tool routes?
- Thread starter kgwld1
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kartracer55
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2005
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I could imagine that youd have the same problems that any buisness owner would... customers. You would probably have to have a bunc of shops on the route in order to pay the bills. If your in an area with tons of tool trucks already, you might not do so well, but if your in an area where there are alot of shops but not many trucks stopping at them, then maybe youd do better. If your interested in it, Explore the links on the big named sites about owning a franchise, and maybe talk to local shops to see if they already have a truck, and if they dont, if they would want one. If you find that most shops in the area would like to be on a route, you might have a great oppertunity.
but I dont own a truck or run a buisness
Jim
but I dont own a truck or run a buisness
Jim
I am pretty sure that the people get certain areas and are instructed not to step on each others toes.
The problem is you get all these mechanics that have no money, and have to put everything on truck credit, which means you. A good amount of mechanics will pack up and go and stick you with whatever is owed. You can hit their credit rating with it, but if they are going to do that already, it probably doesn't matter.
You have to be firm, when someone doesn't pay up, time to repo some stuff. I have bought plenty of air tools from my snap-on guy because of he repo'd some stuff. Always a great deal.
I don't think it is going to make you a millionaire either. I was talking to my guy, he said the mark up is on average 30%.
The problem is you get all these mechanics that have no money, and have to put everything on truck credit, which means you. A good amount of mechanics will pack up and go and stick you with whatever is owed. You can hit their credit rating with it, but if they are going to do that already, it probably doesn't matter.
You have to be firm, when someone doesn't pay up, time to repo some stuff. I have bought plenty of air tools from my snap-on guy because of he repo'd some stuff. Always a great deal.
I don't think it is going to make you a millionaire either. I was talking to my guy, he said the mark up is on average 30%.
wythors
Well-known member
iiibdsiil said:
My tool guy said almost exactly that.
It's a decent living, but you'll never be rich. On the up side, you're your own boss. The down side is the dealing with deadbeats. He's been doing it for years, so obviously it works for him. I've given the idea a passing thought myself.
Its best to work for the top companies like Snap-On ,Mac etc etc. You need some serious cash to have a tool route . When I looked into it about 8 years ago you were required to have 80k in liquid assets above and behond the your startup cost . That said , your days are long and due to mechanics changes shops a lot your chasing the money you have on the street.
Its a good living but like any other self-emplodied job you work for ever penny. Talk to some of the tool guys in your area and see what they have to say .
Its a good living but like any other self-emplodied job you work for ever penny. Talk to some of the tool guys in your area and see what they have to say .
Coach James
Well-known member
Luckydevil
Well-known member
Coach James said:
Wow, I have never seen that before. I must say the BBB site with an Unsatisfactory rating pretty much speaks for itself.
sberry
Banned
I dont deal with the guys on the trucks, dont and wont. The snappy guy has an attitude that if you aint deep in debt to him each week you are just beneath doing business with him. I dont really feel sorry for him if he gets stiffed,,, after all he sold some poor sap something for 3 times what he could have bought it elsewhere for plus interest and he pushes easy credit on young guys hand over fist,,, whats he expect?? Why would he lend them money in the first place. When I see new guys at a garage he is over there like a ***** outside an army base on payday. Half the time they paid for half of it, then he repo's and sells it again.
Both my Snap-on guys, and my Matco guy never charged interest. They financed out on the "truck account" and you just paid weekly. Never ever ever did I pay more than what the price is on an item. I'm not one to get myself in debt, but if it is going to cost the same, then $40 a week sounds a heck of a lot better than $400 now. They typically want it paid off in 8 weeks, on most of the medium priced items, like the $200-1000 range.
jstbecauz
Well-known member
Man what a reputation we, as mechanics have.
jstbecauz
Well-known member
Here is the deal with the tool trucks.
