own business

[crutchs]

so i want to do motorsport/performance engineering but wouldnt mind starting my own business. Anyone on here done it and know the best ways to start and if its easy to get off the ground?

yes i will have experience in working on cars as im a trainee technician and would start after qualifying

[smiith]

You would probably want to keep in your job a few years after been a trainee/apprentice.. You in no way pick up anything near the experience and knowledge you will need for modifying cars, and engines in your training time!

All depends on the area, the kind of cars you want to spec up, and the kind of work you want to do..

If you live in a town with 5000 people, probably pointless, unless you can offer something different, for people building performance cars, to think its worth travelling for!

[Bedford126]

Get well in with a company first and start to make contacts with suppliers and customers first.

Without my suppliers and customers I would have been fucked setting up on my own. Its one thing setting up but its a very different situation getting people through the doors.

[crutchs]

so would it be eaiser practicing on some now while remaining in work building up a portfolio

[Bedford126]

so would it be eaiser practicing on some now while remaining in work building up a portfolio

Yup it would.

In the car game experience is everything, Word of mouth is how you make your money without good work, qualification's and experience you have nothing.

[smiith]

practising what exactly?

If you are training to be a mechanic, you will need A LOT more knowledge, and skills, to open your own business, than the 3 or so years you spend as a trainee..

Specially if you want to be doing performance modifications to cars.. You need to be able to know limits of power certain engines can take with standard internals and such..

As Bedford says, you will need contacts, and specially suppliers.. If you can't get parts as cheap, or cheaper than other places, your costs will be more, you will charge more, people will go elsewhere.

[ed-bradley]

Personally, I'd stay working for someone else for a while.
Widen your knowledge and experience.
Knowing people in the game is key.
Get saving.

[Bedford126]

practising what exactly?

If you are training to be a mechanic, you will need A LOT more knowledge, and skills, to open your own business, than the 3 or so years you spend as a trainee..

This is probably the best advise you will get. I have 10 years in the motor trade and I'm still learning I wouldn't have even wanted to have set up on my own for the first 5 years. if something cocks up and you don't know how to sort it you have no one to shout over to help you out.

Even now I am texting mates and asking on various forums for bits of advice of what's needed and why a car has a certain problem.

[blackie_2k5]

Some good info above really

Can't stress enough how much experience plays a part, no matter how much you want o do it, you may find that In a real life situation after training you don't even like the job at all and aren't great with the pressure

[smiith]

Some good info above really

Can't stress enough how much experience plays a part, no matter how much you want o do it, you may find that In a real life situation after training you don't even like the job at all and aren't great with the pressure

I am a Joiner/Carpenter.. Wanted to be a mechanic, my mum said "theres no money in it, unless you own a garage, you will never have a decent income". So i did carpentry because its what my dad does.. 6 years on, I cant stand most of the work, theres hardly any work to be had, and tbh, im wishing i could go back 6 years!

But as for learning, i still learn new things every week, easily, a new easier way to do something, a new, better way or setting things out, all sorts..

You can never have too much knowledge!!

[Bedford126]

I am a Joiner/Carpenter.. Wanted to be a mechanic, my mum said "theres no money in it, unless you own a garage, you will never have a decent income". So i did carpentry because its what my dad does.. 6 years on, I cant stand most of the work, theres hardly any work to be had, and tbh, im wishing i could go back 6 years!

But as for learning, i still learn new things every week, easily, a new easier way to do something, a new, better way or setting things out, all sorts..

You can never have too much knowledge!!

Is it not just nail this cut this and chisel that and you have a door? piss easy mate.:homme: I jokes

A bloke once told me the day you stop learning is the day you should give up. Every one can teach you something no matter what the age. Fuck up as much as you like you will always learn from it.

[smiith]

Is it not just nail this cut this and chisel that and you have a door? piss easy mate.:homme: I jokes

A bloke once told me the day you stop learning is the day you should give up. Every one can teach you something no matter what the age. Fuck up as much as you like you will always learn from it.

If only!

Stuff like getting the right pitch on a roof is a bastard, and doing all the angle cuts perfect so it all just slots together..

Isn't mechanics just unbolt this, fill that with oil? :hug:

Just realllllllly bored of hanging doors, fitting skirtings, and doing bastard 45 degree cuts by hand!!

[Bedford126]

If only!

