Any advice for direction on my motor trade business?
Discussion
Hi all,
I'll keep this as brief as I can!
One of my business ventures is breaking cars. I rent a unit for £200 per month, which is silly cheap I know. Reasons it is cheap is it's not that big, it's rickety and has poor access. I can only break one car at a time. There's some additional space to store parts but not that much. I'm having to bring parts home with me, and I've filled a large shed at my house already. It's also a 45 minute drive from me, or 90 minutes in rush hour!
So, I have two options, to progress and earn more money
1) Employ someone casually to strip the cars for me. This negates the commuting and frees up my time. Build a second shed at home to store additional parts.
2) Get rid of it, and rent a bigger unit closer to home. This would be around £1000-£1500 per month. I'd be able to strip more cars, store more parts and I'd not have to commute. I have a trusted local mechanic who's happy to help me breaking when I get really busy. But it's a big monthly rent!
I really can't see the better option between the two! Help me PH!
I'll keep this as brief as I can!
One of my business ventures is breaking cars. I rent a unit for £200 per month, which is silly cheap I know. Reasons it is cheap is it's not that big, it's rickety and has poor access. I can only break one car at a time. There's some additional space to store parts but not that much. I'm having to bring parts home with me, and I've filled a large shed at my house already. It's also a 45 minute drive from me, or 90 minutes in rush hour!
So, I have two options, to progress and earn more money
1) Employ someone casually to strip the cars for me. This negates the commuting and frees up my time. Build a second shed at home to store additional parts.
2) Get rid of it, and rent a bigger unit closer to home. This would be around £1000-£1500 per month. I'd be able to strip more cars, store more parts and I'd not have to commute. I have a trusted local mechanic who's happy to help me breaking when I get really busy. But it's a big monthly rent!
I really can't see the better option between the two! Help me PH!
CzechItOut said:
How much profit do you make from stripping a single car and how long does it take to sell all the parts.
For me, these will tell you whether renting a £1000/m unit that allows you to do multiple cars simultaneously is cost effective.
It varies immenselyFor me, these will tell you whether renting a £1000/m unit that allows you to do multiple cars simultaneously is cost effective.
Current breaker is a 516bhp Honda S2000. Purchase price £4500. Total value of parts £16500 (it has lots of high end engine/turbo/chassis parts). Takes around 4 days to strip.
Next breaker is a Mini Cooper S. Purchase price £400. Total value of parts, around £2000. Should take around 3 days to strip.
There's a steady trickle of parts sales. It stops and starts!
Partyvan said:
CzechItOut said:
How much profit do you make from stripping a single car and how long does it take to sell all the parts.
For me, these will tell you whether renting a £1000/m unit that allows you to do multiple cars simultaneously is cost effective.
It varies immenselyFor me, these will tell you whether renting a £1000/m unit that allows you to do multiple cars simultaneously is cost effective.
Current breaker is a 516bhp Honda S2000. Purchase price £4500. Total value of parts £16500 (it has lots of high end engine/turbo/chassis parts). Takes around 4 days to strip.
Next breaker is a Mini Cooper S. Purchase price £400. Total value of parts, around £2000. Should take around 3 days to strip.
There's a steady trickle of parts sales. It stops and starts!
If's & buts...
If you sell /store from home you may incurr business rates if its found out ?
Always keep your expenses to bare minimum no matter what, you don't have to travel one day if work gets slack or you become ill etc so no fuel bill, larger rent you still have to meet no matter what. be real with yourself when you project what you can earn fron a car, what i mean is there are bound to be some parts that you factor inthat just do not sell...there are always bread & butter things you can bank on , I guess in car breaking that would probabaly be light clusters, DPF's etc for mot work.
The only way I would sign up to a larger premisis is if ( yes I have done this) where there is space I do not need , I then sun let that out to a small builder /scaffold company 7 that takes care of the lease money or most of it.