Snap-on and probably the rest of them work this way. There is a contract that is signed from the beginning that states and outlines the business agreement with the new business owner. This contract is very strict and covers the tool company completely, after all they wrote it and in most cases are the ones carrying the note for your new venture. The contract is still felt as fair to both due to the liabilities involved. Many owners after several years no longer feel that the contract is still fair due to the length that they are involved for, thus bashing that company.
There is alot of money to be made on selling tools. However, you need to get to the point where you are no longer obligated to pay them their lease payment. Then there is money being made. As long as you are paying your truck payment every week/month that is money that is coming out of your pocket. All the tools on the tool truck are paid for by the truck owner, not on consignment from the tool company. So if you can buy a route with cash then you will begin to recoup the monies that you spent to buy it.
Keep in mind that it takes a good financial manager to be a tool man. You have to be able to budget your money from week to week knowing that you will need to get accounts settled by the end of the month. Just as an example, if you buy a set of wrenches from Snap-On for $300.00 and you pay $30.00 per week that will take 10 weeks to pay off, in the mean time as you are paying 10% of that purchase price, that dealer needs to go purchase another set of wrenches to have on his truck, even though you have not paid for your set completely yet.
There are several other things involved with being a tool dealer, however if you are a pushover and can not budget money then do NOT sign a contract with a tool company. That is the biggest mistake these disgruntled former tool dealers should have thought of before they signed the dotted line.
Snap-on and probably the rest of them work this way. There is a contract that is signed from the beginning that states and outlines the business agreement with the new business owner. This contract is very strict and covers the tool company completely, after all they wrote it and in most cases are the ones carrying the note for your new venture. The contract is still felt as fair to both due to the liabilities involved. Many owners after several years no longer feel that the contract is still fair due to the length that they are involved for, thus bashing that company.
There is alot of money to be made on selling tools. However, you need to get to the point where you are no longer obligated to pay them their lease payment. Then there is money being made. As long as you are paying your truck payment every week/month that is money that is coming out of your pocket. All the tools on the tool truck are paid for by the truck owner, not on consignment from the tool company. So if you can buy a route with cash then you will begin to recoup the monies that you spent to buy it.
Keep in mind that it takes a good financial manager to be a tool man. You have to be able to budget your money from week to week knowing that you will need to get accounts settled by the end of the month. Just as an example, if you buy a set of wrenches from Snap-On for $300.00 and you pay $30.00 per week that will take 10 weeks to pay off, in the mean time as you are paying 10% of that purchase price, that dealer needs to go purchase another set of wrenches to have on his truck, even though you have not paid for your set completely yet.
There are several other things involved with being a tool dealer, however if you are a pushover and can not budget money then do NOT sign a contract with a tool company. That is the biggest mistake these disgruntled former tool dealers should have thought of before they signed the dotted line.
jstbecauz
Well-known member
If you work at an establishment that is on his route. That is the premise behind the tool trucks.
Thanks for the replies guy's. In my case I've been injured and thinking of changing my line of work. My wife makes a great deal of money and she has benifits. So this would be done mostly for something for me to do and also using this for a write off. I'm just in the thinking stages right now But I have a sales background and a mechinical and tool background.
pl_silverado
Well-known member
kgwld1 said:
Well, if you have kids, or are planning to, or want to spend time with your wife, do not become a tool truck driver. They spend ridiculous amounts of time on the road, arent home for anything. One of my bosses used to be a snappy dealer, and it drove his wife nuts. Its an ok job, its just not what its cracked up to be. You have no time for anything, leave the house at 8am, get home around 7 or 8 pm everythday, and do it all over.
