Sean

I would try to start utilizing a customer vehicle inspection form which will help you identify items for customers. The hope is this will generate work that can be scheduled.

Thanks for the kind words and welcome to the forum. Here are a few more good ones: http://m.searchautoparts.com/motorage http://www.motor.com/articles.asp If you haven't joined iatn and are thinking of opening a shop or currently have a shop it is a wealth of knowledge: http://www.iatn.net/ Albin Moore is a good author: http://m.searchautoparts.com/search/apachesolr_search/Albin%20Moore Don't forget to have a look at gonzos stuff as well

I couldn't disagree more with your disagreement. If you aren't getting proper margins on parts you are leaving money on the table IMHO. A lot of shop software programs calculate the margin and use a matrix to do so. I do agree training is a good thing and management should be seeking training as well.

I like this idea and have been exploring it as well. I noticed you mentioned Mitch Schneiders book, which I haven't heard of. Are they worth the investment ? One of the books seems to sell for @100. Great topic

Have you considered getting a basic ase certification like the new g1 if nothing else you would have a basic understanding of a vehicle and it's associated systems. You can use sites like this to study for the test. http://www.autoshop101.com/

Get some auto specific training by working. Alternatively there are resources such as elite worldwide trainings that can be had for little money. Check out the www.aaec.ca online elearning and or read everything you can ge your hands on by bob greenwood and others like joe the site founder here and writer for ratchet and wrench. Read motor magazine archives etc there is a ton of info online. Also customer link has a blog as does elite worldwide. One way to get educated on repair stuff, specifically drivability, at home on YouTube is scanner danner he also has an ebook Here are some links: http://www.aaec.ca/newsite/elearning.cf http://www.ratchetandwrench.com/ http://www.eliteworldwidestore.com/blog/ http://m.youtube.com/user/ScannerDanner http://www.autosphere.ca/carcarebusiness/category/greenwoods-blog/ http://www.customerlink.com/auto-repair-marketing-blog/

I am surprised that more people haven't shared their info this could be a helpful thread to those starting out. I for one almost payed double what the going rate should be and this was the sole factor that made negotiations of a shop I wanted to purchase fail.

I think total car care is the future and we will probably see places that are considered quick lubes start to do more than just oil. There are good quick lubes out there they aren't all bad and there is much to be learned from examining their business model. Have a look at the www.noln.net site or google noln news and see what they are up to. As someone mentioned prior cars are made better theses days and lube centers that include basic maintenance items as well as tire rotations and small or simple repairs may be on the horizon.

I really enjoyed this months article Joe. Very insightful. http://www.ratchetandwrench.com/RatchetWrench/April-2014/Would-you-want-your-children-to-work-in-automotive-service/

Anyone care to share what their lease rate per square foot is? Also what type of lease they have NNN or Gross? Or put another way whats your lease per month and how much square feet does that cover?

Hello everyone I just edited this post for clarity. Does budgeting 6.25% of gross sales for rent seem like an accurate number?

You could try the anonymous route if you are looking to get information on their labor rate. One thing to consider is why compare? Set your goals and your pricing structure based on what sort of numbers you want to achieve after careful market consideration. I would explore the information on here and iatn as well as the articles written by Joe and others on here and ratchet and wrench. Here are a couple of articles for thought on how to become profitable : http://www.motor.com/article.asp?article_ID=1880 http://www.autoinc.org/archives/2013/aug2013/manage.html http://www.autosphere.ca/carcarebusiness/category/greenwoods-blog/ You can't discount your way to prosperity, not suggesting you are, but this is perhaps the best article on the subject of discounting: http://www.searchautoparts.com/aftermarket-business/training/thinking-dollars-not-percentages These two are pretty good as well http://www.searchautoparts.com/motorage/financial/crunching-numbers?cid=95883 http://www.searchautoparts.com/motorage/financial/more-making-informed-clients

Great story Gonzo, makes me think about how to word the questions that I ask.

Did you get rid of them all at once or did you give them a trial period?