RideMakerz lets you trick out your car in miniature
— -- When Katie Phares walked into an Indianapolis mall, she didn't know she would walk out a master mechanic.
One experience at RideMakerz — a retail concept that lets customers build model cars — and she was an auto pro.
She tricked out a red Dodge Ram truck, drilled the chassis in and added rims and funky flashing lights. Her certificate of title to the car crowned her a master mechanic.
"When I heard about this, I thought, 'Oh, I gotta do this,' " says Phares, who made the truck for her boyfriend, a replica of the ride he drives.
Customers who find themselves inside the RideMakerz store, one of just four in the nation, can't get enough. Everyone is souping up vehicles, from men in business suits to preteen girls.
Shoppers at RideMakerz have plenty of models to choose from: Mustangs, Mini Coopers, pink sports cars, firetrucks, Dodge Challengers and more.
Customers then head off to seven stations to complete their rides. They can pick sounds such as rock music, add a remote-control chip, stick on decals and add lights and customized license plates.
The average ride costs $60 to $75. But store manager and "crew chief" Marilyn Kolthoff has seen customers work for hours on their cars, spending as much as $130.
"Customers are loving it," she says, "because they actually have their own marks on it. When they are done, it is their creation."
The concept is the brainchild of CEO Larry Andreini.
About two years ago, he was looking to find a product specifically for boys that could be built in-store.
"There's this whole car-customizing movement. And you've got the icon of childhood — a toy car," he said. "Couldn't you have the same fun with a toy car as a stuffed animal?"
Casey Alexander was drawn to the store for her 10-year-old son after years of going to the American Girl store in Chicago to buy dolls for her two daughters.
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