Mason Garza

We are a transmission shop in Texas. We are currently at $165.00 per hour

Your welcome! When we jumped into the used car market, I couldn't find many other shops that was doing what we did. I am sure they are out there but they just didn't have anything posted to help with the guidance. If you have questions along the way just let me know. I experienced my share so far but I have also learned the solutions. Blessings

Richard, We actually opened a used car dealership about two years ago. We are one of those shops that have a great reputation and people would rather buy from us then other used car lots. Like ScottSpec, we have had our share of customers wanting there cars repaired because they purchased it from us. I implemented an extended warranty coverage with a third party provider. Not all cars were covered due to age of vehicle but majority of them were. We keep an average of 15-20 cars on the lot. Because we stay so busy in the transmission field we don't push the car lot as needed. But it does generate income when you least expect it. It also makes it easier to purchase vehicles from customers that don't want to fix there cars and just want to sell them and start over. A few pointers I would look into: 1) Search out a good Extended Warranty Provider. We use Alpha Warranties, CarShield, and Preferred Warranties 2) Frazer Software for used car dealership. If you are as busy as us you will need something that is smooth and easy. Plus they have GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE. 3) Credit Acceptance: If you just want to open a used car lot and help with additional income flow then I would definitely sign up with them. Once you learn the program, one person can do it all. 4) Buy Here Pay Here financing (Basically in house financing) is a great thing to have. Some people just can't pay cash for a vehicle. Our starting minimal down payment is $2,500. If the client is invested then so are we. We don't do the $1,000 or below. We don't have time to chase vehicles around. 5) As you start, have a mixture of cash cars and 10 year old cars. In this industry there is a car for everyone. There is never a bad car. (Well there is! lol) 6) Pray along the way. Have a great day! Mason

Advertising is one of the biggest heartaches for many automotive shops. Their are many questions that swirl around the idea about advertising. How much money do we need to spend? Who is our target? How do we know if the advertising going to work? Their is no right answer to the advertising question, but the answer does lay with your customers. Simply put, there is three generation of customers; past, present and future. The past customers already know you and know the customer service that you provide, in return they send word a mouth to other friends that need repairs. These customers don't go un-noticed, they are your behind the scene advertisers. They are the ones that you send special support to, such as, gift cards, thank you cards, free oil changes and so on. They will continue to feed your business. The present customers are your referral customers. They require a little more attention and communication so they know they can trust you as a reliable automotive shop. Making sure that you spend the time explaining what is wrong with there vehicle and what the recommend repair is and the options they have. With these customers you add a key chain to there rings, you give them a oil change sticker on the windshield, you give them a cool looking decal. Something that they can walk away and say I went to THIS SHOP to have my truck repaired. The future customers, is our future customers. We rely on past and present customer to continue to feed our shops with work. Most important thing that many people forget is that you are AIMING for the FUTURE CUSTOMERS "Gen Z, iGen or Centennials" these are the social media, internet advertising customers. They don't deal with direct mail or hassle with emails, they scroll through social media and look at pop ups, they google business and look at reviews. To answer your question, invest in SEO if you want to continue to build your business. Conclusion, I took over a 40 year old transmission shop 12 years ago. It is still family owned and operated and houses excellent talent and knowledge in the field of transmission. I noticed that we were loosing customers and things needed to change. They were still advertising with phone books and newspapers. But we were in the middle of change in society with social media picking up speed. I saw it coming. I quickly changed direction and started focusing on the "Future customers". We started to focus and research the SEO world. What did it have to deal with me. The more I learned the more I realized that we all do the same thing. You go on vacation and you have a breakdown, where do you turn to? The internet. When you have problems with your car and who do you take it to? You look on the internet. Currently 60% of our new cliental come from the internet and reviews, 30% from word a mouth and 10% all others. There is not a right way or wrong way to advertise, you just have to look into your community and see where your greatest strength are. Hope this post helps someone. Have a great day.