how to setup a 4wd Wrecker

[smac]

Gday,

just wonderin if anyone has any information on what is required to setup a wrecking yard. There doenst seem to be many (if any) near where i live, so i wondered how hard it would be.

manly need some land, some cash to buy wrecks.

i thought could be run as a "dismantle the parts yourself" or spmething. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

How are wrecking yards usually run? do they dismantle only the good stuff or what?

[Daisy]

i think its more of a question for your local council????

[spazbot]

i thought could be run as a "dismantle the parts yourself" or spmething. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

How are wrecking yards usually run? do they dismantle only the good stuff or what?

with the way insurance is these days the dismantle yourself deal is a very dangerious ave to go down

[-Mick-]

depends if you want to set up on a premises already designated for something similar because there are is lot of environmental regulation regarding this kind of stuff

insurance is a biggie too like mentioned

[F'n_Rover]

dont let the insurance costs put you off. setup a pty / ltd company, lease the land, run everything bare bones ie the company owns nothing. Just make sure your your personal assets are in the wifes name ( shell get em anyway ). Wreckers would be a good cash business, just stuff it all under the matteres. Dont pay any insurance, no lawer worth a pinch of sh@t would bother.

[smac]

im assuming that if you didnt do a "u pull it" then the insurance would just be normal business insurance.

im thinkin i might just try and start fairly small and see what happens. maybe do somethin on the side somehow

[spazbot]

maybee call a few wreckers from around the place and ask thier advise, i think giant racing on here is a wrecker so he might be able to shed some light

[smac]

yeah i might give a couple a ring.

i have had a look an there is one 4wd wrecker not too far from here - never heard of em before though.

probably not a real interesting day job though

[gu4800]

smac

probably not a real interesting day job though

Not an interesting day job!!!!! Are you kidding????

The wreckers comprehensive "toolkit" consists of a blade screwdriver, hammer and gas axe. Sounds like hours of fun to me - pulling apart sh*t without a care in the world, because, guess what - you don't own it!!! You'd be surprised how much fun it would be remove a complete front end from any car with just the abovementioned "toolkit" - oh, the carnage.

If you are going to undertake opening an "auto parts recycling centre" (let's get PC), then you must learn the secret oath:- "NAH MATE, IT'S IN REAL GOOD NICK, PERFECT, ALMOST BRAND NEW"

[smac]

smac

probably not a real interesting day job though

Not an interesting day job!!!!! Are you kidding????

The wreckers comprehensive "toolkit" consists of a blade screwdriver, hammer and gas axe. Sounds like hours of fun to me - pulling apart sh*t without a care in the world, because, guess what - you don't own it!!! You'd be surprised how much fun it would be remove a complete front end from any car with just the abovementioned "toolkit" - oh, the carnage.

If you are going to undertake opening an "auto parts recycling centre" (let's get PC), then you must learn the secret oath:- "NAH MATE, IT'S IN REAL GOOD NICK, PERFECT, ALMOST BRAND NEW"

you are right, i was just thinkin that actually. what im thinkin is i might just get some rolled 4bs or somethin and dismantle them down to what is left and then get rid of the scrap metal and sell of the "ALMOST BRAND NEW stuff"

BTW, what is Lets get PC ??

[ToNkA]

Politically Correct.

[smac]

ahh, ok then

[kc_ksom]

deleted

[smac]

i like the "its been used, but is in real good nick" then you have a look an its trashed

[V8Patrol]

1/
check with local council / shire.

2/
check out the insurance dramas.

3/
have a chat with your accountant regarding PTY LTD, ACN, ABN, family trusts etc etc

4/
DONT CONTACT the other local wreckers about you starting up .... it will give them a head start on your new business..... better to catch em unprepared.

5/
have a "look" at what the other wreckers in your area are "specialising in", they will have a particular vechile trend that they wreck out....
IE: one may only do medium sized cars, another may only do ford stuff, another may only touch 4 cylinder cars.
Each wrecker has his favourites as to what he likes to wreck and although he may have a few 4x4's that doesnt mean he wants to specailse in 4x4s.
Look at what they havent got much of and check out if there's a market for that type of stuff

6/
decide "IF" there's room for you in the local market.... no point setting up a milkbar next to a woolworths & expecting to have any business.

7/
Check out pricing on the stuff you want to wreck out, this way you'll be able to undercut others selling similar items, or atleast be in the "ball park" dollars wise.

8/
Give yourself a set of "basic rules" to include things like......
Sponsorship ..... you will get asked for $$$$$ or parts
Advertising ...... You'll need some way of telling the world you're there
Employees ...... are you going to be there 24/7 ?
you'll need to have some idea as to how to deal with these issues when they arise and they will come alot quicker than you think !..... One thing I have learnt through running several business' is that every other bugger that thinks he can get a freebe will be knocking on your door, and behind him there will be some other mungral just out to relive your pocket for some B/S thing that you wont really need, whether its a computer to keep track of the parts or membership to some obscure wreckers assocation or even a 12 month advertising spread in a "local phone book" ......
In short everyone else will be after a dollar from you !.... know how to deal with them before they arrive at your door.

