Junior

That is a pretty interesting page, I'm going to do a little more reading there when I get time. We do a lot of service on hybrids especially Prius, including rebuilding Gen1 batteries with gen2 cells and civic/insight IMA pack rebuilds. It's pretty good business and there is no one else in the area doing it. I've only seen one trans failure on a Prius and that was due to the HV motor overheating so they are quite bulletproof.

That's being a little to paranoid, an attorney would have to prove gross negligence on your part in order to have any type of case. If you aired up a tire, made a recommendation to put the spare on or replace the tire and the customer refused the service you have performed your duty. If you refused to air the tire despite being required to by law to do so you will would easily be held negligent as it fits the legal description perfectly. As for an opportunity to sell, most of the time the tire is only down a few psi, just enough to set the TPMS light off, usually its because they went to a quick change oil place that never checked/adjusted and rotated the tires, that or its turning to winter and the weather is colder.

We started charging for air a few years ago as TPMS systems became popular. $1 if you do it yourself, $5 if we do it. If they are good customers I often don't charge. It became way to much of a burden to no longer charge a fee. Plus we have to reset the TPMS light in the IP and know which systems need resetting. So far its ok. Especialy when the weather gets cold I could use a kid running around doing this all day, it becomes quite a hinderance but we deal with it. We are not required to offer air unless you sell gas in NYS.

This would apply only to front wheel drive vehicle. This is why we highly recommend only 4 snow tires on FWD vehicles and sell the point pretty hard. Unless there are unmatched tires or drastic difference in wear we don't give any priority during rotations. If there are unmatched sets or drastic wear we looks for the cause and sell the repair and the best solution to obtaining a matched tire set. I see your point though and am quite surprised at how many shops I see putting two snow tires on the front of a FWD vehicle. Even modern traction control systems can't make up for massive differences in available traction.

however you do it, do it this way. billing more and offering a credit or discount helps the customer to perceive they are getting a deal. if you give them a deal and don't tell them explicitly they don't feel like they got as much value. as for the question at hand we will offer discounts for overlapping work

We ended up getting the OTC and I think its overall a better design. It easily compresses even strong truck struts and is easy to fit and access the strut while working on it. My only issue is that the locking bolts for each arm should have wing nuts of thumb screws on them, not just regular bolts, they are only supposed to be finger tight but the hey head makes it awkward to do. I just haven't gotten around to replacing them yet.

The two primary features I'm looking for in this service is the management of recommended services as part of a customer contact management toolset and the ability for customers to request appointments via Internet/smartphone. The social media tools are great and useful but secondary in my opinion. As far as I can tell Mitchell doesn't offer those kinds of tools and the last I looked at their management system it was sub-par. I'll take a look at Auto Vitals and Kukui. Thanks!

Do any of you use Demand Force marketing tools? Our managemnt system is working on integration with DemandForce. I saw a demo, I like most of what they do. Its kind of expensive but it gives us some added contanct avenues with the customer that we desire yet don't have the tools to implement though our management system alone. Who is using it and what kind of results are you seeing? What managment system are you using and how well does it integrate with DemandForce, primarily from recommendation management and customer self scheduling? Thanks for the input!!!

This is kind of the thought process. We do a lot to get the customers in the door and keep the relationship going, make sure service is up to date and give customers recommendations on work. This would be one more way to do that while offering a relitively unique service to our customers.

I get customers ask all the time during snow tires season, if they buy a set of snow tires would we store the summer tires. We have never done it here but another local tire shop does. I have just acquired new warehouse space for vehicle storage and to build a shop to perform specialty work in (we do a lot of classic European, specifically Mercedes work). There is lots of extra space and in the build out I'm wondering if I should put some racks in to store wheels and tires. So far I'm not so sure it would be worth the effort. The storage fee (yet undetermined) would likely barely be worth the effort, but what is the value of offering other services to your customers that most shops do not and guaranteeing repeat business? If you offer this service, how does it work? What do you charge? Thoughts?

Need to upgrade our spring compressor, older Branick model struggles with hefty springs and that’s just downright dangerous. Looking to upgrade but not sure about which unit to get. OTC-6591 StrutTamer or Branick 7400. The Branick unit looks stronger but I don't like how you can't get on top of the strut with an impact without using a swivel. Which one do you have, would you recommend something else? I'm wondering how these machines tame really high spring rates in things like Toyota Tundas and BMW SUV springs, things our current machine can't really do safely. thanks!!

Someone at Systech has to authorize the new system. There are multiple problems including the inability to print end of day summaries as required by DMV regulations. Apparently that will happen in December and we will have to reprint every day to maintain record keeping. Also you can not do a re-inspection unless the initial inspection was done on your machine. There is no way to tell it that it's a re-inspection. Just ran into that for the first time today. A call to systech and they didn't even know the machine would have to do that!!

