Alloy wheel/steel wheel refurb. business feedback needs

paa9090

Hey folks I've recently spotted a gap in the market, my business being refurbishing alloy wheels/steel wheels (buckles, scratches, corrosion, etc). Initially the business will focus mainly on the fixing of buckles and bends and slight corrosion and scratches. What I'm looking to get from people exactly is their opinion regards what they would regard an acceptable price and have you ever required the following services. I also welcome any other opinions on the idea you may have.

fishy21

what area do you plan on setting up?

Usual price a for a light refurb would be 80 euro. i've seen a press in the back of a van for straightening wheel. Not sure of the cost.


Also no one really repairs steel wheels, they can be got very cheap second hand.


What kind of painting experience do you have?

paa9090

North Galway/Mayo.


Ya i ve researched that and I still undecided between a static or mobile service. The west still seems to lacking a proper repair service as many concentrated in the east of the country.

Well to be honest my experience of spraying is limited, but my thinking is to see how the figures add up with repair and light repairs before inesting money in curers and ovens and the likes

fishy21

really mobile is the way to go.

Its all about your relationship with the garages in your area. You wont get much business from the public. They wont want to repair their wheels.

Al hayes garage in galway would be a great place to get into, they must be one of the biggest dealers in the country.

There no need for ovens when painting wheels. Just get a vw caddy size van, about a 50 litre compressor and proper paint and materials.

paa9090

fishy21 wrote: »

really mobile is the way to go.

Its all about your relationship with the garages in your area. You wont get much business from the public. They wont want to repair their wheels.

Al hayes garage in galway would be a great place to get into, they must be one of the biggest dealers in the country.

There no need for ovens when painting wheels. Just get a vw caddy size van, about a 50 litre compressor and proper paint and materials.

Yes I understand what your saying. I ve got good relationships with about 3 or 4 garages and would be looking into doing business with dealers in the area, also toying with idea of working with numerous tyre fitters whom are often first to notice buckles and damage... Also from the research I must say a lot of public wish to fix their damaged wheels.. I know from experience lads going off buying new alloys as the service is either not advertised or non existent in this area.

fishy21

well if there nobody else doing it in your area, it sounds good. You'd probably need about 20 grand starting out.

garages are now very careful on how much they'll spend on their sales cars as margins are less. So make sure to talk to a few before jumping into it.

Also another good stream would be insurance approved bodyshops. Insurance companies want to save money and most bodyshops wont touch wheels. That would definitly be an area to research.

Plebs

Sounds very labour-intensive.