hello Scotty family,
I am asking this question in search of validation from car enthusiast. I am putting together a mobile oil change business and want your advice and blessing. here is the idea:
You will fill out a form either online or over the phone and i would calculate the cost of the oil change based on make, model and type of oil. i would then come to you at agreed upon meeting time and place and do oil change. this way as a customer you save time and won't be upsold on anything that your car wont need. I would charge fair price i.e cad69.99 for conventional oil ($51 usd) cad99.99($70 usd). with those calculations i would have a net income of roughly 25cad - 35cad or 18-25 usd.
why this business? well i dont know everything about cars but i know oil changes like the back of my hand. i worked at jiffy lubes for years and been doing oil changes for years. i am the neighbourhood oil change guy and i thought why not turn it into a small business. on a personal note i got a single mom in her late 50s and i hate to see her grind 5 days a week to provide. she raised me and my brothers by herself and watching her get older and sicker without enjoying a peacful life hurts me so what the heck, why not turn the only think i know about cars into a business. if i make enough to cover the rent and electricity, at the very least, she can work less hours. i am in my late 20s and have a business degree and a part time job at a non profit that supports vulnarble youths. i can keep my part time statues while working on this small business.
so what do yall think, am i dreaming too big or should i go for it? if you were a resident of my city and you knew this service was available, would you go for it or is it too steep of a price for you?
thanks and enjoy your summers
<edited for language>
I would think you would need some kind of liability insurance to protect you from problem customers.
Having seen some disasters coming out of quick lube joints I would say be careful if called to do an oil change on a vehicle you are unfamiliar with and if in doubt check online for the needed information. You don't need to be on the hook for someone's engine or transmission being destroyed, which I have seen happen.
Please don't swear in your posts! It is against our forum rules.
Thank you!
Otherwise your idea does not sound bad.
@g-t my apologies for the language. Thank you for fixing my post. Take care
Be careful. You expose yourself to a lot of risk.
The first thing you'd have to check is your local laws. Since you're in Canada, I assume they have laws all over the place about running businesses? What kind of permits you'd need? What kind of equipment you would need to be legal. You'll probably find running a business would have tons of red tape you'd have to follow through and the profit after all that cost would be minimum doing tiny things like oil changes. For instance, when I ran my own business, I was in Texas where there are no rules. You could have a pig farm in your backyard if you wanted to. And nobody followed up on regulations. The few that were on the board. Even then I did oil changes for free when they got other work done. If they wanted me to change the oil they just paid for the oil and filter.
@scottykilmer first of all , an absolute honor to hear from the legend himself. As a long time follower it's a pleasure to get your input sir. As far as the laws, I got to consult someone from my city office and the response I got was I could not operate oil change on the side of major highways but roadside repairs are concerned you can do them in small neighborhoods,parking lots and private property. They advised me to get insurance incase something goes wrong. Licensing in my city for a small business costs $150 cad for a year. From years of doing my own oil Change, I have a floor jack and a couple of scissor jacks a full socket set and filter remover. What kills you in Canada is the d*** taxes. Once again thank you very much for the advice Sir.