Possible new Performance Shop to open in Calgary.

[Zewind]

hey JDM - I was looking into this regarding adding it into my race track idea. But it looked like too much for me to bit off.


Let me know how things good.

[..*JDM Hatch*..]

Originally posted by Zewind
hey JDM - I was looking into this regarding adding it into my race track idea. But it looked like too much for me to bit off.


Let me know how things go.

Pm'd

[taemo]

out of curiosity.. for how many years was Speedtech open?

But agree with what someone said already.. you're better off opening a mechanic shop with tuner on the side.
TBH when I first saw the thread title, I was thinking of Option Imports right away.

[..*JDM Hatch*..]

Originally posted by taemo
out of curiosity.. for how many years was Speedtech open?

I believe 5 years or so.Maybe a litte longer.

But agree with what someone said already.. you're better off opening a mechanic shop with tuner on the side.

Off the start i am planning on doing it the other way around.Parts shop,but will feature a mecahnical side shorty afte it opens.And to set this straight,This shop will not be only import/tuner parts,will be general parts available for all makes and models.Cars,trucks,Suv's,Jeep,Etc.

TBH when I first saw the thread title, I was thinking of Option Imports right away.

[CUG]

Originally posted by ..*JDM Hatch*..


I believe 5 years or so.Maybe a litte longer.


Off the start i am planning on doing it the other way around.Parts shop,but will feature a mecahnical side shorty afte it opens.And to set this straight,This shop will not be only import/tuner parts,will be general parts available for all makes and models.Cars,trucks,Suv's,Jeep,Etc.

Why not see if the guy at Togo tire is looking to sell and make him an offer? Good building and a pretty good location... Lots of room for stock/shop/office.. they're all tires, so you're still a business if you lose your mechanic.

[Shlade]

If your serious in opening one up... Please dont go charging $15 to buy a gay yellow sticker to support your business and have people stick them on ugly ass beaters

[93VR6]

I would go the tuning and mechanic route.

I just don't see how you could ever have parts prices that even come close to competing with online prices.

[Myz]

If you do succeed in opening this store, I can't say i'd hang out there (considering i'm 5Hrs North of you) but one thing's for sure....Start doing some decent dyno tuning on some stand alone ECU's as well as piggy backs & i'd sure as hell tow my car down to you....

I still can't wrap my mind around throwing >10k at your motor then doing an e-tune or road tune

Not that you're asking for my advice but if I could offer it freely.
something that would help build your name & business is the fact that you'd be willing to stand behind your work. my tuner back home had the policy where if you were unhappy with the tune he did on your piggyback or stand alone, he'd offer a 100% refund & return the car to its original map. Also, his dyno tunes were a flat rate charge irrespective how long it took him.I recall him once battling with a car for 2 days & even though the owner was happy to drive off with the car after day 1, my mate's experience told him to not to release the car since it should be putting out much more @ the wheels. A day later, he found the fault & handed the car over to the customer who went from happy, to ecstatic.
My mates idea was that he did the dyno tunes for the street cred....Not the money.
So he got his payout when he saw a car run down the strip in a lightning fast time & heard ppl say "Powertek Tuned That Car"

Not to ramble on butYou get my point.

[talonboi]

Opening up a shop is not the easy at all.
shops that have managed to stay open for a long time like;

Davenport
Tunerworks
RCTS
Autodream
Speedtech

(Speedtech may have closed down, but while they were open, they did contribute alot to the import scene.)

but each company specialize in cetrain things.

Tunerworks are mostly wheels and tires, they know their shit!
i always enjoyed dealing with Mark Lacey

RCTS is a top notch shop with very good mechanics, all of the techs are certified. this shop specialize in Toyota, BMW, and ive seen a twincharged lotus elise

Autodream has been in business for 6-7 years and is still going strong. Specialize in Nissan's, engine building, and tuning. they offer in-house dyno tuning, in house welding and fabricating. and have a certified tech on site.

SpeedTech, i have had no problems dealing them. great guys to deal. they specialized in Honda's. ive dealt with many guys there over the years. Pat, Will, Rocky, Jacky, Paul, Tein, Allen, and Nick...All great guys to deal with, and have a ton of experiance.

Just to clear some things up, i work for autodream and have been employed for the past 4-5 years, and seeing how things are ran, i can safely say it is not easy to open a shop and keep it running!

one of the hardest thing in running a successful shop is employees. you must find people who you can trust, who have the proper knowledge. you dont want people leaving your shop thinking "wow what an idiot"

there are 2 reasons why most shops dont have Dyno's.

#1 - They are very expensive ranging from $50,000 - $100,000

#2 - do you or your partner know how to tune?

Reg, Toma, and Nguyen know how to tune and been doing it for many years, and i can tell you right now, there is still more for them to learn.

IMO Start small and let it grow into a big business. Another "tuner" shop opening up isnt another competion for me, but another shop to help and vice versa.

Good luck

[PD77]

Something to consider as well is that a new AWD dyno is up and running and it just happens to be owned by the tuner who does 95% of the Subarus around. He also does Evo's so that market is pretty much his.

[jalalx5]

The hangout thing is a good idea but only if its well organized, if its an everyday thing I can see Dbags hanging out everyday there.

As for the shope idea, I think its great as long as you start out small, I know the dynos will be a big hit. But the car wash thing might come by later on.
A descent mechanical shop for import cars will be nice to have in calgary and you can do the whole parts thing on the side as well but dont rely on it that much.

