Car Medic International review: Franchise rip off 8

DO NOT BUY A FRANCHISE FROM CAR MEDIC / ANDREW SPENCER HACK
If you have come across this post, you are either in the same (sinking) boat as me or you are, on some level being sucked in to the self serving cash generator, operated by Andrew Hack at Car Medic International, Leighton Buzzard. What disturbs me most is that even though he has lost recent court cases brought against him by other highly disappointed and out of pocket franchisees, the judge awarding in favour of the franchisee on the grounds of Misrepresentation in Advertising, he is still permitted to peddle his scam in the national press (Car Medic, Air Medic, Tyre Medic, Caravan Medic, Bike Medic etc) under whatever guise, Car Medic, Touch-up Guys etc

The following is extracted from a Car Medic International advertisment on www.business-opportunity-review.co.uk, with comments added, based upon my own, very poor experience with Car Medic International:

Description:

Car Medic is giving you an opportunity to become a franchisee in what they claim is the UK’s leading SMART bodywork repair business and with over 27 million cars on the UK roads, they are confident that you will never be short of work. They state that using their revolutionary Car Medic SMART vehicle paint repair system, ...

nothing revolutionary about body filler and spray paint – their ‘unique colour matching system’ is simply a colour paint swatch and is only as good as your eyesight – you then have to mix up the colours by dribbling paint into a paper cup on some scales

...you can restore scratches, stone chips and minor dents on the bodywork or to bumpers at a fraction of the cost and time associated with conventional repairers. A normal repair will usually involve the vehicle being off the road for a few days with whole panels needing to be re-sprayed, all of which adds up to a much higher repair cost. This is where the Car Medic system scores saving on both time and price. They claim that there are significant advantages of becoming a franchisee and that it is estimated that franchisees are still operating profitable businesses after 5 years...

– if you see profit at all, you are in a minority – most franchisees fold a long time before 5 years are up...you are still contracted to pay the management fees until your time is up.

...whereas more than 50% of small firms cease trading in the first three years and with a proven product like Car Medic, all the hard work and product development has been done for you – PA!...You will be provided with an extensive training programme – no you won’t, you’ll get just 10 days with one of their ‘very experienced technicians’ in the product and this will be a continual process with ongoing product development and management support to help you develop and run your own business – utterly, utterly false – once they have your money, you are on your own. Car Medic advise that you will have the product and materials to do the job right first time and with their corporate image and market awareness already in place, you will get good advertising, branding, stationery, livery and sign-writing from the start. This reduces your start-up costs and means that you will become more profitable quicker – How? The Car Medic reputation in the trade is laughable because the franchisees are badly trained and prepared for business. In addition, Car Medic states that they use the same systems for other areas and franchises can be taken for motorcycle bodywork repair called Bike Medic, or air conditioning repair/refilling called Air Medic, or permanent puncture repair called Tyre Medic. Again, extensive product training is provided. Car Medic has provided projections of potential earnings which they claim are achievable with the various franchises. These range from GBP65, 000 to GBP72, 629 per annum. – UNBELIEVABLE FIGURES AREN’T THEY?... Car Medic holds regular open days where they demonstrate their services together with providing a comprehensive presentation on the market and competition. Alternatively, they are happy to talk to you individually regarding franchising. You can contact them by telephone to book an appointment or complete an enquiry formOn-line

You may think the above is a biased and negative view of an unsuccessful franchisee. That may be true but i would urge you to speak to any current franchisees you can find who are willing to talk to you off the record – Andrew Hack, Managing Director of Car Medic has our contract tied up so that he can suspend the trading license if you are found to be acting in a negative fashion against Car Medic International.

you have been warned - steer clear and keep your cash in your pocket.