Anyone ever work for dealership?

C

clnfrk

New member
Have any of you had or currently have any experience "detailing" at a major car dealership? The reason I ask is because I am currently unemployed and am looking for something to help me get my own mobile detailing business started. I just recently purchased a brand new Toyota Tundra, but I still need to get equipment and trailer as well as forming a business plan.



So, I saw a sign in front of a chevy dealership that said detailers wanted and decided to give them a call. The guy asked me about my experience and how much money I was looking to make. I told him that I was previously a detailer for a local car wash. Definitely not autopian quality detailing, but rather an express service. I was by far the best one there and was often criticized for "going too far" in my detailing endeavours. As for income expectancies I told him around the $400-500/week range.



So, what do you guys think? I would like to hear from some of you with first hand knowledge of the dealership experience. Is it really detailing or simply a glorified way of saying car washing?
 
not detailing in any way, shape, or form.

It is Hacking, screwing, and covering up.

From rubbing tranny fluid on the hood, to painting the engine with clear paint, to spray painting the carpet...not dye...spray painting...

Blacking out check engine lights and all sorts of shady stuff.

As far as 400-500....that sounds far fetched. Some, not many, are willing to pay. They are in busines fro money. Buy cheap, fix cheap, sell high.....



I would never work for another dealer. 98% are hacks at best. no if's and's or But's. Period.
 
$500 per week is slightly low, depending on your location. My clean-up guys were in the unoin and I had to pay $27.00 per hr for them. They were probably getting $14.00.



You wont learn how to perfect cars, but you will learn how to "get them ready for the front line".

If you need the money do it, you will learn something regardless. Not the best techniques for sure. Remember, they need VOLUME and SHINE only.
 
TexasTB said:
not detailing in any way, shape, or form.

It is Hacking, screwing, and covering up.

From rubbing tranny fluid on the hood, to painting the engine with clear paint, to spray painting the carpet...not dye...spray painting...

Blacking out check engine lights and all sorts of shady stuff.

As far as 400-500....that sounds far fetched. Some, not many, are willing to pay. They are in busines fro money. Buy cheap, fix cheap, sell high.....



I would never work for another dealer. 98% are hacks at best. no if's and's or But's. Period.
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Wow - that's pretty harsh. I've never seen or witnessed this type/level of "hack detailing" from a new/used car dealership. Yes, dealer detailing is generally low quality, but detailing a vehicle is what YOU make of the job, and the level of quality YOU choose to put out. If you learn and understand the "right" way to detail, that's more valuable than anything. I have and do see alot of B-Lot dealers and Wholesalers doing unacceptable forms and levels of detailing like you mentioned above, but not usually at new car places. I've never witnessed Autopian/Enthusiast levels of detailing at any detail shop, better yet dealerships, but that's not always the realistic form of detailing for mainstream America. Trust me, there's not anything wrong with Autopian levels of detailing, I'm not knocking it, but if the people you focus your efforts to please don't recognize or appreciate the extra effort, it may be worthless to a certain point. Good luck finding a job.
 
David Fermani said:
Wow - that's pretty harsh. I've never seen or witnessed this type/level of "hack detailing" from a new/used car dealership. Yes, dealer detailing is generally low quality, but detailing a vehicle is what YOU make of the job, and the level of quality YOU choose to put out. If you learn and understand the "right" way to detail, that's more valuable than anything. I have and do see alot of B-Lot dealers and Wholesalers doing unacceptable forms and levels of detailing like you mentioned above, but not usually at new car places. I've never witnessed Autopian/Enthusiast levels of detailing at any detail shop, better yet dealerships, but that's not always the realistic form of detailing for mainstream America. Trust me, there's not anything wrong with Autopian levels of detailing, I'm not knocking it, but if the people you focus your efforts to please don't recognize or appreciate the extra effort, it may be worthless to a certain point. Good luck finding a job.
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I agree with you.

Yea, I guess it was more towards used car lots. Here in the town I live in, they are all hacks.

I know from experience, first hand. I used to work at a dealership as shop manager. My name kept getting involved when a customer asked what happend to the car...lol

So I quit and started my own business. Granted, it did show me a few how-to's and what not to -do's.

New car dealerships, are generaly better, as they do not have to "hide" defects. Though, proper training through the detailing section is rare, as we see many a threads here with dealer swirls.:grinno:

But yes, if money is tight, take it. Even if it does not pay what you want at the time. Look at it this way....you can experiment on cars and get paid to do so....



-Chris
 
I have many friends who have worked at dealerships as detailers; I'll tell you this, they have truly not even a remote idea as to properly wash, dry, wax or polish a car.



