Anyone ever work for dealership?

jsatek: THAT WRITEUP IS THE MOST IMPRESSIVE I'VE EVER SEEN!....EVER!



Congrat's for your knowledge and efforts. Too bad other business' don't mimick that approach to quality.



Totoland Mach
 
Wow - thanks for the compliment Toto.



All of these procedures can be implemented in any detailing business. From your parents garage to a 10,000 square foot shop. Take yourself seriously and the success will follow.
 
turbomangt said:
I started out billing them $150 per car, then they reduced me to $125, then $100...
Click to expand...



How did they approach you on this? Was it, "$125 or nothing, Gary" or did you work out some agreement for less money/less work and product?



When a Cadillac dealership I worked with hired a new General Manager, he brought his Chevrolet background to us and immediately wanted $25/car less on our already large discount from retail. I told him I was bare bones on my charges, so he asked if I could do less work. Sure, but then everyone from the store would whine about quality and I would be out (which is what he wanted). Since I wouldn't change my charge, he brought a service porter up front to clean cars. That went well :down as he had no idea how to run a machine or finish a car. I'd been loyal to them for years and took their work over everyone else. That was their thanks: cut your throat for a few dollars.



Dealer work is often inconsistent and inconvenient. It can be a good source of practice cars and does help pay some bills. Tough business
 
Stalerships are hell.

I was about to buy a Chevrolet dealership 2 months ago and my mother talked me out of it citing the "joyful" youth I had working in ours and my Dad had a stoke at 51. I also somehow got involved with my wifes friend's husband, who incidentally should work for a dealership.



The biggest problem with dealers is that a grand majority of the people managing them have barely a high school education and have spent extended time incarcerated. They just dont have the core skills to make it happen. They believe that to commit petty theft while wearing a suit is the way to do business. (many do this, not just car dealers) Sticking it to a detail guy for $25 bucks per car is doing NOTHING beneficial for the bottom line of the store, its just making some loser believe he is doing his job and the owner of the store owes him now. I never told a manager an accurate number, they were always padded in my favor. I also would never look at numbers below the thousand mark. So for a guy to shaft the tint guy or the detail shop for $300, would go completely unnoticed.



If you find a well run dealership to work for, there are some, do it. But remember, nothing lasts forever.
 
TexasTB said:
not detailing in any way, shape, or form.

It is Hacking, screwing, and covering up.

From rubbing tranny fluid on the hood, to painting the engine with clear paint, to spray painting the carpet...not dye...spray painting...

Blacking out check engine lights and all sorts of shady stuff.

As far as 400-500....that sounds far fetched. Some, not many, are willing to pay. They are in busines fro money. Buy cheap, fix cheap, sell high.....



I would never work for another dealer. 98% are hacks at best. no if's and's or But's. Period.
Click to expand...

Wow man this is my first post but I had to commend you on your hatred for dealers.:down

I work for a dealer here in WI. I can guarantee you that nothing we do is hacked. We have a full spectrum of products and nothing is send out with tranny fluid on the hood or anywhere else. We have NO spray paint in our shop and only have carpet dye. Never in my 20+ years as a detailer or technician have I worked for any dealership that has blacked out a CES light.

Maybe screwed with employees cars but never a guests car.

Don't know what kind of dealership you worked for or what but sounds like you needed to find a reputable one.

We sell/service Land Rover, Volvo, and Jaguar. Never in our wildest dreams would we hack any of these cars/trucks.
 
Man, I make $200 a week..... Not to toot my own horn, but I put out better work than my boss with 25 years under his belt... It is a very frustrating place to work at. Sales managers only want them done fast, if they're shiny, their happy. Then the salesmen track dirt an mud into freshly shampooed cars and toss any matts you put down under the seats. Then they come back an ***** that the cars are dirty and need another complete. That only scratches the surface. So if you can handle the drama, and redoing cars 3-4 times before they are sold, go for it!
 
