Paint Sealant Package

I

imported_turbomangt

New member
Well, I have been a critic for some time now on how car dealers over charge on paint seal packages, now I'm no better than them. I have seen the potential dollars in this market, so after 2 months of planning I put together my own program, and its working. I will have 2 dealers on the program in a month, here is how it will work. I will paint seal new cars for $100 used ones for $135. I provide all the flyers to hand out to customers, and conduct meetings to their salesmen keeping them up to speed with regard to the advantages of the program. One of the dealers going on the program will price it out retail as follows. He will kick back $100 to the salesman for selling it (money is motivation) He will take $300 for himself. That means he will charge around $499.00 to his customers. Several dealers near him are charging $799.00 already, so he will be cheaper. Now, this was my idea. I will warrenty the work for the life of the vehicle, offering transfer from one owner to the next. Here's the catch. In order to keep my warrenty in tack, owner must return the car to me every six months. (the dealer won't be involved after the initial sale) for re application. The price for reapplication will be $150. which is $350 less than what he spent the first time. A small price to pay every six months for keep his car looking perfect. I will have print in the disclaimer stating that road chips, scratches, swirl marks and other defects caused by outside factors are not covered, Just to cover my butt. Gary
 
I can assure you this is my idea, and the only reason I'm jumping into the pot is for exposure in another market is for the income. As you know, doing detail work for dealers is cheap, not my cup of tea, however the sealant packages are big bucks. If I can apply it and get the customer educated on proper car care tips and advice, its a winner. I'm just trying to help others with ideas that work for me, its called brain storming,
 
Quote: I will warranty the work for the life of the vehicle, offering transfer from one owner to the next. Here's the catch. In order to keep my warranty in tack, owner must return the car to me every six months. (the dealer won't be involved after the initial sale) for re application.



~One mans opinion / observation~



I’m just a dumb Architect so would you explain what the ‘warranty for the life of the vehicle’ would cover if the process entails re-application every six months?





~ Hope this helps ~



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/

justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*
 
Good question, my son is studying to become an Architect, tough field, but great pay. Here are my thoughts on this. Most people wax their cars, and don't evn realize the best wax under the best conditions only lasts 30 days (on a driver car) Paint technology has gone through many changes over the years. Heck, even chemical supply companies can't keep a catalog updated for more than 2 months. The average consumer knows little if anything about synthetic polymers. Those of us here, do, and we know that nothing will last more than 6 months anyway. By offering a regular program that qualifies as the best protection you can have on your vehicle, I think it will sell. I charge $200 for a detail, I think if someone has my sealant package on their car, they will be willing to re apply it for $135 or so, to keep it up. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my logic. I would of never guessed that jeans with holes in them would sell new for $90 a clip, but Abacrombie is making a fortune on them. "One mans waste is another fortune"
 
Devil's advocate: "would you explain what the ‘warranty for the life of the vehicle’ would cover if the process entails re-application every six months? I think some potential client will ask
 
I appreciate your help. Maybe I will change the way I word the document based on feedback here. My thoughts are this. Certain conditions must be followed in order for the warrenty to continue, which is to re apply the sealant every six months. If you have constructive ideas on how to change it, I'm all ears.
 
Perhaps I should forget backing it with a warrenty and just offer recommendation that it be kept up every 6 months. Still looking for other suggestions. I will be doing the brochure this weekend. all feedback appreciated. Thanks in advance, Gary
 
What product are you using for this program?



I understand the reapplication every six months, all the dealer programs do that. However, i don't believe they use the term Reapplication. I believe they use "renew' or some such term.
 
You still havent explained what the warranty will cover and what you are offering should your system "fail"? I think you are on to an excellent idea for "quick" profits though.
 
Since your educating the Salesmen I would be sure to have them tell customers the need for reapplication and why it is necessary.



Features tell while benefits sell!;)



I assume it's the Finance guy who will be doing the selling of it and he is also going to be selling the Warranty packages at the same time.



The Warranty is a one time charge and shows benefits and features (potential value to the customer) over the length of the contract. Sometimes there is a deductible or something, but no additional monies paid out unless there is a problem. The warrant is a kind of a reacative sale (fixes problems) where as the Sealant package is a proactive sale (prevents problems). Sort of like Police and Fire. Police react and generate income from tickets and such. Fire Dept. spend lots of $$$ to prevent fires and city councils never seem to understand that.



The salesmen is going to have to have a reason as to why the customer should pay $499 up front AND then another $150 every six months there after (education). The $499 is easy enough, but the additional $150 is what I think your going to have to decide on how best to sell. Sales men can sometimes leave out the details if you know what I mean.



I personally like the idea of using the word "warranty". The $150 keeps steady business for you and the "warranty" could be against something as simple as "fading, discoloration, & oxidation". Be sure to include in your list of covered items (factory paint). You might not want a legal battle with someone who just got a $99 Maaco paint job on a used car they just bought through the dealer with a sealant package!