Honestly, when my car goes in for service I simply ask them not to wash my car; as I'm petrified of the amount of swirls and scratches that come out. Generally I just ask for them to clean my wheels :cool:



But, if your looking to be contracted in by them, do it; generally pay well and send a lot of work. This past summer I did it for a stealership here in Maryland and they brought me about 3-4 cars a week and paid me quite generously for the little work needed to be done on most of the cars.
 
David Fermani said:
Wow - that's pretty harsh. I've never seen or witnessed this type/level of "hack detailing" from a new/used car dealership.
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Moritz BMW/Cadillac immediately comes to mind. Hack is probably too nice a word for the quality of work their makeready/detail/bodyshop put out.



To answer the thread starter, a car dealership isn't the best place to hone your detailing skills. Speed is much more important than quality. My brother worked make-ready for a Dodge dealership years ago and cars weren't washed very well before drying, waxes applied via rotary and a wool pad, etc.
 
Scottwax said:
Moritz BMW/Cadillac immediately comes to mind. Hack is probably too nice a word for the quality of work their makeready/detail/bodyshop put out.
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That's a real shame. :soscared:
 
TexasTB said:
not detailing in any way, shape, or form.

It is Hacking, screwing, and covering up.

From rubbing tranny fluid on the hood, to painting the engine with clear paint, to spray painting the carpet...not dye...spray painting...

Blacking out check engine lights and all sorts of shady stuff.

As far as 400-500....that sounds far fetched. Some, not many, are willing to pay. They are in busines fro money. Buy cheap, fix cheap, sell high.....



I would never work for another dealer. 98% are hacks at best. no if's and's or But's. Period.
Click to expand...



Very True...I use to work for dealers and they are the biggest hacks. They never want to pay and don't care for quality work. Money is money, but you will have to leave your pride at home. Almost all dealers are hacks and I won't do much work for them.
 
Even when I managed a car lot for 10+ years, i use to hire detailers that had 5 years experience with big dealers like acura, bmw, honda, ford, etc, and I could not even stand to watch them wash a car. Watch them use acid on the wheels with a sponge and then take the same sponge and wash the car from bottom to top, then drop the sponge on pebbles and put the sponge right back on the car. I did a lot of yelling and firing!



I tried to teach them the right way of washing, buffing, drying and they just go right back to the way they were taught from the big dealers.



I have a BMW dealer near me and the cars they detail come out really bad. I also buy wholesale used cars from them and there are so many swirls ans wax residue and patch marks where they missed. Thank god I have a lot of detail products!



All I have to say is that the best detailers I have seen is on autopia and if someone is willing to learn the right way then you are at the best home of knowledge! All the best pros are here and more to come every day.
 
As most people said "Hacks"... It's hard not to argue.



If you need money / job then don't be silly, take it. But don't expect too much from it. As for the amount you requested, I say it depends on the dealer's size and the flow of cars along with the brand they carry. $500 would be my starting # for a small place with cheap cars. I aim high, so should you ;)
 
On a side note I actually detail for a small privately own dealership as one of my major clients. It's pretty cool because it was word of mouth and my details compared to the person they fired and their current other detailer is a night and day difference! Obviously I have to charge them at a wholesale price.



Now the detailers at dealership are slightly different. I would have to say $500 is a bit low cause obviously they're not paying you enough and enough more of a bigger issue they're probably not pushing out enough units. I used to work for ford and they pay you by the unit and of course the more you do the more you'll make, usually walk away with mid to high 2000s gross fromwhat I've seen there.
 
I work part-time for a low volume BMW reseller (1-2 cars per week) and he is very specific about cleaning and detailing a BMW for sale. I probably average 10-12 hours per car and wouldn't even consider taking a "hack" or shortcut on any portion of the process.



I too see what the large dealerships do to cars as well as the commercial auctions. Those folks average 4-6 cars per day! I still don't know how they do it! Scottwax is right: those folks are in business to push cars to the consumer. Most Autopians are detailing for personal satisfaction or to provide a high-end service to a particular clientele.



Totoland Mach
 
Thank you for all your responses. I kinda figured that dealership detailing would be focused on volume of cars vs. quality. I take great personal satisfaction in my detailing so the "leaving my pride at home" thing probably wouldn't work for me. If I can't do something 100% to my satisfaction and standards then I don't want to do it at all. Oh well, perhaps I'll just file for unemployment in the meantime unless I can find a shop to work in temporarily where I can use my own detailing methods and/or products where the main focus is on quality of work.
 
