My husband and I are thinking of starting a Matco tool truck. Looking on the web, we really cannot find any bad things about them but we would love to talk to people who have owned/own a franchise to see how they are doing and if the business is lucrative for them. This would be supporting our family and we want to get as much info as we can-good or bad! Thanks guys! :)

Have you reiceved any info on your question yet. I have a matco franchise

No, never did. We decided we didn't want to go into debt starting a new job. Thanks, though!

My first impression would be to ensure you have a clientele base available to support your decision. It's not so much the need for quality tools as it is the ability or desire of the customers to pay the $$$ for the tool's name.

We are hard-pressed to pay the (sometimes ridiculous) high prices for Matco, Snap-on, etc, tools. The few that we do buy are specialty tools that either no other name has, or the other similar, available tools are inferior. I have noticed the same trend at several shops in my area. It's not unheard of for some folks to drop over $10k for a basic mechanics stack chest, and not even stay in business long enough to pay it off.

Given that numerous "discount" hand tools come with a lifetime warranty these days, even Craftsman tools have started to wane in popularity due to inflated price to support a brand name.

Granted, you may be in a region where the mechanics are making enough beyond their overhead that they can justify that kind of spending, or that they are making so much they need to spend it for tax purposes. I'd still ask around your local shops and get a good idea of how many customers you could attain to support the move.

Will this be a store-front, or a "tool truck" business?

D Junkie, that was my thoughts, too. Is a tool truck venture. With the state of economic crisis our country is in, I realize more people would fix what they have versus buy new BUT, can the mechanic afford the tools? The franchise does come with it's designated route with a guaranteed number of shops but, who's to say they will stay in the shop once the purchase is made to pay for the tools and we are stuck holding the line of credit. How many times have we seen the truck pulling up in front and the mechanics racing out the back door cause they can't pay on the bill? We decided we have enough debt without taking on more right now with the added headache of it being the primary income for our family. Thanks!

Hi billgtp,
I am seriously considering a Matco Franchise.Is the risk worth the reward? The costs they a telling me is $4,500.00 month and
You make 35% of your gross sales.How long did it take you to start making enough money to cover the truck and pay your own bills?
Any input you have will be a great help. Thanks

Would like to share this franchise opportunity which I came across -
Franchise Companies: Julie Ann's Gourmet Dessert Shops, Frozen Custard, Ice Cream, Dog House and Gourmet Coffee Franchise Opportunity Companies
Should be a great business opportunity as they have over 23 years experience in franchising, offers support without all the usual franchise fees.

My husband and I are also considering opening a franchise with Matco. Since your post, have you started the business?

From what I have seen, Matco Tools is a friendly company to its distributors. The home office will help you but of course it is a sales and collection business so success - or failure - is ultimately up to you. You can get a list of current and former franchised distributors from the UFOC for Matco. Start calling them. Did you get far enough in the process to get a UFOC?

I use to be a matco distributor from 2002 to 2003 and I was lied to from day 1 buy my district manager and company support was a joke.manager are paid to lie to you from the very beginning because these routes are very hard to fill.I know 3 distributors(matco)that have gone out of business in the last 3 years(all from the buffalo/rochester ny area)and one disttrict manager and all of them are currently sueing matco for constantly being lied to and unable to write contract.our economy is terrible and starting a tool franchise today is crazy.

I am currently a matco tool distributor in the west, not going to say where. My district manager and regional manager are supportive, but when things start to go down hill, they just say "you are everybody else is down with their sales, just be careful out there, collect what you can, and be persistent with tool box sales. I would advise anyone NOT to go into this business unless you have some financial backing, just in case the economy takes the turn for the worse, like now. I was quoted a salary of 4000.00 a month easy, but that is hardly the case. It depends on your route, my route is not the best and the customers are "seasoned" mechanics that have most of the tools that I have on my starter load on my truck. If they want tools, they have you take orders, and give them a 5 to 7 payback period payment plan, and you only get a two week turn around when you have to pay that tool bill. Meanwhile, where do you get the money to pay back that tool order? Yes, you have a lease payment on your truck of 1200 a month, and then insurance for the truck and the business liability, of about 350.00 a month, and then you have to pay the state tax you collected depending on your sales, could be around 1000.00 to 2500.00 a month, and the rest is for running the business of sending the warranty (that you pay) tools back to Matco in Tennesee via UPS and then they credit your tool account, and that takes around a week, so if you have lots of warranty tools, money is tied up for a week? A lot of stuff is not told to you in training in Ohio and by your district manager, VP, and the regional manager. So beware to any one that wants to start up a matco distributorship. Have lots of money of your own, to fund this business when you are in a bind, or when sales are down, cause it will cause lots of nights of tossing and turning due to stress and worry. The laptop you buy is over priced, you can get it cheaper from the manufacturer, and the software they have is good, but it will cost you about 850.00 that sometimes does not function right. The licensing for the truck is going to cost you 800.00 to 1200.00 a year, the state licenses will cost you about 500.00 a year, the internet and cell phone bills will have to be paid with the profits, and mind you, you only get between 35 to 40 percent on every tool you sell. Sometimes much less. The tools you sell that break like flashlights, drop lights, always go out, you pay out of your pocket to ship it back to repair and there goes all your profit margin. Matco should pay for it, it is their tools, they should pay for the shipping for the repair, NOT the distributor and you can not charge the customer who bought the tool a month ago and charge them 10 bucks for shipping, and if you do tell them to pay for it, they want a refund for the tool and get angry with you. So think long and hard on doing this matco, snapon or cornwell distributorship. It is not all glory and smooth sailing, lots of promises not kept by Matco and your district manager. And if you do decide to do it, I wish you all the best of luck, cause it will take lots of your own money to get this business off the ground. I regret it now every single day.

Old thread that is now sufficiently answered.

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