Screenman

Nothing wrong with speedos, I wear mine for an hour most day.

Boring Dave must be in my age group.

I would stand on the original deal, treat people how you wish to be treated yourself.

I can think of two of the three tyre places in a small town near me who have the correct equipment, knowing how much you can do to the wheel is the secret to safety, and not being talked into what should not be done by the customer. I also feel the wheels should have a mark engraved into them to show they have been done, as once is maybe fine but a second time would not be.

I would, like many on here like to be £ behind Mr Finn in the bank account stakes.

It was a long time before I took up dents, if you go back to the seventies you will find a good few car dealers who cut their teeth in a green grocers, brilliant place to learn chest to chest. I take it that you took my point, the average retained from just the selling of the car I would imagine is smaller than most on here would want to work to.

As a kid I worked in a green grocers, we sold apples very cheap but nobody went out of the shop with just apples.

What sort of car is it?

Welcome, one thing I would say is work out the difference between margin and profit, they are very different. All credit to you for being retained my youngest did it for 12 years and full time for a couple until cutbacks, he is now full time ff at Doncaster Airport, not a job I would fancy.

Then getting out of the rat run at 33 and slowing down to enjoy other interests.

But, what is successful?

The amount of times I get asked when am I going to retire, I am and have been for years. I just happen to get paid for my retirement hobby.

I had a business that was running me, I was trading, retailing and auctioning and moving 500+ unit a year between 78 and 88, it owned me I did not own it. Getting into PDR and screens was an accident really, I was looking for something for my eldest son to do when he left school and bought him a franchise, he was 15 at the time but the aim was to build it up a bit and hand it over to him in 1991 when he was 17 and driving, well blow me down it was bloody brilliant fun, paid £4,000 for the franchise and had that money back in 6 weeks, even today I still get a buzz from the job. Pdr I saw somebody do that in 1991 and though why not, took me a few years to get the hang of it and agian I still enjoy it. Selling the tools, well in 2008 I got the industries top award out in the USA despite never been there, this opened doors for selling tools over here as a couple of companies out there were interested in me. All time as a dealer I always lusted after what I have now, so bloody lucky I guess, I max out at 4 days a week, short days at that, all business overheads are paid for by Monday afternoon and I have a great bunch of customers. The last time I did any cars was about 3 years ago, up till then I was still ticking over with a couple a month, dealer auction I think was one of the things that made me stop completely, but I would never say never again, it is in my blood.

I got out of selling cars for an easier life, I am a dent and screen guy who only wants 20 hours a week and I also am a distributor for a USA tool company. When dealing cars I always wanted a product that when sold I could just replace it easily with another, Delta Kits gives me just that product.

You got some easy one's there, I have had some where we have to start with 120 grit and loads where 240 is needed.

11 in one day off of Hanworth Car Sales the site only held 14. 8 off of Bedfont Car Sales stupid day I thought I had won the pools. The downer 6 the very first weekend I opened off of Isleworth Car sales, everyone on finance and everyone knocked back the finance companies did not like that area, I only stayed on it a few weeks.

Get somebody in to do them, I charge £95 a pair, they will look like new and will last.

We all I gues know that the part of the headlight that degrades is the protective coating, I suggest when you remove it apply something back on. if only a paint sealant, you never know you may own that car again.

If the coating has not cured correctly in dry warm conditions letting the cold and damp get to it will make it bloom, warming with a heatlamp may get rid of it, if not strip off and redo. I sell a coating and in fact sell a professional kit, you would not want to pay the price of it though.

Courses are not a good way to learn PDR for every 400 people that pay for training only 1 will end up making a living from it. Love that video, I have shown it too so many customers.

One thing my customers know, I do not cost them money I save them money. Find a dent guy that will work hard with you to keep cars out of the bodyshop, pay them well and look after them, if your dent guy keeps saying no, then you may need to try another one or pay them more. I charge £35 a panel for small dings and work up from there for major stuff, not unusual for a dent to be £100 plus if the work is needed.

I am a dentman, have fun.

I came back to this as I have just taken an order from a company in Poland, started off with text messages a fortnight ago, then went to email and more emails then finished today with a nice cash injection, lovely way to finish a week .

I get a lot of enquiries about my windscreen repair kits by text, I will answer 5 each way so 10 in total and then on the 6th tell them to call me, some do and some do not, most do not.

That is the later model, plenty of them still around.