Dave Redinger
davidredinger@rogers.com

June 10, 2009

Garage Business

Money for Nothing...

 
There are times when giving things away free can actually make you money.

Alot of the material that goes into this column is sourced at my shop and based on situations we run into every single day. A couple of weeks ago, one of our clients wrote her car off and needed to replace her vehicle. We don’t sell cars, but we do offer a service where we inspect any potential purchase.

As she worked her way through the vehicles within her budget, we both came to the same conclusion. There’s a lot of junk out there. Some of the cars are scary. We saw smashed cars that were poorly assembled, mechanical defects that were undeclared, paint that didn’t match, and we even came across a vehicle that was counterfeited.

Mind you, she was looking mainly at private vendors and she had limited herself to a budget of only $6,000. She even thought that by haggling she would be able to get an even better deal. Wrong.

Lessons for your customers

As an installer or garage owner, you likely know all the pitfalls of buying a used car. Your customers probably don’t, so if you can educate them, you will have taken advantage of an opportunity to present yourself as an expert—someone they can trust and go to for service when they eventually do buy a vehicle.

So what lessons can you share with your customers? Don’t buy a car unless you know something about the individual selling it. Make sure they own the car they are selling. Do they have some sort of records supporting their claims? What are the conditions of sale? Are there liens against the vehicle? Make sure you take the vehicle for inspection or better still, hire a local tech to go with you and give you advice.

Also, make sure to warn them that if they’re buying privately, they’re on they’re own. There’s no warranty or redress and they’re in a buyer beware situation. If problems arise, it’s between them and the vendor and they may have to go to court to settle things.

Advise your clients that they might be better off buying from a registered dealer. All dealers are licensed by the governing authority. These authorities are your backup should things go sideways. My friend Les has a saying, “Buy in haste; repent in leisure.”

Happy ending

So what eventually happened with our client, you ask? She realized that she wouldn’t get much for $6,000, increased her budget and ended up with a really nice Mazda3.

By the way, helping clients out like this is a great way to build loyalty. As a matter of fact, we take the concept a step further and actually advertise a free inspection to anyone buying a used car or deciding to keep their current ride.

Why would we offer such a valuable service free? The idea is to get the car on the hoist. In an average shop, what’s the cost of getting a customer on the rack for the first time—$15 to $20? Meeting a client as an adviser is a powerful tool that can help you create the relationships needed for a long-term customer loyalty. Think of it as giving back to the community, one car at a time.
 

Dave Redinger is a mechanic with over 40 years experience. He owns and operates his own shop in the Toronto area. Dave hosts the Neighbourhood Mechanic show, heard on Chum 1050. The Neighbourhood Mechanic can be seen on Dave’s national Television show on E Channel. Both shows deal with automotive issues.