From days gone by

I have met the elderly lady that owns a auto parts store , she is originally from England and met her husband in WWII , came back to the states after the war , and they ran this auto parts store together up untill his death around 10-15 years ago , she and I have become good telephone friends as I was putting together my '51 Chevy the first time around , the cool art about it is , she hasn't sold off the inventory yet!!! , the store is setting there in a small community , looking like it's just closed for the day , she has sold me things for my car , and she is contimplateing selling off the entire inventory , but mind you , she isn't some old lady who doesn't know what she's doing , she's sharp as a tack , I would really like to own this store and just open it back up as you dont see independently owned auto parts stores anymore around here , but , I just wanted to show you guys a little piece of faded americana from days gone by...

 

Very cool,.... Like Elvis once said,... "Ya' gotta follow your dreams",..... Thank-ya,.. Thank-ya vurrrry much !

 

The hard part will be is the stock thats there enough to pay to keep the store open? Or are you going to need to buy into a franchise to stock as needed on a day to day basis? Most auto parts stores dont do allot of vintage parts sales.

 

Beware of the freshness/usefullness of certain inventory. Anything with rubber type components may not be safe to resell. Some inventory will have surface rust (even if it sat inside all those years). Paper gaskets will most likely be useless due to drying out and shrinkage. Some parts may be for cars/trucks that are the least resaleable vehicles, and may sit on YOUR shelf for another ten years. Not to say that the inventory would not be worth buying....you just have to accept the fact that possibly 20-30% of it may not be saleable.

Be absolutely sure to get ALL the mfr product catalogs that match up the parts with the vehicles they fit. You could spend a lifetime trying to ID certain parts that were made by some out-of-business mfr....even if in their original boxes. Plus, parts that are out of their packaging will be doubly hard to ID unless they are unique enough and/or you personally know what it is. Also, keep in mind that any unpackaged inventory (and even some in cartons) may have been returned by a long-ago customer because the part was no good. You may also have to separate the mouse-damaged parts from the good inventory and toss them also.

Plenty of the inventory may have damaged/torn/soiled packaging. Plan on rebagging these parts into something fresh (new cardboard boxes or nice ziplock bags) but keep the old printed label with the part number/application info tucked into the new package.

If you plan on buying the store inventory, figure on tossing a small percentage out in the trash for above reasons. Figure on spending the next year (or three) identifying each part so you know what it fits. Use this knowledge to base your offer for the stuff.

Once you get up to speed on the parts, you may want to consider lining up a supplier for the same type parts for re-supply. If they sell well, you'll continue to get calls for the parts and would want to be able to sell more. Base your retail pricing on a level that can work when you have to buy more from today's mfrs.

We purchased a similar inventory a couple years ago. Was it worthwhile? I'd say it was, but we are still working on the overall payback. Was it a lot of work? Hell yes!

 

You will need to get into some type of franchise operation to survive. There is a reason there is no longer independents out there. People will not come to your place just for the ambiance..well maybe they will..they just won't buy anything if your prices are not compe***ive.

I would carefully go through all the old inventory. Most parts stores had their suppliers clean up their inventory over the years-probably including this store. So I would suspect the really old stuff is long gone. If the store has been closed for some time most stuff is for 1980's and 1990's cars and most of that is no longer a big seller (read landfill material) as those cars are no longer on the road.And as mentioned parts deteriorate. A auto repair shop is not going to buy a 15 year old part, put their reputation on the line when they can buy a 1 year or less old part.

I personally would not pay much more than 5-10 cents on the dollar, and that's being high, and that is for good stuff that is still in demand.

You said this woman is smart as a tack..don't let her hoodwink you into buying a pig in a poke. Another question..why did the store go out of business besides her husband dying?? Bad location? 3 new big box auto parts stores open up a block away? That alone should read warning bells. A valuable, prosperous business usually survives a death in the family-employees or the compe***ion buy it out etc.

Don't let your emotions take over.

 

I'm guessingthe place closed down because the couple got too old to run it full time. Happens alot with things like that....especially when there are no children around locally who want to run it. Looks like a really cool place- keep it vintage. It will be hard to run as an independant business but if you're smart about it, it can be done. good luck to you.

 

Just my humble opinion,....

If they are available in West Virginia, Talk to her about a down payment & "land contract",.. (so she holds the note, and payments are made to her) Find out how her sales have been going for the last 5 years.

A monthly income that she could live on without the h***les of running the place might look mighty tempting,.. and be her chance to retire. I would contact NAPA and other manufactures and distributors of Restoration & Hot Rod parts,.. and expand your possible horizons. (If there are no other retail outlets locally for these kind of items)

Take a good hard look at a possible targeted customer base in the area,.. Are there a lot of Hot Rodders & restores in you area ?

But you have to ask yourself a few questions and be able to answer them honestly,..

*Do you have any Auto Parts experience ?

*Do you have any Retail experience ?

*Could you afford to keep up payments if business got really slow ?

Again, this is just my opinion,... And to be honest,.. I don't take my own advice very often,...

 

That would be a cool business, including your old car hoarding, add Hot Rod parts distribution, maybe NAPA or Autobody supply, internet sales and e-bay and something for your Dad to do, and for you when you decide it's time to get out of the Dept.of Corrections, all depends on what the lady wants to sell the property for $$$$$, does it have available shop space in the ba*****t?

 

I miss the old family-owned parts stores. We have only three in this area, that I know of, that are still in business. There is one up the street from me that is closed but still has its inventory. The best one in town can get you almost any Hurst product made if they don't have it in inventory. It's just impossible to just open one on one's own because the Parts Corps, i.e. AutoZone, O'Reillys, Advance..., are just way better organized even if the service is terrible. I hate it, but its true.

 

The inventory is worth 2-3 cents on the dollar OR LESS. Parts house old car inventories are usually 15-35% parts you could possibly sell in 3-5 years, 15-35% parts you could sell in 6-10 years and the other 30-70% stuff that is junk and should be s****ped. Then there might be a small tearsure in there if they used to do radiator work in the back in the old days...say a 1500lb. or more pallet load of silver solder.
If you're not in the business already it takes years to ac***ulate inventory that is broad-based enough to stay in business.
Do you have the space to store the stuff?
Can you afford to hold the stuff up financially while you inventory it, catalog it, advertise it, ship it?

 

Posting for a friend Al Morton, Puryear, TN....A 1956 Ford mild custom I had 1958-1959. Sure wish I'd kept it!! Also note '56 Chevy in background....oh, those days gone by....

 

The newer parts in stock at the time of closing will be a problem. Cars that were new then are beginning to disappear from the road, parts back into maybe mid 1970's are approaching worthlessness as most cars from maybe 1975 through the 80's were unlovable slugs when new and now approaching extinction. Collector interest in them as oldies is right around zero. Stuff earlier than that plays to collectors and rodders, but cars from the '60's and back are well served by the aftermarket and parts-store stuff remains easy to find, so where is the unmet demand?

 

Bruce that was 4 years ago

32stupres, I had a green/green 56 sedan like that. Gave $111 and drove it home.
The junkyard had just received the car and a bunch of guys were standing around it with the hood up The engine was still warm. I asked, "Whats wrong with the car?" Bad starter. I had $113 in my pocket and offered $111 so I could buy gas to get it home. Yeah, it was a long time ago. 1975. Got it registered and she handed me the new license plate and my mind couldnt work fast enough to request a different plate. The number was 19G566. I just stood there staring at the number thinking it should be 19G568. 292 engine. After I sold it the car was never registered again, so if I find it, its still in my name