My name is Brian Jump and I own Superior Auto Institute and Superior PDR, a Paintless Dent Repair school and service company.We started performing PDR back in 1992, when in Southern California it was just being presented to the market.
PDR originated in the late 80’s, coming first from the German automotive assembly lines and then making it’s way here to the states before eventually going around the world. PDR is now a global service in all continents. Some countries may not have many techs but the business is taking hold fast in all areas due to the huge opportunity.
We initially identified the first person in our county, and seized the opportunity quickly. We started calling on automotive dealers first, seeing the idea to make big money in this service business is volume clients. We had to convince them that paintless dent repair was real and offered free demonstrations to prove it. At first some were skeptical but most gave us the opportunity to prove our worth. You might imagine how happy they were to learn they could fix their vehicles without having to take to the bodyshop and how fast the service really is.
Removing dents onsite allowed for quick repairs to help them sell cleaner cars, which meant we helped them make more money (alot more).From that point we trained and added more technicians and began to service rental agencies, bodyshops, and then work directly with insurance agencies with hail damage repairs in the midwest. The training usually took 2-3 weeks and the new techs would ride along with the veterans until they felt comfortable on their own. We also provided them with tools so they could handle all dent repair situations in all types, makes and models of vehicles. Some people in our industry even take out dents in chrome bumpers and others service appliance centers with their dents.
Fast forward to today, we still have multiple route technicians who go to automotive businesses and the public, removing dents and helping people retain their vehicle value by keeping the original finish intact and avoiding the dreaded “bondo monster”.The market has matured a bit in the last 20-25 years, and there are many people and companies offering Paintless Dent Repair, but in most cases we still see a shortage supply of qualified techs, which keeps us busy. The areas with the most techs are in the sunbelt with the northern areas seeing more of a shortage.Our competitive advantage is simple: Excellent customer service, competitive pricing, and top notch craftsmanship. Since PDR is a handcrafted art, there is a wide variety of technicians and results. We strive to provide the very best results and as such have created a reputation and get alot of referral work from those who truly want their car in perfect condition. And with Yelp, Google, Facebook and other social platforms, getting positive reviews is key for prolonged business and referrals.
Providing a service business such as Paintless Dent Repair has been a dream: flexibility in hours, very low overhead with super high margins means we can work standard business hours (or less), we don’t pay any sales taxes (it’s all labor), and it’s not problematic whatsoever (dent’s don’t reappear!). So as you can imagine, this is what we call a “no headache” business model with crazy high margins and almost zero overhead. Not too many service businesses can match these benefits.
Across the United States, a qualified PDR Technician should meet or exceed $100/ hour, and it’s not uncommon to see daily earnings in the $x,xxx range. But even with that great opportunity there are still towns with automotive businesses waiting days or even weeks for a PDR tech to come service them.
Part of the reason is the annual hail damage that usually starts around April and may not end until September or later. This “thins out” the available PDR techs in many areas who leave to go “chase hail” and make the big bucks pushing 100’s of dents a day instead of dozens. The only downside to PDR is the difficulty in learning it in the beginning. The training is rigorous and difficult. PDR techs are essentially “sheet metal sculptors” and as such the training is intense and usually takes several weeks, with a apprentice period usually a few weeks more to several months. A career in PDR isn’t for everyone. The requirements included 20-20 vision (corrected or natural), reasonable good physical health, no carpal tunnel or severe back issues, and ability to focus (no ADD or other focus issues).A strong attention to detail with solid work ethic is paramount to succeed in Paintless Dent Repair as well.
Many people ask us why we chose to go into this business and we tell them a service business is the best way to make a great living and still afford time off to enjoy life. Isn’t that what it’s all about, anyways?