MARS International

Z

zzyyzx

New member
Anybody have any experience with MARS International? MARS = Miracle Appearance Reconditioning Specialist. They seem to be an all around detail franchise. They have some opportunities right now paying $50k/yr +bonus & benefits. Sounds a little too good to be true. Almost a sketchy. I not interested in their franchise, but maybe the employee option. TIA.
 
Those guys are international? Well I'll be damned. They've got a couple guys around here that worked for the dealership I worked at about once a week. They did a horrible job. Swirls like you wouldn't believe and also terrible job painting bumpers. The dealership was happy though, and I think the summer before last the mars guy got like $20k off them just working 1-2 days a week there. I would never let them touch a car of mine though.
 
. Sounds a little too good to be true.
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Due diligence is in order here.



If you are interested in a Franchise opportunity, consider also paintbull.com



I could open a sandwich shop like a Subway, and sell a great sandwich, but it would not succeed like a Subway franchise. They have it nailed. >5000 stores! Starbucks? Franchises can offer great support for success, I just don't think that MARS falls into that category...



Make no mistake, there are several quality MARS operations - but it depends on the individual operator.



There are less expensive ways to gain the same education.



Call me before you write a check!



Jim
 
Don't bother with this scam. I went through a 3 hour interview just to find out that they require a $40,000 deposit for the "salary" position.
 
The only experience I have with them is fixing what they did to a black Z06.



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2007_Corvette_Z06_after1.jpg




Sorry I didn't get the same EXACT sun angle, not much I can do about the earth's rotation combined with the passage of time. :o
 
jdechol said:
Don't bother with this scam. I went through a 3 hour interview just to find out that they require a $40,000 deposit for the "salary" position.
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I'll bet they will finance that $40k for you also........like those I.T. MCSE schools....



I thought humans evolved far enough to spot these things a mile away. People still try to do this with a straight face?
 
Haven't heard or read anything good about their business. Chain detailing centers are quite iffy.
 
umm.... its a great program if you are a great salesman. its about 50,000 to get set up and then they charge and addtl 12% on everything you make for a 5 year contract. totally mobile operation but you have to put the rig together yourself (not included in the startup fee). they only advertise to sell more franchises (have you ever seen an add for their services?) Its great if you know NOTHIng about the industry but you learn 20some systems in two weeks. PM me for more info.. oh no geographical protection. they only protect billed accounts not territory
 
MARS Intl is currently being sued by 25% of their operator base for amongst other things fraud and racketeering. The failure rate of MARS franchisees is well above 65% They are also being investigated by state and federal trade commissions. Most of the training is done in a few hours or less. They are more setup to sell franchises not support them. It is not uncommon for them to sell multiple franchises in the same city even though the existing ones there are struggling. Heck there is one guy who woke up one morning to find they sold a franchise to another guy accross the street from him. Literally!



Bottom line while most of the operators are good people the owners, officers of MARS And their affiliated compAnies athe crooked as the letter "S"
 
Jimmy Buffit said:
The Law Firm is local to me, and highly regarded.



Due diligence! Jim
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The lead attorney, Adam Davis is one tough S.O.B in my opion he is THE best out there regarding franchise law a warrior who doesn't stop.



Imagine the Terminator in a Armani suit..... that's Adam
 
I wanted to get into making a living doing detailing and thought of going in on my own. I ended up buying the MARS Franchise and doing it their way. I've been with them for over 5 years now and although there is always room for improvement, I have a great lifestyle now, because of this business. I guess its what you make of it.
 
Buying a franchise is not a bad thing. Franchises are meant to be a developed system that someone else created that works and provides a framework for a better chance of success. The problem with MARS is, they CLAIM they have a system. They CLAIM they have "world class support". They claim that they are there for you, the franchisee, for any issues you may have. As a buyer of their franchise, you can go to their corporate offices and training facility for any additional training as often as you like for no additional fee. Ok, you bite on the hook, they convince you that they are sincere and you give them your $49k, then quit your job of many years. You go to adequate training for two weeks, you get lots of pats on the back, you get a fancy certificate to hang on your wall and head out to grow a successful business. Once you are out in the field for a few months, you have trouble getting return phone calls from corporate. You send e-mails and receive no response. Your accounting statements are wrong every month. The accounting department doesn't have a clue and won't return your calls. Some of the training staff are not interested in helping you. Months go by and you get frustrated. You then find out that the operators that you spoke with before you committed, have joined a lawsuit against mars. This after them and their wives praised mars for being such a wonderful company and they are just elated with how their lives are going. Now you are wondering what the h**l is going on. Fast forward to the economic crisis that hit last fall. Now the pieces are starting to fall apart as credit is non-existent. Now MARS cannot sign up new franchises as Sallie Mae isn't lending and most people can't get any other kind of loans. Why is this a problem? Because the MARS model is based on signing up new franchises, regardless where and if that person is qualified, and not on support after the operator is out. They are bleeding cash, and now dealers are folding and not doing recon work. The existing operators that were actually doing pretty well in larger markets are now looking at truck repos, house foreclosures and other terrible things. Incidently, MARS is having trouble stocking critical supplies that the few remaining operators need.



MARS hasn't advertised on the major job search sites in quite a while. Possibly for lack of funding to do so. But they are posting mis-leading jobs on Yahoo and other free sites. These postings say things like "Service Manager-make $60k per year". First of all, there is nothing "service manager" about this job! They are merely focusing on the many dealer personnel that have lost their jobs when their dealerships closed. Secondly, it is un likely that many of them will make that money. Especially, with the current conditions of the dealer market.



So, MARS may not be a good way to go considering their track record. There are MANY people that have had the same experience. Beware.
 
MARS has ruined many lives. When you buy a franchise, you are buying a system. MARS's system is flimsy and you can find the exact same training elsewhere. MARS sells their franchise by promising "world class support", proprietary systems, and technical expertise. None of that exists. They have modeled their business in the past by selling new franchises and putting little emphasis on ongoing support. Failure to return calls, e-mails and inaccurate accounting greatly increases the failure rate of existing operators. If you would like to get into vehicle reconditioning and detailing, their are many avenues that you can go without legally binding yourself. Run away from MARS. They ARE a scam and will lie to you with a great big smile on their faces!
 
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