Investing in an Automotive Franchise Business
Joel Caws - Technical Director, Select Your Franchise
If you have an interest cars then a franchise business in the automotive industry could be right up your street! With over 34 million cars on the roads of Great Britain this is a huge growth area. It’s a staggering statistic which increases year on year, and obviously means an ever increasing demand for services such as carvaleting, repair, leasing and such like.
It obviously helps if you like cars if you are going to be working with them every day, however the nature of a franchise business means that you don’t necessarily need any prior working experience in the automotive field. This is because franchisors typically provide full training and support for their franchisees in order to provide them with the necessary knowledge to carry out all the tasks required by the business.
So what are some of the franchise opportunities are available the automotive industry:-
S.M.A.R.T. Car Repair Franchise Business
This is nothing to do with the SMART car brand but simply an acronym for Small to Medium Area Repair Technology. A franchise business specialising in SMART repairs is one that makes good scratches and small dents within the car body work. Most often a van based franchise which enables you to visit and attend to customers requirements at their own homes or other locations as requested.
Leasing Franchise Business
These franchises specialise in providing leased vehicles to both individuals and businesses who prefer to lease a vehicle rather than buy. Typically this is a retail option with a shop frontage.
Valeting or Interior Repair Franchise Business
Everybody’s car gets dirty from time to time and so theres always a demand for car valeting services. In addition to this, there are several franchises which can undertake repairs to car interior furnishings.
Tools Franchise Business
Typically a business-to business franchise which specialises in providing tools and products to car workshops and garages. These are often van based which allow the franchisee to visit their customers and also visit new potential business.
Whichever automotive franchise option you go for its prudent to make sure you do your homework. As with any investment, buying a franchise is not something to be taken lightly and the following points may help you to avoid getting into hot water:-
- What do you know about the franchisor? Find out as much as you can about the company and its trading history.
- Get a list of franchisees from the franchisor and talk to them. They are the ones already running the franchise business that you are considering so are a good impartial source of advice and opinion.
- Talk to the franchise sections of the major banks. They can advise of what level of finance they can offer you and they often have some prior knowledge of many of the franchises businesses available.
- You will likely need to talk with some franchise professionals such as a franchise solicitor to help deal with the legal aspects and also a franchise consultant who can help with many of the other aspects of buying a franchise.
- Finally, trust your gut feeling. It’s normal to feel uncomfortable as you get close to making the final leap but if you get any alarm bells about anything thats said or done in the whole process then don’t carry on without resolving it first.
A franchise opportunity can be a great way to start a business but like all businesses you will need to work hard and be committed to make it work.
Tags: automotive franchise, franchise business, franchise opportunities, joel caws
