Windshield Repair Forum

screenman wrote:$25 to $30 how much does it cost you to do each job?

@50 jobs a week = about $5ea for fuel, car, ins, etc.

Wow! that is low, we work out slightly more over here, about 25% of turnover.

In discussing the individual ''expenses per job'' here on the board, you not only share this information with your fellow repairers, you also share the details with...... the insurance industry. They also visit this board frequently.

To me it makes no sense. Why discussing their to low repair rates.....whilst you point out your low costs? What does it tell them?
We have been discussing the fact that we are repairing @ the very same rate as we did some 17 years ago....our prices never went up!

Also....most people seem not to bother other business expenses. There is so much more than just gas etc. Are you able to save/reserve enough funds? Are you properly insured, how abouth health insurance? Lastly: too many people focus on the short term only.

Oh, back on topic: I would, at any time, prefer to be doing insurance work.

Frank EU wrote:In discussing the individual ''expenses per job'' here on the board, you not only share this information with your fellow repairers, you also share the details with...... the insurance industry. They also visit this board frequently.

To me it makes no sense. Why discussing their to low repair rates.....whilst you point out your low costs? What does it tell them?
We have been discussing the fact that we are repairing @ the very same rate as we did some 17 years ago....our prices never went up!

Also....most people seem not to bother other business expenses. There is so much more than just gas etc. Are you able to save/reserve enough funds? Are you properly insured, how abouth health insurance? Lastly: too many people focus on the short term only.

Oh, back on topic: I would, at any time, prefer to be doing insurance work.

The only way to do "CHEAP" repair work is by missing/skipping steps so overhead is extremely low. This means not doing a job right the first time. Would you shop around for the cheapest vasectomy? This is simple to learn windshield repair BUT there is still an art to it. LIke fishing, very simple, throw your worm in to catch a (sunfish) but if you know the ART of it, you are a fisherman who catch the huge bass, etc. Yes, i know, bad example as i am still cringing...ehhhhh

Frank EU wrote:In discussing the individual ''expenses per job'' here on the board, you not only share this information with your fellow repairers, you also share the details with...... the insurance industry. They also visit this board frequently.

To me it makes no sense. Why discussing their to low repair rates.....whilst you point out your low costs? What does it tell them?
We have been discussing the fact that we are repairing @ the very same rate as we did some 17 years ago....our prices never went up!

Also....most people seem not to bother other business expenses. There is so much more than just gas etc. Are you able to save/reserve enough funds? Are you properly insured, how abouth health insurance? Lastly: too many people focus on the short term only.

Oh, back on topic: I would, at any time, prefer to be doing insurance work.

If discussions like this are viewed as potentially damaging to our industry... I have no issues with them having a shelf life. Posts or threads could be left temporarily for the purpose of discussion and then deleted. In fact, I think an automatic deletion tool would be a cool option for certain uses, sort of a hybrid between a forum thread and a chat room. "this message will self destruct in 10 seconds...." lol

As far as discussion of operating costs, it should be pretty obvious that wsr not a high overhead business. You would have to live under a rock to not already understand this is a very cheap and easy business to start. "make $90/hour repairing rock chips! only $499 to get started today!" It's not a secret, as if they just figured it out because I posted a theoretical example where weekly expenses are $250.

on topic, I much prefer doing regular fleet/dealer type, but I understand how others may not like it. It's only a good thing if you have good accounts. Good accounts = easy money.

screenman, I'm using $250/wk because I figure that's a reasonable number, considering a quick addition of basic needs to for a guy to run a wsr biz. $1100 a month ($13000/yr) can get you a vehicle, insurances, fuel, phone, basic supplies and consumables like biz cards, work shirts, resin, rags, etc. You can easily find ways to drive that cost up, depending on how you choose to do things, what car you drive, etc.

Also, the main expenses are a constant, so if you are doing fewer repairs, then your cost per repair increases, and vice versa. As you do more repairs per week, the only added cost is a bit of fuel and a nickel's worth of resin, etc.

Assuming basic cost @$1100/month as I posted before:
@25 repairs per week, cost per is $10
@15 repairs per week, cost per is $17
That's probably more typical for most guys doing retail work?

The point I was trying badly to get across is a $25 to $30 guy is not making very much money, they are also totally devaluing what we all do. If the only way a person can sell is on price then I suggest a course in sales would help their business along a bit. Extra $5 per job 4 jobs per day would put an extra $5,000 in the pot without any increased costs.

$25-$35....lol I charged a customer $100 for a rock chip repair today. He met a Delta Kits certified professional dressed tech offering premium service with a lifetime warranty. We did not even have to discuss the price. We talked about the NY Giants and our kids playing sports. Your time, equipment, knowledge is only worth what you say its worth.

Is that really what you charge for repairs? If you always charge $100, more power to you. But if you just jacked him for $100 when you normally charge less, that's not right imo, no matter what shirt you are wearing.

btw, for what it's worth.... I am taking the recent discussions about pricing as some new inspiration to snudge my own pricing up a bit.

While I believe that many do not truly "get" the high volume "dark side" of the business, and how lucrative it can be... I also may be discounting the possibilities of the flip side, where every job is $60 or more. Both sides can make for a big payday... just depends on how many you do in a day, and how easy it really is.

For dealer/fleet work, playing with prices is like playing with fire. But I'm trying to rework the strategy a bit and see what happens. For retail work, which is just a side thing for me.... I can raise the bar a bit.

On an unrelated note, yesterday was a good day for me... even though work was a little slow for a Friday. I got the opportunity to clean house at one of my dealers, re-doing a crap repair my competitor did last week.... and it came out great. That never gets old.