Mobile Car Washing for Large Franchised Rent-a-Car Corporations

If you are considering expanding your mobile car washPresident, Gary Paxton at one time was the first
business clientele and customer base this yearfranchisee outside the state of CA. He now ran that
perhaps you should look into the washing ofentire company of the Dollar Thrifty Automotive
Rent-A-Car agencies. What you may not realize isGroup. Gary also was formerly the president of the
that some Rent-A-Car agencies are hugeACRA - American Car Rental Association.For
corporations where each outlet, store or location islocations of Dollar Rent-A-Car go to:
owned by the company. But there are large franchisedRent-A-Car has 1300 locations all franchised in 58
Rent-A-Car companies where each location iscountries. They have 60 dealership agreements to sell
independently owned and operated and where thetheir cars after run out of miles. They are planning to
actual Corporation may only own larger airportget another 300 car sales lots by 2005. Thrifty and
locations.If you are considering expanding your clienteleDollar together pack a wallop. Thrifty Rent-A-Car has
to include large franchised Rent-A-Car companies you66% of its business in airport markets and 34 % in
may want to learn a little bit more about the historylocal suburban markets. Thrifty car sales was only
behind them before you go to make the sales call.started in 1999, but already has 60 locations and is
Now then, when doing business with Dollar and Thriftygrowing fast. Thrifty has also purchased airport parking
Rent-A-Car you must understand that they operatelots across the US owning 40 of them with some
differently than other rental car agencies. You see,14000 spaces. In many of these lots they have a car
Dollar and Thrifty have the same parent company.wash to wash their own cars but also for customers
They are head quartered in Tulsa, OK.Dollar is anparking.In some ways they are a competitor and in
interesting company with 441 locations in 26 countries.other ways a mobile car wash business can wash for
They have about 100,000 cars in the US in their rentalthem at their dealerships and small franchised rental
fleet. They were started in Los Angeles, CA in 1964.lots. They are often talked about in Parking
They were bought by Pentastar Transportation GroupProfessional News and they offer valet service in
in 1990. Along with Thrifty Rent-A-Car, Generalnearly all their structures and oil changes in most.
Rent-A-Car and Snappy Rent-A-Car. Snappy wasThrifty does not have car wash services in PHX,
sold in 1994. They closed General Rent-A-Car in 1993.Sandston VA, Milwaukee WI, Salt Lake City UT, in any
General Rent-A-Car was pretty much a duplication ofof their TX locations, Chattanooga TN, Harrisburg PA,
the others and it had non-Chrysler cars in it. Once theyRaleigh NC and only half of their FL parking garages.
ran out the company was closed.PentastarThey have oil change services in even less than those.
Transportation was a subsidiary of Chrysler to sellSo there is significant opportunity there for a mobile
them cars to compete with Hertz owned by Ford andcar wash business to service them in many of their
GM's Rent-A-Car acquisitions of the 80s. Chryslerlocations you see?To find sales lots for Thrifty go to:
divested themselves of the company, which was thenfind car rental offices go to:
called Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group. Thrifty andyou can see why it is important to study up on your
Dollar are franchisors that license out their brandcustomers before you make the sales calls. And if you
names for independent businesses. Dollar has overrun a mobile car washing business it pays to seek out
260 suburban locations and is also in most all majorthose fleet customers who own large numbers of
airports. Dollar predominately rents onlycars. I hope as you expand your business that you
DaimlerChrysler cars, mini vans and pick-ups. Theirconsider this in 2006.