matt.c
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 posted on 11/11/08 at 10:52 PM |
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Credit crunch and kit cars?
Is the Credit crunch affecting the kit car market?
We all know that they are just Toys at the end of the day and when times get harder will people have them? Ie kit car companies will end?
Who do you think out of the companies will keep going? Will it be the big money cat**erham or we**field be ok? Or will the lower end stay due to there
lower out goings?
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blakep82
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| posted on 11/11/08 at 10:58 PM |
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the big ones won't be affected.
i don't know... i mean, i know lots of people have lost jobs and stuff which is not cool, but i don't think times are as bad as it was all
made out to be a few months ago
________________________
IVA manual link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1081997083
don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
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coozer
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| posted on 11/11/08 at 11:08 PM |
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Credit Crunch? Its a media generated scare campaign, nothing more nothing less. So the banks are not lending to each other, so what? Hasn't
stopped them sending me pre-approved loans for 25K!!
What we are heading for is a RECESSION and the only way out is to spend the money your hiding away caused by the fictitious 'credit
crunch'
I'm bitter as in 1992 when the mortgage rate went up to 17% (tory bastards) I had to sell my house.
1972 V8 Jago
1980 Z750
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dhutch
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| posted on 11/11/08 at 11:51 PM |
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One of my best freinds at unis dad builds narrowboats, which in a way is simular as an expensive play-thing you can put off till later (bar people
moving onto one to live) and he has deffonatly felt it.
However, he's a small outfit, and if dynamic and hard working and keeps himself busy.
Hi rebottomed his own narrowboat (old, wooden bottomed boat) and he's make one boat, and he's also bought a property in wales to do up,
and the list goes on. He'll be fine.
He's had to lay off one of his lads, and the other one left also for other reasons. But the company will be fine
Hopfully in the main the same will happen in kitcars. Jobes will be lost, turnover will slow down. But anyone with bit of nuggle will keep themselfs
busy doing whatever untill it comes round to better times.
Who knows.
All easy for me to day as a student with another two years to go untill i gradute. But we shall see. Aiming for full recovery sometime between now and
graduation....
Daniel
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02GF74
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 06:53 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by matt.c
Who do you think out of the companies will keep going? Will it be the big money cat**erham or we**field be ok? Or will the lower end stay due to there
lower out goings?
I am not sure size really matters. Rover were pretty big and went t*ts up, as too were Robin Hood.
companies that sell as good product and provide good service and support hsould make it through, such as MK and DAX but nothing is guaranteed about
the future.
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ashg
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 07:32 AM |
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To be honest I’m yet to really feel the so called pinch other than a few pence on my cornflakes, fuel (well it’s gone down a bit now) and haven’t
stopped spending on the kit car. Life is simpler when you don’t owe people money as I have found out through bad experience if I don’t have it I don’t
spend it.
At the end of the day things go up and down but the well proven fact is that over time prices will always rise and time and time again people deal
with it.
I would suspect that most of the small kit car companies will have no problem diversifying to stay in business.
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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Agriv8
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 08:24 AM |
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I belivr that it is not as bas as the press are making out. yup the banks are a little more carful who they lend to.
the economy has hicupped nothing mrore in my opinion.
House prices taken a hit - yup but the current upward trend had become unsustainable.
FTSE down - yup but the current upward trend had become unsustainable.
Banks in trouble - Yup thats what you get from a self regulating financial body - Maybe they should be looking after the intrests of the customer
rather than the intrests of the shareholdes and fat cat bonuses.
all IMHO of course.
The only KC company I have deallings with  seem to be very busy with customer chassis waiting for finishing or collection I belive the order book is
looking healthy.
Regards
Agriv8
[Edited on 12/11/08 by Agriv8]
Taller than your average Guy !
Management is like a tree of monkeys. - Those at the top look down and see a tree full of smiling faces. BUT Those at the bottom look up and see a
tree full of a*seholes .............
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TimC
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 08:45 AM |
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Never mind a kit car manufacturer going bust, have you seen the state that GM are in? Yikes.
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D Beddows
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 08:49 AM |
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Well if you haven't felt the 'credit crunch' then you're f*cking lucky I lost my job 2 1/2 weeks ago (Architectural
Technologist) and there are NO jobs at all in architecture - this time last year I would have started a new job a week ago probably........ this year
I haven't even had a single phone call in 2 1/2 weeks and I'm registered with about 20 agencies and I've sent a speculative email
and portfolio to every Architectural Practice and construction company in the North West....... so don't tell me it's being made out to be
worse than it is 
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oldtimer
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 09:44 AM |
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It is not just car maufacturers either. A friend just paid a deposit on a new Honda by credit card and the dealership has gone into liquidation.
