tyrguy

Hey all,

Retired 5+ years ago and spend half my time down here in Florida. Haven't been on the forum in a few years. When I am up home in Ohio the tire dealer that bought my business and  rents my building from me takes good care of all my vehicle service needs. My Mini needs a few things and I'd like to hook up with someone from this forum close to me down here.

Belt is squealing so probably needs a new belt, tensioner and idler pulley. Also need a new right side window motor.

Anybody close to Fort Myers Beach?

Mark Defer 330-603-5127

FC known as Formula Continental. The same as the car in my profile pic only a bit newer.

I was back in my race car for the first time in 9 years this month. First at Homestead 2 weeks ago and then at Sebring last weekend.

Hey guys, I haven't posted in a year or two since I sold my 39 year old tire store/repair shop. Life is wonderful [if a bit boring], and I haven't regretted my decision to sell for one second. Every month I go to the shop, say hi to all my old employees and collect the rent. Anyway, today I experienced the other side of the counter and it wasn't pleasant. I still have my vehicles serviced at my old place when back in Ohio and they treat me like part of their team. But when at my condo in Florida I don't have that luxury. I have my 2002 Mini Cooper down here and it was due for an oil change. Additionally, the check engine light had come on last weekend and there was a belt chirp. I called the shop my friend had suggested [they specialize in BMWs] to make an appointment. I asked for a morning appointment and explained that my friend would pick me up and we would find something to do for a few hours. When I dropped the car off I explained that the check engine light had gone off but I still wanted them to pull the codes. So I left thinking oil change, pull codes, change belt ....... figured they'd call me by 10;30? to get authorization for the belt. Well at 1:52 I hadn't heard from them so I called them to see what was up. They said the oil change was done, and the tech was pulling the codes. I asked about the belt chirp and she said she didn't know so she put me on hold and went to check. When she came back on the phone she said they hadn't looked at the belt issue yet. I voiced my displeasure explaining that when I ran my shop if a customer had a 9AM appointment for the services I requested we would be calling them with a report within an hour or two. Her reply was "we don't do things that way here". She said she would call me when they knew more. I finally got a call at 3:48PM. She explained the codes they had pulled and then said they agreed it needed a new belt and they thought they should also have a tensioner on hand in case they needed that as well. She said they could order the parts and I could make another appointment to have them installed. REALLY? I had a 9AM appointment for an oil change, codes pulled, and most likely a new belt installed and they couldn't get that done in 7 hours, 6 if you take an hour out for lunch? The shop is 35 minutes away and they don't have loaners so another appointment is a pain. I don't think I will be going back. I nearly broke my long standing rule of never posting a bad review about a business but I just can't do that. I'm getting rid of some of my frustration by telling you guys about it.

If any of you guys are in my area I'm looking for someone to service my Mini. I am in Fort Myers Beach and would to like to find someone in the Naples area.

Okay, so it's been 6 months now and I've still not had one regret about selling my business and becoming a landlord. Although I'm only required to come in 2 days a week I still come in 5 unless I'm out of town. In 6 months when my 2 day obligation is fulfilled I don't know what I'll do. Anyway, recently I bought a condo in Fort Myers Beach and will be spending quite a bit of time down there. I am driving my 2002 Mini Cooper down to leave as my "southern" car. It's only got 55k miles on it but I had the guys here at the shop go through it, change all fluids, new brakes rotor and calipers, new battery, etc. So I'm sure it will be okay for a while. However, at some point it will need service down there and here's the thing: Because my dad had a gas station and then a repair shop for 25 years, and then I had my own for 39 years, I've NEVER had to take a vehicle anywhere for service. It will be a new experience for me. Any of you guys have a shop in the Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Naples area that could take care of my car service? For the most part most of the members of this forum seem like guys I would want to do business with.

As far as the northern part of the country, by January most people have done what they normally do to get their vehicles ready for winter so that kind of work isn't there. In January and February the weather is lousy so people aren't traveling as much. Less miles, less work needed. Also in these 2 months Xmas bills are coming due so we're still fighting Santa Claus. The only thing that helps during this time of year is SEVERE weather that breaks cars. The other time of year we see severe slowdowns is in September during back to school time.

My people made some calls and apparently this is only currently happening in the Dallas/FW area. Involves less than 20 stores. A pilot program? Possibly.

On 12/12/2018 at 6:55 PM, bantar said:

It seems that Goodyear corporate stores are changing their business model from Tire and Repair Service centers to strictly tires.   The franchise stores are free to continue their old business model.    Around here, the corporate stores are going to close down on January 27 for 2-3 weeks for a major remodel and possibly? rebranding.   They will sell tires and do alignments, but will not be able to align if they need repair parts.   I've not seen any official statements on this, so I don't really know more than the scuttlebutt.

