PAPShop

Phone call: Can I get an estimate to replace a timing chain on a 2001 Jetta?

Me (I'm normally the person in the back and everyone is up to their elbows getting cars out for weekend, SA is helping lead tech on a strange case. I asked the SA to give me a ballpark, he said not enough info, so he coached me on a couple of things to say): Sir, it would be better for you to bring the car in so we can look at it.

Him: Well I'm buying the car and the guy says the only thing that is wrong with it is the timing chain.

Me: It is hard to give an estimate over the phone, it is better for us to look at the car so we get all of the information, just in case the chain has jumped and caused any other damage (the guys told me that, I'm NOT a mechanic). The estimate would be a ballpark figure, and the ballpark would be pretty big and wouldn't include anything else that may be damaged.

Him: I just want an estimate on replacing the timing chain!! (He's a little agitated.)

Me: Ok, (I sit in front of the SA computer and pull up ALLDATA) is the Jetta a GL, a GLS or a GLX?

Him: Uhhhhhhhhhh. I don't know. I guess you need to know that so you know what engine is in it. (He's sounding sheepish.)

Me: (in my head....BINGO!) Yes, we do. That is why it is better to bring the car in. And since you are purchasing the car, bring it in and we can do a Pre Purchase Inspection on it and check everything on it so there are no surprises if you purchase the car.

Him: I'll have to call you back with more information.

 

 

Some sound "millennial" advice!

We also have a logo and have branded our shop very much the same as Trackspec, our logo is compliments of a brother that is a graphic artist.

Another place to find someone to design a logo for you at a reasonable price is an art school or tech school with a graphic design department.

Welcome! It is nice to see another performance shop here.

We are a full service shop. We install customer supplied parts ALL the time.

 

We have a few polices with it. We guarantee to install the part correctly, but there is NO warranty.

 

Also, people who order these parts half the time bring the WRONG parts or they dont fit. Can be anything, brakes or cats.

 

If we take apart your car and the parts you brought dont FIT you have 2 options. Buy our part, or we put your car back together with your original part on it and still charge you the labor. We wont wait for a customer to order more parts for them to "save" $

Most of the time the answer is no because of liability, however we do make exceptions depending on the customer and the situation. We will NEVER install Ebay parts.... no matter what (turbos and exhaust systems are the most common Ebay crap that they want us to install) nor will we install customer supplied lift/level kits.

The quoted policies apply with one exception. If we take apart your car and the parts you brought are wrong, not only will we order and put in the correct part, but we will charge you hoist time for researching what part is the correct one and the wait time to have it delivered. And if this does not fix the problem we are not responsible for the wrong diagnosis, we did not diagnose your problem, we are only installing the part. This is explained when the car is dropped off. ---So, are you REALLY sure you brought in the right part?

I have been there 2 times, it is very overwhelming, so much eye candy!! I will return another year.

We watched the cars exit the show one year out back and saw Grave Diggers Dennis Anderson do a 4 wheel burn out down the back alley, sweet!!

Dave

I wonder if that was the same year I have a picture of me standing under Grave Digger and I don't even have to duck to walk under the bumper. It is a great car show..... A lot of ideas to the Nth degree.

We have been to SEMA many times, but have found that PRI is more suited for our shop. However when we bring someone new to PRI or we know someone that is a SEMA/PRI newbie this is what we recommend:

1. Take advantage of the online resources and preplan who you want to/need to see.

2. Spread your "must see" between each day you will be there, unless they are near each other. Try to visit those booths first thing in the morning when you are fresh.

3. Use the final day as "clean up" of what you wanted to see but didn't quite get there.

4. At SEMA, you cannot see it all, so be generous to yourself and block out/avoid what really doesn't apply to your shop.

5. This sounds obvious, but comfortable shoes and HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE.

Have fun guys!!

We are bringing a couple of newbies to PRI this year....

I was interested in this thread, we need to do something about our phones.

