Real World Retail

No Stone Unturned

In the quest to bring every client’s dreams to fruition, Distinctive Car Toyz has built its business from the ground up and expanded to offer everything from new cars to custom stereo systems.

WORDS BY ROSA SOPHIA

In 1993, Distinctive Car Toyz in Egg Harbor, New Jersey, began with a focus on dealership work, offering gold plating and wood dash trims. Owner James Lin started the business out of the trunk of his 1992 Lexus. After two years, he moved into a two-bay garage, then to a larger location. The business grew substantially before being featured on the cover of Mobile Electronics magazine in 2013.

“Then we found a spot a half a mile away from our last location,” Lin said, noting that they built from the ground up, beginning March 2, 2020, while still running the business out of the old location. “We finished the new building in eight months when everyone said it would take 18. We moved in at the end of December and had our grand opening on January 25, 2021.”

Lin and his shop foreman, Tom Way, managed the project themselves during the COVID-19 shutdown. The business now has a total of 10,000 square feet, with 8,000 for the garage and 2,000 set aside for the showroom. The shop’s hours are nine a.m. to seven p.m., giving those who work until five a chance to pick up their cars in the evening. The staff of 30 includes a shuttle driver who will take customers home or to work after they drop off their vehicles.

The staff, he said, has grown together for the most part.

The shop’s full-time tinter attended the Tint School in Florida. “When I do the hiring, I tend to recruit what’s out there,” he said. “They come prepared. There isn’t a whole lot of training needed when you hire experienced help.”

The business has a team of specialized technicians: Some handle only wheels and tires, and one technician focuses on vehicle lifts, engine swaps and transmissions. The shop offers an extensive list of services, everything from oil changes to car audio, in an effort to meet clients’ needs.

And while it began by servicing dealerships, Distinctive Car Toyz has become a dealership, as well. Lin said this aspect of the business became very popular about five or six years ago. It began like every other category—with client requests.

From 12-Volt Shop to Car Dealership

“We were selling two to three cars a month as a hobby,” he said. “My close friend, an attorney, suggested I get a dealer’s license and helped us apply. Soon, we were a full-blown dealership selling 40 to 50 cars a month. We went from no inventory to 80 to 90 cars. Our business is a little different: We do 12-volt, window tint, wrap, detailing and more. It’s a rare combination.”

The shop has a good relationship with other local businesses,

and utilizes this network to help clients find what they’re looking for. “We still work with other dealerships, and we help each other,” Lin explained. “We have a strong relationship with other brands. If you want a Range Rover locally, you have to drive an hour. A client will call and say, ‘James, I want a Range Rover Sport, black,’ and we get to work.”

The staff will make the call, find the right vehicle and take in the customer’s trade, whether it’s a $200,000 dollar car, or one that’s worth a couple thousand. “Regular cars to exotic cars—we can handle all of it,” he added. “This is all done through text. And we’ve sold cars to people we’ve never even met.”

The shop can offer what regular dealerships ordinarily can’t, which means other local dealerships still turn to Distinctive

Car Toyz for solutions they can’t address. “They’ll sublet to shops like ours for remote start, window tint, Apple CarPlay and more,” Lin said. “We also have our own mechanics, and we’re reconditioning cars from start to finish for dealerships. We have a detail department, window tint, vehicle wrap, 12-volt, mechanical, wheel alignments—and now we can buy vehicles.”

On display in front of the business are six to 10 Jeeps with lift kits. After the new building opened, more traffic flooded to the shop because people saw the vehicles on display. “Other dealerships just can’t do some of the things we do,” Lin added.

Redefining Customer Service

Bringing dreams to fruition is a focus for the team, who will go as far as they have to in order to meet a client’s needs. There have been times, though, where issues have occurred and Lin acted quickly with creative problem solving to ensure a positive result. He described a situation in which an employee got into an accident with a client’s BMW.

