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Car related Businesses that are in demand?

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  • 16-09-2023 7:44pm
    #1
    ifeelabreeze
    Registered Users Posts: 288 ✭✭


    I'm a recent grad working in an unrelated field that's paying reasonably well but is also not what I want to do indefinitely.

    I've always wanted to start my own business and I've always loved cars.. So I'm essentially looking towards car related business ideas.

    I've heard it's very hard to find someone to do paint work. Paintless dent removal is supposedly hard to learn/get into.

    Lots of guys starting valeting, so I'd be somewhat tempted to start a business supplying the essentials for that - but I certainly wouldn't be the first to have considered it.

    Sandblasting is an option.

    Wheel refurbishment would probably cost a lot to get set up in, especially diamond cutting.

    Would there be much demand for key reprogramming?

    Remapping - hard to develop a name, rather than being some chancer with a laptop.

    What else is out there and more importantly, what's in demand?



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    #2
    Sir Galahad
    Registered Users Posts: 709 ✭✭✭Sir Galahad


    My brother in law does car key replacement and programming in UK. Makes a good regular income and doesn't put sand in the vaseline of customers (doesn't overcharge). But it's a big market there, I wonder would it support living in Ireland ?



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    #3
    con747
    Registered Users Posts: 5,912 ✭✭✭con747


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058314086/car-related-businesses-that-are-in-demand

    Electric vehicles are going to become a massive market here in the future so maybe try find something in that area to try find something new and get a head start.

    Don't expect anything from life, just be grateful to be alive.



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    #4
    Whocare
    Registered Users Posts: 1,054 ✭✭✭Whocare


    If you have money and can find good location I would go into tyre business. Or even tyres at home type of business just need van



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    #5
    Hellrazer
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 10,596 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hellrazer


    Im not going to quote every post so far but here goes. Ive been in the trade for 30 years now and my advice to the OP - stay away from it.

    1.Valeting - you can get your car valeted in a shopping centre now - too many around to make a decent living out of it

    2.Wheel refurbishment - I can get wheels refurbed incl diamond for €40 + vat per wheel - you`d want to be doing a lot of wheels per week to make a living from it.

    3.Remapping - Too specialised - Ive probably gotten 5 cars remapped / reprogrammed in my 30 years in the trade.

    4.Key cutting / replacement keys - Most of this work has moved to main dealers - the locksmiths Ive used for years are all getting out of the business because the dealers / manufacturers make it too difficult to reprogram newer models.

    5.Paintless dent removal - all sounds good and all that but it would take a few years of practice to get really good at it and even then the money would be fairly crap - probably 70-80 euros per dent. Again you would need to get a name for yourself before you made decent money.Theres plenty of established companies out there that have it well tied up.


    Now if you really have your mind set on it heres the ones I struggle to find decent people to do the job.

    1. Upholstery repairs - theres very few doing seat repairs , dash panel repairs, trim repairs out there.
    2. .Someone mentioned tyres - you would need to find a big-ish town with no tyre company in it and try tie up the market there.
    3. Auto electrician - thats actually GOOD - theres probably only 2 decent people in Dublin that have Id recommend customers to and these have been around for 30 years. Im not talking about throwing in a set of fog lights / alarms etc but one who can diagnose electrical issues and repair them.
    4. Automotive welding - as in exhausts, NCT minor repairs etc. When I started in the trade there was no replacing exhausts - they were nearly always weld repairs. As for NCT repairs - welder to do the likes of sill rust failures, minor chassis fails - that type of stuff. Anyone thats out there is very , very busy and can have waiting lists to get minor repairs done.
    5. And probably the big one - reconditioning EV batteries - this market will be huge once warranties are up. Theres 2 companies that I can think of in the country but these will be swamped in the next few years - maybe time to get in now before the rush?? However the reconditioning will need to be done correctly and offer a decent warranty - 12 months wont cut it when an EV comes with 8 years usually - would need 24 months warranty at a minimum.

    Im sure Ill think of a few more pros and cons and Ill post back as I think of them.



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