classic car body shop . dublin /wicklow

classichunter

hi i was thinking of opening a classic car bodyshop next year would you think there be any work for it . any one got any ideas

swarlb

classichunter wrote: »

hi i was thinking of opening a classic car bodyshop next year would you think there be any work for it . any one got any ideas

There is one near Ferns, been there for a few years now, but I believe the owner has been restoring cars for quite some time. There is a very limited market in Ireland for such a venture.
Its almost impossible to convince someone that it could cost the same in labour to restore a Rolls Royce as to restore a Mini.

w124man

There will be plenty of work if you are good !!

kev1.3s

If you can do good work for reasonable money then you should be able to pick up some work but most people myself included get a bit of a shock when they realise how much body work is going to cost, most cases it is the end of the dream.

Max Headroom

As long as you can carry out everything in-house yourself, Paint, bodywork, mechanicals, welding,polishing, chroming......you'll be laughing....;)

w124man

^^^ agreed but I'm the sort of guy who is more concerned about the quality of work as opposed to the cost. Too many times I have paid for paintwork that looks good on collection but after a few years starts to lift.

hi5

I know someone who set up a restoration business, had loads of work and was highly skilled, but still went bust because of poor management skills.
Do a start your own business course if not sure.

classichunter

there not many a round doing good resprays it would be a business/ hobby for me.i love a good w123 respray:D

manta mad

biggest problem for the classic car resto is the spray job !

very hard to get a good finish at a reasonable price , but then again if you want a good finish you have to pay big money for the end result .

The worst thing is this government .... the revenue and taxs that are part of business here is very high !
so you will need a good turn over to pay ,, E.S.B , water rates , council rates ,and big cost of insurance ...
then your own wages and tax !

don't want to dampen your idea ..( I think it would be a good thing )
but get all the costings done and then factor in your time and what you will get in wages ..

I closed my business over two years ago ., due to not getting paid and the high amount of outgoings involved in the day to day runnings going up !

if you do set up let us know about it ,as I could do with a decent place to get cars sprayed !

swarlb

manta mad wrote: »

biggest problem for the classic car resto is the spray job !

very hard to get a good finish at a reasonable price , but then again if you want a good finish you have to pay big money for the end result .

The worst thing is this government .... the revenue and taxs that are part of business here is very high !
so you will need a good turn over to pay ,, E.S.B , water rates , council rates ,and big cost of insurance ...
then your own wages and tax !

don't want to dampen your idea ..( I think it would be a good thing )
but get all the costings done and then factor in your time and what you will get in wages ..

I closed my business over two years ago ., due to not getting paid and the high amount of outgoings involved in the day to day runnings going up !

if you do set up let us know about it ,as I could do with a decent place to get cars sprayed !

I would disagree with your first point. The most difficult part of restoration is bodywork. It could take weeks of work before you get to paint.
The other difficult part is removing trim without breaking anything, that cannot be replaced.

quattro777

I'm sure there would be a market for someone who can deliver goo workmanship.
There are lots of people here who can "talk the talk "but very few who can "walk the walk" I'm sure there are good people out there but I've failed to find them so far. After being messed around several times I ended up sending mine to the UK.

classichunter

how much would you think a re spray on a good w123 or w124 would cost . like what has any one hear payed so far

Grimreaper666

I wouldn't bother OP, you won't get the money for your work in Ireland and the overheads will break you too. I did it for many years and i never made a profit restoring a classic car, if anything they always cost me money.

Grimreaper666

classichunter wrote: »

how much would you think a re spray on a good w123 or w124 would cost . like what has any one hear payed so far

Expect to pay up to 2k for a decent job allowing for some body work too. There's always body work to be done even if you don't think it needs any.

w124man

Grimreaper666 wrote: »

Expect to pay up to 2k for a decent job allowing for some body work too. There's always body work to be done even if you don't think it needs any.

For a job to be done properly on that size car I would expect to pay at least €4,000. For that money I would expect insist that all the glass is taken out, doors, boot and bonnet off, all trim .... everything off. Anything less is simply not a proper job.

classichunter

i like the sound of the E4000 i could work with that . it were to but my 25 cars to make room to work

Grimreaper666

w124man wrote: »

For a job to be done properly on that size car I would expect to pay at least €4,000. For that money I would expect insist that all the glass is taken out, doors, boot and bonnet off, all trim .... everything off. Anything less is simply not a proper job.

I wish!!! Try getting it though! I did a Lancia Delta Integrale recently, repainted, welded in repair sections etc, glass out and all reassembled. Car went on to win it's class in a UK show and the owner whinged at 3500. I swore i'd never do another customers classic after that.

Max Headroom

Very hard to quote without seeing a car.......god doesnt even know whats underneath....As said a bodyshop could spend a whole day just de-chroming a car.....You could pay 6k on a paint job but could look like a 1k job in a year.....you really need to trust your sprayer, keep in contact, dont just leave the car and walk away....
If youre prepared to deal with (people you think are) dickheads too.....go ahead...i'm one..........;)

rustbucket

Let me know if you do decide to open one up. am looking for someone to do a bit of work on my 77 spitfire

pryantcc

w124man wrote: »

For a job to be done properly on that size car I would expect to pay at least €4,000. For that money I would expect insist that all the glass is taken out, doors, boot and bonnet off, all trim .... everything off. Anything less is simply not a proper job.

I agree, I'd be afraid to give my car to someone for a €2,000 spray job!
In fact, my car looks like it's had a €2,000 spray job already. All rust bubbling through and corners cut with the metalwork. I'd be sick if I'd had the work done myself.