cars – Accelerated Service International

What You Need To Know About Car Detailing

Car detailing refers to the performing of a meticulous and thorough cleaning, restoration, and finishing of a motor vehicle, both its interior and exterior. The objective is to come up with a great-looking, show-quality car.

Many professional detailing services and product-selling businesses exist to cater to both professionals and hobbyists. This business has been on the rise in the past few decades, especially in places where cars are the primary modes of transportation. As of mid-2014, the U.S. detailing industry was racking in over $9 billion in revenue.

A lot of people have the misconception that car detailing is synonymous with car detailing. This is far from true, as detailed car washing goes beyond the normal car wash to make a vehicle look super clean (not to mention the restoration aspect, which carwash businesses don’t do). A more important difference is that detailing does not allow for the use of automated systems for cleaning. Everything is done hands-on by experienced detailers.

The two components of car detailing are interior and exterior detailing. The former involves stream-cleaning and vacuuming of the cabin of the vehicle, from the leather and plastic parts to the vinyl and carbon fiber sections. Exterior detailers work on everything visible from the outside, from the restoration of the paint, waxing, and degreasing to the extensive cleaning of tires and windows.

Accelerated Service International provides agents with a host of benefits, including its Agent Survival Kit to help improve sales. For similar reads, check out this blog.

Trends To Watch In The Automotive Industry In 2018

Although industry experts forecast that the auto industry will end 2017 with U.S. sales of 17.1 million units (the first sales decline in the past seven years), carmakers and drivers have much to look forward to in the coming year. Here are the biggest trends to pay attention to.

Many automakers are considering going into the subscription service model for 2018. Among those expected to make the move official are Volvo, Cadillac, and Porsche, as they’ve already set up programs that would allow drivers to switch cars weekly for a fixed fee. The idea is to keep customers loyal to the company. This is especially appealing to those who prefer test-driving new vehicles.

Electric cars may just be the next wave. Carmakers are keen on pushing the electric vehicle, with the idea becoming less of a novelty as the cost gets cheaper and the charging faster. Sustainability practices are increasingly being integrated into business systems. While cars that have zero emissions demand more public charging infrastructure established, this is now being addressed. In short, car companies don’t want to be unprepared when electric cars become the norm.

Finally, while autonomous or self-driving vehicles might be more hype than practical for now, automakers understand that improved semi-autonomous safety features need to be added to slowly usher the idea in. People aren’t ready to give up control of their machines, but autonomous technologies like rear park assist and Tesla’s dominance in this race are forcing companies to catch up.

For over 20 years, Accelerated Service International has been delivering a host of benefits to agents marketing to dealers. It proudly calls over 200 general agents and 2,000 dealerships across North America and Europe part of the ASI family. For similar reads, visit this blog.

Zen and The Art of Automobile Maintenance

Automobile maintenance is essentially about making sure that your car functions at the optimum level. Sadly, a lot of owners either excuse themselves by being too busy or too lazy to subject their vehicles to the discipline of upkeep. It would help to meditate on the idea a little bit, as the activity of maintaining your car is similar to the practice of Zen: one needs to be calm and collected, focused and restrained.

This process is an indeed artful one, a careful examination premised more on foresight rather than immediate consequence, prevention rather than cure. Think of the popular car-care term BLOWFATCH and subscribe to its tenets. Each letter corresponds to one or more aspect of automobile maintenance (from battery and breaks to horn and hoses). It literally pays to think ahead, to avoid complications that might lead to extensive and expensive repairs in the future.

There are tons of tips and specific advice out there, but our concern here is more about the general, canopy attitude we have for our cars. Because possible issues with alternators and carburetors, leaks and light, fuel, water, and oil will only become problems if, at the back of our minds, they are inevitable because we let them happen.

Just like how ants adjust to the seasons by collecting food in the sun-filled months, the prepared driver understands that precautions and other car-care regimen precede troubleshooting, simply because the latter is premised on the word “trouble.” So why get there in the first place?

Accelerated Service International has been focusing on automobile dealerships, financial institutions, and the agents who serve them, for over 20 years. The company delivers a plethora of benefits to agents, including the Agent Survival Kit, a set of key tools to help close sales pitches. For more write-ups about car care and vehicle maintenance, drop by this blog.

Why Buyers Still Prefer Dealerships for that Brand New Automobile

The number of customers considering buying cars online may steadily be increasing, but most people still prefer getting their first cars from a dealership. This is mainly because they want to test drive the automobile before buying. More than 80 percent of buyers prefer taking this hands-on option, which only emphasizes the strategic role dealers play in the industry.

A 2014 study conducted for the National Automobile Dealers Association showed that even though the internet has altered the car-buying experience, the role of the dealer in automobile transactions has not diminished. Senior vice president for global automotive operations at J.D. Power John Humphrey says that, in fact, “people are more satisfied with dealers today than they have been.”

A key factor in the continued preference for dealers is the existence and prevalence of state franchise laws which largely prohibit car manufacturers from direct selling. While some may frown at this, it actually makes great sense: it generates good competition among car businesses, which allows for more options, better service, special discounts, and value-added offerings like free maintenance.

Dealers also often have broader inventory and brand options, as they work independently from automakers. They provide sound financing arrangements, shoulder tax deductions, handle state registration, let buyers choose from an array of models, and again, give buyers the option to try before they buy.

Accelerated Service International has been focusing on automobile dealerships, financial institutions, and the agents who serve them, for over 20 years. The company offers a host of benefits for agents to effectively market to dealers. For more on its array of services, visit its official website.