Anybody own a Snap On business

[tumper93]

Considering purchasing a current Snap On Tools franchise from the guy who runs the truck that runs by the dealership i work at. I am wondering if there is anybody on here that owns or has owned a tool truck business. From what I have found out from a Cornwell owner te benefits are good and the money is much better than you would think. Does anybody have any advise on this? I enjoy turning wrenches, but I am tired of not being appreciated or rewarded for having the highest training and turning the most time of anyone in the shop. Thinking of a change.

[lvrpool32]

A good friend of mine owns the local franchise here...I can put you in touch with him if you want...I know I helped his bottom line by a couple of thousand last year (can you say Carbon Fiber wrapped Classic 96 tool box :-))

Nick

[shortrack]

my wifes ex had one.....she says its all about the territory.....have a good one its good, have a bad one its bad like in a bad area of the city where there is a lot of transient mechanics(lots who dont speak very good english if u know what I mean) working out of idustrial units, converted wharehouses etc who buy a bunch of tools on credit then dissappear , leave no forwarding address to anyone then your left holding the bag.....you end up being a collection agency.

conversly the guy who has the "good" territory....suburburbs, big new car dealerships, established stand alone repair shops, does quite well.

if your a top notch mechanic ever think about going out on your own, opening your own shop?

[SHOUGHTON]

I have never owned one but one of my good friends has for over 20yrs. He also just set his son up with a truck. He likes it alot and he is very successful at it. He is always working and puts in long days which is key to his success. I think if you are a hard worker and can be assertive with people it would be a great way to make a living. His biggest complaint is having to track down the dead beats that leave a shop and don't make the payments.

[joe5.8]

I have a budy that i used to work with that started a Snap on bussiness i can put you in contact with him

I know the first year was tough but he is doing well in his second year here in CT

but like anything else what you put into it you get out of it.

He also got snap on rookie of the year last year so his bussiness is doing great now

[joe5.8]

A good friend of mine owns the local franchise here...I can put you in touch with him if you want...I know I helped his bottom line by a couple of thousand last year (can you say Carbon Fiber wrapped Classic 96 tool box :-))

Nick


ha Nick you beat me to it

we are talking about the same guy

[MonzaRacer]

I had thought of taking over the local one, he has helped me over and over again. While I never had the big cash I always got my bill paid and he even told other Snap-On dealers how good a customer I and my uncle always were.
See there are guys who are fast payers but if they get in a pinch, they quit. then some are great at first but over buy then quit or what ever.
While i could never stand up to the big turn pay, ie I needed more weeks to pay for same amount as other(more cause of places I had to work for and geographical area) but I always paid.
another thing is your going to need a good secure place to put tools you buy along the way, take as trades etc , with security.
My old dealer, now retired, he would continue to write Snap-On contacts, but for guys like me, who he knew would never leave a bill unpaid, he actually wrote my big Gold Medal edition tool box up on contract yet he carried it on truck so to speak rather than through Snap On,,,I was behind till last day of contract and paid it all off on lat day of contract.
The big trick is learning buy and pay, and the ones who buy and partially pay or just disappear.
If you do it,IT is a big investment and its going to take you at least 5 yrs to get it rolling real big.
If you understand its just like any business, you start low an build.
Also on some cases selling debt off to collectors isnt a bad thing.
I may be losing my Mac dealer which sucks cause he is real good to me. But supposedly Snap On is better to work for. BUT the big thing is being able to finance truck and such in beginning. and not getting too small or too big truck and keeping the replacement/repair stuff around.
Also you will find a lot of guys will be geared towards say knives, or lights, or any cool USEFUL gadget, so those will sell quick.
In my research a lot of tool companies say keep your truck accounts at 5 week turns, and for some guys they can and will do it, but you will need to be a little lenient for guys who pay but dont have the $50-$60 A WEEK ON $600 truck accounts, or who may need some bigger item but havent ran a $500-$600 balance before, I had never carried on that big with my current Snap On guy but mine go tthat high just recently so now I know its going to take a few more payments to get it down or role it over to my corporate account if I really need something bigger.
I also understand my corporate account needs paid every month, regardless as that is what has allowed me to get out of my financial hole from past bad employers.
As my old(first snap on dealer said) it requires diligent trust and learn from who screw you, but it is a great job, I just couldnt get into the truck.
Good Luck and too bad about your current employer. I have one also who is pretty crappy so I and another tech where I work are looking into getting our own shop going, since I have a good majority of tools needed.
but then I am also into doing performance work on side and can bring that business into my own shop if needed to help take up some slack.

[lvrpool32]

ha Nick you beat me to it

we are talking about the same guy

you mustang guys aren't the quickest are you :-)

[joe5.8]

you mustang guys aren't the quickest are you :-)

not always the quickest but always have more style :enguard:

now stop highjacking this mans thread:machine:

[tumper93]

Thanks for the advise guys. I understand about the deadbeats and so on. I have been buying Snap on stuff for 18 years now and it has always been within a mile of where i started. We, Chevy/Cadi, dealership keep getting purchased. I too have kept my Snap On dealer in some money as I just purchased a $17, 121 box!!! Now one thing is this route covers 9 dealerships and countless independent shops so it is a very good route. The Cornwell dealer "said" he brought home about $90k last year and the current Snap On guy, who works for the guy who owns his route plus 2 others, has to bring in $50 for 125 guys every week which he says he has no problem doing. Thats $325k total for the minimum for the truck before all expenses for the year....not bad. I know that there is bad parts of everything but does the good out weight the bad. The only reason the route is being sold is because the guy is tired of putting someone in the truck that just is in it for a job and isn't honest to him. The guy who had the route when I started had it for 17 years, had to have surgery, and sold it because of the time he needed. Not sure of the selling amount yet, but it will include, the franchise, inventory and truck. So a turn key, established business.

[MrQuick]

make sure you insure your inventory.

good business when the market is good. If BMW and Audi is on the route I say jump in. The waters fine!!

Vince

[tumper93]

Yea I have seen BMW going wide open, unfortunately the only high end dealership is the Bentley line. I am going to do some more checking and talking, this kid of thing never goes over night