Dealership Ceramic Coating

[InnovativeAutoDetail]

Is there a possible market for one to up-sell Ceramic Coating through a dealership? I am thinking about going to dealerships in my area and making a deal to up-sell a coating to a customer after vehicle purchase. I would charge X amount and pay the dealership X amount for the up-sell.

Would this be a good idea?

 

[jeffindetail]

Would be worth a shot, but most dealerships have an appearance protection package that they up-sell in finance & those carry a warranty. They’d be unlikely to promote anything else they make a ton of money with little expense. Most of these programs don’t even charge the dealership for the products. They just get a cut of the expensive warranty if they sell one.

 

[InnovativeAutoDetail]

Would be worth a shot, but most dealerships have an appearance protection package that they up-sell in finance & those carry a warranty. They’d be unlikely to promote anything else they make a ton of money with little expense. Most of these programs don’t even charge the dealership for the products. They just get a cut of the expensive warranty if they sell one.

Ah ok, I see. I may go around to some used car lots.

 

[rlmccarty2000]

It’s worth a try. Some dealerships hire outside detailers to detail some of their cars. You can’t go wrong with getting your name to as many people as possible. It’s a numbers game, the more people you contact the more chances you will have to get hired,

 

[InnovativeAutoDetail]

It’s worth a try. Some dealerships hire outside detailers to detail some of their cars. You can’t go wrong with getting your name to as many people as possible. It’s a numbers game, the more people you contact the more chances you will have to get hired,

That is what I am thinking, I may go ahead and make a few rounds tomorrow after a job. It never hurts to ask!

 

[RTexasF]

I would think that higher end car dealers like Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, and the like might be more open to what you are offering. It's more likely the buyer/owner could afford it as opposed to a used car lot buyer.

Also how would it be presented to the potential customer? Seems like this would require a more personal touch rather than a business manager pumping the sale at closing. You need to work this out prior to approaching anyone.

Consider also that dealerships generally set the price they will pay you not the other way around. They will charge whatever they think they can get away with.

 

[InnovativeAutoDetail]

I would think that higher end car dealers like Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, and the like might be more open to what you are offering. It's more likely the buyer/owner could afford it as opposed to a used car lot buyer.

Also how would it be presented to the potential customer? Seems like this would require a more personal touch rather than a business manager pumping the sale at closing. You need to work this out prior to approaching anyone.

Consider also that dealerships generally set the price they will pay you not the other way around. They will charge whatever they think they can get away with.

That makes sense, I think for around $600-$800 someone would spring for a Ceramic Coating at a cheaper dealership. My old roommates grandmother opted for a $600 Ceramic Coating in CA after a purchase of a new Toyota I think.

I will be working this out lol, not exactly sure. I am going to figure something out on how to pitch it to dealers.

Well then I would walk from the dealership. I already am willing to give them a huge chunk anyway.

 

[Jordi]

I would think that higher end car dealers like Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, and the like might be more open to what you are offering. It's more likely the buyer/owner could afford it as opposed to a used car lot buyer.

Also how would it be presented to the potential customer? Seems like this would require a more personal touch rather than a business manager pumping the sale at closing. You need to work this out prior to approaching anyone.

Consider also that dealerships generally set the price they will pay you not the other way around. They will charge whatever they think they can get away with.

My MB dealership offers ceramic coating with a bug/tar/bird ... warranty. It was the same price as most detailers in the area and the dealer did a great job. I did not ask if they use their own staff or if they sub out the work. The only bad part was they really under quoted on the time they would need the car. Not a big issue since it turned out looking much better than any other car on the lot.

 

[TTQ B4U]

I would try the obscure smaller boutique used car lots. They may already have a detailer on staff though.

 

[Powerman]

A lot of the high end dealers sell the 3m product, and they get a lot for it.


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[fightnews]

That makes sense, I think for around $600-$800 someone would spring for a Ceramic Coating at a cheaper dealership. My old roommates grandmother opted for a $600 Ceramic Coating in CA after a purchase of a new Toyota I think.

I will be working this out lol, not exactly sure. I am going to figure something out on how to pitch it to dealers.

Well then I would walk from the dealership. I already am willing to give them a huge chunk anyway.

I think if you do this you have to apply a real permanent coating not a 2 year product like Mckees coating or something like that. You have to actually install a professional grade coating that requires getting certified. At least thats my understanding

 

[DeepReflections]

I am getting more an more into Ceramic coatings, and have established myself as an exclusive Northern California distributor for a couple of selected products. In talking to dealers, yes they do sell alot of cars, but are looking for maximum profit in their books versus yours. My experience is they are looking for a 50% or great cut over your list price. Since the ones we sell go from easy to apply but only last 2 years to very difficult to apply but you get a lifetime warranty. The lifetime is what they are after, but not willing to truly pay for it. Most of the time it is simply not worth the time you put into it versus the payoff/profit.
I have found by promoting the various coatings, I outrun anything that the dealers can offer, and am very booked up with the coating side of my business from retail customers.

 

[andy0902]

As a car buyer I would love to have had that option. Instead, my dealer talked me in to a product called CilaJet. At the time, I knew nothing about detailing. I joined this forum AFTER I bought my dream car ('13 BMW 650iX) After a few minuted on the forum I realized I had made a $900 mistake. The car was three years old and the paint was in fairly good condition, but far from perfect. The "detailer" clayed the car and applied the coating. After I learned how to look at paint, I discovered the swirls, RIDS and marring that were now happily sealed under this product.

So, I joined Autogeek, purchased a Flex and a variety of products (Megs, Pinnacle, Menz, WGDGPS) and buffed off the coating and improved the paint to about 90%. I would never purchase an option like that again, but if I had a chance to get a new car polished and coated by a true professional detailer, I would jump at the chance.

I learned that this service is really just a profit center for the dealer. Too bad, but at least I learned how to care for my paint. Thanks Autogeeks!

 

[Calendyr]

Dealerships have a very weird way of looking at it. When it comes to detailing, they want to spend as little as they can. I have been working for a used car dealer since November. They purchase cars through auctions and also do trade-ins for their customers. Half the car I do for them are in ok condition and only need either a light polish or just a good detail and sealant. The other half are completelly trashed. 3 weeks ago they did a trade in on a 2009 Black Toyota Corolla. The car had about 50 deep scratches all over the car and the right side 2 doors had been keyed, and the scratch had pierced the clearcoat and basecoat. The person who keyed the car did large circles all over both doors. The interior was just as bad. Cloth seats and there were huge stains all over the back seats and the car had never been cleaned since purchase for sure, one of the dirtiest car I have seen.

So, I told the manager that this would take at least 2 days to get in decent shape, and for a perfect job he was looking at at least 20 hours of work. I knew he would not be willing to pay for that for a car worth so little. He asked me if I could do it for 350$. I told him that the only way I could do it for so little was to leave the deep scatches in place. Wet sanding takes way too much time to be able to fit in such a small budget. So we agreed to try to wet sand the keyed side to try to diminish the appearance and do a 1 step correction over the car and clean the interior. The job took me 11 hours to do, and I charged him 400$ for it (a 10% discount from my normal rate). He was still not happy about the price... That is how they think. A job like that retails is about 1000$

There is a reason cars come out of dealerships all swirled up, they hire people who will charge them the least amount of money. So you can't expect the job to be done correctly when they are only willing to pay a fraction of what is needed.