If you want something to do, start some other kind of business.
jstbecauz
Well-known member
If you are looking to start a business, I have one here in Florida that I would be glad to sell you. It is a garage on 1 acre. Just think, sunny weather.
danski0224
Well-known member
Got Hurricane? 
sberry
Banned
Good way to lose a lot of money. I would never go into a biz with that thought in mind. I would rather pay in some tax and relax or find an easier way to handle it than with a half hearted venture that will turn into a real headache.
sberry
Banned
Where in MI? Running a tool truck wouldnt be for me thats for sure and as a customers perspective I dont pla o shopping from one either. I have but wont likely in the future though. The growth in other outlets to shop has been exploding, there isnt really much use to shop off the truck as far as I can see. So many places carry decent tools now, my auto parts store is an SK dealer and will drop anything I want at the door twice a day and for 1/3rd the price. You ca even buy decent tools at a heck of a price at Wal-Mart now, that Stanley pro stuff looks tuff to beat and if anyone really thinks a bolt knows the difference,, well??? I went in to Lowes the other day, American made wrenches by Allen, decent set of metrics I bought to leave on a job,,, 26$, cheapies were 10, I like these, real bargain, got 7 or 9 of them for less than the cost of one snappy. Not the same as, less than and they look really well made. I am going to support that company, good product, cant beat the price, I wanna see them stay in business. I have probably a ton (I actually mean a ton) of hand tools and I just am not going to pay 30$ for a 1/4 drive socket. I know some that will,, but I know more that wont.
You have all the risk pay upfront for the tools. Buy your own truck and fuel for it and the generator. Most mechanics want credit its a rough job collecting. Some customers pay on time and don't try to cheat you the others were described in a previous post.
The economy is very bad and a lot of drivers are going to go out. If you go in on credit you won't make due to interest costs.
The economy is very bad and a lot of drivers are going to go out. If you go in on credit you won't make due to interest costs.
MOPARHOUND!
Well-known member
Interesting thread to read..........but a huge 3 year gap in the last two posts. 
no one put a gun to any mechanics head and made them sign up for snap on credit...and screw the mechanic if he bought a bunch of stuff but got it repo'ed. my SO dealer will bend over backwards for you as long as he doesnt see you dodging him for weeks on end...
honestly, if you want to be a mechanic as your profession, you better be prepared to invest some serious money..
and you dont really see professional mechanics with boxes full of HF or similar cheap tools, so paying "3 times what he could have bought elsewhere" is no ones fault but the mechanic who walked off the truck with it...
kevin
Interesting thread to read..........but a huge 3 year gap in the last two posts.
hehe didnt see that til after I posted...
regardless, my post still rings valid currently.
MAD
Well-known member
but a huge 3 year gap in the last two posts.
rhandwor's computer is just a little slow. He actually hit the "Submit Reply" button a few years ago on a bunch of posts. His old PC has just been chugging away all this time.
eschoendorff
Well-known member
Gregster
Well-known member
My SO dealer will only let you have 400$ of credit off the truck because of the 2-3 deadbeats he's dealt with. I don't see anything wrong with offering the chance to pay off tools on a weekly basis IF you make big payments, not 40$ a week.... 99.9999% of people pay because they know he offers what they need. It's really a case of biting the hand that feeds you.
Usually I make my purchases cash and if I have to buy something on credit I'll pay it off completely the week after or over 2 weeks. If I need something of a high ticket value I'll pay 80% of it up front.
I think all these horror stories about SO dealers are just from people who've had payment issues with their dealer. My dealer knows that he will get paid every time he comes, he also knows that I'll buy some thing every week...
Right now I owe him 130$ because his debit machine wasn't working last week....
Merkava_4
Banned
rhandwor is the ghost whisperer. 
If I became a dealer today, I would skip MAC,those dealers never make it, and MAC corporate is more interested in their import business. SO is so over done. Matco could be a good choice. Cornwell is the only non-online company, and is the only true, route only sales left.
I wouldn't start a business like that in this economy. You can survive without a pro dealer. When money gets tight, tool upgrades diminish. I try to give my Cornwell dealer a fair share, but the funds just are not there anymore for wants.
I wouldn't start a business like that in this economy. You can survive without a pro dealer. When money gets tight, tool upgrades diminish. I try to give my Cornwell dealer a fair share, but the funds just are not there anymore for wants.