Conflict of interests....kinda long

Swoop411 · 11-27-04, 10:04

I have made several posts on here and I read through Autopia every day. I still have some questions and weird situation. Several months ago my girlfriend and I decided to open a used car lot and detail shop. We found a property that used to be a used car dealership so there was no problem with zoning. I played games with the state getting my business license and I am in the process of obtaining the dealer license. I am having alot of trouble finding insurance that doesnt make my nose bleed when I read the quote. I had postcards printed up with some "package" prices on them and have been handing them out. I am thinking about doing a newspaper ad as well. I am really just frustrated since I havent had alot of initial interest. We are located on a main highway and are clearly visible from the road. I am just wondering if the auto sales on the sign scares people away. I thought about going to the local used car dealerships to see if they were interested in having their cars detailed but again I think they wouldnt be interested in having their cars detailed at their competition. I am going to a local new car dealership to see if they are interested in restoration work on their trade-ins this week. I posted about that earlier. Sorry for rambling and if its hard to make sense of this. Just some thoughts that were in my mind and they didnt really come out in a logical order! Im just kind of frustrated since I had a small detailing business when I lived in North Carolina and had no shortage of customers, now that I have a better location and facilities it sometimes seems like I couldnt GIVE away FREE details! I guess I am just fishing for advice from some of you who have been there and done that.

mirrorfinishman · 11-27-04, 03:39

From a marketing point of view, I am not really sure that a used car lot and detail shop actually fit together very well. I think that it may become rather difficult to attract retail detailing customers to that type of location. As far as doing wholesale accounts, that type of location really should not be a problem.

Maybe you could contact some of the car rental shops in your area and try to get some of their clean-up work. You may also want to go after commercial accounts. You know, the types of nearby businesses that have fleets of either cars or trucks. Businesses such as independently owned flower shops and other delivery types of local businesses would be a good start.

oaevo8u · 11-27-04, 08:51

Down the street from me there is a used lot and they have a detail area in the back but they seem to only detail there own vehicles.