Comments for Auto Service World

Comment on From the Magazine: Chemical reaction by Dave Greenwood

Dave Greenwood — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 21:36:08 +0000

How do you get at a battery in thermal runaway that is a sealed unit?
We do have a lithium battery extinguisher that will put them out if you have access.

Comment on Bestbuy shareholder Frontier expands footprint by Richard Hylands @ Automotive Warehouse

Richard Hylands @ Automotive Warehouse — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:47:21 +0000

Congrats Frontier Automotive!
The new building looks incredible!

Comment on How much cheaper EVs need to get in Canada by Mike

Mike — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 15:24:35 +0000

If anyone thinks that the price of electricity isn’t going to skyrocket as EV adoption increases, they’re living in a fantasy world.

Comment on Brake pads by Ketullabrakes

Ketullabrakes — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 03:39:35 +0000

great products for toyota and Lexus aftermarket brake pads

Comment on Why this shop owner doesn’t just do an oil change by Bob Ward

Bob Ward — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 14:14:23 +0000

Instead of turning these people away it would be a perfect opportunity to sell them on why they should come to us instead. Spend some time with them and educate them on the importance of letting professionals service their vehicle. We have converted quite a few people to get their vehicles serviced at our shop.

Comment on The gaps in dashboard warning light knowledge by Shawn Greenberg

Shawn Greenberg — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 15:55:34 +0000

Sadly, no one actually reads the owners manual or makes any effort to familiarize themselves with their vehicle. The trend is to go to social media, ask a question and expect someone else to do the research for them.

Comment on Why you should thoroughly inspect vehicles by Geoff Walton

Geoff Walton — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 17:27:36 +0000

Good, regular customers appreciate our recommendations. They almost seem suspicious when I tell them they only needed an oil change. I use the same line every time – “I’ve never sold anybody something they didn’t need, but I make my living fixing cars, so you better believe I looked”.

Comment on Nearly half of Canadians can’t handle ‘inevitable life events’ like car repairs by Mike

Mike — Sun, 29 Sep 2024 23:07:46 +0000

Car repairs are a dreaded but inevitable part of life. I try to keep the costly ones at bay by staying on top of all the required maintenance in a timely manner. This has helped me so far… but as I said before, car repairs are inevitable.

Comment on What can instantly kill a shop’s sale by Robert Nurse

Robert Nurse — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 21:03:45 +0000

There is much work to be done besides misleading and manipulating the next generation into an early bankruptcy. I believe my shop is worth more money as a business then just a piece of land. We need government incentives for young technicians to take the leap of fate and purchase our shops. We need lending institutions to provide affordable funding to these individuals. We need tooling companies to support the next generation. We as an industry have to support and show the next generation that hard work can and will provide financial stability. This illusionary fantasy of shop ownership that our industry is constantly promoting is scaring everyone right out of our industry and has to STOP! Just imagine a world with no dealerships or aftermarket shops. Imagine a world of just purchasing throw away car online.

Comment on What can instantly kill a shop’s sale by Geoff Walton

Geoff Walton — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 19:24:13 +0000

Not just that Rob, but with the land values greatly exceeding the business value, how can we expect to help a tech move in to our chairs like we did? Even if it could happen, a commercial mortgage at todays rates would torpedo any chance of being financially feasible. The alternative of a vendor take back mortgage is also out of the question unfortunately, with the uncertainty of our business model with the EV mandates looming. I don’t want to take this place back long after I retire and its been bled dry!

Comment on What can instantly kill a shop’s sale by Rob Nurse

Rob Nurse — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 17:38:24 +0000

Touche Geoff. Your land developers are not looking to purchase aftermarket shops to operate them as an investment as Hunt Demarest is suggesting. Multi million dollar dealerships are being leveled to make room for condos. In todays economy land is more valuable for a residence complex than a business. How are the next generation going to afford to purchase and operate an aftermarket shop? How are the shops that have been manipulated to believe bigger is better hoping investors are waiting to purchase their shops as an investment be able to get those same investors to pay more than the land developers are willing to pay? How are the investors going to be able to operate our shops with no automotive knowledge? If your anticipating selling your shop to an investor to keep your team employed good luck with that pipe dream.

Comment on What can instantly kill a shop’s sale by Geoff Walton

Geoff Walton — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 15:44:00 +0000

Lets face it. Most of us in urban / suburban locations will be bought out by land developers unfortunately. I would estimate 70% of my “competition” (I don’t believe in local competition. We all gotta eat and I want to see everyone succeed as an industry) have disappeared and been turned into condo buildings. I don’t want to see it happen here, but at the end of the day, its whoever offers the best deal. And developers have the deeper pockets, and facilitate the cleanest transfer.

