Starting a car repair shop is quite a good idea. In this ever-evolving world, everyone has a vehicle to run. An automobile is an expensive part of life, and no one changes it very frequently. In comparison, they choose to repair it. When it comes to setting up an automobile repair shop, several conditions must be kept in mind before proceeding further. Establishing a car repair shop requires proper planning, which includes decisions like location, service availability, competitor's study, targeting the customer, and the cost of the overall setup. The layout and design of the auto repair shop are some of the basic considerations to attract customers towards it.
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With India's growing economy, the purchase of vehicles has taken a great pace. By the end of December 2019, India had a high rate of registered vehicles, up to 83 million, which is assumed to grow up to 1.5 billion by 2030. With these high charting numbers, the automobile workshop business is an excellent venture to start with.
Automobile Workshop Business Plan
To start an automobile repair store, It is required to plan the business first. Some basic terms in business planning you need to follow are:
- Service Availability: The first thing that needs to be considered is the number of services that will be available in the shop. Setting up the theme of the car repair shop is necessary, whether it is a specialist shop where everything is available or a general maintenance shop. List out the services along with the adequate charges according to current market rates.
- Location: The location of the shop is one of the basic things you need to consider. It should be located in a populated area to acquire a large number of customers. The basic considerations you need to keep in mind before deciding the location of the repair shop include high target customers, easy accessibility, convenient visibility, and cost effectiveness.
- Overall Cost: It is a basic requirement to estimate the car garage setup cost in order to arrange the necessary funds. The whole setup includes the price of required land, getting the equipment, acquiring the certifications and registrations, the construction, the insurance, the rent, etc.
- Funding Resource: Once the estimation step is completed, the second step that follows is finding a resource for the funding. Most basic option for funding is considered to be bank loans.
- Competitor’s Study: Studying the competition in your planned business venture is necessary before stepping into it. The decision of the location and overall services provided will depend upon the knowledge you have about your competitor's. Having the basic knowledge of the competitor will help in establishing the car repair shop effectively in order to get a high number of customers.
Also Read: How to Start A Car Dealership Business in India in Easy Steps?
Required Equipment
As you are working with automobiles, you need to open several crucial parts, repair, clean, and provide several other services. In order to fulfil the requirements and desires of every customer, it is essential to have a set of tools and equipment ready for the service, and this equipment takes out most of the investment amount. Some of the basic equipment required at an auto repair shop are:
- A heavy air compressor.
- Wrenches, belt, shaft, gear, and several handy tools.
- A storage bucket for holding the coolant or collecting the oil.
- Chargers for charging the battery of the vehicles.
- Engine hoist, which plays an important role in servicing the engines of the automobiles.
- A well-furnished working bay where the servicing of the cars will be performed.
- A brake lathe machine is quite essential for every automobile repair shop.
- Floor Jack and Jack stand so as to lift up the car.
Layout of the Automobile Shop
The auto repair shop must be laid out in an attractive manner so as to provide a convenient workspace for the employees and an aesthetic look to attract the customers. Moreover, the layout of the automobile shop must be figured out in such a way to handle all the machinery easily. The location of the working Bay must be laid out efficiently so as to provide an easy entrance and departure of the automobiles without any hassle, along with which it provides a convenient space for the employees to work and repair the incoming vehicles. There are several things that need to be considered while laying out the design of an automobile shop:
- Engaging waiting area: Every auto repair shop must have an engaging waiting area for the customers. To make the environment of these repair shops more comfortable, you should have a coffee vending machine or a TV.
- Cleanliness: The automobile shop must be clean to give a professional look to the place. It is quite necessary to provide a clean office area and a well-organised working area to attract the customers.
- Service efficiency: One essential thing that needs to be considered while establishing an automobile shop is service efficiency. There should be proper and standard service availability and transparency in the overall dealing.
Legal Aspects Involved in Automobile Shop Business
After planning the whole setup and the layout of the shop, it is quite necessary to look into the legal aspects of the business as well. This is necessary for the smooth running of the business. Some of the legal considerations you need to keep in mind are:
- Ensuring that you are getting proper legal advice: It is required to have legal advice before setting up an auto repair shop because several legal aspects need to be considered such as the business licence, liability insurance, tax reporting, etc. Having a strong knowledge of these legal aspects is quite necessary for the smooth running of the business.
- Acquiring a certification: The automobile shop must have a designation, i.e., it must acquire a certification to prove whether it is a sole proprietorship or in collaboration with a corporation. The shops with this certification is a clear sign that the employees have work experience and are professional in their work, which plays an important role in attracting many customers.
- Business insurance: Every business has some risk involved with it. That is the reason why it is quite necessary to have business insurance. Before considering the establishment of an auto repair shop, it is required to protect it from several accidents, natural hazards, or any other manual disruptions. Therefore, having insurance over the shop is quite necessary before establishing the infrastructure.
Also Read: Fundamentals of Starting an Automotive Parts and Accessories Store
Final Step in the Procedure
Well, after getting the hands over the business plan as well as the legal documentation of the shop, it is now required to gather a great team. The shop will be known for the service it provides; therefore, having a great team is essential.
- Hiring employees: The most skilled and experienced employees must be hired in order to run your shop efficiently. Every auto repair shop focuses on having a large team of employees, but having skilled people is an advantage to attract a large number of customers. Therefore, the hiring of an employee must be done in a precise manner. They must be hired on the basis of their experience of work and their skill.
- Promotion: Once everything is set up and the auto garage is good to go, the last step that comes in the procedure is promotion or marketing. Marketing is one of the major aspects which could bring advantage to the shop at once. The basic point to attract the customer's is to organise shop rates and charges reasonably compared to other auto repair shops in that vicinity.
Conclusion
In this modern era where automobiles are available in abundance, the establishment of an auto repair shop is quite a great idea. However, several business plans and layouts need to be considered before setting up an automobile shop. One of the basic requirements which come in the way of creating a perfect business plan is the decision of location, estimation of overall cost, and funding resources. It is quite necessary to get the shop certified, along with which insurance is required to protect it from any natural and accidental hazards. You must put a significant consideration over the designing of the automobile, i.e., cleanliness, convenient working area, engaging waiting area, etc, to attract the customers. It is required to have a basic knowledge about the types of licences and the procedure to acquire the licence and get the shop registered and certified.
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