My girlfriend bought a Miata back in the early 90's with a sealant package and after only 2 or 3 months the rear bumper began fading. Come to find out the bumper had been repainted (cheaply of course). The dealership fixed the bumper (buffed I assume) My point is from your standpoint it is time and materials for you.



Just my 0.02 cents.:nixweiss
 
I have often wandered how does this process work? I know Zeibart has been charging $400-$500 dollars for something called "Diamand Gloss Protectant", and the only thing I can gather about what it is, is some type of polymer sealant. Does anyone know exactly what this sealer is and where do you get it and how do you apply it. It sounds to good to be true, but I would like to get in to it if its profitable. I think I would market it a little differently. Perhaps not through a dealership, but maybe something like $150.00 a pop whenever you would have it applied or so.
 
Detail Plus sells what I feel is an excellent sealant. VERY reasonable price, looks great, easy to use, and really lasts.



You can ask for a report as well that compares their sealant to about 30 other products on the market (including Zaino). The report may not be free, but it is interesting to see the tests. I keep it with my Gurureports and still stick by my Collinite! The specific product I am refering to is called Diamond Plus Paint Sealant. They also sell a teflon added version and the guy at Detail Plus himself will tell you he only sells it because some detailers demand it and it doesn't do anything.



Diamond Plus



Detailing Supplies & Chemicals > Chemicals > Waxes & Paint Sealants



At $22.95 a gallon I haven't found a better value. The downside is they have a $100 min order (I think) since they are not setup for "Retail Sales".
 
I used to own a Ziebart franchise. What we used a few years ago was a polymer sealnt that was actuially made by Ziebart. It was applied by hand or orbital buffer and required an annual reapplication for the warranty to remain valid. If I remember it only covered fading to the original paint.



Ziebart makes (or used to at least) their own chemicals. ANd to be honest some were horrible when it was hot or humid out. So we ended up using many meg's and a few Ardex products at my shop and seemed to get better results. Things can change in 5 years, but at least back then this was the truth.
 
One suggestion I've read on another board that was talking about this topic (my previous Buda reference) was to give a basic "paint will shine, water will bead for 6 months, renew every 6 months. If it fails to do so within 6 months, get a free renewal". This is something the average driver can gauge to see if the "warranty claims" are being fulfilled. Not too much "gray area" either. It either beads or it doesn't. You would of course need to put in the disclaimers you've thought of-swirls, chips, etc.



From what I understand, some franchises have all claims payouts handled by the head office-nothing out of pocket for the detailer.



My take on this is you just sell your exterior detail under a maintenance package name.
 
Thanks all of you that posted here and on my web site. I feel the crowd is split on the warrenty issue. I understand that "what is covered" can be a grey area. What I may do is list all the "why's" about how paint sealant works and its advantages. I really would like to come up with a stratigy on getting the cars back every 6 months. I will keep you in the loop as I procede. Gary
 
turbo



I'd be very skiddish about the warranty. Anyone willing to pay 500 up front and 300 per year probably doesn't understand the first thing about proper paint maintenance.



On that premise alone, you can have the Average Jo or Jane washing their vehicle with dish detergent with a dirty mitts (or even worse sponges) every month or so. A couple of washes along and they could inflict severe swirls, scratches etc. and the "Beading" factor could easily go away after a week or so.



Plus, then you have the whole tree sap, tar and bird droppings/water etching to contend with and how that will be covered by your warranty.



All in all, I can you see you losing a lot of time, effort and profit by offering a warranty.



Not having given this a lot of thought, it would probably be easier to just leave a nice reminder (like the one's used for oil change intervals) and a business card magnet that they can put on the fridge and call you for a "renewal". Sure the follow-up will be a lot less, but in the end it could prove a much sounder business model.



Warranties in my opinion are a very very bad thing unless you are very large like a Ziebart franchise where the shear volume can offset any one-off bad customers.



Just my $0.02 ...



Best of luck, and keep us updated as to how it all unfolds for you.
 
Originally posted by turbomangt

Most people wax their cars, and don't evn realize the best wax under the best conditions only lasts 30 days (on a driver car).
Click to expand...



That is just completely wrong. I get 90+ days of beading with S100, Meguiars #26 and Carnauba Moose. Maybe in a place with heavy industrial fallout and acid rain, but not in my area. I have some customers who I have a hard time convincing that I need to rewax their cars after 90 days because their paint is still beading nicely.



Other than that, if you can work out something like this with the dealers, more power to you. If they are going to make a lot of money doing this, you might as well get your chunk, right? ;)
 
I've got my flame suit on...



This is a sleazy thread.

$499 for a sealant?

I know its done everyday, but that doesn't mean I have to do it...



Take good care of your customers, they'll take care of you.



Dealers suck. You know that...



Jim
 
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