hotels" and to "pet psychics", where people will pay to have their groceries delivered....You may have a good idea here...Think things thru, write your thoughts down, you never know!!

[dirtybird91]

I really appreciate that perspective. I will read over this more in depth when I leave the job, but this looks like good stuff! :cool:

[tbirdfan1993]

Brainstorm with a few shops you know and trust, as well as a few gearheads you know. Like the other fellow said, starting out you have only "your balls and your word". So building relationships and a knowledgeable team is paramount to success. If you need more help, or you actually get something like this off the ground, call or email me. Something like this is so long overdue, I think I may try it in my town. Really cool idea.

[MiSC90]

Once you get a name for yourself the different repair shops could use your name as "an authorized" no rip off dealer. Kinda like a AAA member. Then the shops can pay you a small fee to be known as a reputable business....If people came in there with a card they can recieve a small discount (5 or 10 percent). And they can have the piece of mind that they are not being taken for a ride.

[dirtybird91]

Once you get a name for yourself the different repair shops could use your name as "an authorized" no rip off dealer. Kinda like a AAA member. Then the shops can pay you a small fee to be known as a reputable business....If people came in there with a card they can recieve a small discount (5 or 10 percent). And they can have the piece of mind that they are not being taken for a ride.

Now there's an idea!
:eek: That would cut overhead too!

Brainstorm with a few shops you know and trust, as well as a few gearheads you know. Like the other fellow said, starting out you have only "your balls and your word". So building relationships and a knowledgeable team is paramount to success. If you need more help, or you actually get something like this off the ground, call or email me. Something like this is so long overdue, I think I may try it in my town. Really cool idea.

Guys this is good stuff, really good stuff! :D