I used to do work for a local Porsche / Audi / VW dealership. They would send me the pre-owned cars that needed paint correction that their in house detailers couldn't handle. I didn't offer a reduced price and most jobs were between $250 - $400 since they were always paint correction. They also offered a high end detailing service that they would just tack on $100 - $200 to the customer and said do whatever you can to it. I realize this type of relationship is pretty rare to come by, but it happens. The way I got started was I detailed a bunch of cars for one of the salesman. When his manager was looking for a detailer, he'd recommend me.



I recently just got back from a trip to Toronto to visit Kevin (Picus) and while I was there a small dealership called him up based on a referral from a BMW dealership he does work for. He did a full correction on a Black Aston Martin DB9 and he was paid his normal detailing rate. I believe he also got in at the dealerships by detailing one of the salesman's vehicles (Kevin correct me if I'm wrong).



Anyways, the opportunities are out there to perform high quality work for dealerships, it's all about getting your foot in the door, proving your work and talking to the right people. They often provide a steady stream of clients that you can still charge your going rate for.



George
 
I would say take the job.

Yeas ago I worked for many dealerships and they all were terrible. But I went into it knowing that quality is not really what they want. Its all about quantity and making their quota.

If you detail for a dealership you could possibly get a lot of time with a rotary and practice many different techniques. Now I’m not assuming that you will make many mistakes but if you do make one the dealership will cover the repair. Also if you go in to the new job with confidence (not arrogance) and they see you actually are better then the rest, you could move up quickly and be making more money then the next guy.



One time I detail my car perfectly the weekend before work. When Monday came around I drove in and everyone noticed the car. The sales manager asked me if I would park my ride out front by the entrance so it could be seen by everyone driving by. I did. At the end of the week he came to me with an envelope with $300 in it. I asked him what it was for. He told me that he was able to sell a few more cars just because of my car out front. Customers came in to ask if my car was for sale, and when he said no he was able to talk them into a new car.

That same manager gave my card out for me with every car he sold. To this day I still have some of those customers.

Dealerships are all about money, so if you know that going in you can make a lot. When you leave to start your mobile business you could already have a good client base.



Ps. This was at a Acura dealership and my car (really my moms car) was a white Buick Reatta.
 
miahman93 gave some very good advise. Any experience is valueable experience. I can't imagine going into this business without any real world presense in the marketplace before hand. Dealers may be on the low end of most Autopian's client list, but trust me, they can give you more business than than any group of retail customers. The chances of them sending a $1000-2000 detail your way are slim to none, but doing $80 complete details sure do add up if you can do enough of them.
 
David Fermani said:
Wow - that's pretty harsh. I've never seen or witnessed this type/level of "hack detailing" from a new/used car dealership. Yes, dealer detailing is generally low quality, but detailing a vehicle is what YOU make of the job, and the level of quality YOU choose to put out. If you learn and understand the "right" way to detail, that's more valuable than anything. I have and do see alot of B-Lot dealers and Wholesalers doing unacceptable forms and levels of detailing like you mentioned above, but not usually at new car places. I've never witnessed Autopian/Enthusiast levels of detailing at any detail shop, better yet dealerships, but that's not always the realistic form of detailing for mainstream America. Trust me, there's not anything wrong with Autopian levels of detailing, I'm not knocking it, but if the people you focus your efforts to please don't recognize or appreciate the extra effort, it may be worthless to a certain point. Good luck finding a job.
Click to expand...



Thats what's wrong with this country. Don't get me wrong i love America but quality is not appreciated anymore. What has happened to our industrialized nation? Does America make anything anymore?



People just want to make a buck.

But it's great to detail a car the right way and be proud of it when everyone is staring at it.



good luck!
 
