Franchise’s Rent-To-Own Plan Makes Those $3,000 Spins Easier To Negotiate

Commercial Appeal:

Leslie Ingram wanted out of the car detailing business. Her friend, Dawn Stein, practiced law and did personal training but was ready for ‘a new fun adventure.’

Through a family connection - Ingram’s husband, Dale - the women got what they wanted: The first franchise of Wheel Workz, a Memphis custom tire and wheel store.

‘Wheels are the jewelry of the future,’ Leslie Ingram said. ‘They’re what people buy to show status.’

Stein, 39, and Ingram, 44, sell and rent-to-own the fancy wheels from their store at Covington Pike and Elmore. The women met and became friends through their children, who are best friends.

The rent-to-own idea came from Tommy Crenshaw, who owns Wheel Workz on American Way and is a partner in Wheel Workz LLC, the franchising company, with Dale Ingram. Crenshaw gave the concept a trial run in his store first.

‘When Dale first mentioned rent-to-own to me, I laughed,’ Leslie Ingram said. ‘But, it makes them affordable.’ A set of 4 custom tires and wheels run $1,000 to $3,000. For about $75 a week - contracts are renewed weekly or biweekly - a 19-year-old who wants fancy rims on his car can have them, she said.

If he runs out of money or doesn’t like them any more, all he has to do is turn them in, Crenshaw said.

People who want to buy the tires and rims can apply rent payments to the purchase and get a discount back to the original cash price, he said. Full article.