When I last had a workshop to work on my MK, there were a couple of other chaps on the site who rented a workshop (they each had 1 workshop each to themselves) and worked on cars. They did general mechanical repairs, brakes, suspension, MOT fixes, general repairs like that.

I was wondering how common these kinds of businesses are. I'm assuming they serve people who don't want to pay garage prices for labour and repairs. These chaps were working on their own in a small/medium size workshop so I'm guessing their overheads are a lot lower. I'm guessing it's a word-of-mouth business in terms of getting customers.

I'm looking at getting a workshop again and perhaps doing something similar (along with some other ideas non-car related but could use the same worksop). This would require some investment in equipment though and I'm trying to gauge what kind of gear and budget i'm looking at. I'm thinking a car lift, expand my socket set, I imagine the list will go on for a long time... Just wondering how feasible it is...

any ideas/input?

It's as feasablke as you want it. If you want to do other things, then why not do a bit of paid work to pay the rent on the unit. Railway arches are full of small, one man, garages.

The car lift will be the biggest expenditure, and other stuff can be bought as you go along to spread the cost.

I have always taken my tin tops to these types of places. Once you find a good bloke I wouldn't go anywhere else. And he is always busy, and is very reasonable with his charges and endevours to keep the parts cost down.

been there,done that,railway arches leak like sieves
these days there is so much regulation/H+S/waste disposal legislation it would be a minefield if you were to do it as a legitimate business.
i have a nice compressor and plenty special tools left over fro my business if yr interested

quote:

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Originally posted by theconrodkid
been there,done that,railway arches leak like sieves
these days there is so much regulation/H+S/waste disposal legislation it would be a minefield if you were to do it as a legitimate business.
i have a nice compressor and plenty special tools left over fro my business if yr interested

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I have a local collection of just such "businesses" for those jobs that require either skills or tools I don't have myself - welding and tyre fitting for example.

I have to say though that most of these guys work for folding money only and reside in old farm sheds with leaky roofs and drafty walls.

Money wise you may need upto 20K depends how much stuff you want to buy, most landlords want 3 months rent in advance, then theres rates, legal fees, power bills etc. Not as easy as it was only 5 years ago now thanks to stupid red tape. Don't forget the tax man of course, it only takes one person to get pissed at what your doing.

I know quite a few people that do this sort of thing, basically everything that you don't need to be licensed for (such as mot), in general they cost about half as much as a normal garage near me. If you regularly go to them they make it a bit cheaper. That said, one guy tried to charge me £20 for 30 seconds use of his hydraulic press, priced himself out of the market!

Budget for indemnity insurances, waste disposal done properly, business rates, business services supply, H&S testing, certification.... it goes on and on and on, and no-one can afford to be without all that poo in this country now, given the consequences if something does go wrong. And it will.