Car hire business.

[atomstew]

new here.

fed up of working for someone else for a pittance. looking into buying a sportscar to hire out. trouble is i have no money, i have some equity in my house which im reluctant to relinquish. i cant up my mortgage anymore due to i couldnt afford it.

however i do know someone already hiring out a the same type of exclusive cars and is willing to let me have my own little franchise in yorkshire. id be fully on board with him & a professional website is already in place.

what are my options on buying a car primarily for hiring it out for road use and also track use. the gentleman running the hire company already has another part time job as an insurance broker so that side of the business is pretty much sorted.

id like to buy a car ...hire it out, pay the loan off asap and then start earning a little money while re-investing most back into the business.

also

1. I want the car in question but will never afford one
2. if i do ever buy one it will be sat in garage 90% of the time
3. business sense depicts it will be better earning money instead of sat in garage most of the time.

track hire could be £1000 - £1200 per day (minus 15% for wear & insurance)

road hire £950 - £1200 per weekend.

i feel its do-able but how do i finance the car?

RSVP

Stew (mechanic & entrepeneur)

 

You are probably looking at Ferrari prices to hire at £1200 for a weekend.

We hired a Ferrari through a Ferrari dealer and split with him .

Not sure there is enough in it after taking the capital cost and insurance e.t.c. into consideration.?

Earl

 

[atomstew]

You are probably looking at Ferrari prices to hire at £1200 for a weekend.

We hired a Ferrari through a Ferrari dealer and split with him .

Not sure there is enough in it after taking the capital cost and insurance e.t.c. into consideration.?

Earl

no its a 30k car and the gentleman hiring them out is getting hirers all the time and running out of cars to hire. he did have one now he has 4. 8k turnover in first 6 months of starting business isnt bad going. granted its going to be seasonal but if i got 30 days at £1k for track hire (which is achievable i think) thats just over a month if you discount sundays. all hire prices are competitive with other track cars and this is a growing market.

thanks for reply.

anyone know how i may fund the car? hire lease business loan?

answers on a postcard

 

What sort of a track car are you talking about for 30k.?

Do people pay 1k for a track day.

Please post links to sites that do.

Earl

 

[atomstew]

circuit days dot co dot uk / hire

track club also hire out cars but its same company of ciruit days.
people do pay this surprisingly.

the car in question is an ariel atom

arielmotor dot co dot uk.

i cant post web addreses.

hope this answers your question.
thanks for the reply.
Stew

 

[S-Marketing]

IMO as you signed your first post as a mechanic and entrepreneur, there are much better ways of making money with your skills. Atoms are fun, but by the time you have covered the depreciation on a car that has been thrashed round a track, paid the insurance and dealt with the maintenance required, I dont think there will be much profit left.

Anyone wanting to spend that kind of money on a track day would probably be quite an enthusiast and would be better of spending a bit more money and getting unlimited use by buying themselves an old Westfield.

One last point, I really wouldn't think that an Atom is really very suitable for use on a track, by someone with little experience.

 

[atomstew]

IMO as you signed your first post as a mechanic and entrepreneur, there are much better ways of making money with your skills. Atoms are fun, but by the time you have covered the depreciation on a car that has been thrashed round a track, paid the insurance and dealt with the maintenance required, I dont think there will be much profit left.

Anyone wanting to spend that kind of money on a track day would probably be quite an enthusiast and would be better of spending a bit more money and getting unlimited use by buying themselves an old Westfield.

One last point, I really wouldn't think that an Atom is really very suitable for use on a track, by someone with little experience.

unfortunately my skills arent that well paid in the motor industry hence im looking something extra. there is also scope for some race qualified instruction on trackdays so the inexperienced driver will not be totally clueless.

im not looking to make huge profits with this venture but the cars dont depriciate alot. surely its better earning money rather than sitting in the garage?. £1k a year for maintainance take 10% off every hire covers the insurance.

thanks

Stew

 

[S-Marketing]

unfortunately my skills arent that well paid in the motor industry hence im looking something extra. there is also scope for some race qualified instruction on trackdays so the inexperienced driver will not be totally clueless.

im not looking to make huge profits with this venture but the cars dont depriciate alot. surely its better earning money rather than sitting in the garage?. £1k a year for maintainance take 10% off every hire covers the insurance.

thanks

Stew

Forgive my being slightly rude, but are you a good mechanic? Or just one of todays many glorified fitters? I ask this question for a reason, I may have a much better idea for you.

 

[atomstew]

Forgive my being slightly rude, but are you a good mechanic? Or just one of todays many glorified fitters? I ask this question for a reason, I may have a much better idea for you.

im open to ideas.

ive been working in main dealers since i was 18, im now 33 ive covered everything from Prestige Valet, Paintshop, alloy wheel refurb, windscreen/trim repair and have spent the last 13 years working between all these departments (mainly mechanic though). I currently hold a Diagnostic ATA accreditation for a japanese manufacturer.
theres not a job i cant do (without sounding big headed). im not wanting to progress to service manager as its not for me. im more hands on and a people person. i love cars but trust me theres no money in being a mechanic unless you work in ferrari etc. i would be so bold to say i'm a very good mechanic but i wouldnt want my own garage...im wanting something different. thats me in a nutshell (yawn)

im getting older and want to turn my life around.

awaiting your reply

Stew

 

[S-Marketing]

You obviously know your stuff mate.

Just an idea but recently I have got quite interested in bike engined cars. I have a Caterham and am looking for an older one to do a Fireblade or R1 engine conversion on. I have good basic mechanical skills but no-where near your level of expertise (I'm a marketing consultant, not a mechanic).

I have done some searching around for people who could help me with the more technical parts of the conversion but find that bike mechanics know the bike bits, car mechanics know the car bits, but there are very few people with the complete skill set needed to offer the complete service. IMO there is a niche available for anyone who could set up a business offering this kind of service. There are a few companies around specialising in this area, but they are few and far between.

These conversions are getting popular and it could be quite a good business for someone with your skills, especially as you seem to be into your track day type vehicles already.

 

[atomstew]

non gen car part company like andrew paige & partco are already crossing over doing bike parts now. might have missed the boat on that one its more complex than you might think that one ......thanks anyway.
need any tech help on anything PM me. more than happy to help im quite into bike engined cars too!!!!

thanks

Stew

 

[scdirect]

How are you getting on with this venture idea?

 

[atomstew]

still doing my homework in the trackday area. a few interested parties at the moment which is promising.

 

[fridaypassion]

Tread carefully. Its hugely competitive and there are people like Simon George from Evo doing a very good job of it in our area. I believe George (6thgearexperience) use individuals cars and pay the owners. This may be an option for you. I know someone that does caterham hire but its not their main business. Its a nice sideline but its very hard to make any real money out of.

 

[atomstew]

many thanks, i have a close friend who up until recently worked for 6th gear. i may ask him.