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.