2016 a good time to start business in motor trade?

Son

Hi

I've been away from this forum and the country for almost two years,I hope to come back next year,I was thinking of going back to self employment in the motor trade,sales & repair,one man operation.
I get some mixed reviews on how the economy is progressing but most of the time I just get the usual feedback.. 'Don't do it this country is f*****' etc.

Is the economy improving,are small businesses still struggling, is it better than 2/3 years ago?

_Brian

Son wrote: »

Hi

I've been away from this forum and the country for almost two years,I hope to come back next year,I was thinking of going back to self employment in the motor trade,sales & repair,one man operation.
I get some mixed reviews on how the economy is progressing but most of the time I just get the usual feedback.. 'Don't do it this country is f*****' etc.

Is the economy improving,are small businesses still struggling, is it better than 2/3 years ago?

I think there's always room for a slick operation in the motor trade..

Top quality experienced honest mechanic, no price gouging, no messing with half work on services, answers the phone when rang, looks after regular customers..

These guys will always do good business over the back street charlatans that try and pass of as garages in many towns.

ironclaw

It depends. There is certainly a market as said for an above board, honest mechanic. But consumer wise, its a minefield. You'll repair a turbo and have someone back the next day saying the headlight bulb being blown if you fault. Or you'll be burnt at the stake for wanting to use the correct, non-spurious parts and 'charging too much'. The standard Irish motorist doesn't have much education in car ownership and maintenance, as a result the workings under the bonnet are a mystery along with the pricing of it. You'll be racing to the bottom to attract busy if you want the standard motorist. Instead, I'd carve a niche as an independent with a good reputation in a make or model, you'll often get referals.

On my end, whenever I do a job (I deal strictly in electronics) I outline the basic price, the possible caveats and don't do anything without customer approval. If a part is expensive, I offer them the opportunity to source it (Partly due to the low cost nature of the electronics sector) On a personal note, don't be that place that charges for screenwash!

Fukuyama

I've no experience in the motor trade. But as a consumer one thing that I know annoys a lot of people is the feeling of being 'had', even when they haven't.

As the above poster said, the average Irish person doesn't know much about the workings of a car so some transparency might be a good selling point.

If you're going to specialise in say Volkswagen a basic little site outlining pricing for services and the most popular parts based on models:

Eg. Input car make, year, part needed (fan belt) price = €X .

It sounds complex but i'd actually be something even the most inexperienced developer could put together for very little. I've seen this done in another industry that was very much based on the "ring for a quote" model and it had great results for the business. I think you need some kind of edge other wise you'll be competing on location and price, both of which will hurt you as a new comer with no established customer base.

Also: used to know a lad making a mint importing german car/truck parts like gear boxes, differentials, turbos etc... Might be something to look into as a side earner to the main garage. He dropped his details into independent garages, truck mechanics, truck companies with in-house guys etc... I'd be useless at this as my knowledge of cars is "DIY level" at best. But anyone with knowledge could do good business here and the UK.

devildriver

Fukuyama wrote: »

If you're going to specialise in say Volkswagen a basic little site outlining pricing for services and the most popular parts based on models:

Eg. Input car make, year, part needed (fan belt) price = €X .

It sounds complex but i'd actually be something even the most inexperienced developer could put together for very little. I've seen this done in another industry that was very much based on the "ring for a quote" model and it had great results for the business.

I know very little about cars and engines but in fairness that web solution isn't as easy or cheap as you might think. There are a huge number of variations and calculations in that scenario.

Even if you were able to source the data direct from the manufacturer there would be considerable work in setting it up.

However I think it would be a great USP to have for your business and would be worth investing in.

Graham

devildriver wrote: »

in fairness that web solution isn't as easy or cheap as you might think.

+1

Not at all easy or cheap to do properly.

Trojan

ironclaw wrote: »

If a part is expensive, I offer them the opportunity to source it

I know an independent mechanic who lets the customer source every part if they want to do that. He still charges a decent amount to fit and it works well for both parties. He was very busy last time I saw him.

I know of two garages with very different cash flow, one does invoicing and often doesn't get paid for 2-4 weeks after the work. The other doesn't release the keys back without cash in hand. Don't be the first guy.

Son

Thanks for the replies,sounds positive if done right then.

Fukuyama - thats why everyone says ring for a quote,so many variables but thinking outside the box,I like those kind of ideas

Fukuyama

Son wrote: »

Thanks for the replies,sounds positive if done right then.

Fukuyama - thats why everyone says ring for a quote,so many variables but thinking outside the box,I like those kind of ideas

Well you could scale it back a bit. Lots of website have auto-quote forms so customers can get a quick idea of their pricing.

If it was specialised to one make of car you would need a database of parts (with pricing), typical jobs (say top 50 a mechanic would carry out). This would be fairly easy for a developer to transform into a little quote builder tool.

Something along those lines. Or perhaps an instant messaging client on the website that comes to a smartphone. Great for customer service and as easy as installing a Wordpress plugin.

Graham

I'd recommend doing some serious market testing before spending too much money building any kind of autoquote website.

One thing I'd make sure to test is the knowledge of my target customers. The best website in the world isn't going to be able to give an accurate assessment for the "there is a squeaky noise coming from the loud bit at the front" jobs.