I have been working with and talking to the Line-X people about opening a dealership. I can't get Rhino to even call me back.
I have read through a good number of the posts on here and see that the product has a very good reputation. I know this will probably start a fire storm of opinions. Do you think Line-X is the best product on the market for the price?
If there are dealers out there that read this and would be williing to share their experiences with the product and company please email me with your contact information because I would love to talk with you.
Has anyone ever heard of Vortex Liners there is a guy spraying these in the area that I want to open the Line-X dealer. Should I be concerned about the competition. I have great contacts with all the truck dealers in the are but so does the Vortex dealer. He has been spraying Vortex since December. Any thoughts or comments?
check out arma coatings, they need more dealers, sell more than one product and you can therefore do something besides bedliners with it. http://armacoatings.com/index.html i've seen it and it is better by far than linex or rino
I'm more familar with the LineX stuff but, I know pkagel and I know he knows what he's talking about on the armacoatings. I bet they're great stuff... I'd follow that lead and check on them as well...
Also, from an environmental standpoint, I'm pretty sure that you will require some air permitting such that you are in compliance with your state environmental agency. I can probably help you out with that portion of the business as the company that I work for is a full service environmental consulting firm. Feel free to contact me at kingranch@hotmail.com and I'd be happy to point you towards our website and potentially work up some quotations for the permitting.
A worthy point here is that both Line-X and Arma are sprayed in heated, Both are sprayed in at high pressure, and from what I can tell between the two seem to be very close to the same compound. Therefore, I would look at both as good candidates for a business venture and go with whichever gives the best combination of dealer support, advertising, brand recognition, R&D, profit margins, established date, logistics (distribution, shipping, stock, warehouse location, etc.) and financial security of their corporation. I am sure that they are both pretty close to in line with each other but there are alot of things to consider from the business standpoint. Brewmaster's other link will be very interesting to see. I think another heavy decision factor would be also product durability. You don't want to have customers coming back and complaining or having to get waranty work done because word of mouth can make or break a small business like this.
fact is, their are a whole bunch of linex dealers already. they have one product that happens to be awsome but with armacoating you can vary the product so much more. you can make it look very uneven and soft like rhino or harder like linex or even harder than that and i've even seen it perfectly smooth and nearly hard as a rock. one of their formulas that really turned me on to it is for the boats and is used to spray the seats. my plans on my 73 vw thing is to spray out the entire tub with a harder compound and the seats with their marine seat compound which would make for a wash and wear vehicle. set up the company, do a few friends vehicles at cost with cools designs like the ford symbol, chevy bowtie whatnot in contrasting colors and then blaze your name and phone number across the side of their trucks for a few months and let word of mouth take over. once you have a base of trucks done in the area then you'll be set if you are honest and do a good job.
I agree with pkagel. You can build a name for any product locally but again there is something to be said for Line-X because even if there is not a dealer in the area, you can be pretty sure your potential customers have heard the name before. Now, for the most part I agree that the Arma is a hellova product but for the majority of the customers you will be dealing with they will want brand recognition and best price both. Therefore if the profit margins and operating costs are in line with each other you really would need to see just how strong of a selling point the Arma would have over the Line-X or any other brand you have considered for that matter. The Line-X can be sprayed as rough or smooth as you want and in a wide array of colors as well. Although I would suggest you urge customers to go with the black due to fading because it would be a better idea to advise the customer upfront of fading issues then to try and sell them a color which they think will not fade and come back in a few years pissed off because the once red bedliner is now hot pink.
I talked with a couple of the Line-X dealers and asked them about Arma Coating and they all said it is a very similar product. High pressure and heated when applied. They said the biggest difference is the name recognition between the two products and the support.
as far as their truck bed component their is really not any difference between the two products but arma is usually sprayed with a more consistent grain in my experience. the huge difference would be their other lines. like i said though, you'll need to build your name locally first and if your town doesn't have any bed liner places at all then you'll own the market. you could even run a special deal with the ford/chevy/dodge/jeep dealer to give him special deals on bulk purchases. i tell you what, if you spray a big red chevy bow tie in the bed of the chevy owners personal truck you can guarantee more people will want it done to theirs also.
I personally think he should spray a big blue oval in the bed of all the chevy trucks just to piss em off. and maybe follow that up with the words chevy sucks??
i think he's trying to get business, not piss off half the truck owners in the country. who cares what they want to drive as long as you think what your driving is the best for what your doing with it.
I know, I was just throwing that out there. Afterall, this is a pro-Ford website. Just the evil seeping out a little. It really doesn't matter what anyone drives anyway. Hey, I don't have to hear their rattles or repair them when they break so more power to em.
Hi Guys,
I was doing the same contimplating, Line-X, Armouthane, and some others. I then found a company out of California called Vortex spray on Bed liners.
After much deliberating and question asking I went with the Vortex system.
Vortex is sprayed with low pressure, which cuts down on overspray and product loss. I only lose 3-5% due to over spray. Due to the chemical reacton the spray temprature is aprox. 175 degrees
I used to spray the line-X brand, it is a great product, probably the most recocognisable on the market.
When you put the two products side by side and compare there features you will see that they are identicle.
So now the question becomes what makes one stand out from the other. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Take some time and look into the Vortex system. I have had mine now for about 3 months, and it has been great. Ask for John or Richard @ Vortex
When you get down to the nitty gritty of it, ask lots of questions. See what kind of extra equipment you need to purchase. The Vortex system comes complete in a cabinet the size of a large mechanics tool box (just not as high), and very easy to move around.
The product is sent to you in 5 gallon containers not 55 gallon drums. Think about this when it comes to color changes!!!!
Here is the best part now, ask any of the other manufacturers how mobile they are. My Vortex system is in a 14' enclosed trailer. When any of my dealers call, I can be at there location and completly sprayed in less then 4.5 hrs.
See what else they do, I have started doing house decks, carports, and many other applications.
What have you got to loose or gain $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
If you have any questions please don't hesiate to drop me an email
cpwash,
I tried to email you but it wouldn't work. I'm new to this board and Ford trucks (It took me 44 years to be able to afford the truck I wanted) and have been in search of a spray-in bedliner. I noticed you said you used to spray Line-X and now own a Vortex dealership. Honestly, how do you compare the two? I live in Idaho and the Vortex dealer here is about $60 cheaper than the Line-X dealer. Both look great in my opinion. Are they both as durable? Fading (not that it's that big of a deal since the truck is garaged most of the time)? Thanks.
Buffy
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Contemplating Opening Line-X Dealership??
The Line-X can be sprayed as rough or smooth as you want and in a wide array of colors as well. Although I would suggest you urge customers to go with the black due to fading because it would be a better idea to advise the customer upfront of fading issues then to try and sell them a color which they think will not fade and come back in a few years pissed off because the once red bedliner is now hot pink.
and maybe follow that up with the words chevy sucks??
Linear Mode