We have been running on the new NYS VIP2 Inspection system for a few days now. It is mandatory to use by December 1st, the old VIP system will be discontinued at that time. So far I have pretty mixed reviews. Our system showed up with a defective barcode scanner. Multiple calls to the supplied telephone number were answered by an automated attendant that said “There is no one to answer your call, goodbye” … live chat feature doesn't work yet. I was already pissed and after calling DMV I found an email address to systech. A few hours later a tech called me and came to visit the same day. Replaced the cable to the barcode scanner and got us up and running. Luckily the tech was very friendly and helpful or I would have dismissed this thing already. After using it I'm not so sure its an upgrade. The barcode scanner is a SIGNIFICANT improvement, old one wouldn't scan crap, this one works great. Other wise the user interface is not very friendly or streamlined. You need to use the mouse for everything, the screen is busy with graphics and not pertinent information. The Vehicle interface is huge and clunky and the cable is big enough to run a 3 phase motor. I don't know if any of this is going to improve. I'm not even sure how as a community of shop owners we could get together to provide useful feedback. As it was inspections cost us money as they took to long. They take slightly longer now, and that is just the processing though the machine, not performing the inspection itself. Luckily its a service we can provide our customers and way to get business. Its probably worth it, but I feel like the State goes out of its way to make this system bad for shops. I don't quite get why that is. Now that my rant is done, if you have not setup your NYVIP2 I suggest you do it now. You will likely run into problems and with the holiday right before the official start date you'd be hard pressed to get support come Dec 1st.

I highly doubt any house brand oil meets the DEXOS spec, certainly not going to meet VW Audi 502, Mercedes 229, BMW long life 01. Most generic full synthetics don't meet those specs. Installing the incorrect oil voids the warranty on most if not all vehicles. We specifically state on every invoice what oil was used and that it meets the OEM spec. We stock 55gal drums of Mobil conventional oil and use mostly Mobil 1 synthetics to meet specs and LiquiMoly or Fuches in some cases. Oil changes start at $36 and up. Your typical european car is about $70ish for basic oil change. We recommend factory service intervals. We also typically don't perform a simple oil change, we perform complete services per the factory maintenance schedule. 80%+ of our customers prefer this method, the rest we do a-la-cart.

I think the purchase of BWP by Advanced at the beginning of the year has yielded pretty solid results so far. I was very skeptical at the beginning but am becoming much more comfortable with the process. Advanced brings massive purchase power and warehousing/distribution muscle to the table. The changes in product lines are ok in some cases, not in others though. So far they have kept on most of the BWP personnel, which has been key. BWP/Carquest has done very well in the wholesale market due to their sales and counter personnel being far superior to the competition. This is something Advanced could not duplicate on their own. The API venture is a miserable failure and despite much lower prices was never able to grab significant market share in the wholesale sector. I believe that is why Advanced became interested in the Carquest brand. For those of us in the northeast that were previously served by BWP I don't think there will be a significant change beyond what has already been set in motion. Worldpac is key for certain parts for us, Volvo and Saab parts they tend to have stock where our other supplies don't and that helps but we just use Worldpac to fill in the gaps where other warehouses fall short. I am not a fan of their WorldSource line, its pretty low quality. In the long run I wouldn't be surprised to see that product line and the API branded products all becoming one low qual/low cost line. There is a market for that stuff, just not at our shop.

Effective waste processing is a vital part of our industry. We recycle, resell or reuse almost everything that comes out of our shop. Waste tires is one item that we haven't found a good way to process. We have taken a new approach to tire sales in the last year and signed with Yokohama as a dealer, new pricing allows us to be competitive with discounters and still make money, which has seen our tires sales nearly double, hence a lot more scraps to process. Currently one of our major tire supplies will take a scrap tire for every new tire delivered. So will another supplier that we use infrequently. Our largest supplies does not and we end up with large amounts of tires that we need to pay in order to dispose of. I know there is a large market for tire scrap and good tire carcasses, we have been unable to find a buyer in our area. There is a local used tire guy that will buy our reusable tires, but that is a very small amount of what we produce. So who will buy scrap tires in/near the Hudson Valley, roughly 100 tires per load, before we run out of room.

I'd love to see some more input on this too. We spent some time a year ago looking for new shop management software. I never found a product that met all the needs we have and would work for how we want to grow our business. More effective scheduling is one way we need to do this as out schecule is out 10 days or mose during busy times like now. We currently use Motoware, which works, but is not very effective and the developer has been very lacking in both adding features and most importantly producing a stable product. We are currently operating on a release that is three version updates behind because the newet version has bugs that we can not risk. On the positive note, new updates have added a schedule that can book time per job/bay and technition. The views to see this data when you're trying to book new work could use significant improvement, but for the most part it does work. What is everyone else using?

