starting mobile car sevice business

lilys-dad

HI all

Im thinking of setting up a small car serviceing business, part time to make some extra money.

i would like some information on what i would need not tools ect, but what insurance ect ill need.

i havnt got any formall qualifications but have been working around cars ect the most of my adult working life and know one end of a spanner from the other.

the idear is that you ring me up I give you a quote if you you like the price i book it in get the parts and come to your home or work do the service, you pay i give a recipt of the work done and im on my way.

not doing major works like cambelts or full rebuilds but oil and filter changes, discs and pads, replacing exhausts, bulbs ect

any help on the legals ect would be a good help.

thanks in advance

pitkin2020

PLI is probably all you would need and register with HMRC.

lilys-dad

PLI? Public liability insurance im guessing?

register to the hmrc for the vat and tax ect

any idear on how much the insurance will be??

pitkin2020

lilys-dad wrote: »

PLI? Public liability insurance im guessing?

register to the hmrc for the vat and tax ect

any idear on how much the insurance will be??

Yeah Public liability insurance, cost could be anything from a few hundred to several thousand. I'm not in that trade so have no idea to be honest.

You will also need business insurance for your car/van and I would suggest you get good cover for your tools and equipment you need to carry. If its gets nicked you could be out of business!!

Register with HMRC. There are pros and cons to going VAT registered from the offset that only you can decide if its worth while.

Out of interest where in the market are you placing yourself?? i.e your cheap come to you and service your car (cheaper than a garage) or the more expensive because of the added convenience?

lilys-dad

cheaper than a garage ie have less over heads so can pass on the saving

for eg 1.4 clio full service (oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs & check over) for £60 inc vat

dont leave much for me but works out at £18 ph for 1 1/2 - 2hours work

pitkin2020

lilys-dad wrote: »

cheaper than a garage ie have less over heads so can pass on the saving

for eg 1.4 clio full service (oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs & check over) for £60 inc vat

dont leave much for me but works out at £18 ph for 1 1/2 - 2hours work

£18 ph isn't a great deal once you take out the insurance, vehicle costs, tax, stationary, advertising, fuel to and from the job etc but isn't too bad.

Get your advertising right and you should do ok. Its a service I would use for things like brakes and possibly servicing. Plenty of others would use it though from a price point.

best of luck :beer:

lilys-dad

thats the point of not charging the earth.

im also only going to do it part time ie after work and week ends ( i work mornings so finish at 2 pm mon - friday) if i do 5 per week at say £20ph max thats £100 pw extra if it only takes 1 hour

ive just had a look at some insurance, £200 pa pli, car ins extra £300 pa for business use, might start off with just word of mouth marketing.

lokking more and more appeling.

moneymabel

good idea I reckon-I work from home so it would be convenient to have someone come round instead of having to take the car to a garage and then get someone to come and pick you up. Not sure where you would stand legally but perhaps you could also go to peoples work places to do it? would be great to get your car serviced whilst at work! Good luck with it.

Premier_2

lilys-dad wrote: »

PLI? Public liability insurance im guessing?

register to the hmrc for the vat and tax ect

any idear on how much the insurance will be??

Probably a small fortune if you can get it.

No formal qualifications and you are going to be servicing the brakes on cars! :eek:

Not mine you won't be

Premier_2

lilys-dad wrote: »

cheaper than a garage ie have less over heads so can pass on the saving

for eg 1.4 clio full service (oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs & check over) for £60 inc vat

dont leave much for me but works out at £18 ph for 1 1/2 - 2hours work

I think you need to revisit your costings

(You won't get much discount on the following unless you start spending alot, and you won't do that as a single person working part time)

4l Premium oil: £20
oil filter: £5
air filter: £4
fuel filter: £6
spark plugs: £15

Total: £50 less vat so £41.66

If you charge £60 inc vat, you only get £50 leaving you the sum of £8.34

From which you'll need to pay your expenses (travel to/from client, insurance, etc) plus capital overheads (tools, or their replacements etc). Don't forget, as a business, you'll need to pay for the disposal of the old oil, contaminated oil filter, rags etc. too

My local tyre centre does a while u wait n oil & filter change for £15. They can do it that price because they do an awful lot so get bulk prices on oil and good discounts on the filters. It's so cheap, it's the reason most people don't bother doing it themselves - it would cost anyone doing it themselves more and you have the mess to deal with. The garage has the ramp & associated facilities to do the job cleanly & swiftly.

You may be better off just offering to take the cars of those who have more money than sense tothis type of place and then returning it with a 100% mark-up

Whiteknight

lilys-dad wrote: »

HI all

Im thinking of setting up a small car serviceing business, part time to make some extra money.

i would like some information on what i would need not tools ect, but what insurance ect ill need.

i havnt got any formall qualifications but have been working around cars ect the most of my adult working life and know one end of a spanner from the other.

the idear is that you ring me up I give you a quote if you you like the price i book it in get the parts and come to your home or work do the service, you pay i give a recipt of the work done and im on my way.

not doing major works like cambelts or full rebuilds but oil and filter changes, discs and pads, replacing exhausts, bulbs ect

any help on the legals ect would be a good help.

thanks in advance

If I'm reading this right I can see a potential problem with the weather, as it appears that you will visit and carry out the work cutting down on your costs by not having to rent premises.

What would you do if someone calls you and you quote for a job for example take that full service on a 1.4 Clio for £60 you mentioned, you book it and on the day you turn up at the customer home you find the car parked on the street and it its pi##ing down - customer has no garage or car port?