Plan B - open a garage

[lukemg]

In the right location, these can do ok. Someone I know has one in a village, petrol as well (hardly worth it for the hours they have to open) but it is 99p+/litre. Smallish but profitable workshop and sells a few trade-in cars <£2k price that they get from contacts at dealerships etc.
The front door of the house opens straight onto the forecourt which is a bit mad and unnecessary.
Not sure of the figures but it is worth about 500k and after staff costs (including decent family wages) etc probably kicks in 30k/annum profit.
They are on the verge of selling up if you want it !!!
Wouldn't touch it myself - long hours, security/cash issues, drive-offs, living at work, paperwork etc.
Would work much better if they lost the petrol, used the forecourt for selling cars and kept the workshop I reckon, could do normal hours + some weekend stuff.
Plenty queueing up to take it over though !

[DaveB]

Cant remember the name of the programme but I saw summat on the telly the other week about a South London mechanic going out to India and working with a car designeer there to build a car for the Mumbai Motor Show.

The workshop was a real eye opener. No powertools in sight, everything done by hand right down to stripping the paint off the reclaimed body shell with old hacksaw blades.

They bought a recon engine and gearbox from some guy in a backstreet. They wanted to see it running first so it was dumped in the middle of the street, hooked up to a battery and fired up. No test rigs or engine stands!

Shipped it back to the workshop on a donkey cart.

Amazingly enough the finished car looked damn good and seemed to go like the clappers as well.

[threaded]

There's a guy I know done something like that in Denmark, although he is Turkish and has some little Filipino chaps. Went round one day and there was a car up on a lift, with a little guy squatting on top of the engine, i.e. about 15 foot up, thumping one end of the exhaust manifold as hard as possible with a rubber hammer, occasionally hitting the ceiling on the up-swing, and another below banging at the other end.

Really quite good, hard working guys.

Even if I did have to show them how to remove an exhaust manifold.

[Troll]

... and having to deal with clueless Joe Public- priceless

[DimPrawn]

I see that even crappy garages are charging £50/hr for labour and some maindealers are nearer £100/hr.

A lockup, a dozen polish mechanics on min wage and some chrome plated mud tools from the market and you are in business.

Nice little earner.