Luckily they did not put the charge through. But Honda (UK made) dealers in trouble is a bad sign.
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Peteff
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 10:11 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
I am not sure size really matters. Rover were pretty big and went t*ts up, as too were Robin Hood.
I think the previous owner of Robin Hood retired and sold the business, not a bankruptcy situation.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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iank
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 10:26 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Peteff
quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
I am not sure size really matters. Rover were pretty big and went t*ts up, as too were Robin Hood.
I think the previous owner of Robin Hood retired and sold the business, not a bankruptcy situation.
But the new owners went into bankruptcy, and then some of them bought the assets again for a song IIRC and became Great British Sportscars.
Volvorsport will no doubt be along soon to fill in the details.
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 10:30 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by D Beddows
Well if you haven't felt the 'credit crunch' then you're f*cking lucky I lost my job 2 1/2 weeks ago (Architectural
Technologist) and there are NO jobs at all in architecture - this time last year I would have started a new job a week ago probably........ this year
I haven't even had a single phone call in 2 1/2 weeks and I'm registered with about 20 agencies and I've sent a speculative email
and portfolio to every Architectural Practice and construction company in the North West....... so don't tell me it's being made out to be
worse than it is
I often apply for many different types of job at the same time rather than just narrow it down to one. If you can do CAD then go for that too etc then
at least you have the money coming in and can then look for exactly what you want without worrying. My CV would stretch to 4 pages if I included all
the things I have done over the years. Done Busses, Draffy, programmer, courier, project planning, technician etc etc never have any bother getting a
new job
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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Moorron
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 10:38 AM |
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When I picked up my engine from Malcolm the other day he was saying the kitcar firms he deals with are really busy. That’s all I know regarding the
kitcar industry and the effect of the credit crunch.
But I have lots of opinions on the overall issues, I hate the media, they hype things up and this isn’t excluded but I think its got some truth to it.
People are spending way too much money which is their fault and those lending them the money (the banks). Common sense would poke you in the face with
regards to this, 100% mortgages and then they get offered loans on top means if anyone sneezes it all fails, I think its happened where the top has
been reached and we are the down side to this.
Its like a catch 22, Its been going up and up where people spend more, more jobs created, more profit so more spend and so on for along time, the
longer this went on the longer and harder it will come down and I think we haven’t seen any of it yet. Just from my own experiences i have/am ‘making
alterations I wouldn’t have done’ because I have seen my disposable income drop with higher food prices, gas and electric prices and petrol prices. I
class myself as good with my own finances and see myself comfortable compared to the majority I know who work around me, unless I pick some dodgy
characters as friends and work collogues then I think I can use this as a good generalization for the average joe. My mortgage is under 50k and the
house was valuated at 120k last year, its dropped for sure buy I still owe less than 50% on the mortgage. Me and the missus don’t spend lots on new
cars or holidays and she isn’t the normal spendaholic most girls are at her age. We don’t really go out so save lots of money there too. So if we are
making changes with regards to our spending because we can see a change then what are those with high debts going to do? Either ignore it and carry on
hoping their banks don’t recall their money or make huge changes to how they spend money.
This must affect us all in the end and we have recently seen what happens when they ‘ignore it and carry on hoping their banks don’t recall their
money’. Massive house repossessions, loan rates going up, new mortgages at an all time low and so on. Its what comes next that’s going to really
effect us all, when lots loose their jobs and that catch 22 I was talking about above happens on the downward spiral.
I get the feeling most people are hiding the truths behind a smile and will have a good Xmas regardless, but I think everyone will be cutting back
after ‘one more happy xmas’ and its going to be hard next year.
The other thing that rubs salt into the wound are the fact most ‘needed’ companies like gas suppliers and such are just getting away with robbery,
they try it on, get away with it and do it again and make huge profits while old people die from the cold. It makes me sick.
