A mobile auto glass business repairs and replaces windscreens and door glass for various vehicles. Instead of the customer going to and from a centralised repair centre and waiting in line for service the mobile glass-fitting service will come to your house, office or any other location that suits you.

Market Need
Vehicle glass will need repair in various circumstances: an accident, crazy lover, children playing ball games but the biggest driver of this business in recent years has been crime related as smash and grab thefts have the occupation of choice for drug addicts homeless people nationally. The gist of the matter is this: if you leave anything of value in your car within sight your car’s glass will most likely get broken with a spark plug. They once smashed my window to get to a “tupperware” lid and it wasn’t even a genuine Tupperware lid.

In Cape Town CBD – the capital of of smash & grab thefts in SA even offers a drive through service at their police stations to report such crimes.

Smashed glass on the pavement and rubbish bags acting as temporary covers for car windows are common sights in central Cape Town, which remains the precinct worst hit by theft out of or from motor vehicles around the country. – Ofm

Imagine all the window glass that needs to be replaced. Look at the stats and that is only what is reported:

  • The police station in Buitenkant Street recorded 3 710 cases for 2018/19, which was a 6.2% decrease from the previous year but still way higher than other stations nationwide in that category.
  • Sunnyside SAPS and Pretoria Central SAPS in Gauteng had the next highest number of cases, at 1 914 and 1 395 respectively, followed by Durban Central with 1 344 cases.

Based on the above numbers the Cape Town CBD glass industry from smash and grabs is alone worth millions a year.

But it’s not just in the CBD. In any area that borders squatter camps “informal settlements” smash and grab thefts are a problem. In Langa in Cape Town along Vanguard Drive, sorry “Jakes Gerwel” Drive is the other hot spot. The irony of a road renamed after an ANC cadre being plagued by crime is not lost on me. I traversed that road many a times as a child (when it was still called Vanguard Drive) as I used to go to Pizza Time in Gatesville to buy small garlic pitas which cost R2 at the time and never had a problem. Now I don’t feel safe there unless I’m armed to the teeth. Pick your poison: a colonial ship or a communist. But I digress.

Business Models / How to operate
There are a few business models to deploy, From the cheapest to setup. You obviously need to know how to properly install auto glass or have an assistant that does. Which is OK as mobile teams often travel in pairs. So we have covered the skills. You will need a vehicle preferably a bakkie with those racks or stand to safely transport the glass. And you will of course need the appropriate tools. So now we have covered the skills and equipment. If you have that you have a lot of flexibility as to what to do next.

You can simply source the glass as the order comes in (no need to hold stock) but you can also partner with autoglass companies that have a centralised location and be their guy on the road. That will be a good source of referrals, yes the margins are likely to be lower. But if you think about it even if you charge an installation fee only, it will be worth your while if they can send a lot of customers.

Obviously if you have the resources you can offer both a centralised and mobile service and even hold stock of popular models (like GTI glass if you operate in the townships).

Threats to this business
Some smash and grabbers have moved onto using signal jammers which is less messy. Now if you thinking how a guy living under a bridge has a signal jammer and where he keeps it. The assumption is the buyers of the stolen goods are supplying it. And yes they do have pillows so it can be kept under there.