F&I and Showroom, August 2013

Finance Manager Trisha Winski has worked at Mercedes Benz of Westwood for the past nine years Dealer Profi le think demand industrywide for similar products would be the same he says On average the company sees product penetration at between 18 to 20 percent across all its dealership clients For highline stores that number is even higher as is the case at Mercedes Benz of Westwood At our highline stores because of that customer pride of ownership is a really big thing Cooper says People like their vehicles looking as good as the day they bought it And they take pride in that Winksis dealership has made nearly 90000 in profi t so far in 2013 selling Dent Wizard offerings When youre purchasing a car especially a new car the fi rst few years are when you care most about the car looking pristine she says Its like purchasing your fi rst piece of jewelry or new sunglasses youre constantly polishing it babying it A normal ding can cost anywhere from 100 or more per dent she adds For around 500 to 600 you can have unlimited dings removed for years Bundle Up Mercedes Benz of Westwoods success with the Ding Shield product is the result of common sense tactics 24 F I and Showroom August 2013 and straight talk Winski says shell often mention standard situations that could result in a dent while pointing out the areas the program covers on a model car that sits on her desk Its really not a matter of if the customers going to have a ding or dent happen on the vehicle its just really a matter of time and a matter of how many Cooper notes So thats a great selling feature of the program The key though is bundling the product with other services While Ding Shield Plus offers unlimited paintless dent repair Ding Shield Ultimate adds coverage for interior rips and tears as well as head lamp windshield chip and cosmetic wheel repair Cooper says many of the companys dealer clients are having luck packaging Ding Shield products with a maintenance program or road hazard tire and wheel What Ding Shield does is really give the consumer the ability when they are getting their oil changed to have the vehicle checked over Cooper says If there are any dings or dents or if theres curb rash that occurs at that point in time they can have all the services done Typically Winski couples Ding Shield Plus with Resist All a protective coating from Cal Tex People who care about the paint no doubt care about dings as well she says CONTINUED ON PAGE 28 The profi t per retail unit at Mercedes Benz of Westwood is 2000 more than 1200 of which is attributed to product sales