If you ignore mine and others opinions on this matter and just look at the hard facts that people are living way beyond their means suggests its cant
carry on. It seems if you’re greedy or stupid you can ignore this statement and just carry on regardless like a friend I know of who bought a brand
new house on a 100% mortgage, got pregnant and the will loose their job as they work for a company that cant and wont pay for them to be off for so
long, then go out and get a brand new car each on finance and then get a loan to pay for a holiday in new york!!! Do they think having twins is going
to be cheap? I can understand this if they had a fall back position but they don’t and I can’t see how they think they could pay it back even if
credit was still good. I wouldn’t be able to sleep with that much debt! They are stupid and deserve to loose it all from their greed, the banks
deserve to loose out when they claim it all back and work out they have lost money too but I don’t see why I should have higher taxes or worse
financial support because they both got greedy.
While I am ranting I will tell you the bit that makes me silly mad and its happened before too, When the same people then go on about how I am rubbing
their face in it driving round in a kitcar and no debt when they are struggling to eat! ARGH! I managed my finances and it’s paying off but they think
I should suffer like them. They don’t see the fact I haven’t had a holiday for 5 years (not even camping in Wales for 2 days lol) because I spent all
my time off work either doing the house up (saving money with diy and adding value to the house), working on my tintop in the rain and snow to keep it
in good working order or rebuilding the missus car so she ‘doesn’t have to buy a new car’.
Right i am off to throw my mug of coffee at one of the guys in the office lol
Good luck and I hope I am wrong on this and it all picks up next year.
Sorry about my spelling, im an engineer and only work in numbers.
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02GF74
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 10:57 AM |
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9/10 top rant.
let me pick on this bit.
quote:
Originally posted by Moorron
The other thing that rubs salt into the wound are the fact most ‘needed’ companies like gas suppliers and such are just getting away with robbery,
they try it on, get away with it and do it again and make huge profits while old people die from the cold. It makes me sick.
As my mother used to say, these old people have worked all their lives so where is their money now? If they frittered it away on holidays, nintendo,
plasma TVs and cars, then why should I, via taxes, have to bail them out?
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nitram38
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 11:01 AM |
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At the moment I haven't felt the credit crunch but this is for good reason, mainly I don't borrow money.
Sure I have a Creditcard, but I use it to buy parts and pay if off before interest is added.
I am an electrician and I have seen the building trade be decimated by cheap foriegn labour over the past 5-6 years so I got out. I now work in an IT
enviroment , looking after generators, air-conditioning, UPS and do 12 hour shifts. Not ideal but I make enough money to live, look after my family
and run my hobbies.
I don't blame anyone who is upset about losing their jobs, because I lost my home in 1993 after 6 years of mortgage and hard graft.
I did anything to survive and keep my family protected. Nothing illegal, just I got a job labouring at a welding one man band business and quickly
learned to weld. I soon ended up virtually running the place. It took me 12 years to recover from the last recession, so when times got better,
instead of borrowing I have only spent what I had and saved a little as a bit of a shock absorber.
You live and learn, hopefully people will learn from this and be in a better position next time.
It's like swimming against the tide, but eventually you end up a little bit further away from all those who took the easy option and went with
the flow. They are all drowning, but I am a little drier.
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D Beddows
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 11:01 AM |
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quote:
I often apply for many different types of job at the same time rather than just narrow it down to one. If you can do CAD then go for that too etc then
at least you have the money coming in and can then look for exactly what you want without worrying. My CV would stretch to 4 pages if I included all
the things I have done over the years. Done Busses, Draffy, programmer, courier, project planning, technician etc etc never have any bother getting a
new job
Yeah, but it's not as easy as that at the moment, at least not round here - it may be different north of the border but that's a bit far
to commute I've got a BEng (Hons) in Automotive Engineering, skilled in AutoCad, Solidworks and a bit of Pro-E, worked building performance
engines etc etc as well as 5+ years of experience in Architecture so I've been applying for all sorts but I keep coming up against the same
thing - usually that the job I'm applying for is 'on hold' ie the company is too nervous to employ anyone at the moment and any
feedback I'm getting from speculative applications is that the company has a full quota of staff...... Trust me it's not good out there at
the moment if you're looking for work
And sorry but I have to say that some of the replies to this thread have been smug beyond belief.............
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johnston
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 11:23 AM |
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Theres definatly something going on I know alot of people that have been put onto a 3 day week and that goes from engineering to office jobs.. and a
few that have been paid off alogether.
I got fired for taking days off sick in probationary period for a problem they knew about before i was even interveiwed. I havent been replaced and
they havent advertised. Same place paid off 4 more people few weeks after me, plus they never replaced a couple of people that left.. and that seems
to be the story with most of the places my mates work too.