Lin’s first move was to contact the dealer and find an identical car. “I called the customer and said, ‘I have good news and bad news.’ The customer had brought us the car for window tinting and a bunch of other stuff.” He made sure to tell the customer it wouldn’t cost him anything. He’d found the same exact vehicle for him. When it turned out the original vehicle had been a leased car, Lin and the client made a deal: “I picked up six months of payments.” The whole incident cost him $10,000. “You keep a customer

FAST FACTS

MAIN LOCATION: EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NJ

NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: ONE

SQUARE FOOTAGE: 10,000

TYPE: TRADITIONAL RETAIL

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 30

MAIN FOCUS

25% AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR, ENGINE SWAP, WHEELS AND TIRES

17% WINDOW TINT

15% CUSTOM STEREO, LIGHTING, TRUCK AND JEEP ACCESSORIES

15% REMOTE START

10% DETAILING AND CERAMIC PRO

10% MISCELLANEOUS

8% VINYL WRAP

KEY STAFF OWNER: JAMES LIN

STORE MANAGER: ERIC LASKOWSKY

SHOP FOREMAN: TOM WAY

PRODUCT SPECIALIST: CHING LEE

The Evolving Showroom

Around 20 years ago, the business followed old retail methods of stacking boxes in the showroom. “It had a very cluttered look,” he said. Today, the clean and organized appearance draws in customers. “That’s what people want to see now.” The shop focuses on selling the services it offers and its own brand. Clients tend to go with the recommendations of the salespeople.

Jody Culbertson of 5 Axis Innovations recently worked with the business to revamp the showroom. “He took our displays to another level of selling,” Lin said. “We never sold so much Dynamat before. Now we have speakers demonstrating what it sounds like with it and without it. People will spend the extra money [when they hear the difference].”

Early on in his career, Lin said it was hard building relationships with reps and distributors. Because the business was new, reps didn’t always take a chance on it. “Once, I had a rep come in and say to me, ‘I’m sorry I didn’t pick you.’ He admitted he looked away from us because we were so small when we got started,” Lin said. “You have to believe in people. Now, we’re the biggest game in town.” Some of the shop’s most popular products include remote start and backup cameras. Add-ons like heated seats are also popular. But, in the end, clients come in for the personalized service.

The showroom has about 60 to 70 wheels on display, as well, along with a sound board to show off new touch screen units. Lin feels the showroom reflects the current trend in the industry toward integration. “Our showroom is like an Apple store—clean and simple,” he said, adding, “We are the brand.”

happy,” he said. “He could see how far I would go to fix the problem.”

The team will pick up cars wherever they happen to be, and also owns three loaner vehicles that clients can use. Unlike many other shops, Distinctive Car Toyz will also install product purchased elsewhere—although the staff will make it clear to the client that they’re unable to guarantee the quality of the equipment. The business feels for people who are turned away from other shops after purchasing their own product.

For example, Lin said he’s had customers who only wanted their vehicle’s dealership to touch their car. Assuming the dealership would do any work they asked, they would bring them a remote start and ask them to install it.

“They’ll get turned down. The dealer will say they either don’t install remote starts, or they don’t install [equipment that wasn’t purchased from them]. It’s not our product, so if it doesn’t work at the end of the installation, they’re still liable for the installation,” Lin explained. “If it doesn’t work the following week, I’ll do a courtesy check. They might need a new unit.”

He added that the staff will look at the product and let the customer know if they feel there might be an issue. “If there are missing parts, you’re paying us to get it. We aren’t going to wait for the client to order it,” he said, adding that the shop’s labor rate is $125 per hour. “If we bring the car in and find the products [they bought] aren’t compatible, they still pay us the labor rate and they leave knowing

they got screwed buying online. They leave understanding they should buy from a store instead of on the Internet.” If there’s something the shop can’t do, they still help the customer accomplish their goals. For example, if a car needs body work, the business has a good relationship with a local body shop, and they’ll send it over.

Greater Opportunity Through Business Diversification

Lin said the one-stop-shop approach makes it easier and more efficient for the customer, who doesn’t necessarily have the time to go to multiple places for various services. “Once they’re in, they’ll want to buy something else. A lot of times they’ll come in and say, ‘I didn’t know you did this. Can we do that, too?’”

Because clients are often so happy with what Distinctive Car Toyz is willing to do for them, they’ll often add-on products or services, increasing the size of the ticket. “Someone will come in for a window tint. They’ll say, ‘Let me get a detail, too.’ When you give them knowledge of what a ceramic pro treatment is, that’s another $2,000. All of these are just add-ons.”

Additionally, Lin said, clients will find out the shop also has automotive repair technicians, and they’ll request an oil change. While the oil is being changed, the technicians might realize the client is due for new tires. “When they get tires,” Lin added, “they might say, ‘I was thinking about getting rims,’ so they’ll do that, too.”

This leads to an alignment, which can

also lead to other repairs, such as a brake job. “Or they’ll want to add a radio.” Lin noted it’s akin to going into the grocery store for a pack of gum and leaving with a full grocery bag.