Here is some good information for research: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6780-best-business-phone-systems.html

This article doesn't give you enough information to make a firm decision, and the "questionnaire" is a lead generator. I have received 3 phone calls from salesmen in the 2 hours since I answered the "questionnaire".

We replaced a blown head gasket on a 2003 Ford F350 diesel. After we finished, he was to bring in the truck after a couple days for a free follow up/adjustment. He did not. 3 weeks later, the truck is brought in needing 2 new injectors. The customer asked if it was wise to replace all on that side, since two went. We said yes and gave him the new estimate. Customer is a young twentysomething, and Mommy didn't come thru on paying for the repair, she paid for the head gasket repair. So he asked if he could make payments. Against our policy, we had no choice. He paid 1/3 down and was to make payments every two weeks and he left his 2004 Nissan Titan as collateral (it also needed work on it). He made one payment and didn't make another. Interest is accruing every two weeks, he calls after two months to find out how his truck is coming along. (insert laughter here) He was told the Nissan will not be touched until the Ford is paid off. He makes another payment saying his dad was supposed to have made payments, and questions the interest. The shop owner explains: the agreement we have with our bank that we don't make loans and they don't fix cars (someone on here said that, and it works) and he needs to clear this up quickly. Kid pays off the bill after 4 months. Two weeks later, truck is back in. A fuel line broke & we fix it. Daddy comes in and rips the shop owner because "the truck was fine until we started working on it". The shop owner apologized that he and his son did not communicate better and that everything was explained to his son, who approved the repairs. The shop owner then called the kid and told him to remove the 2004 Nissan truck sitting in the parking lot that was left for us to repair. The kid asked why, and was told....... because of your dad and his actions.

Tow truck was here this morning to remove the truck.......

The way we pay for everything has also gone from paper (dollars or checks) to plastic (debit cards or credit).

 

Hi PAPShop,

 

From our experience, the shop management systems we recommend for Repair Invoices (Mitchell 1, ShopKey, NAPA TRACS, RO Writer, ALLDATA and some others) can handle inventory tracking but are not really configured to do the quick check out process typically required by the Retail Side, but do offer the ability to create the Counter Sale invoice to accommodate such transactions.

 

Hope this helps.

Yes it does.

I forgot to say, we currently use QuickBooks Pro, so the check out process is slower that a traditional retail check out. My concern is the thousands of retail parts - that some times are sold bolted on a vehicle and sometimes sold retail. I know, we are unique.

I have read every thread about this subject, and I have searched the internet also. No decisions are pressing so I have time to research.

My big question, which is also my deal breaker for any software, is can I track inventory with the SMS? We have a retail store and I need to track the inventory of the store and have the ability to make retail sales. Any suggestions, or any that will absolutely not work? TIA

We are members of BNI (Business Networking International). See if there is a group in your area and if they need someone in the auto repair/auto services slot. We have every member of the group sending referrals to us, besides the members themselves coming to us.

When we expanded into the entire building 4 years ago, we put epoxy down in the retail sales area. The building is very old (no one knows how old) and was previously used by the city street department for truck maintenance. Here are the notes from our experience.

1. Yes it is worth it. We used "Epoxy Coat" http://www.epoxy-coat.com

2. Prep is the most important step. The floors were really oily, and diesel spills. We bought muriatic acid to clean the floor from Ace hardware by the gallon.

3. Follow the instructions exactly. It took 2 people and we did little section at a time. Worked great.

4. Take your time and expect long hours when you do it. (We did it over Easter weekend, 4 hour sleep each night.)

5. Don't cheap out. Put it on thick and get the sealer if available. The areas where it is thick look the best and we did not get the sealer. There is discoloration from dirty mop water from not sealing it.

We will do each room in the shop over time; we have just under 8000 sq feet.

It is fall, and around here it is time to evaluate/rearrange/systemize a few things. A deep cleaning is done to the waiting area and sales floor area. A little rearranging will happen in the work areas to prepare for snowfall. The business office is going to be deep cleaned and rearranged. We try to keep from being complaisant about the shop.

I am looking at our sales invoices. It has been a couple of years since I reviewed them.