I have worked at 4 dealers in 4 different states (all same car line) not as a detailer but as a parts guy. In NJ, we had 2 car washers and 2 detailers, both detailers were good, they took care of the cars not like most I have seen. In FL we had about 10 detailers and a slew of wash guys. 1 detailer there I would trust. In TN there was 2 detailers and 1 wash guy. The 2 detailers were ok, cars were not the best. Here I have not met the detailers they are in a seperate building down the street. I have seen the work that comes out of there and I would 95% of the cars could be posted on here for a click and brag.

I would say that experience just depends on the dealer. Maybe because I have worked for a high end car line I have not come across a hack, well TN was close. I would get the job see how you like it. If anything do your best and collect the money. I know the dealers I have worked at they get paid like a tech. Some cars pay 4 hours you get 4 hours, if it takes you less great if it takes you longer, you need to speed up. I think this is what causes people to become a hack but then the same can be said for a tech. I do not know how your market is but from what I hear the detailers get $13-20 an hour, dependin on who, experience and what dealer I was at.
 
staceyfb said:
Wow man this is my first post but I had to commend you on your hatred for dealers.:down

I work for a dealer here in WI. I can guarantee you that nothing we do is hacked. We have a full spectrum of products and nothing is send out with tranny fluid on the hood or anywhere else. We have NO spray paint in our shop and only have carpet dye. Never in my 20+ years as a detailer or technician have I worked for any dealership that has blacked out a CES light.

Maybe screwed with employees cars but never a guests car.

Don't know what kind of dealership you worked for or what but sounds like you needed to find a reputable one.

We sell/service Land Rover, Volvo, and Jaguar. Never in our wildest dreams would we hack any of these cars/trucks.
Click to expand...



Although this post is old and the poster is probably not around on this site anymore, I'd just like to state that this is coming from the dealership that booted me out in favor of cheaper labor from the $6/hr high school kids at their used car dealership. Their sales manager even admitted to me that their detailers don't know what they are doing, but corporate was forcing them to look after their bottom line.



They would also tack on a $125 "Service Charge" on every used vehicle they sold... my charge. So the "guest" ended up paying for the work anyway.
 
Todd - Every dealer tacks on a clean up charge onto the cost of the car. They have to absorb it some way. Many dealers I did business with doubled my charge.
 
I worked for a few months for a "friend" that ran a bodyshop and bought cars at the auto-auction for resale. These were a real thrill - 10-12 year old beaters, with loads of issues. I tried at first to detail to my standards the best I could. But the price he wanted to pay was lower than whale poop. So, I started cutting back and just tried for the clean/shiney instead of 100% swirl free. It never seemed to matter to him. He got harder to deal with, didn't like to pay on time and the final straw was after a detail I did on a nasty Nissan Altima, he didn't call for 6 weeks. Then when I called him, he said well - I gotta get on you about something, OK what? well, you didn't clean the trunk in that Altima, OK I say, I don't usually do trunks. I did spend most of a day washing, claying, polishing, waxing, plus scrubbing the interior - all for 75 bucks. After that, I knew I had "learned" enough from him and I started detailing cars for people that appreciated my work and paid 3X as much.
 
I got a call about a Porsche Carrera S that had some water spots. The owner and I make an appointment to remove the spots and also to detail his Range Rover. A few days later, he calls and tells me that the dealer has removed the water spots but he still wants the Range Rover detailed and he'd have me take care of the Porsche the next time it needs to be waxed.



I go out to detail the Range Rover and the Porsche is sitting outside in the sun (the RR was in the garage and he had a fan set up for me) and this is what I saw:



2878Porsche_dealer_swirls1.jpg




2878Porsche_dealer_swirls3.jpg




2878Porsche_dealer_swirls4.jpg




In person, it looks even worse. You'd think a Porsche dealer would have someone competent enough to properly polish out a car. You'd think. :(



Anyway, he is supposed to have a clear bra installed in a week or so and will be taking the car back to the dealer and show them all the swirls. I cautioned him that many times, the detailer will just glop on an oily glaze to hide the swirls and when the clear bra installed wipes down the hood and front of the fenders to apply the bra, any swirls that were simply covered up will show. If the dealer can't properly polish out the car, I told him he should hold off on the clear bra installation so there aren't swirls underneath it.



