Business Opportunity; Eugene, OR

Windshield Chip Repair

It all started, back in February, when we encountered a huge(golfball sized) chip in our windshield. We were on our way to Quartzsite, on I-40, when this golf ball sized rock few out of the bed of a truck and nailed us on the driver side. Luckily, it was not in a line of sight!

We stopped at a booth at the "Big" RV show, in Quartzsite, that advertised "no cost" chip repair. They bill your insurance company, which typically waive your deductible for repairs vs. Replacement. We signed up for them to come out, to our location in the dessert, to complete the repair. Now, as a reminder, we were parked with 40 other rigs, the Escapees club, celebrating the 2005 Full-timers graduation.

So, the guy shows up to do our repair. Since it was a larger then normal repair, it took him about half hour, about double the normal time for a repair. If you have any experience with RV'ers, the minute you start working on an RV, guys come out of the woodwork to see what you are doing. While the tech was working on our rig, four guys had chips they wanted him to look at. To sum it all up, the window tech spent around 2 hours on 5 repairs and scored about $300 for 2 hours of work! OK, now you have my attention!(insurance companies pay, on average, $60 for a repair jobs that takes an average of 20 minutes)!

As soon as our repair was done, I was on the internet researching windshield chip repair. The initial cost of investment is somewhat high, especially if you're only going to it as a hobby. The specialized tool kits are about $1,000. Certification class through Delta, is $300, and takes place at their Oregon headquarters, travel expenses. An account to handle insurance claims via the web is $20/month. Oh well, maybe its not worth it.

Then Laura has a brain storm! What if you can find the kits on e-bay, at a reduced cost? I begin keeping an eye on eBay for a kit. In the meantime, Delta, the tool manufacturer, and leader in chip repair technology, offers specials for the training classes, waiving the $300 fee, starting in May . HHHHMMMM, we are going to be in Oregon in May! Maybe this could work out!

After searching eBay for a month, I get hold of a repair kit for $450(with shipping). The original retail from Delta, $1,000, the kit had been used, maybe 2 or 3 times! I signed up for the May 26th training class, just before it filled up, and I was on my way!

The class was 8am to 5pm. I haven't put in a full day since we left in October! It was an intensive training program, teaching you how to use all of the specialized tools in the system and repair chips, cracks, deal with insurance companies and start your own business. It was very informative and hands on, I did maybe 8 repairs during the class. I ended up purchasing some extra resin, some spare parts and equipment that was not included in my kit for about $100. So, for a total investment of about $550, vs. $1,500, I am educated and stocked to repair about 200 windshields!

Only about 25% of the people out there doing windshield repair have any sort of certification, so I guess I'm among the elite! I'm going to have some removable, magnetic advertising signs made for the Suzuki, I've got my diploma and the proper tools.........I'm armed and ready to repair!


-Rich-