Go to work for an auto body shop in the paint area.



You will learn 100 times more paint correction techniques than are discussed on this forum. I worked in the bodyshop at my dealership for many summers doing prep, wet sanding, and polishing of newly painted panels. You will learn much more valuable skills there than you will in the clean up shop.
 
jsatek said:
Go to work for an auto body shop in the paint area.



You will learn 100 times more paint correction techniques than are discussed on this forum. I worked in the bodyshop at my dealership for many summers doing prep, wet sanding, and polishing of newly painted panels. You will learn much more valuable skills there than you will in the clean up shop.
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That is EXCELLENT advice. Even if the body shop isn't 100% particular, you will have to learn some different skills and pick up on techniques that fill in some blanks if you've never worked on or around a fresh paint environment.



The rare dealership that demands high quality detail is usually a high end or exotic store. Speed is crucial, even if you ARE doing quality work.



I learned how to co-ordinate the efforts of 2-3 people per car to get QUALITY done and back on the lot by close of business. Essentially, you're learning to cut the job into pieces and make each one do their best on that piece of vehicle.
 
jsatek said:
Go to work for an auto body shop in the paint area.



You will learn 100 times more paint correction techniques than are discussed on this forum. I worked in the bodyshop at my dealership for many summers doing prep, wet sanding, and polishing of newly painted panels. You will learn much more valuable skills there than you will in the clean up shop.
Click to expand...



Judging by all the horror stories concerning body shops and from past experiences myself, I personally think that a great number of them are seriously lacking quality and/or knowledge in the detailing department. Sure, they may be "experts" in the area of prep, wetsanding and actual painting (although I have yet to be completely satisfied with any paintwork I have ever had done), but it just seems to me that anything that follows is just an afterthought to them.
 
My experience is this, I worked with a dealership a few years ago and started them on a paint sealant protection program. I also detailed a few cars for them. I started out billing them $150 per car, then they reduced me to $125, then $100, the thing that really pissed me off was they started doing the paint sealant in house around my back, I threw in the towel after that, Now I refuse to work for dealerships. Period. Gary
 
clnfrk said:
Judging by all the horror stories concerning body shops and from past experiences myself, I personally think that a great number of them are seriously lacking quality and/or knowledge in the detailing department. Sure, they may be "experts" in the area of prep, wetsanding and actual painting (although I have yet to be completely satisfied with any paintwork I have ever had done), but it just seems to me that anything that follows is just an afterthought to them.
Click to expand...





You are not happy with the work because the shops you went to have owners that just love to be poor! Some people are just happy with "just enough". I'm not. I need more than everyone else.



The shop in our dealership was a total toilet. They could take a new car and make it look used in 5 seconds flat. My Dad offered me a percentage of the profits if I turned the shop around. I got a job after school at a shop that did work for the local Ferrari/Aston Martin dealership. For 5 years I worked there in the paint shop and at my store. I mimicked the entire Ferrari shop at my body shop.



1. I hired all new workers and paid them a small salary and large % on the jobs they completed.



2. I installed 2 new paint systems, Sikkens and Glasurit, that offered superior customer support and color matching computers.



3. I installed quality control gateways at prep, frame, body, paint, and finishing stations. A manager needed to sign off on each car before the bodyman was able to move the car from his station to the next. And believe me, when they are paid on what they complete, they work.



4. I bought a second downdraft paint booth and a down draft prep station. (cleared a bottleneck)



5. Laser frame machines just came out! I was on it.



6. All work was posted on a 4" x 8" white board at the managers desk. All work orders were posted there with magnets to represent each car. Each manager had to post his name on the magnet as it passed each quality control gateway so we would know who to congratulate or embarrass.



6. The bodymen were in competition just like the salespeople. The board showed who did them most work and who made the most money. Everyone was paid is different percentage based on their job and skills.



7. The top 3 body men for the year got bonuses of $15,000, $5,000, and $2,500



8. The top manager got a Rolex President (at the time I was getting them for $11,000)



The shop grossed $2,200,000 in its best year before we implemented this plan. In its second year of operation under the new plan it grossed $7,500,000. When we sold the dealership, it was producing a constant $10,000,000 annual gross. We were no longer turning away business and no longer re-doing work. We saved materials, and valuable man hours.

We also tracked complaints per vehicle. Not only customer complaints, the managers would have to examine each car and document the flaws their trained eye could locate.

Customer complaints, other then time line issues, were NON-EXISTENT. The fact that the managers could lose their jobs if the other managers could find flaws in the work they were signing off on forced them to either resign or produce.



Money motivates people.
 
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