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Thinking of Opening a Vintage Garage

The median labor rate here is $90/hour. I'm pretty sure I could do better than that, but I'm also thinking there could be some more creative solutions if I get the right funding in.
 
Bruzilla said:
Having spent 24 years as a sleazy defense contractor, I have a doctorate in that regard.
Click to expand...

Hey I'm one of those sleazy defense contractors :) Like the idea of focusing on hiring vets, leave the oil changes to the high school kids and make sure there is good oversight. I remember when I was younger my Dad had a tire shop. My brothers worked there and one of them forgot to tighten the lugnuts on a car. My Dad's mistake of not checking their work cost him a lot. It's like we do on aircraft, you have the apprentices and journeymen do the work the craftsmen checks and signs off on it.

Sounds like you've done a lot of research already and I really hope if works out. I've got a bad taste in my mouth of starting a business and have too good of a career going right now to accept the risk. Otherwise this is exactly something I'd like to do, I love being around these cars and would love a themed mechanic shop. Visions of Cars Land type theming in Disneyland keep passing through my mind.
 
Good luck with that venture...
 
Yeah, that's more of a resto shop, something there's plenty of down here.

I think I'm going to name the shop Can I Help You Son Garage. :) Back in 2012 when I was taking my Roadrunner to the P&B folks, it quit running right after I came off I-10 in Jacksonville. I checked the fuel and it was good, so I knew it was an ignition issue. My daughter was following me, we called my sister-in-law to come out because we were supposed to go to an event, and now we were late, so I had my sister-in-law take my daughter with her and I went out to find a garage to fix the car since I had zero tools or time to do anything.

I drove around the Westside of Jacksonville and saw chain shop after chain shop, and then I found this crudgy old school-looking place on Cassat Ave. I walked in and there was an older-than-dirt guy sitting at his desk and he said "Can I help you son?" and I said "Sir, if you're old enough to be able to call a guy in his 50s son, then you're likely the guy I'm looking for!" He got my car towed to the shop, had my car up and running (bad coil) the next day, and I was back on the road.

When I called to check on my car, a kid answered the phone and I told him I owned the blue Plymouth Roadrunner that was there. The kid said "Oh, that car. The boss says we're not allowed to touch that car, just him. I'll go get him." :)
 
They do everything from oil changes to complete builds!!! Great guy and great shop....
 
I know some people who did this idea with vintage motorcycles - mostly British bikes from the '60s and '70s are their thing. They even found a storefront/shop that has been either a motorcycle dealer of shop going back decades. One of the partners came from a well-known Ducati dealer in town that would also work on old bikes and they poached one of their mechanics from the same dealer. They started in the middle of the recession in 2008 but still did really well and are still doing really well.

Another friend started his own shop to work on muscle cars but ended up bailing. His problem was that he tried to run it too much like a hobby shop - off the books, just friends and friends of friends as customers and everyone drove him crazy wanting a deal. He probably could've done well if he would have run it like a real business instead.
 
Took my new Durango to dealer earlier this week for recall. Job completed, grease all over the tan interior. Now they have to detail it. They are hiring idiots that can read a computer. Pride of work is gone.
 
Sounds like a good plan, might take awhile to get the word! I like the idea of hearing about those unfinished projects, sure you will find tons of them. good luck
 
Sounds like a fun little project, I wouldn't go crazy spending tons of money on decorations, I know when I walk into a garage I am not worried about how fancy the waiting room and owners office is, but I like to see a nice clean work space and pictures of cars they built on the walls, with letters from happy customers, that would make me feel a lot better than an old gas pump and some fancy tractor seats to sit on (I am referring to a local resto shop that I will not do the service of mentioning their name, if you been there you will know, lol)...

Anyway, I do something similar, I am self employed and help out local guys, I let a few guys use my lift and my tools when they are in a jam or have something to do. When I was with the chevelle crowd I swapped 4 (I can think of off the top of my head) motors for guys, bring a few 6 packs over on a saturday and your work clothes, she'll be running by sunday night, no matter what...
NOW,, to make a profit doing brake jobs is tough, I am going to go out on a limb here and say its much tougher doing JUST vintage vehicles, since there are many less and they dont drive them as much to need brakes constantly.

To do a shop right you need to make the connections and establish relationships with the outside businesses...
LIKE- get an awesome tranny shop on board to do your rebuilds for short money and do a good job, SO when you stumble upon a turbo 350, turbo 400, power glide, 700r4, 200r4, 727, 904, 833, m22, etc etc etc you can have them rebuild them and put them on the shelf, BELIEVE me when a car comes in with a blown out 727 and the guy wants it back on the road, that rebuilt tranny is worth a lot of money, considering you can have him on the road in 4 hours!!!! Then take his core and have it rebuilt.. I know a shop that has about 15 trannies on the shelf, and he charges a bit for them, BUT who else gets you going that day?!?!?!?!

A good chrome shop, nice to just send something out and make 10% when it comes back all shiny..

Next would be a good body shop, its nice to make 5% on a paint job and just deliver the car, its simple, you find a shop that will work with you, you bring the work in, they give you 5% commission and save your customer a few percent at the same time....

I always thought there was a lot of money left ton the table in parts restoration, its a simple premise, you make a recipe book,
-Rebuild manual pedal set $125 (glass bead, coat, and reassemble with new bushings and bearings).