Stuff like getting the right pitch on a roof is a bastard, and doing all the angle cuts perfect so it all just slots together..

Isn't mechanics just unbolt this, fill that with oil? :hug:

Just realllllllly bored of hanging doors, fitting skirtings, and doing bastard 45 degree cuts by hand!!

Yeah mate mechanics is piss easy now compared to what it use to be most cars just plug them in and you find out what's wrong and replace with new.:y:

Its the older cars that are a challenge with no computers and carb's. Ask a apprentice what a carb is these days and most will have no idea on what they are or how they work.

At least you get to play with nail guns and chop saws.

[smiith]

Yeah mate mechanics is piss easy now compared to what it use to be most cars just plug them in and you find out what's wrong and replace with new.:y:

Its the older cars that are a challenge with no computers and carb's. Ask a apprentice what a carb is these days and most will have no idea on what they are or how they work.

At least you get to play with nail guns and chop saws.

Nail guns are fun if you pull the safety lever back and get it to stick.. Then its a gun!

Iv never owned a car newer than the year 2000, and i love working on my own! I'd dread trying to set carbs and stuff up though, as a DIYer..

I don't think people should be allowed to be mechanics without a genuine interest in cars before they do it! And ALL should be made to work on old cars, like a mini, or beetle, or something like that, at least at college, before getting to do the newer stuff!

[Bedford126]

Nail guns are fun if you pull the safety lever back and get it to stick.. Then its a gun!

Iv never owned a car newer than the year 2000, and i love working on my own! I'd dread trying to set carbs and stuff up though, as a DIYer..

I don't think people should be allowed to be mechanics without a genuine interest in cars before they do it! And ALL should be made to work on old cars, like a mini, or beetle, or something like that, at least at college, before getting to do the newer stuff!

Real mechanics is dying out due to the computer's and and nothing being serviceable. It's far too easy to plug a laptop into the car and replace what's broken.

My old boss use to say once you are qualified from college you are a fitter. After you can diagnose with your ear and the feel of what's wrong then you start to become a mechanic.

At the school of ford the oldest car we worked on was a mk1 fiesta and the newest was a factory re call mondy.

Now I think most cars are new from factory and all faults are caused by the lecturer on his laptop. Not saying its true for all colleges but I cant see many colleges teaching about carb's and mechanical fuel pumps.

[crutchs]

Nail guns are fun if you pull the safety lever back and get it to stick.. Then its a gun!

Iv never owned a car newer than the year 2000, and i love working on my own! I'd dread trying to set carbs and stuff up though, as a DIYer..

I don't think people should be allowed to be mechanics without a genuine interest in cars before they do it! And ALL should be made to work on old cars, like a mini, or beetle, or something like that, at least at college, before getting to do the newer stuff!

We do the cars in the college are no older than an S reg. Not that old in respects of a mini but not brand new plug in like I do in work

[tweeqd]

Yeah mate mechanics is piss easy now compared to what it use to be most cars just plug them in and you find out what's wrong and replace with new.:y:

Its the older cars that are a challenge with no computers and carb's. Ask a apprentice what a carb is these days and most will have no idea on what they are or how they work.

At least you get to play with nail guns and chop saws.

spoken like a true fitter and not a mechanic
do your troubles codes tell you where the wiring fault is on a CAN network or how to diagnose an internal fault in a gearbox


as for the OP's question, ive been running my own business for 3 years now but was in a grage for over 10 before i went out on my own

[ed-bradley]

Real mechanics is dying out due to the computer's and and nothing being serviceable. It's far too easy to plug a laptop into the car and replace what's broken.

My old boss use to say once you are qualified from college you are a fitter. After you can diagnose with your ear and the feel of what's wrong then you start to become a mechanic.

At the school of ford the oldest car we worked on was a mk1 fiesta and the newest was a factory re call mondy.

Now I think most cars are new from factory and all faults are caused by the lecturer on his laptop. Not saying its true for all colleges but I cant see many colleges teaching about carb's and mechanical fuel pumps.



This.
I think exactly the same, I went to college.. and Tbh, whether you have a qualification of the highest degree, nothing beats on the job experience.

I did College for 2 years at Btec/Nat D level. You don't learn any skills, just knowledge to help you understand what parts do, how stuff works in an attempt to make you figure out whats broken.
I'd much have rather have gone onto an apprenticship and learnt on the job, and got a lower qualification.