[Cos]

Parts are easy to get.... it is a decent shop that is a bitch. Lets even say for 4x4. National 4x4 in blackfoot has close to a 4 month wait when I called them last week. Modern motors has yet to call me back. The guy I know doesnt want to do the specific work (lift kit removal and drop shackle installation).


Total work for me is about 3 hours of my time. I just dont want to do it. It seems the people who can do it are too expensive and the people who I want to do it are backed up like crazy. Parts are $65.00 so I dont know how you could make money on that. Plus I wouldnt want you to order parts for me.



Personally, and as others have said, I have better things to do with my time than work on my vehicles now. Tirebob/TireGary will be doing my rims and tires even though I could save $150.00 off tire rack. Same goes with a shop that will do this work for me. It is 5 bolts if you have a hoist.

[skylinegtr20]

Originally posted by 89coupe
There are three shops in Calgary thats seem to do well.

Davenport Racing - Caters to big money domestic builds.

The Mustang Shop - Caters to the Ford community and has a very large US customer base.

& Tunerworks. Caters to the big money Import & Euro crowd.

They have stood the test of time.

RCTS?

Reg has it made... very small location with 3 hoists, dyno, no actual storefront just office, very good reputation/customer base and the experience to back it up. Not the best location, o well word of mouth rules the business for sure.

As for actually ideas tirebob basically said everything on my mind.

[Wrath]

I worked @ Davenport for almost 5 years....Steve has spent a lifetime making mistakes and learning from them. He now has a top notch business model that works wonders.

But working there has assured me that opening a shop is one of the most risky business ventures EVER. Steve has been through more stress that anyone I've known.

and also to quote a good friend of mine (Matt Mitchell owner of the mustang shop)

"Closing the installation shop was the best thing I ever did for this business...I know can make money..."

[THEMONK]

Have accessories for domestic V8's aswell.

[soloracer]

Originally posted by talonboi
Opening up a shop is not the easy at all.
shops that have managed to stay open for a long time like;

Davenport
Tunerworks
RCTS
Autodream
Speedtech

(Speedtech may have closed down, but while they were open, they did contribute alot to the import scene.)

but each company specialize in cetrain things.

Tunerworks are mostly wheels and tires, they know their shit!
i always enjoyed dealing with Mark Lacey

RCTS is a top notch shop with very good mechanics, all of the techs are certified. this shop specialize in Toyota, BMW, and ive seen a twincharged lotus elise

Autodream has been in business for 6-7 years and is still going strong. Specialize in Nissan's, engine building, and tuning. they offer in-house dyno tuning, in house welding and fabricating. and have a certified tech on site.

SpeedTech, i have had no problems dealing them. great guys to deal. they specialized in Honda's. ive dealt with many guys there over the years. Pat, Will, Rocky, Jacky, Paul, Tein, Allen, and Nick...All great guys to deal with, and have a ton of experiance.

Just to clear some things up, i work for autodream and have been employed for the past 4-5 years, and seeing how things are ran, i can safely say it is not easy to open a shop and keep it running!

one of the hardest thing in running a successful shop is employees. you must find people who you can trust, who have the proper knowledge. you dont want people leaving your shop thinking "wow what an idiot"

there are 2 reasons why most shops dont have Dyno's.

#1 - They are very expensive ranging from $50,000 - $100,000

#2 - do you or your partner know how to tune?

Reg, Toma, and Nguyen know how to tune and been doing it for many years, and i can tell you right now, there is still more for them to learn.

IMO Start small and let it grow into a big business. Another "tuner" shop opening up isnt another competion for me, but another shop to help and vice versa.

Good luck

You forgot about Concept-1. Ken has been around for a while too.

[soloracer]

In regards to whoever suggested a car wash, I would say forget it. Someone I know who specializes in buying and selling businesses told me that he looked at the books of over a dozen car washes and not a single one of them was making any money. The owners were basically counting on an increase in property value to cash in on. The business was worth zero.

[ekguy]

I think alot of people would like a shop that will 1) not rip off people that aren't knowledgeable about cars but still love them 2) will not treat car noobs like noobs haha. Basically take good care of customers who may seem shy about asking questions and explaining what is being done and why.

[84stock]

Originally posted by soloracer
In regards to whoever suggested a car wash, I would say forget it. Someone I know who specializes in buying and selling businesses told me that he looked at the books of over a dozen car washes and not a single one of them was making any money. The owners were basically counting on an increase in property value to cash in on. The business was worth zero.

That's what "the books say", but a lot of the coin operated washed pocket a ton of the cash.

Imagine what peters hamburgers books say? They take "cash only" and there are no registers. The staff add up the bill with a pencil on the countertop.

[M.alex]

Originally posted by Wrath
I worked @ Davenport for almost 5 years....Steve has spent a lifetime making mistakes and learning from them. He now has a top notch business model that works wonders.

But working there has assured me that opening a shop is one of the most risky business ventures EVER. Steve has been through more stress that anyone I've known.

and also to quote a good friend of mine (Matt Mitchell owner of the mustang shop)

"Closing the installation shop was the best thing I ever did for this business...I know can make money..."

Since you worked there for so long, I've got a question for ya - what was the point of setting up shop in the North, when he lives in the South and the majority (As far as i know) of the people who go there are south-based as well?

If I were a business owner last thing I'd want to have to do si commute up/down Deerfoot that distance every bloody day.