Contemplating opening a mechanic shop.

[1civic]

I've met some small business shop owners and a lot of them either break even or go negative every month. Seems like a tough and stressful line of work. If anything I'd try to open a performance shop like what forged performance is, not just a repair shop. Much more markup in the sale of expensive aftermarket parts and engine builds.

forged performance bolts on parts, and charges for that.. IMO that is not where the money is!!

Best to offer "all services" to "all makes", and models, performance parts alone is not a good idea when starting a shop..

You need to be well versed, or hire someone that can help you.. Cover the market, and turn down nothing that pays money!!

Many shops are not legal, yet people go there.. Check your local regulations for auto repair shop!

[Vteckidd]

forged performance bolts on parts, and charges for that.. IMO that is not where the money is!!

Not true sir. FOrged does everything from full out race cars to "bolting on parts". Check their pages for the pictures of what they do. They do full engine builds and cages , suspension, fab, etc. I am not 100% sure that SHarif affords his cars based on shop income alone, im sure he has money before he started forged, or has some other line of work. Its hard to think he makes enough money at a performance shop to churn out 2 GTRs , a porshe, the 350z, the truck, the shop, the $100k dyno etc. I worked for a pretty successful shop, and they didnt have that kind of money. He may do $20-40k a month in parts sales online, that could explain it. BUt I do know they do charge a lot compared to other shops, and it seems they can pull it off based upon their results.

Forged is 1 in a 1000 shops. Let me make this clear, MOST SHOPS THAT MAKE CRAZY MONEY, THE OWNER COMES FROM MONEY OR HAS MONEY ALREADY. Ive NEVER met someone who is in the performance shop business who started with nothing, and made say 100K a year, CONSISTENTLY. In most cases there is no 401K , shitty pay for employees, no health insurance, etc. Show me a legitimate performance shop that pays its mechanics close to what a dealership 5-10 year mechanic makes. Most dealership buddies I know make in the 35k range MINIMUM (after they get some level of seniority). Within 3-5 years they get to the 50-60k range. 10+ years, 70-100k depending.

I Cant name you 1 mechanic that makes over 50k in the performance industry. NOT ONE. ANd if they do, they dont have health insurance or 401K or anything. Its usually 10-99. I can tell you the salaries of guys I worked with, and most were SUB 40K , many were sub 30K. THats not saying the shops ripped them off, that just speaks to what they can afford.

Now, my buddy owns a regular maint shop, and his guys get paid well, because reg maint, while not sexy, pays so much better. Mitchell System allows your mechanic to make money. Most performance based shops pay by the job, not the hour. ANd most kids are BROKE. With a performance shop you are dealing with kids who want to spend as little as possible, and your competition is some dickhead in a back yard with a cherry picker. A reg maint shop your competition is the dealership.

Its a difference of $75/hr vs $20/hr and $100/hr vs $125/hr. WHich sounds like it makes more money?

STAY OUT OF THE PERFORMANCE SHOP BUSINESS, 98% of them DO NOT MAKE MONEY. Its a waste of time. Unless you like being broke and having no retirement or benefits, stay out of it. My .02.

[Vteckidd]

Oh and FYI, i got out of the car business 3 years ago, the IT Field that I am in now, pays 3 times as much as I was ever paid in the automotive business. CCNA which is 1 cert =$50k/year job, EASY. No brainer. I made businesses $50-100k a year in profit and got paid $15k a year in my mid 20s. COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME, but I loved cars. Eventually i got tired of making other people money, and got out of it, Best decision I ever made.

If youre going to open a shop make it REGULAR MAINT. youll need 20K MINIMUM for equipment and tools. Brake Lathe at the minimum, 2 Lifts, Compressor, Lines, etc. 20K is prob the minimum bare bones of a "shop". Most places will run $2000 to rent or more for the appropriate square footage. Id say 40-50K is much better to give you some kind of cushion to live on until your client list grows. Youll need to open accounts with vendors, purchase mitchell software, computers, etc.