Can you make a profit from building a kit car?
Discussion
A colleague at a previous company used to dream of building a pair of Ultima GTR. His theory being that selling one would pay for most of the other.
I know this theory is true with sclae model steam engines as friends of my father have done it.
So is it possible to do it with an Ultima, or similarly popular kit car?
I know this theory is true with sclae model steam engines as friends of my father have done it.
So is it possible to do it with an Ultima, or similarly popular kit car?
I wouldn't have thought so but I have no idea what Ultimas go for. I would have expect him to just about cover the costs of building one seven-type car if it was a well known make, but there are enough out there for the supply to be pretty much as high as the demand.
Maybe with an Ultima the supply is lower, but I'm not sure if I'd like to buy such a car with zero miles - would look like the owner didn't have faith in it to use it...
Maybe with an Ultima the supply is lower, but I'm not sure if I'd like to buy such a car with zero miles - would look like the owner didn't have faith in it to use it...
Very unlikely... Most people who are skilled enough to build a kit car to the required standard to be able to sell it for a profit are also the type of people who are going to tweak things because they are not the right/best/correct way of doing things.
Westfield quote 120 hours to build a modular kit, where all parts are new and all bought from Westfield. Assuming a 40 hour week, it's going to take 3 weeks without the aformentioned buggering around. If your going to be looking at covering all your costs (electricity, time, a few odds and sods, etc) and make a profit, your going to need to charge ~£30 hour to cover all your tax, ni, etc. So to build a bog basic Westfield like the factory turned out everyday is going to cost something like £3600.
But, I believe the biggest problem to building kit cars for a living is the type of customer. They will be people who have a love of cars, but not a lot of technical knowledge, and therefore probably won't even think of looking for somebody else to build a car other than the factory.
Westfield quote 120 hours to build a modular kit, where all parts are new and all bought from Westfield. Assuming a 40 hour week, it's going to take 3 weeks without the aformentioned buggering around. If your going to be looking at covering all your costs (electricity, time, a few odds and sods, etc) and make a profit, your going to need to charge ~£30 hour to cover all your tax, ni, etc. So to build a bog basic Westfield like the factory turned out everyday is going to cost something like £3600.
But, I believe the biggest problem to building kit cars for a living is the type of customer. They will be people who have a love of cars, but not a lot of technical knowledge, and therefore probably won't even think of looking for somebody else to build a car other than the factory.
goochie said:
A colleague at a previous company used to dream of building a pair of Ultima GTR. His theory being that selling one would pay for most of the other. So is it possible to do it with an Ultima, or similarly popular kit car?
Sorry to burst your bubble, but with regards to an Ultima I think you'll find that only the factory makes a profit on these cars, if you wonder why, ring them and ask for a price.
The only way you could do it, is for someone else to pay you to do it, and then, unless you have a track record of being an amazing builder, most people who don't want to build one themselves and have the money will opt for a factory built one instead.
If you've got the skills though, why not come up with your own design, I happen to know an Accountanting type who's building his own, yet gets in the professionals when he needs them, i.e. for chassis design, so it can be done...
But realistically for most there is no real money in kit cars, just love, sweat and the ever constant threat of bankruptcy...
I bought my LSIS for £750. I sold it for £3800.
Did I make a profit?
No, because I spent about £4500 in parts, and another £4000 in labour getting it to that state.
Am I annoyed by that?
No, because it was fun, and experience doing it!
Do I expect to make a profit if I sold my Aeon?
No.
Am I annoyed by that?
No - see other answer
Did I make a profit?
No, because I spent about £4500 in parts, and another £4000 in labour getting it to that state.
Am I annoyed by that?
No, because it was fun, and experience doing it!
Do I expect to make a profit if I sold my Aeon?
No.
Am I annoyed by that?
No - see other answer
Thinking of building kit cars for a living? You must be stark raving mad.
Some of us have managed to make an average living at it after many years of learning but "Buy one get one free"? Not a cat in hell's chance.
From what I can gather an entry level tidy Ultima will set you back about £35k in parts and when it is finished it will be worth about £35K if the right person comes along.
Some of us have managed to make an average living at it after many years of learning but "Buy one get one free"? Not a cat in hell's chance.
From what I can gather an entry level tidy Ultima will set you back about £35k in parts and when it is finished it will be worth about £35K if the right person comes along.
Edited by Dave Dax builder on Sunday 4th March 21:51
Tribbles, you are absolutely right. I have been playing with kits,specials an the like for over 30 years and if you do it hoping to make a profit, you are in the wrong place. Do it for the enjoyment and make some money elsewhere 'cos you won't do it with kits etc. even the best of the manufacturers struggle, and they are the proffessionals ( alleged)
I don't believe that anyone can make a living assembling kit cars unless they do it on behalf of a small kit manufacturer who hasn't got the time, space or manpower to do it himself (if customers want turnkey cars)
IMO you definitely don't do it for money - you do it for the creative buzz and that is priceless.
IMO you definitely don't do it for money - you do it for the creative buzz and that is priceless.
gpm3d said:
I think this depends on how 'rushed' you are when sourcing parts. I built my Sylva (a while ago now) over about 14 month period, and was very careful selecting and haggling. Total cost about £3500 and sold for £5000 3 years later.
G
G
With all due respect, these are two totally different animals we are talking about here and no comparison can be usefully drawn between them. Without wishing to sound like I am too far up my own arse because the Ultima is generally regarded to be at the upper end of the Kit car market and thus the kit and build costs being so inextricably high, it is most definitely impossible to make money from building and selling them unless your surname is Marlow.
The ONLY benefit you will see from building two cars is that you are likely to make less mistakes on the second one.
Gassing Station | Kit Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff