Chattanooga: Flooring industry marketer ventures into dent repair line

As Jim Dugan was getting into his 10-year-old deep blue Dodge pickup last week, he noticed a 5 1/2-foot long scratch along the side of his immaculately kept truck.

“I saw it was a deep scratch, and it made me a little angry,” he said.

But Mr. Dugan got some relief with the Chattanooga mobile auto body repair service Collision on Wheels, and did not suffer any further inconvenience to get it fixed, he said.

“The big thing to me, I don’t have to lose my vehicle at a body shop for five days,” he said.

Instead, the process of priming, sanding and painting the side of the truck took about five hours, and cost $400, to complete in Mr. Dugan’s own driveway, said business owner Bill Clossin. He said that convenience factor is ultimately what sold him on the franchise.

trying something new

Mr. Clossin, 50, bought the Collision on Wheels franchise for an undisclosed amount this summer after leaving the floorcovering industry, where he had spent the past 23 years in marketing.

“I just decided I wanted to try something else before I got too old to do it,” he said.

Initially, however, he wasn’t sure what it was that he wanted to do, so he used a franchise consultant to help him find the best business for his lifestyle.

After an extensive interview process, the consultant narrowed the list to three — a tutoring business, a temporary employment company and Collision on Wheels. The Warren, Mich.,-based company, as the name implies, brings auto body repair services to the customer, wherever they are, he said.

obtains large territory

With his marketing background, Mr. Clossin said he felt the convenience factor of the business really gave him something to sell, and unlike the other two franchises, this one required no real estate. It did require what he calls “a healthy investment.” In the transaction he bought the Chattanooga-area territory, between Dalton, Ga., and Cleveland, Tenn., and the Knoxville market as well.

The deal was completed in June, and after training for two months in how to run the franchise, Mr. Clossin opened for business Aug. 3. He plans to get the business up and running in the Chattanooga area before launching the one in Knoxville early next year, he said.

Currently, he has a van leased through the franchise and one employee, Andy Riddle. Mr. Riddle, with 15 years of auto body experience, said the Collision on Wheels concept changes the way these types of dent and paint repairs are made.

The biggest challenge in auto body work, particularly in painting, is controlling the environment, he said. To solve that problem, since all of the work is done outdoors, Collision on Wheels uses a 12-by-16-foot portable tent to cover the vehicles while painting work is being done.

In addition to scratches like Mr. Dugan’s, the business repairs dents, abrasions and minor collision work, such as bumper repair and replacing side view mirrors.

So far Mr. Clossin’s experience as a business owner has surprised even him and was something he never thought he could do. Because he bought a franchise instead of starting his own business, he has the benefit of a support system in the franchisor and he was able to walk into an existing business that had proven success.

Also, he no longer worries the corporation will be sold or that his position will be eliminated, he said.

“It’s so liberating owning your own business,” he said.