It looks like Hunter will have a great year this year as a result.  I saw a brand new Hunter Revolution tire machine in one of the local stores already.

I stand to benefit from this change as we may see some of their repair business.   Since I don't sell tires, I'm not a Goodyear competitor, which allows them to safely refer repair business to us.   Almost everyone else around here sells tires.   We refer quite a few folks to tire-only stores, so Goodyear will now be on my referral list.

Don't think this is true. The guys that bought my shop are primarily Goodyear and they haven't heard anything like this. Maybe getting confused with the Goodyear "Just Tires" concept where there will be retail storefronts that look like a phone store and do no installation. You go there and buy the tires and then set an appointment up to get them installed at a company store or Goodyear independent.

This is the broker I used. He writes for some of the trade journals and that's how I found him. He has a "Sellability Score Test" on his website that you can punch you numbers in and it will give you some ideas about what your business is worth.

He'll then consult with you a bit before it's time to get serious.

Great guy.  https://art-blumenthal.com/Home.php

3 week update:

Lots of changes in the shop. These guys are all about getting rid of clutter, old equipment and downsizing inventory.

I'm still working everyday and lovin' it. My attitude is so much better without all those managerial things rattling around in my head.

I am kicking myself in the ass a bit though. As I've said before I was coasting. When very first tech quit 2 1/2 years ago during a slow period I elected not to replace him. Raised my rates and carried on with the remaining 2 techs. These guys instantly brought another tech in to help the other 2. Instant extra 25 - 30 hours a week billed while still maintaining the higher rates.

Even with the extra wages I don't want to think how much that would amount to in profit $$s at the end of the year. Okay I lied. I did the numbers and it makes me sick.

But....life is good.

Would rather not divulge numbers because the buyer might not approve. Let me just say this. I was told about 8 years ago by another tire dealer that your business customer base and equipment is not near what you think it's worth. The real payday is when you own the real estate and can lease it to the new owner. As I've mentioned in other posts, my business hasn't been the same since the recession hit and 5 car dealerships opened up within a 1/2 mile of my store. Our sales dropped down about 15% from our highs, and net is much worse. Additionally, when my first employee from 1979 quit 2 years ago I elected not to rehire another tech. Frankly, I started coasting. I was tired and just wanted out. The one ace in the hole was an 11 year old building worth about 1.2M that I own free and clear. I ended up getting about 3 times cash flow plus my inventory which was considerable with 1700+ tires. The payday is the 5 year lease with two 5 year options. As for my plans, I've worked a deal out with the new owner to work at least 16 hours a week for the next year. After that...who knows. Hopefully some grand adventures.

Damn I really did it. After 39 years [this November] I just sold my business. Life is gonna be different.

Mount and balance:  60 series and higher $18.50, 50-55 series  $20.50,  40-45 series $22.50,  35 series and lower  $24.50. add $3.00 for 20" and bigger wheels. Deduct $2.00 if off car. We do not charge for M/B on tires we sell. It's included in the price. Rotations are $19.95 if it's a stand alone service and they aren't our tires. Add $10.00 if major TPMS rest. Disposal $2.50. Tire repairs $20.00.

Speaking of oil change intervals, my 2018 Colorado requested an oil change at 4400 miles. Maybe they're starting to back off on those loooooong intervals.

Well we give all out tire customers rotation schedules when we sell a set and I'd say the vast majority of them stick pretty close to the schedule. Plus mechanicnet sends out rotation reminders which helps. I don't think the real problem is the rotation of  a set that was originally install together. I think the problem is mostly when only 2 tires are being installed.

Except in unusual circumstances, if tires are rotated every 5k from mile 1, there will never be enough of a tread differential to deter tire rotations.

Well the other shoe has dropped in the ATD / Tire Hub saga. Bridgestone has announced they are following Goodyear in pulling their Brands from ATD. This one hurts as I have been a loyal Bridgestone dealer for decades. Looks like I have 3 options, none good. Continue with ATD but buy my Bridgestone products from Tire Hub. Continue with ATD and drop my Bridgestone products probably increasing my Continental purchases. Find a whole new distributor to buy all my products from. The thing that really sucks is ATD, Bridgestone, and Tire pros all announced new loyalty programs this year which collectively could have amounted to 18k more in back end $$s. Most of that is probably gone now.