Comment on What can instantly kill a shop’s sale by Robert Nurse

Robert Nurse — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 12:31:52 +0000

“The magic dream is … get your kids to run it, make them make all your profit, and you can just ride off into the sunset and live in Florida or whatever.” Yea lets make our children take over our burden while we sit back and prey they don’t mess it up. This guy is just another idiot in our industry we need to get rid of.

Comment on What can instantly kill a shop’s sale by Rob Nurse

Rob Nurse — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 17:13:17 +0000

Recently I was at the Lindertech conference and walked up to Patty Kettles from AARO to get my
name tag. She said, “Rob?” I replied “yep, everyone knows me I’m the bad ass in this industry”. Bruce Eccles was sitting beside her and said no your not a bad ass, you just have your own way of doing things. I said “yes and I am making money at it.” He then said “then who are we to tell you your doing it wrong.” That’s right, but every time I open up an email or read an article I am continually reminded how I have failed at this career choice, because I refuse to remove myself from the bays. Now I am being told that I will have a hard time finding some one to purchase my business. Do you know how demoralizing it is to constantly having this crap shoved in my face, while I continually prove these critics wrong. No wonder we have a technician shortage issue. Honestly I am not counting on a investor to relieve me from my burden. I strongly believe I will pass on my business to a hard working technician that wants to better their lifestyle. I understand that companies like AutoCanada are buying up dealerships, and insurance companies are buying up body shops. Good for them. At the end of the day aftermarket shops are just small businesses, just like accounting firms. I do not believe that wall street bankers are flooding into our industry to gobble up shops for investments. So please stop pretending we are something we are not!

Comment on What can instantly kill a shop’s sale by Alan Gelman

Alan Gelman — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 15:32:21 +0000

You nailed it. I was lucky enough to find a like minded (family oriented) buyer, who himself like me is a Licensed Tech. He blended well into my position, buy yes he bought a job, not so much a stand alone business.
Wish I did read your story 5 years ago. Water under the bridge now. Tnx Again

Comment on Trades stigma strong among young workers by Rob Nurse

Rob Nurse — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 17:45:41 +0000

There is no question there is stigma of the trades, with the automotive industry representing the worst of all trades. We lure young individuals into our trade by representing a cool persona of performance, racing, restoration and new technology only for them to find out later that it is not as glamorous as they were made to believe . We do not need to find solutions of attracting the next victim to this industry. What we need to do, is show the people that have taken the leap of fate that this can be a very lucrative career choice, for the right type of person. To survive in this industry you have to be able to deal with disappointment, failure, anxiety and problem solve the unknown. You need to have an insatiable desire to prove yourself to everyone. Young techs need to know that their salaries are fair and comparable to any other middle class industry and need to be taught to live within their means. Everyone wants and believes they deserve more money for what they do, regardless of what they do. We need to know as an industry and monitor the stats of how many people are entering as techs, how long are they staying and why are they leaving. We need to know how many techs are evolving into owning and operating their own shops and how long into their careers for this to become possible, compared to how many are throwing in the towel making career changes. We as an industry have to do our due diligence to sift through the ones that are not going to stay and guide those victims to another career choice sooner. Just because you make it to the big leagues in sports does not mean you will endure a life long career. We then need government incentives, tooling companies backing, and lending institutions to promote and support seasoned techs to start up their own small businesses. We as an industry have to slow the rapid change of technology down. We do this by simply educating and keeping consumers in their cars longer. Showing the next generation that success can be achieved over time is how we solve our technician shortage issue.

Comment on Trades stigma strong among young workers by Jer

Jer — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 23:50:45 +0000

Any “blue collar trade” is a direct route to entrepreneurial aspersions. Trade work in essence serves the public. There is a sense of instant gratification for Tradespeople who feel confident in a job well done. Not many sectors of employment offer this. It takes years of post ~education “Field Learning “ to master any of these actual crafts. In the end only a few find their way to becoming entrepreneurs. In my trade life it took 25 years of experience to finally hang my own shingle on the door. That’s when I believe your ready. The shingle is 8 years old now.

Comment on Trades stigma strong among young workers by Geoff Walton

Geoff Walton — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 18:56:19 +0000

I believe this stigma exists mainly with the people supposedly guiding this generation, not the kids themselves. From what I can see with my own kids and their friends, there seems to be a reckoning coming against the educrats telling all of our kids they need a university diploma to be successful. Fortunately for the kids who pursue these industries in the future, the competition level will be low and the profits will be high. It’s not going to be hard to eat every other kids lunch who have learned nothing in the way of real world skills.

Comment on From the Magazine: Losing the personal touch by Geoff Walton

Geoff Walton — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 18:51:39 +0000

Valid points. Personally, I go out of my way to support my independent, locally owned parts houses. Pricing is marginally different, and the service is without comparison. And when they are gone, we will surely miss them.