kslade

I pay for all the training costs but not the time they spend there. I figure they should have a little skin in the game as it benefits us both the same. I have never had any push back on this.

I spent allot of time in the dealer world, so here are some thoughts. You should document everything that you did including the codes that you got and give it to your customer. She should call customer support and explain that she is still having steering problems and let them know she was never at the dealer that replaced the sensor under recall. Tell her to be very nice no matter how she feels, this will go a long way with the Ford rep. Also she could say she feels very unsafe driving the car because of lost steering. Good luck, hope it goes well for her and you.

I have been using VDO Redi-Sensors, no problems and they are a decent price. Do not do enough of them to stock any.

I am using Alldata and Identifix, just dumped Mitchell for Identifix. I like it better than Mitchell and so do my techs, I feel I need 2 systems to get complete information one may be missing.

I have been using this one http://www.flodynamicssalesandservice.com/FloDynamics/Coolant/CVAC3.html for the last couple of years. Very few problems and works very well.

I am using the Bartec 400SD. Has worked on everything I have needed it for including reprograming sensors. Also a difficult Lexus IF.

At a TECH NET meeting this past March in Westchester County New York, a heated discussion erupted over the acquisition of CARQUEST by Advance. And the comments by the shop owners was not good. We decided to list all our concerns and present these concerns to our sales rep. To be honest, we all felt that this list would fall on the deaf ears of a corporate giant.

 

I drafted a letter and sent it on its way. The letter spread through the company and it was only a few days later when my phone was ringing. Advance got the message and wanted to talk. After a few informal meetings with people from the Advance Auto and reps who were formally from CARQUEST, we all agreed that we need to break bread at a round table discussion and air out these concerns.

 

The TECH NET shops, along with people from Advance met in the same room last Thursday in Westchester to discuss the concerns we had listed in March’s meeting.

 

The meeting started with a detailed presentation on all the programs Advance has for the independent TECH NET shops and the things that Advance are working on. Programs all designed to help Repair shops become more successful. Then we engaged in an open and honest (and sometimes heated) discussion. We discussed everything from our concerns that Advance was too aligned with the DIYer to the issue that shops felt that our cultures are not aligned as they once were with CARQUEST.

 

Well, we may have entered that meeting with guns drawn and cocked, but the words and actions from the Advance reps resonated to all of us that Advance is a company that recognizes that the future of Advance and the future of the Independent Auto Repair shops is dependent on the relationship we create. One by one the people from Advance spoke to us, asked questions, answered questions and at the end we witnessed a different side of a company we once thought as Too Big to listen.

 

More importantly, this meeting set into motion and new-found relationship between the professional automotive repair shops and Advance. Our future looks a little brighter.

Hi Joe, I also would like to know what they had to say. I have been a Tech Net member for 2 years and would like to find out more on how they going to treat their best customers, the independent repair shops. Thanks.

All the classes I send them to are at nights. I pay for the class and food but the agreement is they volunteer their time because we both benefit equally and they should cover at least their time. This way at least they seem committed to further their knowledge and career.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated, thanks.

Here is my web site http://onestopautofl.com

If you have the startup money think about buying a shop that is already in business. I have over 35 years in the business and that is what I did, you have cash flow and employees to start then you can fine tune it to the way you want it done and run. Good luck and keep reading here from all the professionals who can help you sort out all the kinks you will encounter.