SCOTUS just ruled that online sellers have to charge sales tax to all online buyers. This is huge. So many times when matching Tire Rack the sales tax puts us at a disadvantage. No more. It's about time!

Most of the manufacturers have service bulletins regarding where to put 2 new tires.

This has been covered in other threads before but here goes again. In wet conditions, good tires on the back will induce understeer, good tires on the front will induce oversteer. So here is what will happen: You're going down an exit ramp with your good tires on the front and go thru some water. The car will start to oversteer and you'll get off the gas. When you do that, you transfer weight to the front and make the oversteer worse and before you know it you're into the guardrail with the back of the car. Conversely, with the good tires on the back when you hit the water, the car will start to understeer, you get off the gas thus transferring weight to the front which helps to regain front traction and you continue on your merry way. In racing, understeer is a stable condition while oversteer is an unstable condition. I went to a Continental test track in Texas where they had a circle track set up with one section watered down. We were told to maintain a steady speed at 40 mph around the track. When we came to the wet area with the best tires on the back, the car started to understeer we got off the throttle and regained control without a problem. When the best tire were on the front, EVERYONE lost control and spun even myself, with 40 years of both oval and road racing experience. That's why for the last 25 years or so ALL tire manufacturers have recommended if only replacing 2 tires, they go on the back. I keep a copy of several car magazine test about this under the counter to show customers that question the practice.

Assuming that your workmanship is indeed at fault, this would probably be covered by your insurance. Funny how it works though. They probably wouldn't cover the hose because that was caused by your tech, but they would cover any resulting damage ie the engine. We had a similar situation last year where an oil filter came off 6 months after an oil change. The insurance company didn't cover a new filter, but they did cover the engine, albeit at a reduced cost. The only big question is whether the insurance company wants you to get it back in your shop.

12 hours ago, bstewart said:

I'm confident that Alfred is referring to productivity, not efficiency. There's lots of posts on here that define the two and how they differ.

Industry benchmarks nowadays are over 100% shop productivity and 125-150% efficiency per tech for top tier, well managed shops.

How can you have over 100% productivity? It starts with a well laid out shop and proper tooling, billing for things "by the job" not by the hour, having "set-it-and-forget-it" equipment that works in the background while the tech temporarily moves on to another job, and charging a "full and proper" rate for all your diagnostics, which should be 1.5-2.0 times your regular shop rate, not to mention a minimum diagnostic charge at least .5 hr.

Difficult? Yes. But impossible to do consistently? Absolutely not, shops around the country are doing it right now on a regular basis. Productivity = profits.

We have always referred to productivity as hours billed to hours available. I see that in another above post the writer refers to this metric as utilization. However, I would say that to achieve high productivity numbers it starts even before shop setup, tooling and such. It actually starts with marketing because no matter how good the techs, if you don't have the work, you can't bill the hours. We had a 15 year run where our productivity numbers averaged 96-97% year after year with 1 year [2004] that we hit 101% [6511 hr/6440 hrs] with 3 techs. Then the recession hit, coupled with 5 car dealerships opening up within a 1/2 mile and we saw those numbers decline to 72% in 2015. In 2016 1 tech retired and with 2 techs I've been able to get that number back up to 83% last year. Lastly, although I agree with charging a full and proper rate for diagnostics, the "rate" has nothing to do with the productivity number. It's just the fact that you charging the "time" that affects productivity.

Define "top dollar".

Sorry about the double post but I wanted to fix a few spelling errors and I couldn't find the edit button on my first post.

The industry has been recommending best on the rear for probably 15 years or more. If a customer requests otherwise we will do it with a big disclaimer on the invoice. Plus, I keep a lot of articles under the counter from Road and Track, etc that stress the point. I did a track day in Texas with Continental where they had us go thru water in a turn with 1/2 worn tires on the front and then the back. With the 1/2 worn tires on the front you would feel the car start to understeer causing you to get off the throttle, this would cause a weight transfer to the front helping you regain control. With the half worn tires on the rear, the car would go into oversteer causing you to get off the throttle, which would transfer weight to the front making the oversteer worse and causing a spin. This happened to everybody even though they knew to expect it. Understeer is much safer for the average driver than oversteer. That's why car manufacturers build understeer in most cars. Also why most oval track race cars dial a bit of understeer in.

Every tire we sell includes lifetime rotations, re-balancing, flat repair and road hazard in the price. We will match any competitor's price as long as they are offering the same package. Usually by the time they add their lifetime services in, we are't that far off. Even with Tire Rack who doesn't offer the free rotations and re-balancing. Speaking of Tire Rack, online retailers are going to take a big hit this summer when the SCOTUS rules on sales tax.