calling on new and used car dealerships

[wood]

i have a tunnel and would like to try tapping the new dealerships and used car markets. it seems that most dealerships now have a better system then years ago (although still average at best) and don't have some type of program with local washes. is this what you guys find too? if you have had success any tips on how to market the wash to them?

used car locations might be better suited to call on these days, agree?
i was thinking of $4 for my $6 wash when they buy them in 25 wash packages. any other thoughts would be appreciated.

thanks again,
wood

 

[QuickSpa17]

wood,

i'm also currently thinking about tapping this potential market. if you have any good ideas, please post them, as i will do the same....


one thought may be to use fleet cards or rfid (depending on what system you use) and allow the dealership specific wash days (may help to ease tracking of fleet washes)

 

[scott]

I remember a previous post whre guys told of horror stories of "salesmen" telling people they had free washes for life, etc.

 

[QuickSpa17]

ouch...that would definitely not fly with us....i guess it's really up to the wash operator and the owner of the dealership to write up a contract specifically stating the parameters of the dealership/carwash deal....if the salesmen are overemphasizing the "wash deal", the owner of the dealership would need to keep it under wraps (no pun intended)

 

[JMMUSTANG]

How about offering the dealers free car washing for one year to their customers for each car sold for $100.
You could put a rfid in the sold car. Then when the years up you can re-sign the customer at your yearly clean car membership program price.
You could also offer the dealers an unlimited monthly wash program for their lot-say $1,000 per month. Good Monday through Saturday.
Give them 3-4 fleet cards that require them to enter an invoice number into your auto sentries for them to enter. That way you can keep track at the amount of washes and be able to send them invoices for their records.
Just some ideas.

 

[jfmoran]

Any business you do with dealers requires that you get your money upfront, especially form the used car guys. Dealers will beat you up on price, they will promise you way more than they actually deliver and they can be a headache. You can have success working with them thru providing car washes to their new customers, etc.. but dealers are by no means the holy grail. Just make sure you have a foolproof way of tracking how you are providing washes to them.

John Moran

 

[TheDoc]

I agree with John M. I came up through the dealership channel and can tell you for as many great dealerships/operations there are, many more are a big pain.
The easiest way is to sell them upfront coupons/cards that can be tracked for the dealer. I have one operator who is next door to a premium brand marque and they do very well washing all of the service customer vehicles, do many new vehicle delivery preps and get paid on time!
Get to know someone who is IN CHARGE of making the purchasing decision, it will make the whole task easier.
Good Luck!

 

[QuickSpa17]

these are some good ideas. one thing i really like about the ICS Tunnel Master software is that it gives us the ability to track each fleet card within each account. if collecting payments from dealers becomes a problem, what if you set the account up as a kind of auto charge customer (i.e. like a monthly membership program) and just auto charged their credit card once a month. there would probably have to be some kind of contract signed outlining the specifics, but it's an idea.

 

[rph9168]

There are two main concepts to involve car dealerships at your wash. Both require that you be in control of the washes. One is more oriented to produce revenue and the other is a promotion to potentially increase volume and gain new business.

One is to do washes for the dealer at discounted prices. The dealership may use them for cleaning theirs or customers' vehicles. The best way to do this is to sell them prepaid coupons or wash books. I would only bill them on a monthly basis if I knew they paid on time. Car dealerships are notorious for paying late and sometimes not at all.

The second is to offer some type of promotion to their customers. Again you control the usage. Either offer them a free or several free washes with a verification of purchase or if the dealer allows - put a promotional piece in the package that they give out to their customers. If you offer Club Cards that discount the wash you might use those as well. Never put free coupons in the hands of a dealership. You will end up washing their salesmen's, employees' and their friends' vehicles for free instead of potential vehicle customers.

 

[Chris28]

Open up an account with them and assign them a number 1-100 then bill them...

 

[buda]

Depending on how many automatic car wash locations there are in your area will determine if the dealer will pay you anything for your washes.

I could not sell a $5.00 exterior wash to dealers in my area for $2.00 because there was a chain of car washes in my general area and they already sold them for $2.00 each.

It is all about supply and demand, if you have competition the dealer will work you on price. If there is no other washes in the area you can definitely show them that you can wash their cars cheaper than they can do it by hand.

You can trust most new car dealers to pay their bills but I would only deal with used car dealers on a cash basis.

Regards
Bud Abraham

 

[Axxlrod]

I've had several used car dealers approach me about striking a deal to wash their lot cars. Problem is that the dealer wanted to pay $1 -$2 for a wash. Told them to forget about it.

 

[petitemoose]

We tried the local dealership route as well. It seemed to be a natural fit and a wonderful fit. The used lots ended up not paying their bill for 90 days and wanted complete details for $4.99 exterior washes. Endless threats and never satisfied. We even had one guy come in and claim we stripped out the drain plug on his oil pan and was demanding we paid for the motor replacement. The fact that he left a trail of oil into the wash from the road meant nothing.
When I hear such ideas about selling to car lots, I strongly reccomend against doing so. It was definately NOT profitable for us!
PERHAPS if you were able to pre-sell coupons good for a particular wash it may be beneficial but good luck getting a car lot to put out money in advance!

 

[buda]

If you want to work with auto dealers you need to know what you can afford to sell your car wash and/or detail services for and stick to that price.

Personally, I would not do business with used car dealers, only new car dealers. Used car dealers literally can be here today and gone tomorrow. If you did business with them, CASH ONLY, is the watchword.

Keep in mind that detailers over the years have allowed themselves to be "beat up" by dealers that is why dealers treat people in this business as thy do, they have always been able to get away with it. You have to stand up to dealers and make them realize that you are not the typical detailer they have been used to "beating up" mentally and price-wise.

Just some well-intentioned thoughts.

Bud Abraham

 

[Waxman]

Well said, Buda.

I, too have struggled in the past with dealers. I have learned which ones to work with and which to avoid. I now enjoy great relationships with a few used and 1 new dealer. The new dealer is a recent acquisition of account for me. This Winter we were slow for a month and they sent us quite a few cars. I did not get beat up on price; however I did offer a very fast turnaround time on everything as well as commensurate quality vs. price.

I do not market my carwash to any dealers currently, though a few use it. My bulk customers are funeral homes and local public transit systems (buses). They pay up front, I hit their credit card and they get a bulk dsicount. Works perfectly. You are correct; always get paid up front when possible.

 

[Joe]

Payment up front

Most business people understand what bad debt is like. They understand if they are doing business with a business that has uncollectable receivables, they are going to have to pay higher prices to get what ever it is they are purchasing.

So, this is how I approach them: I am doing business with your competition also... I don't think you want to have to pay their bill also. I do not carry accounts... therefore there will never be a price increase because I have to eat someone's non-payment. You in the long run win because of those lower prices.

I personally do business with some older clients who do not have internet access and are not able to pay up front before shipment because of distance... we fax them the bill and they pay immediately.... with the understanding that they don't get the next order till the last is paid for. A 3% discount for payment in 5 days is a way to encourage them to send it immediately.

Just some rambling thoughts.

 

[rph9168]

Car dealers in general are masters at using other people's money and used car dealers are the best at it. Unless you have some type of guarantee (like a valid credit card number) it is best to work with them on a cash on delivery basis. New car dealers normally require that you bill them but even then I would be careful. When a dealership changes hands, the detailers bill goes to the bottom of the stack and is often either not paid or is settled for pennies on the dollar.