Unless you are a mechanic, you should take your car to your local mechanic ever couple of months. This ensures that every part is working properly. When your car is running great, there is a better chance of it selling faster. You can also get more money for a car that is in perfect condition rather than a car that has many problems. Take your car to your mechanic and they will let you know if everything is working properly or not. If there are some things that need to be repaired, it is then up to you to decide whether or not you want to repair it yourself.

When I decided to sell my car, I took it to the mechanic and he said the air conditioning was not running right. This is a major component of a car. In the states that have more heat, no one will buy a car that does not have air conditioning. The summer days can get extremely hot and humid. The one component that needs to run right during the summer is the air conditioning. If I decided to not fix it, I would have to lower my asking price. I could instead get the air conditioning repaired and I would be able to raise the asking price. I decided to get the a/c fixed and I raised the asking price by a couple hundred dollars. My car sold instantly with the new air conditioning unit. It is amazing how much money buyers will spend for a car with cool a/c.

Another reason you should take your car to the mechanic is to make sure the main components are running well. You want to make sure the motor and all of its components are working together to keep your car running. If one part of the motor is damaged, the entire motor as a whole can break easily. If you don’t get your car checked out by the mechanic a little part of the motor and break and the whole car will be ruined. You will have a better chance of selling your car if it has been properly checked out by a mechanic. When a buyer is looking into purchasing a car, they want to ensure the car is running properly. They are willing to pay top dollar for a car that looks great and runs great. Take these tips into consideration before you prepare your car to sell it.

SMART Repairs to a car’s bodywork can very often be used to repair small scrapes and scuffs to certain areas of a car’s bodywork, usually bumpers and other ‘low down’ areas on the car bodywork. In such cases they can be quick, either invisible (or close enough to be quite acceptable) and generally save a lot of cash over what a typical full bodyshop will charge.

Unfortunately however whilst most SMART Repair operators (they are usually mobile, working out of a suitable equipped van) are well aware of the limitations of their system, many either don’t really understand just what makes a good repair last, don’t care, or allow themselves to be talked into carrying out repairs in unsuitable locations.

When this happens one of two things will invariably happen:

1. Either the repaired area will stand out like a sore thumb from day 1
or
2. The repair may look acceptable for a while, or in certain lights, but after a while the repair will stand out like a sore thumb.

The fact is, it is very rare that and ‘local’ repair on a large panel, such as a roof, bonnet (hood), bootlid (trunk) or often on other larger panels around the car like wings, doors etc can work unless undertaken properly.

Why’s that?

It’s critical that when new paint is sprayed over a repaired area, that it is ‘blended’ or ‘faded out’ across adjoining areas. As it sounds, this means that although the actual repaired area may get 100% paint coverage with the new paint, the next few inches will receive 80% coverage, the next few a few inches more etc right down to 0% a foot or two (depending on the area) from the repaired area. Then typically the top coat of clear lacquer will cover the whole panel.

If lacquer is faded out so that it stops part way over a flat or fairly flat panel it may be possible to then polish the area so it looks great. All too often however the area where the lacquer stops becomes visible as a ‘halo’, standing out like, yup, you’ve guessed it, a sore thumb.

So, ‘let’s say you have a small area of damaged paint in the middle of your Jaguar bonnet (like a customer we had in today). The damage may be only 50mm (2 inches) across. By the time the damage has been repaired (flatted and/or filled and sanded flat) the affected area will be a minimum of say 150mm across. Put primer on that and the area grows to say 250mm across. Colour coat, by the time it is blended out, increases this to say 600-800mm across (say 2ft – 2ft 6inches). But the bonnet may be 1.5m (4-5ft) across so why prepare and lacquer the whole bonnet?

That sore thumb comes up again.

If you’re in doubt try and find a repairer that offers SMART and ‘traditional’ repairs. They will offer you the appropriate most cost effective solution to your problem.

It’s a bit of a minefield because ‘Traditional Only’ typical bodyshops will always use the big stick. They generally don’t like small repairs, they are best equipped to tackle those larger accident damage type of work where an insurance company is footing the bill.

Mobile SMART Repairers will do what they can but if you’re unlucky enough to find one that is going to ‘push the system’ just a little too far you will end up regretting it…

Paul Martin is Managing Director of Scuffbusters Ltd, a car care centre in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK.

Scuffbusters specialise in carrying out the more minor levels of bodywork repair, often disliked by traditional bodyshops (who invariably price accordingly). Although bumpers and light panel repairs make up a large proportion of our work, we are able to handle panel replacements and everything up to full resprays.

We use the very latest materials and equipment and our highly cost effective prices mean that our specialist low-bake over is usually kept pretty well occupied!

Okay so, you’ve bought a mobile oil change van, or rig and you’ve already started your business. Things are going okay, and you have lots of new clients, but the frequency of oil changes is just not there for you. This is because the average person doesn’t drive enough to put the 3,000 or 5,000 miles on their car fast enough to come back and get a repeat service anytime soon. Often it will take them 3 to 5 months, and by that time they’d forgotten all about you.

This is why so many companies send out e-mail reminders, put stickers inside the window, and send little postcards in the mail. Yes, those are all good ideas for marketing a mobile oil change company, and it is true that the reality of frequency isn’t quite there. I’d like to talk to you about some other very smart strategies for marketing your company and increasing your customer base;

1. Reality of Frequency
2. Fleet Business is Where It’s At
3. Branding, Image, and Signage is Key
4. The Power of Referrals is Omnipotent Indeed

First of all, fleet business is really where it’s at, and it is a lot easier to change the oil in many vehicles of the same type and engine size, especially when they are all lined up in a row. And fleets of vehicles which are used in business, put miles on their vehicles a lot faster than an average citizen driving their personal car, especially delivery fleets, and service vehicles.

Further, the owners of fleets of vehicles realize the importance of maintenance, preventive care, and maintaining their warranties. They also wish to save cost, and you can make them a very good deal if you come to their job site, or company lot because you are saving them the time and labor to drive all those vehicles to an oil change facility. To get fleet oil change customers you should go through the phone book and consider all the different companies in the Yellow Pages that have fleets of vehicles, and you should contact each and every one of them.

Why not make up the schedule and contact four or five of them per day. And when you go to meet with them make sure your vehicle is clean, you are wearing a uniform, and that your website, brochures, and your company vehicle all match and look crisp, trustworthy, and altogether. Lastly, I’d like you to consider that referrals are where you can make the greatest inroads. Company drivers often switch companies, and they will be glad to refer you, especially if they know they’ll get something out of it, like a free oil change on their personal vehicle. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.