CARMandP

I think it would have to do with who the customer is. Mr. Powers has 5 vehicles that I service. He comes to me with a check engine light on, I will read it for free because he has spent thousands of dollars with me and will be back and he will send customers my way. Mrs. Jones who was referred to me by her friend at the beauty shop and her check engine light is on and I have never seen her vehicle before, I will quote a diagnostic fee.

Well, the followup story says the same guy owned them all that would explain the 22 stores.

I noticed on the sign in the picture for the story something I don't think I had ever seen before. The sign says 69.99 PER AXLE. I wonder how many people realize that is each tire not just both front or both rear brakes.

Oh I agree. It shouldn't be free. I just dropped 2k into new diagnostic equipment to be able to diagnose easier. No way I am giving the work away.

I wonder how many shops use it for their "lost leader" kinda like the cheap oil changes. They figure if they can get the car through the door, they will make money. Not a bad idea if your tech is paid by the hour but sucks for the tech if he is being paid flatrate. How good are they doing that diagnostic for free?

I have to say I am going to be a Colt's fan for the superbowl. Go Colts.

I am liking the changes. Took me a while though to find the "New Posts" link. LOL. Having trouble with the reps though? First time I tried it, I was told I had surpassed my number of reps for the day? Hadn't even done one before.

I have mine on order now. I will let you all know what I think of it. I got the domestic and Asian kit as well. Dont' do enough German to bother with that one yet.

I am looking very strongly at this program. http://www.autoenginuity.com/

All domestics and asian imports. I also have a Volkswagen kicking my butt right now as well.

I am looking for a new scanner myself. Although I don't really want to spend the money, I am doing more and more diagnostic (which I love) and need a good scanner. I have heard of ones that are a wireless hookup to the car and connect to my PC for internet scanning. Anyone seen these before?

Grew up a Bills fan and then moved to TN in 1996 and became a Titan's fan when they came to TN. Love watching football. Was very glad to see the Vikings kill the Cowboys (my most hated team).

Also another thing to think about. If you are local to one parts store, they will give you benefits that you might not get otherwise. My local Oreilly's sends me work all the time

I am not asking how to cheat the taxes, just what the options are for how to properly pay the help. I don't want to run into problems with the IRS.

Ok, I know that this isn't exactly the correct way to do this but what would be the best way to pay a part time employee. I can't afford to get ripped on the taxes and the rest of the "requirements" do pay help. Is there any way you guys have found to make this easy and painless.

Also make sure that you have added yourself to the google business directory. If people search for auto repair in your area in google, do you come up? Its easy and free to add your business.

Oh trust me I know but the problem is finding someone to help.

I am the shop. I work on cars, I answer the phone, I get the parts. I do it all. I only have two bays so I don't have much room to expand right now but I will get there soon enough.

I use a crap load of brake cleaner because I am very particular about my stuff being clean when I am done with the repair. I know is probably not good for me and I know first hand that it burns like crap when you get it in the eyes I will have to see if I can get this stuff at my Oreillys which it shows sell it.

I personally use Oreilly auto parts which is the closest to me. Napa is too far away and although I have an Advance auto parts (only about 1/2 mile from Oreilly) I don't like the quality of their parts. I would use Napa or Carquest more than I would autozone or advance. Most of them will give you a dealer account with a tax number. Most of them sell the same parts or will price match. One of the nice things about the Oreilly is they are linked to my Mitchell which allows me to see the store inventory as well as order over the internet instead of calling the store and Oreilly gives me a 2% kickback for ordering over the internet. Mitchell also does this with Napa I know but not sure about the rest of them. The trick is to go with the store that you like the parts and the store that is the easiest to deal with. Meet the manager of each store if you haven't and see which one will give you the best deal and service. As far as oil or filters, I don't use enough oil (about 150 gallons every 4 months) to bother with anything other than by the case. You can check around your area and see who deals with the wholesale oil. You can always go with a particular brand of oil and get in bulk from that supplier. As far as filters, Wix makes a Pro-tec line which you can buy $20 for a case of 12 and they make several different numbers that will work for many applications. Check that out.

Mine? None yet since I am struggling to just keep up with the business that I have.

Second for Mitchell. I have been using the program for 1-1/2 yrs. I love it. I also have them doing most of my mailings as well as they have access to my records to send out my reminders. They do both the mailings as well as the email marketing for me. Costs about $300 a month but its well worth it for me.

I like you started my own business 1-1/2 yrs ago after 12 years at a tech. Are you good at one particular thing or do you have a specialty auto you can/like to work on? I have had to do almost anything that comes through the door but as my business builds I am having to limit what I can/will do.

I send people at times to my local Advance auto parts to let them read the codes for me. Because I am by myself it helps to know what the code is before I even see the car. I know this doesn't always help in the diagnosing the code but its a good start to save me the time.

The "problem" is most auto "tech" schools are taught by people that are/were technicians not those based in the training of running a business. You can easily find those that will train you in running a business but every business type is different. You can get business training for free at www.score.org. I attended two of ATI's training classes and was not pressured to "join" their coaching system. Their boot camps were very good for me going from a technician to a business owner. I am not near big enough of a company to afford their training classes so it was an easy decision for me and them to make. I also took one class from Matt Winslow and he was at the other class that I took. He knows his stuff and he has a long background in the automotive field. So I guess it depends upon what you are looking for in a training class and what you need. I will probably take their bootcamp again when they come back to my area.