would there be a market for...

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

freshly painted rolling bodies?? i've got some money to play with & i've been thinking (yeah, dangerous combo for me :eek) since the stock marke is so stale, & investments aren't doing anything, i thought i would see if i could convert about 10K into 40K & pay off the house, then i would be completely debt free. i've been looking at the numerous projects on our local craigslist & see many rolling bodies with no motor or trans & even alot of drivers for sale in the primer stage. i know for many, the paint job is the most expensive part of the resto & wondered if i picked up a couple good ones & finished out the bodywork & painted them if they would turn a profit. i'm not interested in tying up shop space doing a full resto for a year, just a couple weeks & a quick sale, then on to another. just curious what others would think of something like this since its kinda backwards from the usual mechanical first then paint resto.

 

[RyanG85]

Would this be to order? If you did all the metal work and had the car ready for paint and then paint the car the color the customer chooses after putting down a deposit, it may work. Just painting a body and putting it for sale would be hit or miss IMO. Most people would be scared of what is under the paint and most might want a different color.

 

[SAC69]

I'll echo the prior post. How many times does it raise a flag with us when there is fresh paint on a project? Color choice is subjective too. Unless you are able to do a quickie job for $500 which minimizes you loss exposure, I'd not think it would be a profitable venture.

 

[monkeystash]

For the few people who build their own projects, I think it would be an awesome idea. Unfortunately, your customer base would be a small one. Personally, I would have loved to find a fresh shell, especially straight from a reputable restoration shop.

 

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

thanks for the replies. i'm not too worried about putting a potential buyer's concerns at ease, as i photo document every step i do on the cars almost to the overkill point, plus i can provide a list of references as long as my arm, so that wouldn't be a problem.

here are a couple examples of what i'm looking at:

http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/1902983411.html

i've talked with this guy & the car has a broken leaf spring, needs a winshield headliner & bumpers. i figure if i can buy it for $1500, fix the issues & paint for another $1500. total investment would be $3K & maybe resell in the $6K-$7K range.

here's one of the rollers:

http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/1911701434.html

if this could be bought around a grand & painted with a toal investment of around $1700, i would think i could at minimum sell in the $3500-$4000 range. (hell, J would buy it for the hood scoop!)

i've also found a few cars for sale that are disassembled for resto that could probably be reassembled & sold for profit. looking into a couple of those too.

 

[Jonk67]

It sounds like a good 'starter' package for a DIY guy/gal, similar to what FactoryFive does with their cobra kits, body/frame/shell in gelcoat but theirs is not ready for paint. I agree that you'd have to line up a buyer before paint as it's too personal a choice for most, even if it's red is it the shade of red they wanted? Also agree it'd be more comforting to see the car in primer at least to see the under paint quality of work. I think if you kept at least 2 generations on hand - a 65/66, 67/68 or 69/70 you'd get more calls.

You may even take requests that if you find a car (coupe/conv./fb) that their looking for and get a deposit to start on it. I agree it's opposite of what I would consider normal order for drivetrain install, but I'm not a painter so I don't know. Maybe you could leave off the front end (fenders/hood) after paint until they install drivetrain to avoid damage? You'd have to decide if they/you would store (I'd prefer the customer store as my drivetrains been out almost 2yrs. so you'd be holding their parts for that long) but add the cost of fender/hood hanging after drivetrain install into the prepaid price.

If you're interested in pitching your idea to a room of mustang people you could come with me next month to the MCMC meeting at Picadilly on Murfreesboro rd. off I-24 on Thurs. 9/16@7p and their big Show is that weekend at the Nashville SuperSpeedway, you could always get a booth one year (vendor space is $20).
Jon

 

[classicdoug]

Can you really make those cars look nice with that little of an investment?

You're talking about painting that Mustang for $700. If you can really paint that car for $700, maybe you should just advertise $1000 paint jobs. People may come out of the woodwork to have a really good paint job for that.

Doug

 

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

Can you really make those cars look nice with that little of an investment?

You're talking about painting that Mustang for $700. If you can really paint that car for $700, maybe you should just advertise $1000 paint jobs. People may come out of the woodwork to have a really good paint job for that.

Doug

for a basic job, i can get the materials for around $700, but if i advertise $1000 paint jobs that only leaves $300 to cover labor. i would have to do 10 jobs to make $3000, where with the right car, i can clear that doing the one job. i have to emphasize that this is solely a "part time" endeavor to see how quick i can make this lot of money grow, not a full time business venture. as far as business work, i have enough high end work at $8-$12k per job to stay busy for a long while. besides i honestly don't want the clientele that are looking for $1000 jobs. not to offend anyone, but most of those are looking for something for free & you never get rid of them. they want a $10k job for $1k & are never happy with the end result. the two vehicles i listed above are just examples, it would have to be the right car & the right price before i would jump on it.