ABOUT US by Conrad Wiegersma

 

Mr Scratch & Mr Chip Auto Body Repairs – We won’t dent your budget

 

Mr Scratch and Mr Chip was started in 2003 by Helene Spamer. In May 2004, I purchased the business and subtly changed the name to Mr Scratch & Mr Chip. It was a ‘fast response spray shop’ that, as the name implies, specialised in removal and repairing of scratches and chips and minor spray work. Our main source of income was the second-hand car sales market to which we dedicated ourselves. In particular, we concentrated on 1 and 2 year old vehicles, specifically ‘demo’ vehicles from franchised dealers and rental cars that were being sold into the second-hand market.

 

During 2004, I realised that we needed to change the business as the requirements of our main source of income was changing rapidly and drastically. Through no fault of their own (but it could be said that this was caused by ‘government intervention’), the second-hand market suffered a slow-down because it was more profitable for the person in the street to buy a new car instead of a 1 or 2 year old car. We then saw older cars coming into our workshop that, of course, had more than just a few scratches and chips. To accommodate our market, we changed into a repair and spray shop with less emphasis on the ‘fast response’. Again, in the same year, we had to change! Because of the diminishing car sales, second-hand dealers could no longer afford to spend the necessary money to recondition their vehicles as they needed to. This meant that we had to do lots of ‘more (work) for less (money) to satisfy our customers. This resulted in a strained workload and a stunted cash flow. We started to work on privately owned vehicles.

 

In 2005 I convinced Verena, my life-long partner and long suffering wife, to join the business with me. During this year we reformed into what we are now. The name has changed slightly to identify us better in what we do.

 

Mr Scratch & Mr Chip Auto Body Repairs is a non-structural panel beating and spray-painting business.

 

We have chosen to be ‘non-structural’ for many reasons. The opposite term ‘structural’ implies that major suspension and chassis damage can be performed which means a major investment in the appropriate machinery and skills. There are too many major panel-beating businesses in this domain and we do not want to compete with them. We are in the market to relieve them of their ‘hassle work’, I.E. the non-structural work. This last sentence has two terms that must be explained:

 

‘Hassle work’

Major panel-beating businesses are only interested in the major repairs because of the financial returns. This means that if a customer needs a door or bonnet or both (and more) repaired, the major players will give a high quotation so that they don’t necessarily get the work. Also, if they do get the job, the vehicle will move into a well-rehearsed system that might keep your vehicle tied up for longer than expected.

 

‘Non-structural work’

This implies that body panels can be repaired or replaced and then sprayed.

 

Last and most important reason for remaining non-structural is to honour our commitment –

We won’t dent your budget – in keeping our operating cost low we can pass these savings on to our customers. It must be noted that even though our pricing is generally lower than that of our competitors, the price difference will NEVER compromise the quality of our work. We pride our selves on our quality and spend lots of time and money on skill enhancement and technology.

  

So how do you know if your vehicle needs ‘structural’ or ‘non-structural’ attention? Easy, if it can be driven or towed it is work for Mr Scratch & Mr Chip Auto Body Repairs.