Contemplating opening a mechanic shop.

[Humphrizzle]

I am considering opening up a small automotive shop here in Georgia. Curious to see if anyone here has any experience they can share with startup. The expenses, such as licensing, insurance, and locations are the main things I would like to hear about.

[silversol]

There is alot to it to have a "legit" shop. What experiance and certifications do you have? How many years of experiance do you have? How much capitol do you have on hand? To find a good location that is zoned for a automotive business can be very expensive. Plus besides insurance you will probably have to be bonded aswell. Insurance and bonding companys will ask these basic questions so if you have shity credit or none it all it could be a problem. Also your age can hurt you. I got a dealers licence at 25 and had to jump through hoops becase of it. Nonestly in this economy it might be best to just hang on to you're money and work a 9 to 5 to see how things are going to go. Becase it is stressful being the boss!

[Humphrizzle]

I plan on doing this in about 1-2 years. I have enough experience to feel comfortable owning and running an automotive shop.

I don't have the capital as of yet, but I'm weighing all the information in startup and deciding on whether I should or shouldn't take the risk.

I'm working as a corporate/general aviation mechanic right now.

I'm mainly asking to make sure what types of licenses and what to expect on insurance and things of that nature

[Sammich]

i'd think to say start off w/ doing alot of side jobs and let it roll over from that..i'd hate to see you put this kind of business together and fail...it's not easy for people to trust a mechanic

[RL...]

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.

[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.

[BanginJimmy]

A few things to consider.

1. Until your name is out there from doing side work and you have an extensive list of references, you will NEVER compete with the corporate shops. While no one trusts the mechanic, people generally have more confidence in the corporate shops.

2. Your age will doom you. No one is going to trust a 'kid' to diagnose their problem and get it fixed correctly. When they see you, they will ask for the 'real' mechanic or bolt.

3. Stick with aviation. Its a field that will continue to grow and there is ALWAYS work out there if you find yourself in a bind. I still get calls monthly from several of the contracting agencies offering me work.

[Julio]

Listen to these guys.. But you know what..in all honesty, just go for what you want... Although I think the previous post are good advice.. Just go for it, if that's what you want.. Who knows, you may be a freak of nature and be successful in 2 years.. Sometimes is better to fail trying then not trying at all..

[l0l]

Don't do it, you will hate your life, trust.

[eraser4g63]

Don't waste your time. Do side jobs.

[MeFryRice]

I'd look into possibly buying a shop that already has an established database opposed to starting fresh. The first few years for any new company is going to be rough with very little profit to be made.

[ISAtlanta300]

I'd look into possibly buying a shop that already has an established database opposed to starting fresh. The first few years for any new company is going to be rough with very little profit to be made.

then you better have bout a quarter mill in your back pocket, or at least 100k to buy a small, "PROFITABLE" shop to start..... with that money, I'd rather pay cash for a house and continue my 9 to 5....

[Manny Naber]

If you are asking here....


well...

[00CelicaGT]

If you want to be a mechanic go work in a dealership that's where the money & benefits are at! Forget about owning your own shop its too much over head and hassle, independents make a very small amount $$ compared to a Service department in a dealership. Like stated above your age will hurt you when it comes to owning and working in the automotive industry, I've had customers ask how old i am and make shit faces because they think im under qualified. ive been working In a dealership since I was 19 as a apprentice at 21 I was out on my own, it wasn't easy and had to climb the ladder. Climbing that ladder included changing dealerships 4 times basically following the money because no one really gives out raises since the the car industry took a dive in 2007/2008. I'm now 25 and the 2nd most qualified Tech in my dealership the other being the man who trained me and tought me almost everything I know about a car, this yr I made 47k and and that was a 10k jump from what I made last yr. i have put in time, money, more time, and even more money. i have invested over $55k in tools since i started and they have paid for themselves, but not with out the hard work. These tools allow me to do everything from replacement & repairs of Engine, Transmissions, general maint, Front and Rear Differentials, and interior trim and Most of these are repair/rebuild. If you dnt have at least 30k in tools you wont be able to make it (and thats not including your toolbox), you will need to be versitile and your tools will need to be as well. The cars are only getting more difficlut to work on and manufactures are trying to cut out the independents by having more advanced electronics and special tools for any and everything. yeah you can get the tools and software need to make repairs but its gonna cost you an arm and 2 legs, you will need a lot of start up Capitol and A1 credit to lease Lifts, alignment machine, tire changer & balancer, brake lathe. doing motor swaps, clutches, transmissions, wire tucks, and etc for friends or friends of friends is cool but thats not the work you will be doing on a regular basis and it wont be on a honda everyday. it's a tough industry and you being in the Aircraft industry I would stay there, plenty opportunity and the money that can be made trumps the amount the best techs in the industry are making now.

My advice is if you really want to go into the automotive industry go work at a dealership, you will learn to work on 1 brand and learn to master it and then it will become easier to make money. Also you will get factory trained and get paid to do so, I have a lot of online training I have to do as well as interactive live video, and hands on training in Alpharetta, its all paid for and I get rein burst for gas. This is beneficial to you in the long run but it also helps out when the work load is slow, I can easily hop on the computer and do 2-3hr classes (which only take an 1hr or 1hr30min to complete) which adds 6hrs to your weekly flagged hrs so when it's a little slow you can make up the difference. You dnt have this luxury at an independent or when you own your own shop, its kinda a deal breaker for me so to speak. These are my opinions take them or leave them, but what vtecKidd said in his first and 2nd post really hits the nail on the head.