4X4 Shop in North Georgia

[jeepyj027]

Been doing some thinking about starting a shop somewhere in the north Ga area in the next couple years. My plan would be to stock, sell, and install lift kits, bumpers, seats, tires, wheels, skid plates, lighting, lockers, gears etc. I would mainly focus on custom work though, fabricating custom bumpers, body protection, rocker guards, fenders, roll cages, axles etc. I would plan on being able to do everything from oil changes to building a jeep or buggy from the ground up.

Now the real question, How much of a market do you think is out there for this and where would be an ideal location for such a business?

[Matt]

I would say Atlanta & out lying suburbs, probably wont make you rich and it would be lots of hard work. There are alot of well known, reputable builders here in the south for custom work, to compete with. Then on the parts side, it would be hard to compete with the big dogs like 4wp, quadratec, etc.

[Krawler00]

It is a crap shoot. Travis owned a shop in north ga and he closed it down last year I believe. Now is no time to invest in something like that. Who knows when it will be again either.

[mdo817]

How many Buggies have you built, how many link set ups have you done, how many cages have you built. Whom have you worked for doing this type work, resume? I'm pretty much in agreement with all of the above. It will be tough to make a living with over head and competition from some very well known builders in the Southeast. If you are seriuos about trying this you might consider starting to do this on the side to test the water. Good luck and more local competition is always a welcome thing.  {toast}

[Do Work 93 YJ]

Yeah like Mark said start out in your garage at home then progress from there. Hell Jimmy Smith still builds at home and has a 6 month waiting list.

[Logan]

Yeah like Mark said start out in your garage at home then progress from there. Hell Jimmy Smith still builds at home and has a 6 month waiting list.

x 2

I can tell you for a fact that there have been many shops fail in my area and only a few prosper. The only stand alone shops I've seen last more than a year or two focused on vehicle maintenance and offroad was secondary.

[rabunjeeper]

Ive been working on cars out of my garage for about 10 yrs. All i can say is good luck. I manage to pay the bills but never seem to make a good living. I have to haul scrap cars and do a lil of everything to fill in for when i run out of mechanic work. To start a shop you will need to have alot of cash or credit to get started and if it goes wrong, then youre up poop creek w/o a paddle. Also, as far as a 4x4 only shop goes, there isn't really enough demand for it in north ga. I mean there really isn't enough wheeling to interest that many ppl in that kind of thing. I'd try building a rig or two and selling them any see if there is any interest in your work. Good luck!
 {toast}

[scottiebobbie]

good idea its super easy, money sucks, hours are terrible............why start small i'll sell you mine    ;D

[Trailabite]

Personally, I think these days one would be better off starting out more or less as a distributor of parts and perform installs and maintenance only. I think there is just too much competition out there in the fabrication market right now. I have been looking around and talking with a few major distributors for a little while now and have looked at doing something like this in GA, FL, MO or IL. So far all of my research is steering me towards IL.

One thing to note is, it doesn't matter if your the best in town if there is no demand to support you!

Good luck!

[Richard]

I had a similar idea on fabing parts to sell. There's way to many bigger companies selling parts. One example was to make a kit to add on to the stock roll bar for yjs and tjs. I have found them as much as steel costs. So I think I will be doing custom stuff for people in town including mini trucks and mud trucks. Just use it as side money.

[jeepyj027]

Thanks guys, I wanted the honest truth about it. The lack of market has been my main concern in thinking about doing this.

[So-Bad-Im-Good]

There is a 4x4 shop in Clarkesville,but he also sells used Jeeps.He does decent business but the used Jeeps is what keeps him open.