The Body Shop on Wheels

As more customers look for convenient repair options, the demand for mobile operations is on the rise

Sixteen years ago, body shop owners John Maio and Lou Mancina noticed that some local car dealerships seemed to have a need for minor paint repairs, but didn't want to deal with the time and expense of taking the cars to a collision repair shop. Always looking for ways to expand their business, Maio and Mancina began experimenting with ways to perform paint touch-up at the dealerships.

Since then, their Collision On Wheels business has expanded by leaps and bounds. The company, which primarily services auto dealerships in the Detroit area, now operates seven mobile units (in addition to the shop) and has just begun franchising its business through a partnership with Automotive Franchise Systems. The company currently works with 50 dealerships and services between 750-800 vehicles per month.

Mobile paint repair businesses, like mobile detailing services, have been springing up across the country in the past decade as more customers look for convenient ways to maintain their automobiles. Busy car dealerships, in particular, have embraced the concept as a fast, affordable way to keep their vehicle inventories looking good without the inconvenience of moving the cars off the lot.

While a few body shops have begun to offer mobile paint repair services to provide a new source of customers and revenue, most of the companies doing field-based paint touch-up are a mix of standalone operations, services offered through mobile detailing or dent repair companies, or franchise businesses.

Once Collision On Wheels (www.collisiononwheels.com) goes national, they'll join a number of other mobile paint repair franchise operations. Colors on Parade (www.colorsfranchise.com) now has a presence in 24 states. The Paint Bull (www.paintbull.com) offers paint touch-up, paintless dent repair and windshield repair services. Aero-Colours (www.aerocolours.com) has franchises around the country for its airbrush-based chip repair system, and was recently bought out by Meineke Holding Co.

Jim Osborne, who is a former aircraft mechanic, bought an Aero-Colours franchise in Minnesota this year and began work in March. "I like working with my hands, and I'd done some light auto body in the past, so I thought I would give it a shot," Osborne says, adding that he decided to choose Aero-Colours because he lives in the St. Paul, Minn., area where the company is located.

Aero-Colours uses an airbrush chip repair system, which Osborne says was fairly straightforward to learn. He's initially targeting the 35 auto dealerships in his territory, but hopes to expand into more retail business. "I'm starting out as one man in a van, and hopefully it can grow from there," he says.

There are also a number of independent operators across the country. The Paint Man in Hawthorne, Fla., (www.thepaintman.com) offers touch-up, light bodywork and dent repair at an average cost of $125 (for a plastic bumper). Monterey, Calif., -based Dent Perfection (www.dentperfection.com) offers touch-up, paintless dent repair and windshield repair services.

"It's an avenue that the average collision person can get into without the investment needed to buy a body shop," says Lou Mancina, president of Collision On Wheels. "You can go to the customer. You're always looking and on the move for more clients. You have access to a hundred times more areas to make money."

Mobile paint services can provide a new revenue stream to existing body shops, since many of the retail customers would probably not bring their car to the shop for this type of minor repair work, and dealership customers can provide volume contracts.

"This system would make a nice tuck-in for an existing collision guy," says Greg Longe, president of Automotive Franchise Systems, which is helping Collision On Wheels expand its services in the U.S. "People want to expand and develop other profit centers."

Collision On Wheels already has two franchisees in Michigan, and is launching a nationwide franchise operation this month. Potential franchisees have to complete a three-week training course that involves marketing, financial management and computer training, as well as a week of hands-on training on the paint systems. Collision On Wheels also spends a week helping them develop a route, visiting car dealerships and working out a residential plan.

Osborne spent two weeks attending in-house training with Aero-Colours, followed by one week of pre-sales training where he actually toured his territory with the president of the company giving demonstrations to dealership owners. That was followed by two weeks working with a mentor for hands-on experience in the field.

Buying a franchise can be expensive, but does provide owners with a tested paint mixing system and spray equipment, as well as technical and marketing support. Shops considering buying a franchise from an existing company should do their homework to make sure the company is on solid financial footing, and check with other franchisees to find out how well they've been supported.

"There are franchises that have come and gone," says Dent Perfection owner Tip Weiss. "It's a very competitive business." Weiss claims inexperience is the main reason other mobile paint businesses fail. "They get out there and try to tackle things they shouldn't, and then it just goes downhill from there."

Body shop owners interested in mobile paint work would be entering a highly competitive market that requires a different set of marketing skills, a different approach to customer service, different spray equipment and even different techniques based on the weather and temperature. There is also a patchwork of environmental regulation across the country, so owners would need to make sure they are compliant with local emission restrictions and waste disposal laws.

At-your-door service

By far, the largest consumers of mobile paint services are automotive dealerships. Most of the mobile paint businesses in the U.S. either work exclusively for dealerships, or bring in the lion's share of their business from these contracts.

For dealerships, there are clear benefits: there is frequently a cost savings on the repairs, as well as a time savings because dealership employees don't have to drive the vehicles back and forth to the repair shop. Just as importantly, the car stays on the lot where customers can still see it, examine it and buy it.