If you move out of your small unit I would be careful , as at the amount you have stated you pay & the business you are using it for seems very cheap, you usually have to have council certificates that the Enviromental health has passed it as a reclaiming yard & that all flammable fluids & chemical fluids ie Brake Fluids , Autobox oils, engine oils etc cannot find its way into the water table...so before you sign up to a new yard I would look into that quite closely as it might be an expensive mistake...good luck though.
Here's a little freebie ...approach your local health authority for all of there old electrical equipment, scanners etc , if you manage to get a bid in just pay it, take all the rubbish walking sticks etc to get what you want. They have lots of precious metals in them far more than the Catalytic converters plus once you are on there books & pay you wont look back. You might even drop the car side....good luck!
If you sell /store from home you may incurr business rates if its found out ?
Always keep your expenses to bare minimum no matter what, you don't have to travel one day if work gets slack or you become ill etc so no fuel bill, larger rent you still have to meet no matter what. be real with yourself when you project what you can earn fron a car, what i mean is there are bound to be some parts that you factor inthat just do not sell...there are always bread & butter things you can bank on , I guess in car breaking that would probabaly be light clusters, DPF's etc for mot work.
The only way I would sign up to a larger premisis is if ( yes I have done this) where there is space I do not need , I then sun let that out to a small builder /scaffold company 7 that takes care of the lease money or most of it.
If you move out of your small unit I would be careful , as at the amount you have stated you pay & the business you are using it for seems very cheap, you usually have to have council certificates that the Enviromental health has passed it as a reclaiming yard & that all flammable fluids & chemical fluids ie Brake Fluids , Autobox oils, engine oils etc cannot find its way into the water table...so before you sign up to a new yard I would look into that quite closely as it might be an expensive mistake...good luck though.
Here's a little freebie ...approach your local health authority for all of there old electrical equipment, scanners etc , if you manage to get a bid in just pay it, take all the rubbish walking sticks etc to get what you want. They have lots of precious metals in them far more than the Catalytic converters plus once you are on there books & pay you wont look back. You might even drop the car side....good luck!
Do you have all the relevant registrations/certificates for ELV’s?
It’s a minefield, especially if you’re looking to grow.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waste-exemption-u16-us...
It’s a minefield, especially if you’re looking to grow.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waste-exemption-u16-us...
Worth reading stuff on here. May give you an idea of the implications if you actually want to make this a business...
https://www.vrauk.org/
https://www.vrauk.org/
Partyvan said:
<snip>
1) Employ someone casually to strip the cars for me. This negates the commuting and frees up my time. Build a second shed at home to store additional parts.
2) Get rid of it, and rent a bigger unit closer to home. This would be around £1000-£1500 per month. I'd be able to strip more cars, store more parts and I'd not have to commute. I have a trusted local mechanic who's happy to help me breaking when I get really busy. But it's a big monthly rent!
You should really start by working out the objective you are aiming for - both from a business point of view and also in terms of your own life. That should give you the initial steer for which of these two options you might prefer.1) Employ someone casually to strip the cars for me. This negates the commuting and frees up my time. Build a second shed at home to store additional parts.
2) Get rid of it, and rent a bigger unit closer to home. This would be around £1000-£1500 per month. I'd be able to strip more cars, store more parts and I'd not have to commute. I have a trusted local mechanic who's happy to help me breaking when I get really busy. But it's a big monthly rent!
From that point, you need to work out your business plan.
How many cars could you strip per month from this new facility? Would you specialise in a particular type or brand? How much storage would you need for the stripped parts? How would you source the extra cars you would need? What additional resources would you need to support the targeted growth? Will you need more kit, more tools, better website etc?
At that point you can stress test your plan e.g. what is the minimum number of cars you would need to break to be better off than your current operation? What is the maximum amount of cars you could process from your proposed new facility?
This information, even if you need to estimate some aspects, should give you the information to decide whether your preferred option is viable.
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