[Bedford126]

spoken like a true fitter and not a mechanic
do your troubles codes tell you where the wiring fault is on a CAN network or how to diagnose an internal fault in a gearbox


as for the OP's question, ive been running my own business for 3 years now but was in a grage for over 10 before i went out on my own

Did I say that?

So are you saying that mechanics isn't easier than it use to be?

[tweeqd]

yes i am
im a mercedes specialist and if a pre 1980 dizzy/carb car comes in running rough you can diagnose by the sound of it usually, or look at the dizzy cap/ at the carb

if the new multiplex stuff has a running fault you need the diag equipment to look at data displys/ current data or a scop to check the PWM signals

i can work on the old stuff with a screwdriver and a stethiscope, but need
£5k worth of kit for the new cars

[blackie_2k5]

can teach you all they want in a controlled room and in a friendly environment

when you have to go do it by yourself and do it in a manner that's enough to turn an profit and to a level that brings customers back to you for future, is where you actually learn the job

i used to be on the site regular, but you get sick of getting wet, getting laid off or work drying up at xmas, and generally wondering how long your job/future is safe

the goverment flooded all the trades with trainee courses, and now theres too many ppl in the trade and not enough jobs

all the cunts fdo bodge it work for pennies and the proper grafters lose out...and they wonder why the country is fucked :/

[crutchs]

I think that would be my worst problem dropping my current position in a main dealer where my job is secure to be my own boss with no secure income

[Bedford126]

yes i am
im a mercedes specialist and if a pre 1980 dizzy/carb car comes in running rough you can diagnose by the sound of it usually, or look at the dizzy cap/ at the carb

if the new multiplex stuff has a running fault you need the diag equipment to look at data displys/ current data or a scop to check the PWM signals

i can work on the old stuff with a screwdriver and a stethiscope, but need
£5k worth of kit for the new cars

I don't agree entirely with that comment mate. When i first started my first job was to remove a dynamo from a vw beetle and replace both main shaft bearings in it. Now you would simply just remove it and replace with a new alternator / dynamo.

Hardly anything is fixable anymore so is just remove and replace. I can see where you are coming from with the equipment needed but mechanics as a whole use to be way more hands on than it is now.

[tweeqd]

its scary, i strted my business with £2k i got selling my merc

you can have good months where you make £5k+
or slow months and make £500, and the bills are still there however much you make

its hard work but id never go back to working for someone else

[tweeqd]

I don't agree entirely with that comment mate. When i first started my first job was to remove a dynamo from a vw beetle and replace both main shaft bearings in it. Now you would simply just remove it and replace with a new alternator / dynamo.

Hardly anything is fixable anymore so is just remove and replace. I can see where you are coming from with the equipment needed but mechanics as a whole use to be way more hands on than it is now.

its all fixable but in todays world its cheaper to fit a £100 alternator then pay a mechanic £50per hour for 3 hours to srtip and fix

[Bedford126]

its all fixable but in todays world its cheaper to fit a £100 alternator then pay a mechanic £50per hour for 3 hours to srtip and fix

And that's why its easier No need to do it no need to learn it unbolt replace job done. I don't think most mechanics these days would even know how to strip a dynamo never mind know what one is.

[tweeqd]

your completely right mate, i trained on vauxhalls so had to learn how to fix things lol but when i moved to Mercedes the young techs there didnt know bugger all

[Tom5190]

so i want to do motorsport/performance engineering but wouldnt mind starting my own business. Anyone on here done it and know the best ways to start and if its easy to get off the ground?

yes i will have experience in working on cars as im a trainee technician and would start after qualifying

I think aside from your lack of experience your main problem seems to be that your completly confusing general mechanics with motorsport/performance engineering. What do you engineer at college?

[crutchs]

At college I'm just on the light vehicle maintance and repair course. Want to do motor sports but the college was about 2 hours away

[Tom5190]

Ah ok well if you want to start a buisness in the area then you need to get yourself some qualifications in it. Not saying thats the only way but generally either good experience or qualifications are needed. if you have neither then its not going to go so well.

[Ashleyp]

A key point that I can't see (after a quick skim read) is that it's all well and good being able to fix a car. However, running a business is totally different; there's so much more to being a successful and profitable business than getting work, and putting money in the bank.