Well guys, Some of you may know me, some of you may not, but ive been doing custom paint, body work, and restorations for some time now ( see build threads in sig) on all really badass toys ( tons of porsche, ferrari, and mega buck resto mods) and has a Father that has been doing everything BUT body work for the last 45+ years also specializing in only high end high performance cars, everything from the basic engine rebuilds, gear swaps, clutches, engine/ tranny swaps, to his more specialized work like complete custom wiring harness's from scratch,custom tubing bending for brakes, nitrous kits, ect. Together we have built dozens and dozens of top performing and show winnig rides we live for the stuff, the more and more i search around the internet on my various message boards for my diffrent projects the more and more i see that my area is really lacking in performance/ custom shops, we dont really have much around my area and the local shops around here are pretty much a joke. Ive been looking more and more lately at shops to get something going and i found a few shops thats im really considering.

Now it wouldnt be a full time shop, at first atleast, but it would be more of a night and weekend thing as i would still keep my full time job, but im just trying to get some input from some localish guys, see what they are thinking. Im really looking at this 5 bay garage, 3 lifts, and brand new tire and wheel mount and balancing machines, but would be more of a specialty shop then your regular auto maintance shop, plus between us both we have a ton of expierence with american muscle, both old and new. We would do everything from gear swaps, to complete custom lsx transplants. I also have a few other close friends of mine both body guys and mechanic/ performance guys that are beggin me to get something going, what do you guys think? IM in the Danbury, CT area, about 45 mins from NYC, 1 1/2 hour from boston

 

If you're going to do it, I can give you a couple things to think about:

Overhead, try to keep it as low as possible.

Schedule. Keep to your schedule, tell someone a week, make it a week, if it's a month, it needs to be a month. NO MORE!

Don't take in more work then you can handle, sure it may mean someone has to wait, but if you just keep taking it in and taking it in.... you'll have a million cars and nothing will get done.

Make sure that for this type of work.. the people you're dealing with have the $. I know too many people in this industry that spend 1/2 their day chasing people that owe them money. Make sure that for this type of stuff, they have the cash in hand for all materials up front, at a MINIMUM!

There is room for someone here in CT to do what you're looking to do a shop that's fairly priced, can get stuff done in a timely fashion and is honest with their customers can, and will make money here.

Best of luck with it!

 

Thanks JL,

The shop would be very very fair priced, way under what others would charge. Im not one to take work and let it sit, i do alot of side work now ( full restos, engine bays, wire tucks, collison, ect) and im always up front with all my customers, and document all my progress, and the work speaks for itself, im not trying to be a fast paced, in and out shop, im commited to the details, and we down right love building cars, my dad is just a straight edge ex marine, never drank because he didnt like it, and never did drugs, just cars, cars cars, and some guns too lol, i cant say i dont like to have a few cold ones, but we truly love to build custom cars and would like to do it on a bigger level with a bigger place, Plus the building im looking i want to own, and it would be a great way to pay the rent

 

If ya get something opened up shoot me a PM I'd love to come take a look. Always nice to get to know the people in the area, and ya never know I may need your services

 

Yes, I was in your shoes regarding tuning not too long ago. Had gotten a pretty steady business from the GTO forums doing street tunes and cam installs out of one of our houses. Finally some opportunities opened up with a used dyno and a fantastic location.

Like said above, keep your overhead low to start out with. But consider a place that gives you the opportunity to expand... or an escape route to get out of there when you get big enough. Make sure you save up enough cash, or organize your finances well enough that you can rough the slow times.

If your going to do the nights and weekends thing, make sure you have the proper help. Spread it across some of your most trusted workers, people you can count on that will put the time in to get the job done when it needs to be.

Make sure you are, or designate the person to set up pricing, or talk to customers. The last thing you need is confusion in the customers eyes.

And if your internet savvy use your online calendar. I've got two Droid's. One is a business line and the other is my personal line. They both connect to google and share the same calendar and contacts. I can see and schedule all the work needed. And if/when I get things set up a little better the shop will be able to see everything I have scheduled. I also respond to e-mail, texts, etc ASAP. Communication is KEY.

Good luck with your venture!

 

Check your PM.

 

idstop by, im in hopewell jct NY, like 40min ish to the danbury mall

 

This is exactly what I'm looking for around here... to get a little work done and not pay crazy shop prices!

 

I say do it...


and with your attention to detail it will really go far..

that said can you paint my bumper?

 

Don't be too cheap or you won't last long.Sounds great to be cheap priced until you work your life away and have nothing to show for it. Then alot of cheaper customers are the worst to deal with.

 

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Basically im looking at this house with a fully setup 5 car garage that used to be a service center, I always do side work no matter what but it would be great nab that house and have my side business paying some of the bills, and frankly the side work is getting so busy, im running out of space.

Im not looking to "give away" the work, but most of the labor rates these guys have going these days is unreal for the work they are getting.

Goin with the realtor to check out the place today, ill keep you all posted.

If you guys have any questions PM me, im not a sponser and im not trying to step on anybody's toes or create a problem with this post

 

JL and Slowhawk say it from exp. I will certainly agree. I'll keep you in mind if I need some minor work done.

 

did you sell those door panels yet?

 

I agree. I always used to feel bad for people when i was writing up the bills until it came time to pay my bills. It took me a while but you have to charge for the work you do. Being too cheap deff wont last long.

 

agree 100%

 

As knowing a little bit about you and your father I think you have the skills and the personality to pull this off. You both have a ton of class and the Camaro is looking great.

As with all other members stated, keep overhead low, get a realistic idea of expenses and map out your potential earnings.

If you are looking to drum up business, Online media is hard to beat... These days you don't really need your own website as you can achieve some of the same results with a Facebook business site and the use of wordpress. Social Media might be just a great avenue to keep in touch with current and potential clients. As we know many of them will be repeat customers.

Hell the misses scratched up the G8 and I just got a C6 so I would be more than happy to bring the cars up to CT.

Good luck brother!
Also if you ever want some advice on tackling online media, I am here to help.

 

that cool, we lost TTP in NJ this year so another good shop would be good.

 

Doesn't matter how cheap you are, they always want it cheaper. Also, you'll actually lose work if ur too cheap. A lot of people think they have to pay alot to get good work.

 

truth cheap price brings junk that customers cant pay for anyways. then want you to give them credit lol. def some good advice here. been in business over 6 years now and still learning something new everyday.