Hobby for a living?

[PRADOgy]

So do you guys think its worth it? or biggest mistake?


Do you actually think its worth it to wake up in the morning and wrench. Just never get tired of it?



Or Do the daily grind with paper work,phone calls,fax copies and have your hobby to keep you happy ?


Factors vary from Financial to satisfaction.

[HyperTek]

so many industry heads have told me to keep it as a hobby.. trying to make a hobby a living, your gonna be living check to check and barly getting by.. esp this lil car tuning game.. now if you where shooting for the big time like a professional motorsports team, f1 for example, your pretty much set.

Theres more out there in life besides just playing with street cars that really wont amount to anything.

[fishhouse]

keep it a hobby. trust me.

[BoostSlideWayz]

hobby unless you actually started a shop.. then your making bank and living the life you wanted. Ive always imagined that, to be honest i dont think i would last in a typical job. i just like working on cars thats my life. most jobs ive been to werent what i liked and i just eventually didnt put as much effort into them. im just the type of person where i believe living your dream is the only way to keep your head up in this world

[oscarmagana]

i say get a real job hell a career so u can just support ur hobby and have all the toys you want.

[ThatGuy]

If you make a Hobby into work, than it's no longer a Hobby.

Now you need to find something else to relax at the end of long day/week/month at work.

[akai-oni]

How many people actually end up making good money running a shop? It seems like the majority of them pop up and are gone within a few years. Get a degree that can get net you a nice salary and then spend your weekends under the hood.

[wh0aitznic0]

I worked in a mechanic shop for a few months last year. Trust me, working on cars SUCKS DICK.

Keep it a hobby. Especially with our EASY cars to work on. Go to a temp agency or something and get a decent job.

[Bubbles]

So do you guys think its worth it? or biggest mistake?


Do you actually think its worth it to wake up in the morning and wrench. Just never get tired of it?



Or Do the daily grind with paper work,phone calls,fax copies and have your hobby to keep you happy ?


Factors vary from Financial to satisfaction.



Everything will become a daily grind eventually.

Something as mundane as wrenching will turn sooner rather than later.

[j20accord00]

i agree, keep your hobby just that.

I enjoy working on my car/truck, when it doesn't become fun anymore then im over it.

I just got out of the police academy in february, I am a special 2 for a seasonal town. After this summer ill have the hours needed to work somewhere else full time. Thats my job and working on my things is my hobby.

HoweverI must say a buddy of mine is and has been a great welder. He made it his job and does VERY VERY well for himself. just some food for thought.

[dat411kid]

I think passion leads to success.....So if your hobby is truly your passion stick with it and it will lead you to the ultimate success...

[snappy]

I've thought about this as well and heard the phrase "If you do what you love, then it wont seem like work." Working as a mechanic doesn't make you a hell of a lot unless you're working at a dealership or exotic shop. With the economy the way it is these days it's harder for small and big to stay afloat.

Something you should consider is going into a form of business that requires you to still exist, such as water purification, Ag etc. Keep it a hobby and support it by making big bucks.

[WanganRunner]

I'd say to keep it a hobby.

HAVING to do something, anything, to put food on the table makes it inherently less fun. I'd never wrench recreationally if I did it all day as my job.

How old are you? I mean, don't NOT go to college if you were otherwise going to just so you can wrench, but if you get out, you've got a degree, you can go try it. What's the harm? Looks odd on a resume, but if you're a 22 year old kid no one is going to care. Just get the degree first.

[Touge Noob S13]

Working as a mechanic doesn't make you a hell of a lot unless you're working at a dealership or exotic shop. With the economy the way it is these days it's harder for small and big to stay afloat.

This^^ if you want to be a tech and make a decent living, work towards becoming a master tech.

[drift freaq]

Basically only you can answer this question. I happen to do only things I love to do. Of course creative types are that way.

If you want to go to college then go. Better to go than not to.

When all is said and done, once you have your degree, if you want to go down the creative road or do your own thing you can. Knowing that you already have a degree.

I don't buy the line though that if you're doing your hobby as a business its no longer fun.


If I did not enjoy my work, it would suck balls and I would be looking new directions.


With all that said, you have to have certain things in place, to make a run of it in these days and times.

Most people I know, doing there own thing right now, have actually been doing it for awhile or came out of an experience that prepared them.

I consider myself lucky that I can chase my creative stuff and do my hobbies as business. Most people cannot, due to a variety of circumstances.

With all this said, don't let yourself get discouraged from going after your dreams. Its part of what makes this country great, that people can.

Just don't do it, unless your 100% positive you can because its the type of thing you have to know to succeed.

[Matej]

Hate working on my car as a hobby. Would kill myself if it was my job.

[ManoNegra]

I have a friend that wrenches at a Porsche dealership
pay is decent but too much bullshit to deal with

I also know of people that have worked at well known Porsche tuner shops
the pay is mediocre at best
unless the shop's got your name on the building and is well known, you're not going to make much

nothing like being your own boss but just be prepared to work very hard and starve
for a while until your name gets out

and do yourself a favor and take some business classes
you'll thank me later

[20 til 3]

working on cars is decent when there are enjoyable cars to work on (clean oldschool muscle, or newer imports)

but it sucks when you have to change sparkplugs on 98 caravans every day and bs with nasty mudded-up trucks, and greased up cars from the 80's

cars=hobby... unless you happen to get that perfect sit around and talk to people about tuning vehicles and what kick ass parts they should order

[mrmephistopheles]

Not for me. At least not for car tinkering.