Retail business is increasing, however. Convenience is an obvious factor; most of these minor repairs can be done in the customer's driveway, or while they're at work. Repairs are relatively inexpensive (ranging from $125 to $175 for most jobs), and customers save paying expensive insurance premiums and having their rates go up. The final results are also much better than the gloppy bottle-and-brush touch-up kits available to consumers.

Dent Perfection used to service a large number of dealerships (around 22), and over the years has had several employees, but Weiss has since scaled back his operation. "We've had some good employees, but they don't really last long, and since it's pretty specialized work you have to have the right person doing work for you. I've kind of scaled down because we get the best quality work when I do most of the repairs myself."

Weiss, who operates the business with his wife, now works with a handful of high-end dealerships and retail customers. He's also developed referral relationships with a number of traditional body shops.

Weiss says his business has thrived even with the smaller client base. "We're pretty diverse in what we do, and there's always something our customers need that we offer," Weiss says. "It's pretty easy for us to stay busy."

Equipment

Equipment investment for a mobile paint operation can range from $10,000 to $15,000, depending on the type of technology being used. That's on top of the cost of a van or truck, and any franchise fees that might be required. Collision On Wheels plans to offer franchises that range from $60,000 to $90,000 (which includes all equipment, training and fees, as well as working capital). An Aero-Colours franchise ranges from around $57,000 up to $165,000 (including all equipment and working capital).

Most of these companies use airbrush equipment or high-volume, low-pressure (HVLP) spray guns to repair chips, scratches and scrapes. Color mixing and matching systems are typically the same as in a regular body shop, but with smaller quantities of paint being mixed.

Some franchise operations offer even more exotic equipment. The Paint Bull, for example, provides a mobile paint matching system based on a Palm Pilot hand-held computer.

Because of the small amount of paint involved, overspray is seldom a problem.

"I usually keep things so small I can work next to a car that's five feet away and not have any issues," says Weiss at Dent Perfection. "I've seen over the years guys that come out with body shop-size guns and spray everything in the neighborhood."

At Collision On Wheels, Maio says employees typically isolate the car being worked on at the dealership, depending on the preferences of the customer. "It's not an issue with the way we train and the way we are set up," says Maio. "It's a very low volume of air and a smaller repair."

The Collision On Wheels system includes all basic colors and tints, and has the ability to mix more than 500 colors. Maio says his employees typically only mix around three to four ounces of paint at a time. They also have professional touch-up pens for minor scratches and chips. Each van is equipped with a 5HP generator and a 30-gallon tank, as well HVLP emission-free spray guns.

"It's a body shop on wheels, condensed down into a format of a truck," says Mancina.

Tip Weiss at Dent Perfection uses a spray gun and an airbrush system, depending on the job.

Osborne, the new Aero-Colours franchise owner, says he invested around $12,000 in equipment, on top of the price of his van. That included his toners, a laptop for the paint formulas, a high-pressure/low-volume spray gun, portable air compressor, generator and sander.

Environmental

Environmental standards that would affect a mobile paint operation vary around the country. Although quantities and emissions produced are very low, paints and solvents will probably have to be disposed of in the same way a regular body shop would dispose of them.

"It's really up to the local area," says Ron Joseph, principal at Ron Joseph & Associates, an environmental compliance consulting firm. "You may be allowed to use an airbrush, but not a conventional spray gun in some areas, for example."

Weiss says he lets his paint waste harden before disposal. "In a week I probably have to dispose of a solid gel about the size of a three-ounce cup," he says. "We're not filling up containers. Plus, the paint is so expensive I don't like to waste it. I mix and use what I need."

Laws vary from state to state, but even in California, which typically has some of the most stringent pollution control and licensing requirements in the United States, mobile paint operations typically aren't producing enough wastes or emissions to be of much concern to regulators.

"I've had long talks with the pollution control guys, and they weren't really concerned with what we were doing," Weiss says. "They're looking for people that are out there spraying half a car outside, and putting a lot of pollutants into the air."

Licensing requirements also vary by state. Shops interested in taking their paint shops on the road should check with local environmental and pollution control authorities to determine whether the mobile business will require a separate license, and check on pertinent emission and disposal requirements.

In Minnesota, for example, businesses that generate 220 lbs. or less of hazardous waste per month are considered very small quantity users, and can transport their waste themselves to a collection site. If they use less than 200 gallons of volatile organic compound-containing materials in a 12-month period, they may not need a permit. Virginia exempts some "touch-up" work from regulation, but it's not inherently clear in the statute whether touch-up work using an airbrush also would be exempt.

According to Longe, once Collision On Wheels goes nationwide, his franchise management company will provide environmental regulation guidance, the same way it does for his other businesses.

In some states, touch-up work is exempt from environmental regulations, but the line between a touch-up and a full-blown repair can be fuzzy. "If you're going to re-do a fender, you can't do that. That's not touch-up and repair. It's too large," says Joseph. "They don't give you a percentage. It's sort of a subjective definition."