-Rebuild steering column $400

-rebuild console -$350

Offering these services will keep your employees busy and turn a little profit...

I think it can work, there is a lot of money in resto work and maintenance. I think in FL you would be smart to do corvettes also, it seems there are a ton of them down there...

Also get a tax id number so you can setup distributor accounts with year one, classic, etc etc etc so you can give us all parts at cost :)
 
I like the idea! If I was down there I'd be knocking on your door.
As far as finding mechanics, you could train some young guys with some knowledgeable older guys that know their stuff. And probably for free!

I went to vo-tech back in the 70's, already knowing alot from tinkering with cars at a very young age. The vo-tech had a lousy teacher but all the latest equiptment was there. Graduated on a Saturday, started work at a dealership on Monday. I was on cloud 9!

I you find the right candidates that are already talented, it has to come naturally, then they can be trained. Im self taught and its just second nature to me to be able to do this kind of work and I have a love for it. Thats the kind of workers you have to find for the position and they're out there. You just have to do some careful screening.

Good luck with your venture. The more you talk it up the more ideas you'll come up with. Im in envy!
 
What you need to ask, is this; Do I as a classic car owner want to spend money to pay someone to do what I have had to do myself?
 
Personally, I wish you all the best of everything in this endeavor. Lots of fun and camaraderie involved to go along with the overhead, nuisance factors, bench racers who hang around while you try to work, hassles, etc.

Let us know if you get it going and I will send you some of my extra "garage/automobilia" signs for decoration. Nothing super rare or expensive but not enuff room here for them all. Be glad to trip by there some day, say hi, and see them.

Randy C.
 
Seventy said:
Sounds like a fun little project, I wouldn't go crazy spending tons of money on decorations, I know when I walk into a garage I am not worried about how fancy the waiting room and owners office is, but I like to see a nice clean work space and pictures of cars they built on the walls, with letters from happy customers, that would make me feel a lot better than an old gas pump and some fancy tractor seats to sit on (I am referring to a local resto shop that I will not do the service of mentioning their name, if you been there you will know, lol)...

Anyway, I do something similar, I am self employed and help out local guys, I let a few guys use my lift and my tools when they are in a jam or have something to do. When I was with the chevelle crowd I swapped 4 (I can think of off the top of my head) motors for guys, bring a few 6 packs over on a saturday and your work clothes, she'll be running by sunday night, no matter what...
NOW,, to make a profit doing brake jobs is tough, I am going to go out on a limb here and say its much tougher doing JUST vintage vehicles, since there are many less and they dont drive them as much to need brakes constantly.

To do a shop right you need to make the connections and establish relationships with the outside businesses...
LIKE- get an awesome tranny shop on board to do your rebuilds for short money and do a good job, SO when you stumble upon a turbo 350, turbo 400, power glide, 700r4, 200r4, 727, 904, 833, m22, etc etc etc you can have them rebuild them and put them on the shelf, BELIEVE me when a car comes in with a blown out 727 and the guy wants it back on the road, that rebuilt tranny is worth a lot of money, considering you can have him on the road in 4 hours!!!! Then take his core and have it rebuilt.. I know a shop that has about 15 trannies on the shelf, and he charges a bit for them, BUT who else gets you going that day?!?!?!?!

A good chrome shop, nice to just send something out and make 10% when it comes back all shiny..

Next would be a good body shop, its nice to make 5% on a paint job and just deliver the car, its simple, you find a shop that will work with you, you bring the work in, they give you 5% commission and save your customer a few percent at the same time....

I always thought there was a lot of money left ton the table in parts restoration, its a simple premise, you make a recipe book,
-Rebuild manual pedal set $125 (glass bead, coat, and reassemble with new bushings and bearings).

-Rebuild steering column $400

-rebuild console -$350

Offering these services will keep your employees busy and turn a little profit...

I think it can work, there is a lot of money in resto work and maintenance. I think in FL you would be smart to do corvettes also, it seems there are a ton of them down there...

Also get a tax id number so you can setup distributor accounts with year one, classic, etc etc etc so you can give us all parts at cost :)
Click to expand...
it could work in my opinion thought of doing a similar thing here, with all the classic car and hot rod shows, i think it sparked alot of interest in people that cant work on these cars that would love to own one but are not talented enough to keep them running. buy and sell cars would be a nice little added bonus, plus storage, then when people came to pick up there car, you could have the battery charged gased up tweaked out. plus you get to beat the **** out of everyones cars. (I mean test drive) win win
 
Do What you know!
....and remember; He who deliberates fully before taking a step will spend his entire life on one leg.....

and this is the reason the barber thing will not work;
*Supercuts
*great clips
*Haircuts franchise
*Sport clips...need I go on?

maybe back in 1956 you could put a closed sign and take a vacation and return a week later
to clients?????
BUT NOT in 2015.....
oh and BTW; you need a thing called experience & talent....

and who pays in cash these days? no one!...it's Plastic and you share 3.7% with the merchant service....

I am an entrepreneur and checked many types of businesses,investments, so I know.

JMVHO
 
If I was closer, I would like to join in and help out...nut I'm clear across the country...best of luck in your quest
 
as long as you are not one of the topless ones washing the cars
 
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