any market for a 4 wheel shop in raliegh nc?

devilinside13

devilinside13

NAXJA Forum User
Location
holly springs, nc
hey all i moved here about 3 months ago and was wondering about the local wheelin scene in realiegh nc. i dont see to many lifted jeeps or other vehicles driving around. i am thinking about opening a four wheel drive shop - lifts, tires, any other mods that need to be done. i am an ase certified mechanic and a chysler certified tech with 14 years experiance and fellow wheeler. i just dont know if it would be a good choice to make as i dont see to much around. i know 4 wheel parts opened a store in raliegh, but can the area support more? any feedback would be helpful. thanks, joe.
 
I'd drive to Raleigh and let you install my locker and/or gears if you didn't charge and arm and a leg. :)
 
Last edited:
Some friendly advice from somebody who has small business consulting experience and has also assisted in opening a successful small business.....

You're probably going to be in a constant up hill battle to stay alive (in the beginning this is true...hopefully it will ease up in the future). Let me give you some things to think about...

-What's your purpose? Hobby, extra cash, enough profit to make a living? Know what that "living" style is that you want.

-If it's just for hobby, be careful, that is why most small business fail. The hobbyist turned entrepreneur can be a dangerous thing. You need to be able to eventually transfer yourself to a "manager" role and eventually back to the "entrepreneurial" role to be successful and make a living. Somebody has to be advancing the business and/or keeping the business up.

-Know how much revenue you will need to bring in. Obviously you'll need to know how much your expenses will be first. After you know what revenue you will need, think how you will get it and then see if that's even likely. If you're only looking at service, that might be tough in that market. I'm pretty sure you will have to sell parts too (you probably already know that). I imagine that there is only so much service type jobs out there for you to capture before you will eventually slow down and need something else to keep customers coming in.

-Try to finance it with as much of your money (CASH) as possible. You will put more effort into the business. That is a 100% fact unless you just already have so much money that you wouldn't think twice about lighting $1,000 on fire.

-I can't stress this enough...I've already said this but know your purpose. Don't go into the business blind. You WILL NOT survive...or at least it will not operate the way you would like it to and you will be miserable.

Please don't get me wrong, I am not trying to discourage you...if anything, I'm trying to ENCOURAGE you to really understand everything before you make a decision. Let me know if you have any questions. I think with all the proper planning and investigation work, you can have a successful "4 Wheel" shop but it's one of the harder types of business to KEEP going.

Now, you could just go all in without proper planning...you might survive...but I doubt you will be happy.

99% of the time, people go into business for themselves because they think "I am doing this for ____, why not do it for myself and make more money!". All you are doing is creating yourself another job if you don't go about it properly and really think through everything. Your objective shouldn't be to create yourself a job. Opening a business has way to much risk involved for that sole purpose. The ultimate goal is to make that thing a finely tuned machine and have it run without you, making a profit. And those people that open a business just to basically give themselves a job...well...those are the ones that are sinking everyday.
 
devilinside13 said:
hey all i moved here about 3 months ago and was wondering about the local wheelin scene in realiegh nc. i dont see to many lifted jeeps or other vehicles driving around. i am thinking about opening a four wheel drive shop - lifts, tires, any other mods that need to be done. i am an ase certified mechanic and a chysler certified tech with 14 years experiance and fellow wheeler. i just dont know if it would be a good choice to make as i dont see to much around. i know 4 wheel parts opened a store in raliegh, but can the area support more? any feedback would be helpful. thanks, joe.
Click to expand...

Could it support it... probably... will it... dont know? Get on NC4x4 and make some friends..meet some people.. show off your owrk, etc. 4WP's manager (Greg Slade) is well known which helps a lot. If you do good quality work it's possible... look at Carolina Rockshop.

Honestly your business will mostly come from word of mouth (IMO). Are you just talking about installing lifts/wheels/tires.. or doing actual fab work? Making your own lift or becoming a vendor for someone? From what I've seen unless you're one of the huge shops like 4WP, in order to make a living you're going to be working your butt off all the time.. I thought about looking into a shop but the downside is I like to wheel more and wrenching is fun but I'm afraid it would seriously cut into wheeling time. That's why Andy (CRS owner) started to work for Fab-Fours (I believe)... he was working all the time just to pay the bills and had zero time for wheeling..

Now fabbing stuff on the side is what we do... have you considered starting small like that and seeing what happens?

