just want your views and opinions or commen Mobile servicing

[b14dave]

Ive got something in the pipeline and just after your views and opinions,
mobile motorcycle servicing and tyre fitting and repairs,none of this ride in ride out service you dont even have to get your bike dirty,how many times you booked a service at your dealers and it is raining your bike gets filthy and you get soaked,What happens when you go out with your mates and you get a puncture or even your messing around doing a burnout and your tyre pops well youve had it,
So what im offering is a service where i come to you,i do your servicing at your home,work even by the side of the m25,sticking to the manufacture specification major services,interim services,carb balancing,fault finding,ill even come and fit a pair of tryes, chain and sprockets with my on board equipment so you can go out on a sunday with brand new sticky tyres,or even just come and fit a set of braided hoses your views and opinions would be gratefull,i am a fully trained technician in japanese manufatures[/b]

[Squiffythewombat]

sounds VERY intresting to me, i think it would do really well!

Ive just started my own business last year and if your prepaired to never have a social life and work hard i think your onto a winner here. I know several friends who would use this sort of service!

For me personally it would all depend on price! ie:

Say your changing a tyre; Usally this cost me £10 + balancing. Now you have to cover your petrol, the time taken to drive to each location and duration of the job thus meaning your costs will become that much more important!

I realise that by being mobile you dont have the usual garage overheads, business rates etc. BUT are there other factors which will be detremental to your net profit? ie:van insurance for business use?

just a few things....my 2pence worth!

[Jaglifter]

Not for me, but I'd imagine there would be a good deal of interest.

[b14dave]

£10 + balancing to change a tyre is that you taking the wheel off then driving to the garage have them change the tyre,some people dont have the know how to remove their front wheel,plus if your stuck somewhere and some ones cut your tyre for instance , your stuck you would have to phone a recovery service to pick you up which could be £50 each way plus call out and then you have to buy a tyre and get the bike to a shop for them to change it,i would come to you and supply and fit a tyre by the roadside Nice and easy,obviously i would charge pence per mile to cover petrol costs

Jaglifter
Why would you not use this kind of service?

[Beast]

Sounds like a great business venture to me.

£10 + balancing?...

I only pay £5!

[Styler4077]

Hi,

Can you give me the price you will charge to come to my place to change the front wheel (lets say 30 mile from place to place) then we can help work out some figures with you.

One guy said £10 and another £5, but this does not include
The time to remove wheel
The cost of driving to garage
or the cost of riding to said garge
and either time off work or time taken out of your own time.

Either way it's a cost decision. I'm one who has always since my 30's paid some one to do work for me. Paint the house, fit a kitchin and I have done this because of two reasons
First.
The guy works faster and does a better job than me. He does it all day I don't. I don't always have the right tools etc etc
Second.
I can earn more at what I do to pay him and do my work without taking time out of my work day or weekend.
This works for me but I can understand it may not work for everyone.

DIY is being replaced by DFY (Done For You) acording to a news paper artical this week
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... ge_id=1770

In my circle of friends we all have a skill set and do work for each other, maybe I've been lucky?

I run with my wife 4 companies. give it a go... as long as you do not risk the security of your family (if you have one) go for it...

[Wroey]

Dave,

All sounds very interesting, but i guess it all depends on how far you wish to travel to each job. If you can rattle up enough business in one particular area per day, you'd minimise your travelling costs.

I know its different, but for instance the farrier we use lives well over an hour away in another county .... But, he dedicates one day a week to a particular area then makes all his appointments according to where you live. I know its not the most flexible option, but atleast he minimises his travelling to & from jobs so he can make more appointments per day.

If you get the right business interests, im sure it will be a very successful venture. I wish you the best of luck !

[sirch345]

That sounds like a very good business venture to me, I don't think it would work so well down here, but in a much higher populated area (I think you mentioned the M25) where you have plenty of m/cycle couriers and other m/cyclists who are riding all year around etc I would have thought it would take off

Good luck with it, if you go for it

Chris.

[Seeker 77]

Personally i like to do the work myself, but there are always things that you can't do. I can't change a tyre, i can never get the front sprocket off and i don't have an igloo when it comes to engines. I would therefore definitely pay someone to sort out these things. As a a business venture i think that you are up against it. You are going to have to have a call-out charge otherwise it just isn't worth your while. It needs to be a flat rate too. Don't forget also that most of your work is going to be on a Sunday (as that is when most people who can't ride in the wet go out). There is also the fact that Winter could be a quiet time again for the reasons above.

Whatever though, good luck with it and as someone else said you are going to have to put in a lot of hours and hard work. All the best

[BarryH]

I already use a tyre service that comes to me. He's called Rubber Ranch. Excellent service good prices. He's always busy too. Goes to show that if you offer a good service at the right cost people will use it. I've never got my tyres anywhere else. He's also the nominated roadside repairer for Bennetts puncture cover that comes with their insurance.

[b14dave]

thanks for all your views and opinions looks like most would like this kind of service it would be within and around m25 as thats where im based,As to the call out charge i would charge so much pence a mile and then the labour to carry out the work,it will be cheaper than a main dealer and you wont have to go any where,I do realise that its alot of my own time and social life but we are only out to work at the end of the day to earn money to put food on the table,

[Squiffythewombat]

erm thats £10, he takes off wheel, puts on new tyre and slime and then its about £2 for balancing! I didnt think that was bad????

Pence per mile, ok so have you done some market research into how many bike owners there are in a given radius around your base? Have you determined what % of them you would be able to steal away from the long standing reputable garages and how you would go about doing this?

The ideas good but the groundings seem a little shakey inmo.

[OldBob]

I would say there are two distinct business options here.

The first one would be the roadside assistance side of things, where you compete with the likes of AA, RAC, etc who will get you home. Offering a roadside tyre repair means you have to carry sufficient (different) stock to cover 90% of bikes in the area.

The Mobile servicing is (imo) more promising business venture provided that you:

a) Honda/Suzuki/Yamaha/etc. qualified. - Most guys who are able to afford dealer servicing will do so on the basis that they will have the knowledge, tools, parts and you don't have your pride and joy stuck in a garage for days whilst waiting for parts.

b) instead of ppm offer fixed fee callout based on mile ranges 5, 10, 15 miles from a fixed point.

c) easier to organise workload, as you can book people in instead of sitting at the side of the road waiting for a call.

d) Easier to offer discounts if you choose to "blitz" one specific area / makes/models

Although I'm slightly out of economical range for you to visit I would certainly give a Honda qualified mobile mechanic the pleasure of working on my bike in my driveway. I could pop out with coffee/tea and check on their progress (How many times have you wandered through a dealership workshop )

Just my opinion

[b14dave]

I will be booking stuff in by diary then i can arrange maybe area to area keeping driving costs down,and if i get a call out maybe i can sqeeze this in on the way,i know there are a few bike meets and may offer a later night on standby for these nights will probaly even attend them,i will also attend track days how many racers want tyres changed at tracks,I do like my kawasaki major services zxr as ive litteraly done hundreds and rebuilt many of these motors where people have not had there shims adjusted ,as i say its in the pipeline but is very promising there has already been alot of advertising already and a website which im hoping to get a forum where the customers can talk and comment on the work that way i get some feedback and can improve my service and im always one to listen to other peoples opinions.

[Pete.L]

I think it's a great idea Dave
As long as you can make a living out of it go for it.
I'm a great skeptic of garages and what they claim they have done (Shims ect) sometimes I think that they think as long as it comes back from a service nice and shiney we'll be happy with it
I'd much rather know it's been done and been done properly.

Pete.l