Well it's Sunday and I 'm board after detailing and driving my car around for a while. Now back at home, sitting on the couch, and got to thinking about a business opportunity. It hit me! What about a mobile PPI business. I have a pick up truck, I could carry all the tools and a lift or ramps. I could go to the seller's location, after I get a check from the buyer and perform a PPI. Spend about two hours, test driving the car, putting the car on a lift etc, taking lots of pictures, testing prodding and probing and then email the buyer a full report. I would only do within a 200 or 300 mile radius of my house. I could franchise this business too. I could also offer the seller to list their car on my PPI website as having been pre inspected as well. I don't mind driving around since I'm retired, and get to check out a lot of cool cars in the mix. Do you guys think this business would work? I would have everybody sign a hold harmless waiver to cover my butt, lol. If I could do about 5 - 10 cars a month at $350 a pop would just be a little fun money, and I would probably end up checking out some cool places that I normally would not have been to. Seems like a lot of people are needing PPI's now. Would I need a license to do this? Your thoughts.

 

Man, that's a great idea. Half the reason why people don't get ppi's is because of the logistics. I think you have a great idea there. Mobile diagnostics, ramps to check the undercarriage, heck you might as well think about doing oil changes while you are there as well. Insurance and waivers! $350 is high seeing you're overhead won't be much. $150 is the magic number.

 

Sounds like a good idea to me, if you feel that you have the skills, tools, and credentials for it.

Be sure to carry liability insurance.

As mentioned above, logistics is often a huge PITA for PPIs.

 

It already exists. It is called http://lemonsquad.com/

Good thinking through.

 

Yes except for the radius. 200 mile radius is 3-4 hrs each way minimum. That's a whole day there and back just for driving and then you still have to do the work. Not worth it for the de facto hourly rate. Keep it to a 50mile radius and you're (potentially) in business. Hopefully you're in a major metro area. You probably need a business license and some liability insurance for when something goes pop after you've looked at it and the buyer (or seller) blames you.

 

$350 is a very fair price...includes travel time and costs plus two hours at least on the car...then writing up the reports, etc.

 

Yeah, closer to the $350 number than the $150, for sure. But, that's a small thing to figure out in the scope of things.

Also, for pricing, look at the fees in the link Kalish posted. Obviously, that company uses independent contractors. Maybe see if there is a need for contractors in your area.

 

Wow guys, thanks for all the positive comments, information and suggestions, I appreciate it. Now off to make a few modifications to the plan, gather info and put somethings in motion. I'll keep you all posted.

 

I think people on the 996 board are paranoid and get ppis - due to potential for very expensive problems with these cars - but to be honest - even ppi may not find ims about to explode ...

Most buyers of regular cars have no idea of what ppi is or even get one. And while $350 May not scare off porsche buyer - it would your average Honda accord buyer. And for other exoitcs - Id want someone with lots of experience with the marque looking at it. More buyers would rely on carfax if anything- which is much less expensive. So while the idea sounds cool - I'm not sure how many takers there would really be - unless you have lots of rennlisters in your neighborhood ...

 

Are you doing porsches only? Do you have the expertise for other brands. I can't say I'd want a guy familiar with porsches checking out my potential ferrari.

 

That's it, and it won't find the condition of the clutch. Maybe if a test drive brought up some concerns I'd get a ppi, but in that case I'd also pass on the car if the price wasn't right.

 

For me, I paid $149 for my PPI at the dealer which included hooking up the diagnostic computer.

 

5-10 cars a month? Are you talking about any car or just 996?

 

I think this should be a multi-member operation so you can cover a larger radius without having to spend the whole day getting there. Start off with a small radius, but low entry cost, then grow the business by adding more mobile inspections to increase radius. Just my 2 cents.

 

eBay already has something like this.

Your focus should be how to source customers. Either work with use car dealers, an associated business used for selling used car such as carfax, escrow, credit union or repair shop. Sourcing business via ads yourself can be quite challenging.

In some countries, this is marketed as a diamond certification.