Want to know where the water spots came from in the first place? Sprinklers at the dealership. :wall Seriously, how stupid do they have to be to park expensive sports cars in an area where they will be hit several times a week by sprinklers? Someone with such little common sense shouldn't be in the business of selling Porsches.



JuneBug-I went through the same thing you did early on, detailing trashed auction cars for a tote the note lot here in Arlington. Crap cars, low pay, excessive demands, etc.
 
Scottwax said:
:wall Seriously, how stupid do they have to be to park expensive sports cars in an area where they will be hit several times a week by sprinklers?
Click to expand...



I've managed quite a few subcontracted detail depts at dealerships and their property maintenance was always a costly factor for us. If it wasn't sprinklers it was the rest of the landscape crew. Projectile dirt, rocks and grass would be embedded into the rear bumpers when the grass was cut.



In the defense of dealership detailers though, sometimes sales departments and their employees aren't the brightest. They often do promise a completely reconditioned used vehicle on the spot, to be done in an hour- that's never been touched before. Or they use a shop rag and glass cleaner to dust a car prior to a customer's test drive appointment, etc.



Also, once a vehicle had been fully reconditioned once, it was always a struggle to get sales to pay the full price to the service department again if I felt it was necessary. Whether it was a demo vehicle for two weeks or sat in the back under trees for 3 months- if '... it was already polished...' all they would want to pay is for a wash/vac/windows.
 
I detail at a dealership.....when we do full details and actually buff cars, thier pretty much always piece of **** cars that are going to auctions anyways.



Me and the manager are the only ones that buff anything.





We dont leave cars in bad condition like that...but at the last dealership I worked at they loved to buff cars with a wool pad and leave them with swirls and holograms all over the car.





It is true that there is more of the cover up **** attitude around here...but still, we make sure the cars look good.

But thats the ways it works when you get payed 65 bucks for a "full detail" that can take a long *** time on some cars





When I say full detail, I mean full interior, exterior, under hood, trunk, shampoo carpets, scrub panels, everything.



65 isnt a lot of money so I try to keep the full detail time in the 2-3 hour category to
 
I hate to join the chorus here but I work for an Acura dealership and aside from good interor cleaning you just won't have the time to do a proper exterior detail.

1 1/2 hrs is what the standard alloted time is for a full vehicle prep.

Cars are washed with a hose, soap bucket, soft brush, and chamois. :cry:



It's steady money, but it isn't what anyone here would consider detailing.
 
Quote from Scott:

JuneBug-I went through the same thing you did early on, detailing trashed auction cars for a tote the note lot here in Arlington. Crap cars, low pay, excessive demands, etc.

__________________

Owner, Scott's Mobile Auto Detailing

I test for Optimum, Clearkote and Meguiars



Thanks Scott, I feel better knowing we've both walked the same road. As more time goes by, I see things in a new light and here's what I've learned so far -

1. don't try to buy every product out there - you'll have zero profit real soon!

2. don't try to do a "show car" detail on some one's daily driver

3. this goes with #2, evaluate the customer - just as much as the car

4. my latest life lesson - always leave some wiggle room with the customer - like

finding out that car had clear overspray on it after you wash it and you didn't

allow for the compounding/polishing to remove!



Live and learn - ain't life grand!
 
I worked at a dealership in college not as a detailer but as a lot porter. After about 6 months of me detailing my and my coworkers cars they put me incharge of the picking cars to go on the showroom as well as getting them all shined up.

We had a designated detailer in back who was a complete hack, he thought he was the worlds best. He actually challenged me to a "detail off" I accepted and we each detailed half the hood of a car with our own products and our own tools. we both got done and his looked pretty good so he offered up a draw. I said hold on a sec and grabed some ISP alcohol and poured it over the whole hood and magically the swirls reapeared on his side :). He admited defeat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top