Hands On

What I can tell you is, you might make more money doing uber or lyft. I occasionally get a call from someone looking for a mobile mechanic. I tell them I can tow the car to my shop for $60 and guarantee a fix here, or I can drive to them for $114.79 an hour and maybe be able to fix it there. The clock starts when I leave and continues to run as I obtain parts. I get one of two responses, they go for the tow, or they call around for a cheaper mobile mechanic. The people seeking a mobile mechanic are looking for a deal. They want the oil changed for less then 50, the starter or fuel pump replaced for half of what it should cost. They want to supply you the parts. Assuming 100 hour labor rate. What if your lucky, and you score 3 oil changes and two starters in one day. The starters pay .8, the oil changes you make 10 each on. You spent all day driving around but made out with $180 for the day. Let's say you get this lucky every day and at the end of the week you have $900 in your pocket. Let's say you score this big all month and made, let's be generous, let's say you got a few extras sold and made like $6500 at the end of the month. Insurance 600 = 5900 Fuel 700 = 5200 Truck payment 300 = 4900 Tools 100 = 4800 Income tax ?1000? = 3800 Misc 100 = 3700 Truck maintenance 100 = 3600 If your hustling, have a steady amount of gravy work, maybe you can make a living depending on where you live. Am I missing expenses? Being to generous with the amount of gravy work you might lend? What happens when that 2 hour fuel pump becomes 6 hours on the ground? Or you do oil changes all day every day for a month? You can make over $6,000 a month driving Uber BlackSUV in Denver 40 hours a week. https://www.ridester.com/driver-income-calculator/

I agree with Carolina. That being said, with 5 lifts I would suggest two techs and one tire/lube guy. Buy lifts for the other three bays as you go and try to grow into three techs and two tire lube guys. The problem is we don't know your expenses. The amount of labor you 'need' should be based off of how much money you need to produce to survive AND make a profit. If it costs you $60,000 a month to stay open you will fail first month using bantar's suggestion of one tech to start, and you would struggle real hard with my suggestion of waiting to get those extra lifts. Further more you should have a .marketing plan in place that will fill bays from day one. Promote a big grand opening, hit local chamber of commerce, ect. The question is not how many techs you need to start, it is how much money you need to generate to make it. Then divide that number by how much you think the techs can produce to get total techs needed. Money needed/money tech produces=techs needed.

You have to be as smart as an electrical engineer, with the knowledge base of a doctor, working in conditions similar to a garbage man, for the same salary as a garbage man.

I worried about the disconnect a service writer would create between my customers and myself. What I do is still remain at the shop to greet customers and discuss repairs. As soon as the conversation turns to price I say "I will have (service writer name) work you up an estimate." This immediately takes me out of the equation for pricing and I avoid that situation where I might want to discount something for someone I have made an emotional connection with. If my write is not available I will say "Let me see what the computer says that costs." This again takes me personally out of the pricing equation and puts the blame for the "mean high price" on the computer. These are just ways I make it easier for me to live with charging what I need to in order for the shop to survive.

After they get the first repair bill they will learn how to program our shop address into the computer.

What happened? What's TireHub?

I would start off with at least one helper of some sort. I thought the same way when I started out, but you can not support big boy shop expenses with one person, and it is not safe to work alone all day. Bottom line you will not make any money unless at least two people are producing repairs; unless you plan on living in the shop, taking cash only, and paying no taxes.

Can not beat that for rent. There have been other posts about specializing in a make or model. General consensus has been why start off limiting your customer base.

Will you owe when it is done? Any idea what your monthly rent/mortgage ect would be when all said and done?

I don't have any research to back this up but I think you will need more then 3 bays to break even on new construction.

I have been giving Zip Recruiter a try. I had them send me an email promising a refund in writing if it does not pan out, so far nothing, I get lots of applications from folks with experience in oil fields and fork lifts. @Mike the Mechanic Thank you for this, I added a lot of it to my ad, hopefully it gets me more results. What platforms have you guys had success with in finding new recruits?

something I just thought of for the original poster though, those rusted lug nut are an opportunity to tell the customer you just noticed they would not be able to change a tire on the road if they needed to use their spare tire. Then you could charge labor and new lug nuts.

If all you are doing to a car is the tire rotation that is a problem. You have to offer it to regulars as a service sure, but if it starts to become part of your meat an potatoes something is wrong

I do not stress over tires. The profit per hour is not worth chasing in my small shop. I offer them so my customers know they can one stop shop, but I refuse to try to compete with chains, it is not possible. That being said, if everyone reading this joined me in a buyer's group to grab certain sizes then we could make something happen.

I run my own Google ad words and I work my butt off to make sure I have good reviews. I run Yelp ads and again work off butt to make sure Yelp reviews are too notch. Beyond that community events, Facebook posts, and boots to the pavement introducing yourself should cover the bases these days. If you have a larger shop more then 4 lifts I think you have to run some coupon shoppers to keep the bats filled. Just keep in mind coupon customers need to be hand held through the process of you want any chance of converting them. Local radio shows have also helped us fill the gaps.

Thank you for the excellent and well thought out post. Before the thread gets to far off topic, I need a new tech. Is anyone willing to help me write an advertisement or help me with postings, over the phone or through e-mail?

I need to find some employees fast and I am having no luck, anyone willing to help me write an advertisement or help me with postings, over the phone or through e-mail, please let me know. Just found this, not feeling good about this. https://www.indeed.com/forum/job/automotive-technician/can-t-do-it-anymore/t459836

In case you missed it, the job is done, turned out great for all parties involved.

Yes I imagine a lot of shops would have turned him away, and possibly did before he made it back to my door. For me, running the shop is not just about making a buck, but also about providing a needed service to the community. I helped a young kid out of a tough situation and felt really good about it after. We do things like this on occasion, it helps keep me grounded and humble. We also sometimes make the news for the nice things we do. https://issuu.com/consumerreport/docs/cvcrjan2018

In the end we got the car assembled and running, and made money, worked out well in the end.

They responded: Yes, what is nominal to the customer for the convenience of using their card is huge for you! A $29.00 oil change would be $29.00 if they paid cash, pay with a card, it a $1.00 is added as a price adjustment. The change in the law allows you to avoid the fees. Call me at 470-377-6375 and we can cover it in 2 minutes or less. If he gave me real life numbers that is .97 to the customer.

I am looking for these hard answers. I would love advice on how to write an ad. As I am a tech myself I am starting to think I should focus on looking for someone who will work flat rate that can part swap on European vehicles and some minor diagnostic work. How do I attract this person.

I am too nice.

I am working on this. The photo you saw of the family was done by a professional. It was to duplicate a photo for the band that was playing at our annual party next year. We went to the exact location the band did their shoot and he used filters to get the same effects they had. The poster he designed turned out awesome, but seen out of context I see what your saying.