Puyallup, Wash.--Larry Sutton is a man whose three vehicles, a Hummer H2, Aston Martin Vantage V-8, and a BMW 750 Li, are shod with the same kind of custom wheels that one might see on a customer driving a VW GTI out of the service bay of one of his 57 Rent-n-Roll stores across the country.
"It's a way to personalize your car beyond what dealers can do for you," Sutton said. "It's such a fashion statement today. It gives you an option to use that's not available anywhere else.
"We have direct relationships with all the wheel manufacturers, from the lowest-priced to the most expensive," he said.
Casee Quinn, who manages the Rent-n-Roll store in Puyallup, expanded on that: "We have customers who come from (as far east as) Ellensburg, Wash., and (as far south as) Portland, Ore. We've put wheels and tires on a car owned by "Super Sam" on KUBE-FM (a popular hip-hop radio station). "People usually have the 'big picture' when they come to us. We help them with the details," Quinn said.
Sutton, who operates the company's headquarters in Tampa, Fla., said he got the idea of renting wheels after taking early retirement from the general rental business in 1997, when he sold Champion Rent-to-Own. A no-compete clause obligated him not to open up another traditional rental business, he said.
So he said he tried other types of businesses; but none held his interest, as had renting. Being a car buff, he said he read a SEMA report on custom wheels, and "it looked like the market for custom wheels was exploding."
In October 2000, Sutton said he opened a custom wheel rental store in Osceola, Fla.
"A lot of people were left out by the entrance price--the purchase price--for custom wheels, which can cost from $1,500 to who knows," he said. "Our business model was a pay-as-you-go one: week to week, month to month, with 120 days, same as cash, on a rental agreement. You can also rent to own. If they set it up that way, we discount all future rental fees for an early pay-out."
Now there are seven company-owned stores and 50 franchised locations across the country, Sutton said, adding that the company hopes to reach 70 locations by the end of 2007.
"We marketed two types of franchises: freestanding with wheels and tires, and co-branding, with a kiosk inside a traditional rental store," he said. "But the reality is that the wheel-and-tire business is so unique, with offsets and ensuring the correct bolt patterns and tires, we found that the freestanding franchises worked best."
In some locations, the business can tie in with the customer base of auto dealerships. Sutton said that in Tampa, Rent-n-Roll supplies custom wheels for Tampa Bay Jaguar.
"We don't do a lot of work for dealers because we're not real close to auto row," said Quinn of the store she manages. "We do more retail--buy it for cash--out of our store."
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