Most manufacturers are moving towards passthrough tools as the factory scan tool. The drew tech tool supports most monufactueres that have this functionality. For some manufactueres like BMW repair data isn't even available unless you subscribe to thier system and use the guided fault finding tools.

I saw the flash II, it looks far to limited. Focusing on only Domestic manufacturers and does not seem to support J2534-2 for other modules. So far the best I've found is the Drew Tech products. If there is something else more comprehensive or cost efective I'd like to know about it though.

I'm looking at expanding our ability to update software on more vehicles. The tool I currectly have only has support for most Asian makes. As it is J2534 compatable it may work with others but I don't want to risk bricking a customer's ECU due to not having the correct tool. Looking at buying a Drew Tech tool. Wondering who is doing this work, have you seen a return on your invetment in this type of tool. What kind of tool are you using. How often do you do a software update and what do you charge for it? We have only run into a handfull of scenarios where a software update repaired the customer complaint. I'm a little concerend about spending a few grand on a fully equiped tool that may not generate new business. At the same time I feel the need to have the tool in order to avoid sending the repairs that require updates to the dealer. You thoughts and comments? thanks!

My Carquest rep came in today and spread the news that Carquest was bought by Advanced autoparts in a deal made in the last hours of last year. Execs at Advanced don't seem to be giving much input on their view as to how they will use their new acquisition. As it stands the best we know is that Carquest wholesale will remain mostly the same for about two years. We have been buying heavily from Carquest over the past year. They are now our number one vendor for same day service parts. Quality is good, price is competitive and service is good. I am concerned though about how this change will effect the company. We don't do business with API, their low quality low price business model is not something that compliments a high quality repair shop like ours. Who else buys a lot from Carquest and what do you think you might do if Carquest/Advanced becomes the Walmart equivalent on the auto industry. Press release http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=130560&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1770210&highlight=

I agree, we charge $34, more for low profile tires & light truck tires. We find that most people are ok with it when they see whats involved. We do still plug tires though if we feel the tire is a good candidate for a plug. If the tire is worn we recommend replacement. If this becomes law we will surely sell more tires. After all, that's why the RMA is lobbying for this in the first place isn't it.

I have very mixed feelings about the need for legislation. I've done quite a bit of research when I first heard about this and I was unable to find any statistics on the number of injuries or deaths or even accidents due to improper tire repair. We patch from in inside on most repairs but if there is a puncture right in the center of the tread and the tire has never gone to low I'll still plug it. We've never seen a failure in 36 years. By the way Joe, the NY Bill number is 09683 I don't mind charging more for tire repairs. What do you guys charge for dismounting and repairing from the inside?

My issue here is not the customer bringing parts to me. We deal with that in a different way, I usually simply ask them if they would bring eggs to a diner. The issue at hand is one of customer perspective. If a customer leaves and googles parts on their bill, or is just interested and has done so before hand and see that the price I charge them is 2 or three times what they can buy it for online, they believe that I must have gotten a better price than the online price, since I'm in the industry. They then think that I screwed them. That is the problem.

The growth of the Internet has changed the way many places do business and has certainly effected the automotive service industry as well. Much of Internet technology is good, allows information to be readily available, streamlines information and workflow. Before I came back to automotive service I spent 10 years working in web based software development, so I think all of this is a good thing. What I don't like is the business model that most automotive parts manufacturers have adopted. If I simply google most part numbers I get from local suppliers I can get them cheaper online through places like Amazon and Rockauto. There are a few serious offenders like Gates, Standard Motor, Dorman ect. Most times I can find these products significantly cheaper in terms of my cost than my stocking suppliers. Now here is the issue, I don't think that my price is to high, I think the Internet price is to low. I understand that there is value added to a local supplier. Parts are in stock, there are operational and carrying costs, all which add value and cost to the local supplier. What I don't like is that large manufacturers don't support this segment of their customer base. There should be minimum retail pricing that the manufacturer allows which should be no less than the jobber price recommended by the manufacturer, it would be great if it were something like 10% over jobber. This would protect supply chain and the aftermarket service shops while still allowing the DIY to buy off the Internet. Its a hard sell at times when we're making slim margins on parts but the customer looks online, sees a price and thinks we're screwing them. Case in point, TCK271 Gates T-belt kit, cost me $144, list is $362, Amazon sells this for $92 shipped! I sell to the customer for $217, the lowest I can go without slitting my wrists. How do you deal with this problem, how often do you run into it?