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.Originally Posted by 1civic
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.
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