“When they see what else we can do for them—lighting, running boards and more—it can go up to a $50,000 build before they leave.”

Often, clients come in with an older vehicle and see a truck or a Jeep in the lot that they’d rather have. “We can take their truck as a trade-in and they can buy the one they like. People come in intending to get wheels and tires, and they end up leaving with a new vehicle.”

Cultivating a Positive Mindset

The future will bring further expansion, according to Lin, who said he recently purchased more land across the street which will be turned into a parking lot. The lot will create enough space for 50 or 60 more cars.

“We’re also building a single-bay car wash so every car that’s serviced will get a quick wash,” he said. Additionally, a small house next door will be converted into an administrative office and employee parking will be installed. Lin said the only delays he might foresee would be caused by COVID-19, or the current market. There’s always more on the horizon. Next, he added, the team wants to get involved in outfitting police cars.

“We’ve already worked on some, but there’s a high demand and there aren’t

enough shops that do it,” he said. “If we can capture a small amount, it’s another category we can offer.”

Lin acknowledged that diversification of business offerings might be a good way of preparing for potential economic slumps, while he cautioned against having a negative mindset. “You weren’t thinking about it when everything was booming. You panicked. But this can’t last forever,” he said, adding that during the first year of the pandemic, Distinctive Car Toyz saw a spike in revenue, including car sales.

Additionally, he said, he’s glad they went ahead with building construction despite being advised not to: “The prices increased after we finished. We would’ve had to pay more to build if we waited. The old shop was cramped and the guys were working outside. Now, people are coming in looking for a job. Before, they were running away.”

Harkening back to the 1992 Lexus in which everything started, Lin said that although he no longer has the original car, he found the same year and color vehicle and bought it for himself a few years ago. He plans to display it in front of the shop as a conversation piece: When people ask about it, they’ll hear the origin story of Distinctive Car Toyz.

“It’s the story behind the business. Everyone knows everyone around here,” Lin said, adding, “It’s a small town. When they see you grow—building a business from nothing—they really appreciate it.”

Diversified Marketing

While ensuring a widely diversified list of product offerings, the business is also diversified in its approach to marketing—targeting any and all outlets that will reach its customer base. Lin said the staff boosts posts on Facebook mainly on holidays, and throughout the year pays close attention to what people seem most interested in.

“When I took a photo of a kid standing next to his dad’s car, that got more likes than just posting a photo of a Jeep,” he said. “It’s not just about fancy cars, either. People want to know we can service their everyday vehicles.”

Lin also writes his own radio advertisements, focusing on a catchy “real talk” tone. “At Christmastime, we take over the whole 50-mile radius in newspaper and radio ads. The radio ads are all day, two spots per hour, every day. I probably spend about $45,000 just doing Black Friday and Christmas advertising,” he said.

During the beginning of the COVID- 19 pandemic, the shop went forward with planning holiday sales, but added something new: They incorporated online sales for Christmas just in case people were unable to come into the store. Additionally, Lin said he stuck to the same advertising budget, acting as if the pandemic had never happened. “It was another great hit. People bought online, and then we’d mail them the gift certificate.” Online sales targeted everything from detailing to remote start. Then, the job would be scheduled. “They just wanted a gift certificate or a box ready for the holidays. This way, they didn’t have to come in if they were concerned about COVID.”

Distinctive Car Toyz Saves the Day

Lin recalled a brand new Rolls Royce Cullinan that wound up at the shop because the dealership found themselves unable to handle it within the client’s anticipated timeframe. The vehicle had been stolen and recovered, but the thieves had ripped things apart. “They broke panels and wiring,” Lin said, adding that the damage meant the star headliner no longer worked. The client was told a certified Rolls Royce technician would have to be flown in, and the parts weren’t available. The client waited without his car for five weeks.

“I said I would pick it up and fix it. We got the call on a Friday. I sent a tow truck to get the car. We fixed it in three days. Once we were done fixing it, we took it on a trade and sold the customer a 1967 Ford Mustang because that’s what he really wanted. We still made a decent margin fixing everything,” Lin said, adding, “It was done and the customer was happy.”

Over the years, he said, the team has certainly “managed to exceed any limits” in terms of what they’re able to accomplish. “Seeing the reward at the end—for example, to take a strippedout Jeep and build every part and put it together—it’s a proud moment. We can say, ‘Hey, we built that.’”