im just curious as to how everyone else working in the hot rod/auto business is doin lately. im in no. il and everyone round here seems to be failing miserably. in the last six months i know of 7 hot rod fab shops that locked up their doors for good including my own employer.
How many of those shops popped up with the resurgence of the hot rod popularity? Just curious if they had been around for a long time or jumped on the bandwagon.
I'm still open, and I have about 6 months of work ahead of me. Nothing seems to be slowing down around here. My internet parts sales were slow for a couple of months, but it seems to be picking up again. I have seen slow downs in the past, and they always pass.
I am an asst. manager at advance auto here in southeast iowa and business has been really slow not for only us, but alot of the shops around. It is starting to pick back up but who knows if it will be as good as it once was!
last year this time business was excellent pretty much all the way up to summertime.then it dropped off completely. and alot of customers started pulling out.
We are backed up a month or two right now but last year we were booked up 6 months in advance. Kinda slowed down a bit this past summer then sept it kinda stopped for a few months new jobs coming in that is now the books are filling back up. Josh
I work at a Major collector car lot here in Jersey .... and we're BUSY ..... people with money are investing in MUSCLE CARS BIG TIME !!! Look for the prices to RAISE real soon ..... Every time the stock market drops the phones LIGHT UP !!! ..... jersey Skip
Terrible here in the north east, Everyone here is dead! I worked at a Chevy dealer here and they just went out of buisness last month. I was there 15 years, The buisness was there 47 years! All the shops around are dead.
slow here on the west coast of florida too...(we) me and dad just get by most weeks here..my friends work at some dealer close by and they are slow too...and a lot of dealer's in the area have closed up too...very sad of america........
Business here is slow but have seen slight increase over last year. I fill in slow times with PA. state inspections I'm on social security that helps when times are slow, but probably will never be able to fully retire. Hank
I'm as busy as I've ever been. I have work lined up til at least the spring. Works out well because my hours at my regular job seem to get shorter every week.
We have new people coming in every week with projects, most of them large ones. It's unfortunate we can't take anything more in due to our already full schedule/shop. Hard to find good help, but I feel very fortunate to be overly busy.
I think it's slow in just about every business to be honest with you. I've been in the optical business for 30 yrs., the last 20 on my own, and I've enjoyed a good living most of the time. The last few years have been tough, this year has been an overall disaster. But, I'm doing enough business to keep my head fairly above water. All of my equipment is long paid for, and my overhead is low, so we will hopefully survive all this. I do top-notch work, and have a good reputation for it. Most of my competitors who have gone under have been hangin' by a thread for a few years anyways. These tough times will definitely bury the slackers and the con-artists. I worked the Turkey Rod Run in Daytona this past weekend, and despite a big crowd, you just didn't see folks hauling huge loads of stuff around with them. Lot's of people looking, just not buying. On the upside, I sold about 25 of my kustom shift knobs, and handed out about 40 cards with my info on them to folks who interested in kustom work later on, so we'll see.
Ive taken a job driving truck part time. First time ive had to work for another man in over 15 years. Also the druck driving has been slow also. Dont know how long that will last. We are fortunate that everything is paid for and we have no debt Randall
it was rolling pretty good till last month.... real slow now...but on the up side, i'm getting to a project thats been hanging around me for the past 13 years... all of my customers i talk to , say the same thing....making enough to cover the bills...i look at it as just turning money .... brandon
I work at a dealer and service is pretty busy.... Sales is the slowest it has been.... People are getting their stuff fixed instead of trading in... We are lucky if we sell 2 new Cadillacs a month.
There are at least six shops locally that I can think of off the top of my head, and all of them are stacked with work. These are all hot rod/custom car shops.
Owning a small business of any kind is tough right now. We are not in the Custom Auto business, but we have seen a steep decline in the last 2 months. One of our biggest issues is not getting the work, but getting PAID for the work we have completed. We have contractors that are stringing us out 60-90-or-120 days. It is making me tighten up my toy budget. Johnboy
I had to check the date on this post when I read your reply. I am seeing exactly the opposite in the classic car market. People who paid over 100k for muscle cars over the past couple years are calling me daily looking to get something-- even half the price they paid-- out of them. I don't mess much with muscle cars though so I'm passing on the deals. Looks like to me everyone is trying to dump them. We are seeing more of an interest in classics, as in pre-war. Can't keep a Model T or A in stock. Big Lincolns and Caddys of the 30s are selling like gangbusters! With the US currency where it is the foreign business has started to fall off but domestic sales are coming on strong. I know it is tough out there. Like someone else mentioned, it isn't getting work, it is getting paid for the work you do. As my grandpa always says, "it isn't me who needs the money, it is the people I owe it to" never truer than in times like these!
I'm in Recycling Equipment Sales. Balers, shredders, conveyors. You would think it would always be bussy. But the last 2 1/4's have been real slow. I finance equipment also. Great rates with 6 weeks deferred payments. No one wants to speed money...Damn wall street. I dont meet very many people that has made money in the market....Looking forward to change in 09......Work that is.. NC or where ever..
We are real busy here, Seems folks are putting money into restoration and re-restoration of the early cars. Don Garlits was here yesterday picking up parts for a 1940 Packard, and said he has seen lots of folks putting money into the Classic Cars lately. My paint delivery guy says he sees some shops getting real busy and others closing here in Central Florida. Hard to say whats ahead Jdee PS: Don Said this past week has been his most busy week at the museum ever!
work in a small no.dak. chrysler dealership as parts mgr.-parts sales in oct were good but nov was the worst month this year, and the worst nov in 3 years
The last 2 months are the worst since I opened in '93. Last December was the best December since '93 for me though. <p>You other guys, don't brag too much about being SO busy....I'm busy, but everyone else's budget determines when I get paid.<p>I'm too stubborn to quit.<p>I've also taken possesion of a few cust. cars due to storage too.<p>By the way, my last new years resolution was no more Muscle Cars ....that are the first muscle car the cust. bought after watching too much Speed Channel....they're clueless to the hobby and time involved these days! <p>I'm so tierd of hearing " I want a '69 Camaro !" They make 'em in China now.......order one.........built like a Hyundai ! Sorry, that's another rant about FNG's of this lifestyle!
Hard to get a handle on this . Day job, things are slow, but they are every year about this time. On the other hand, couple of friends have independent shops, one does general repair work & dabbles in streetrod/kit car stuff, the other builds restomod vettes, amongst other things. Both have work lined up well into next year. The local paper interviewed a trans builder in the area & he said business was up.."people are fixing 'em, not buying new cars"
Some of these "Shops" needed to close...they gave the rest of us a bad name, and left alot of people bitter...over their high prices, egos, and general level of B.S. Some jumped in, raped their clientele, took that money, bought an Escalade with 24's, installed a new pool for their wife, then dissapeared. Good riddence to all those! <p>I'm sorry for any Mom and Pop Shops.
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