Chris
 
i ran a small shop of my own up in jersey about 9 years ago. i know alot more now then i did then. i was thinking of a shop that specialized in jeeps and 4x4's but also did general repairs and sold aftermarket parts. some fab work would be done. i would think that most of you out there are as outraged at the price a rear tire carrier/bumper combo for our xj's. i have kinda grown tired of working for other people and would like to once again have my own place but i dont know if there is to much of a market for it. of course naxja members would get discounts on parts and labor, if i choose to go this route. i know finding a place that you can trust that will provide good service at a fair price is hard to find. i allready have connections to get parts at a great rate to where the savings could be passed on. just dont know if there is the market for it. just want to make a good living for my family.
 
Heck me and a few other guys I work with are trying to get our general manager to let us install lifts and other after market parts on new Jeeps.
As far as starting your own business start small as most shops I have heard about is by way of mouth. Most importantly is quality work there are two 4wd shops I know of in Fayetteville that we try and urge people to not goto because of the problems our customers Jeeps come into the dealership with, then there is a smaller shop(ran out of his backyard after his normal job) that we send most of our customer to because he is very detail orientated and gets the job done.
 
I think you're better off coming west a bit. I live in Burlington. I think it is a good location for the reason that it is where 40/85 meet making it easy to get too, and its not to far URE. You'de even get some Virginia biz. I was thinking of a online type deal for part and doing fab parts. Also consider Chapel Hill Carboro. UNC is a big school and the kids have some loot. Its generally a good place to do biz or properties. That is any University. Burlington is bordering Elon. Small school.
The bad thing I see is Yankee. I feel your pain. We're not always loved here in the south, but I ain't leavin
 
I second that for closer south...

KC extreme machine is in greensboro so he gets the UNCG, WSU, HPU, GC yuppies and he charges a good lil chunk for his labor. He only carries one or two lifts for XJ's, and won't order from RE, TnT or any of the more advanced fab companys. He focuses on big ole trucks and mall crawlers, so the jeep market is up for grabs for the most part.

Burlington has a good bit of bizz and is a central location. I would suggest a spot on Hwy 54 inbetween Chapel Hill and Burlington, Land can be found cheap, its right off 85/40 and I thinks theres plenty of potential.

As for the yankee bit... just be annoying like Tim and you'll be ok :kissyou:
 
ZacSquatch said:
I second that for closer south...

KC extreme machine is in greensboro so he gets the UNCG, WSU, HPU, GC yuppies and he charges a good lil chunk for his labor. He only carries one or two lifts for XJ's, and won't order from RE, TnT or any of the more advanced fab companys. He focuses on big ole trucks and mall crawlers, so the jeep market is up for grabs for the most part.

Burlington has a good bit of bizz and is a central location. I would suggest a spot on Hwy 54 inbetween Chapel Hill and Burlington, Land can be found cheap, its right off 85/40 and I thinks theres plenty of potential.

As for the yankee bit... just be annoying like Tim and you'll be ok :kissyou:
Click to expand...

You got it! Zack......................
 
And if you moved, who would cook for us at M&G's...

Tim, drop the K before I jack your jeep
 
i live in apex, so i was thinking about some where over in that area. around the 64, 55, 1. but any other areas are open to suggestion. i just do not know what would be a good spot for it.
 
Apex.... I'm sorry to hear that...Haha..

Your not to far from Chapel Hill so might be a place to look.
 
devilinside13 said:
i know 4 wheel parts opened a store in raliegh, but can the area support more? any feedback would be helpful. thanks, joe.
Click to expand...



Hey buddy... even read the first post? haha :looser:
 
Where in NC do you reside?
 
I'm at NC state and there are a shit ton of lifted trucks everywhere... I'm sure you would catch some business if you're going to be closer than 4 wheel parts. And I mean, if you do it like carolina rock shop and do a bunch of custom fab, I'm sure that Greg at 4 wheel parts would def send guys your way. Not to mention help supply you. He's pretty cool and down to earth too. The guys at his shop are much easier to talk to than the guys in charlotte.

If you're looking to get business, first place to look would be NC State, and 4 Wheel parts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
1999 XJ is getting the best of me. No Start.
Replies
13
Views
526
Anak
Anak
Jeepin_JD
92 XJ Sport - Resto Mod
Replies
17
Views
347
Jeepin_JD
Jeepin_JD
Anak
Replacing the Fittings for the Oil Cooler to Block on an 8.1L K2500
Replies
1
Views
540
Anak
Anak
D
Changed to 4 hole 0280155784 everything was fine until I hit a pothhole.
Replies
7
Views
622
Da XJ nut
Da XJ nut
Bent
Thoughts on a small welding table
Replies
5
Views
2K
Anak
Anak
Back
Top