Working at a dealership

allenk4 said:
Why would a dealer subcontract and pay you more?
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Sometimes smaller dealerships do not have a need for several full time detailers. It is easier and more cost effective for them to have a full-time lot attendant and subcontract their regular reconditioning work to a professional detailer.
 
allenk4 said:
Why would a dealer subcontract and pay you more?
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Because the dealer can make money off of you. At the Porsche dealership I work at we offer Ceramic Pro 9H. We subcontract someone to do it. Let's say he charges us $2 for his services. We can then sell his service to customers for say $5. Not using actual number of course, just an example of why a dealer might subcontract you.
 
Nicholas@Autowerx said:
Sometimes smaller dealerships do not have a need for several full time detailers. It is easier and more cost effective for them to have a full-time lot attendant and subcontract their regular reconditioning work to a professional detailer.
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I understand how that would work well in the scenario you described, but the OP is working for a dealership that already has its own detail shop with at least three employees
 
allenk4 said:
I understand how that would work well in the scenario you described, but the OP is working for a dealership that already has its own detail shop with at least three employees
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Yeah... in that case they would probably only sub-out the stuff their internal staff is incapable of handling on their own.
 
I run a shop and we have a dealership account. I guess they got sick of managing and handling it themselves. I admit it's a hard pill to swallow when trying to do what you know is right vs time constraint. The good news is that the polishing process is really the only place where it becomes an issue. You can do simple things such as maybe recommending better micro fibers as a good place to start. Build up a little seniority there and you can slowly build a reputation as a quality detail and maybe your words will start to carry more weight. Would it be great to have a flex or rupes, multiple pads, menzerna products, etc.... Of course it would.
I still think you will pick up great experience there, learn some tips and tricks you might not have learned yet for interior detailing.
 
VP Mark said:
Almost every dealer subcontracts. Most of them have overflow that their in house staff can't handle.
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That makes sense, then they can keep fewer full-time employees and the costs that come with that

Have dealerships begun to cut the hours of their staff to get the under the limit for full-time so they don't have to participate in the new Government Healthcare System?
 
I have friend of the family I see out at a local restaurant all the time. He always has a Bentley so I know when he is there. He just got brand new Bentley Mulsanne few months ago he knows I am a car guy and when I came in he said you see the new car I said yeah looks awesome. Didn't have the heart to tell him that the dealer had hacked up his paint buffer trails every where I was appalled. I have only done 4 full cars and 10 rubbish truck cabs and I would be ashamed if that was my work. He is 70 years old maybe he cant see them ignorance is bliss. So dealers dont even care about a 300k dollar car why would they give a crap about used cars or new cars under 50k get it sorta shine with clean interior. as others have said for 90+% thats as good as that car will ever look anyways.
 
trashmanssd said:
So dealers dont even care about a 300k dollar car why would they give a crap about used cars or new cars under 50k get it sorta shine with clean interior. as others have said for 90+% thats as good as that car will ever look anyways.
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Some dealers care. It is just very rare...

I do a lot of work for a used Audi/BMW/Mercedes-Benz dealer that at least will let me wet sand some scratches and 1-Step higher priced cars. The thing is dealerships have discovered that 99% of the population literally does not notice or does not care about swirl marks. They are looking for dents, missing paint, and serious body damage. So why would they want to spend more time/money fixing things that won't help them sell more cars?

The real problem isn't that dealerships don't care, it's that the general public is so accepting of sub-par paint finish quality that trashed, swirled-out paint has become the standard.
 
thanks guys, this is a job to pay the bills, and have benefits. I'm more of a a weekend warrior when it comes to serious detailing. yeah, im just biting my tongue and following the leader.
I dont have the resources, to be a full time detailer here in Minnesota.
 
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