What disclaimers do you include on your invoices to customers?

Are all disclaimers on every invoice or do you have certain ones for certain work completed?

Looking forward to some input. Thanks.

Looked up your website. Looks like what I'm trying to create for my shop. We do the regular day to day work on cars and wheelers, but it's the classics and "something different" projects I really enjoy doing. Been looking at moving to a bigger shop and trying to grow, but finding top notch techs has been a challenge here. I'm on the third day this week being the only person here.

If you are ever in the Brainerd area drop by (hard when you're working all the time). I'd be happy to give you a tour and a little history about our shop.

When looking for a tech, try doing a working interview. It tells a lot about the prospect. We did that with the 3 guys we have now, which we feel are rock stars.

Scrap metal and parts go to the shop fun account, when there is enough fun money we will do BBQ's, 4 wheeling trips, or gift cards to the crew.

Scrap metal and recycling funds go to the shop Christmas Party fund. Tips are given to the tech, with the exception of large tips that are given to the shop to "buy everyone lunch". Any spifs from suppliers (coolers, gift cards etc) are saved for Christmas Party. We have a big Christmas Party in January, and part of it we give a run down on highlights of the previous year, give recognition and play stupid games. Everyone leaves with a nice gift.

Being from the heart of the Old Confederate South, I was just talking with our master tech about rust and the north. How does flat rate even work up there? Do y'all multiply it by 2x for every suspension job?

 

Say what you will about the heat in the south, I'll take southern heat and sweat over snow and salt any day!!

When doing a job that will require tackling rust, we add labor to the job. An explanation is given to the owner that time was added due to the age of their car and the amount of rust on the parts; parts that are seized are shown to the customer.

I am looking at SMS. I've read this thread, and researching online. My main concern is that we have a retail store. Is there a SMS that will allow me to maintain an inventory for retail? Please let me know if it exists. I really don't want to go between quickbooks and a SMS to run our daily business. I also do not want to contact the software companies just yet. I know that once I do, they will be hounding me to buy their product.

Them: How much for you guys to .......... on my car?

My manager on the performance side of the shop: I'm not sure. You give me $1000. and I promise to give you change back. How much change depends on the work we have to do, and we won't know that until we take a look at your vehicle and are able to diagnose exactly what is wrong with your car.

Them: laughter Yeah, I guess I need to make an appointment.

If they come back with "I just need ................... done, how much for that?"

Manager: When you call the doctor's office, do call the ask them to diagnose your leg over the phone or how, or do you call to make an appointment to have them diagnose what is wrong. The doctor will look at it, perform tests, and use their education and experience to diagnose exactly what is wrong. We like to do the same thing with your car.

**Not everyone can do this, but he can because of his personality and the delivery. I hear this line about once a month, he gets the diagnosis booked.

This is a good discussion guys, good points for both sides. Thought I'd throw a little laughter in.

Brainerd - besides general auto repair, we do performance. Retail store for aftermarket performance parts & performance services, auto repair on collector & classics, restorations, custom alignments, fabrication, engine building, chassis dyno services on cars, trucks, motorcycles & atvs, tuning, and ask if we don't list it.

Read your post about boats. We work on inboard motors and tuning. Not our favorite because they want it done now and the tech is doing yoga in a tiny box, but it is very profitable.

Welcome! These guys are really nice and very helpful.

Went to the website you posted, now looking for a copy of the book.

Pengilly.

 

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Just a hop, skip and jump away! Beautiful area up there.

Today's facebook post:

"Time is ticking by for the Minnesota "Car Season", and if you have your Hot Rod, Street Rod, Sunday Cruiser or Weekend Warrior out and still want that last little upgrade or have had a small driving issue over the summer you want fixed, NOW is the time to give Paradigm a Call. We can get your Toy in, upgraded, fixed or improved and back on the road to enjoy the upcoming Fall Cruises."

Besides the general automotive side, this will fill in the schedule till snow falls, and then some.

Welcome! Where in MN are you at?

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