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scootz
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 11:50 AM |
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Good rant Moorron! I largely agree with most of what you have said.
The banks have been throwing money at folk... of course it was all going to end in tears!
I feel sorry for all those people who were planing to retire around now... they are the real losers! Worked hard, saved wisely, invested in
pensions... get shafted!
And all the time the talk is how we're going to get the irresponsible ones out of the smelly-stuff - what about the sensible ones who've
been caught up in it all... no one seems to give a sh*t about them!
And don't get me started on state benefits...
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motorcycle_mayhem
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 03:16 PM |
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From my perspective, the economic realities are all too 'real'. As with some of the 'smug' guys on here, I have been very
careful over the years, so yes, losing my career last month when my employer folded isn't as personally destructive as it might have been. My
wife, thankfully, is still holding on to a career, though for how long.
Manufacturing industry here isn't in good health, it's dire, soon (I believe) to die. My job went to Shanghai, I was denied an application
to follow it there.
Yes there are other possibilities except those my PhD directs me towards. Joining the burgeoning State employee hoards is one of them, at least then
safely sat in a safe job (although non-productive) I can look forward to an annual increment and a pension.
I'm still hoping to leave this wet rock, irons and fire are going to that end. I can but hope.
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tomprescott
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 04:57 PM |
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The size of a company won't particularly help it to avoid going under, generally the first things to go in a recession are the expensive
extravagencies - i.e. kitcars. Don't which of the kitcar companies are listed but generally the majority of companies will still pay dividends
for two years even when they're making losses because in a market based on confidence the last thing you want is investors worrying about their
stock, all trying to sell at the same time and debasing the value of the company. Take Bradford and Bingley for example, they had a lot of risk on
their books but were managing it well and would have been fine, but due to other banks going under the investors assume that B&B will too and so
sell their stock, other people see all the b&b shares flooding on to the market and assume there must be problems with B&B, all of a sudden
B&B are in trouble because all of their investors have gone and made the stock worthless - a prime example of a self fulfilling prophecy. In my
opinion if you have cash to spare at the moment that bang it into stocks now, the bust period is always much shorter than that of the boom, invest now
and get ready to grin over the next 15 years!
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82 Locost
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 06:10 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by D Beddows
Well if you haven't felt the 'credit crunch' then you're f*cking lucky I lost my job 2 1/2 weeks ago (Architectural
Technologist) and there are NO jobs at all in architecture - this time last year I would have started a new job a week ago probably........ this year
I haven't even had a single phone call in 2 1/2 weeks and I'm registered with about 20 agencies and I've sent a speculative email
and portfolio to every Architectural Practice and construction company in the North West....... so don't tell me it's being made out to be
worse than it is
The trouble with a recession is that its effects are digital. Anybody keeping their job will feel little effect, anybody losing theirs will be
devastating, especially with unemployment rising.
One thing is certain though, this recession is going to be deep and long and WILL affect everybody at some time. I'm only doing a couple of
local races next year, I'm saving money to pay off mortgages while I can.
Good luck with your jobhunting Dave.
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mr henderson
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| posted on 12/11/08 at 09:24 PM |
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Not much left to be said on this topic, so I will add my agreement to those who are saying that there is no person or firm that is invulnerable to the
effects of recession.
The one problem that no firm or individual can overcome, no matter how good their product or service, is when their customers either don't have
any money, or feel obliged by circumstance to spend what money they do have on other things (like food!)
Edited to add another thought, I see quite tasty XK8's with FJSH and 60-70k miles can be bought for £6-8K. Even though I like kit cars, I think
I would go for one of those before spending quite a bit more on a kit
John
[Edited on 12/11/08 by mr henderson]
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woodster
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| posted on 13/11/08 at 10:31 AM |
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we make fragrances for soap shower gels and anything else you use round the house that smells we are still doing over time ... I worked Saturday and
Sunday.... but with all the doom and gloom on the news I'm not spending money
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Benzine
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| posted on 13/11/08 at 10:43 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by mr henderson
Not much left to be said on this topic, so I will add my agreement to those who are saying that there is no person or firm that is invulnerable to the
effects of recession.
bailiffs? 
[Edited on 13/11/08 by Benzine]
The mental gymnastics a landlord will employ to justify immoral actions is clinically fascinating. Just because something is legal doesn't make
it moral.
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