9/
Contact local specialists....
IE:
local courier = you'll need to know freight costs
scrap metal joint = where else will you get rid of the useless stuff
used car yards = they often get bombs they want to quit ASAP
panel beaters = can you supply them parts direct ?

10/
Have an "exit plan"........ just incase it all goes rsup.

good luck
Kingy

[chimpboy]

Everything Kingy said, also - don't try to set up the world's biggest wrecking yard all in one go. It's the sort of business where there's no harm in starting smallish.

A wrecker I know reasonably well is on really small premises right now, maybe half an acre, constantly trying to figure out how to squeeze one more car in, but he started with nothing and now he's looking to spend six hundred grand on new premises.

He also fits a lot of stuff. His brother buys stuff at the auctions, they have another couple of people doing dismantling etc.

He seems to work about 10 hours a day seven days a week though.

Jason

[xplot]

ummmm looks really hard to do i would forget about it hahahaha

[smac]

yeah, the above 2 points are what i have thought about - gonna be long hours etc.

thanks Kingy/V8Patrol - that is some really useful <edited - incorrect word and then bad spelling> information for any business.

i think i wont proceed with this venture, as while i like messin with 4wds, i would rather be using one than constantly dismantling them for other people.

I have the thought that i might see if i can get my hands on somthin that has been written off and see what i can do.

[antt]

if you've got the space at your place, or know somewhere where u can do it. ya could just do it real small on the side, with maybe 10 or less vehicles being dismantled at the one time, and just run advertising here, and on ya car, and at local 4wd events

[V8Patrol]

thanks Kingy/V8Patrol - that is some really usual information for any business.

Ya welcome ...... Its only experiance that I am drawing from having set up a few business and then selling them off (at a great profit I might add )..... thats what I call payday !

I think i wont proceed with this venture, as while i like messin with 4wds, i would rather be using one than constantly dismantling them for other people.
I have the thought that i might see if i can get my hands on somthin that has been written off and see what i can do.

Dont forget about it all together, many business' start off as a "backyard enterprise" ....IE: doing a few mates a favor say with welding up their bullbars ..... before ya know it ya servicing 2 or 3 hundred customers and employing a dozen odd blokes..... & then you start wondering WTF where did this all come from

You obviously have an idea as to what you want .....

start small,
obviously you wont have 1000 cars on your block on grand opening day!

keep in mind the tips I posted up B4,
a plan is a simple enough thing, but under pressure its a nightmare to come up with the right course of action.

But most of all ,
enjoy it, thats the reason we do things like self employed fruitloops, and at the end of the day you will have extra $$$$ in the pocket
pssssssssssssssssssssst .... I wont tell the taxman

Kingy

p/s
wise man once said.....

I pay monkeys an hourly rate ....... just think of how much money I make an hour to be able to have such a large zoo

In other words ....
You'll never get ahead working for some-one else.


example:
the local mechanicle joint charges $59.00 an hour......
The mechanic gets $19........
Guess where the other $40.00 goes

[LOCKEE]

example:
the local mechanicle joint charges $59.00 an hour......
The mechanic gets $19........
Guess where the other $40.00 goes

The Govt Super Annual Leave Provision etc, have this discussion with my customers daily, Labour rates need to be higher.

[Tiny]

The Govt Super Annual Leave Provision etc, have this discussion with my customers daily, Labour rates need to be higher.

spot on....try paying al those plus the rising workers comp insurence coz the bugger gets a filing in hes eye for not wearing gogles and takes a week off work, or gets lazy and does a s*** job that breaks and you have to foot the bill for the warranty

[83 lux]

smac

probably not a real interesting day job though

Not an interesting day job!!!!! Are you kidding????

The wreckers comprehensive "toolkit" consists of a blade screwdriver, hammer and gas axe. Sounds like hours of fun to me - pulling apart sh*t without a care in the world, because, guess what - you don't own it!!! You'd be surprised how much fun it would be remove a complete front end from any car with just the abovementioned "toolkit" - oh, the carnage.

If you are going to undertake opening an "auto parts recycling centre" (let's get PC), then you must learn the secret oath:- "NAH MATE, IT'S IN REAL GOOD NICK, PERFECT, ALMOST BRAND NEW"

have you work at a yard

they are boring wet cool WET!!! and boring

worked in a yard for about 8 months doing a fair amount of wreacking and really did not find it much chop

[J Top]

I don't think that doing something for yourself that is
a/ a challenge &
b/ profitable
is boring. Boring is lining someone else's pockets.
J Top

[fightara]

example:
the local mechanicle joint charges $59.00 an hour......
The mechanic gets $19........
Guess where the other $40.00 goes

The Govt Super Annual Leave Provision etc, have this discussion with my customers daily, Labour rates need to be higher.

Please... Mechanics do alright.

Worker's Comp ~10% of annual wage.
Super ~9%
Annual leave is built in to a salary when you employ someone full-time

Our chippys are paid $25/hour, we charge them out at $40+GST. I think that's fair - yeah there's about $10 an hour that we're "profiting" from, but it seems to get eaten up in other business overheads, aside from employment, ie. fuel, phones, office leases, admin...

And then you get the dead weight like me who don't "earn" anything for the Company 'cos we rarely get charged out