When I worked at the Nissan dealership in San Diego, I thought it'd be a great thing - working on Nissans all day, and I loved working on cars before that, so it seemed logical.

Unfortunately, I got burned out on it, and coming home with filthy, sore hands led me to not wish to work on my car. It took me almost 2 years afterward to even want to do an oil change on my own cars.

Now I guess if I could get a job playing videogames that I enjoy (not playtesting) or teaching people how to shoot, I could get down with that, but who knows?

[PRADOgy]

Well. I am 24 and have always had a decent 9-5 sit no my ass get fat all day and yap on the phone job. Now i am stuck between going to Wyotech and achieving all of my ASE's and try opening up a shop or finishing up the few classes to enter the fire academy and actually try to become a fire fighter. Both aren't doing so well atm. It is scary because i do see shops come and go. The goal of course to open up a shop that is not only a performance shop, but also smog certified station. I truly am leaning towards Fire Fighter. But then again...


thanks for all your replies.

[S14_Kouki]

I went to school to work on cars, that was a big mistake. Now that I have done it I would rather do something not dealing with cars all day then on the weekends im pumped to work on my car.

[simmode1]

Why not do something a little less labor intensive? Like flipping cars for profit?

After meeting some ppl that have done pretty good at this, I'm setting up my finances to jump into it too. It's kinda hobby related and less hard work than out-right mechanic work...

[drift freaq]

Why not do something a little less labor intensive? Like flipping cars for profit?

After meeting some ppl that have done pretty good at this, I'm setting up my finances to jump into it too. It's kinda hobby related and less hard work than out-right mechanic work...

There is actually a skill to this. Flipping cars is not for everyone. It requires a really keen eye and a lot of attention to detail, as well as a talent for purchasing and selling.

Too many people think its a simple thing to try and flip cars. I am not saying you are not capable, but you can't just tell someone to do it and expect them to have the ability to succeed at it.

[racepar1]

If it was a good idea for you then you wouldn't have to ask this question to anyone but yourself.

I can tell you that wrenching on stock, greasy, piles of shit is in no way fun. I do that for a living at the moment. But, who'se HOBBY is wrenching on stock, greasy, piles of shit? Any car guy's hobby is taking those piles of shit and making them better in any way possible. That is worth doing, but only if you have the drive and talent for it. Getting into a position where you can make good money modifying or restoring cars is not an easy thing to do. You have to not only have mechanical skills, but also fabrication skills. It takes a lot of time and patience to get where you want and it is certainly the harder of the two roads.

Of course the other option would be to go after positions at high-line luxury car dealers like Porsche, BMW, Audi, Etc... I can assure you though that those positions are also not easy to get either. Also, the more expensive a car is, the more of a PITA it is to work on. Although in the end it's a little easier to deal with the headache since the damned thing is just so nice...

Opening a shop is a HUGE risk. Most fail witin the first 5 years. I feel that a lot of that is due to not only bad business decisions (advertising, financial, etc...), but also having too narrow of a customer base. Being too specialized will land you nowhere but bankrupt. You have to be able to do anything to any car that it is absolutely possible to do. Once again, having fabrication skills here is a big plus. You also have to be very active in promoting your business, especially in the aftermarket industry. Networking skills are a must...

In the end anything becomes work after long enough, but you do still enjoy it more then you would something else. Besides would having to develop another release then cars be such a bad thing??? LOL!

[simmode1]

There is actually a skill to this. Flipping cars is not for everyone. It requires a really keen eye and a lot of attention to detail, as well as a talent for purchasing and selling.

Too many people think its a simple thing to try and flip cars. I am not saying you are not capable, but you can't just tell someone to do it and expect them to have the ability to succeed at it.

I totally agree. Simple theory... risky execution. Still gonna try it though for myself though. It's helpful to have ppl around to get advice on it from...

[az_240]

I went to auto school for a few months and decided I really did not want to work on cars for a living. Even worked at the Bob Bondurant racing school for a while.

It was cool for the first couple months but I found myself getting sick of it after a while.

I enjoyed my job as a Nike CSR a lot more. Wish I still had that job.

[RiversideS13]

you do not get Burn out from your hobby
you do not get Stress from your hobby
you do not pay tax from your your hobby

but if you really love what you are doing and you are GOOD at it. than maybe you can go for it. one of my friend used to be a street racer/tuner and now he is a Ferrari tech and making good money and loved what he is doing. But that is like 1/50 success stories I knew.

[WanganRunner]

There is actually a skill to this. Flipping cars is not for everyone. It requires a really keen eye and a lot of attention to detail, as well as a talent for purchasing and selling.

Too many people think its a simple thing to try and flip cars. I am not saying you are not capable, but you can't just tell someone to do it and expect them to have the ability to succeed at it.

Having profitably flipped dozens of cars over a fairly long period, I second this. It isn't easy, and I had a lot of friends try to emulate what I was doing and lose lots of money.

Never rely on a "value add fix" to flip a car. If you can't buy it and resell it AS-IS at a profit, walk away. Any value-adds from doing work to the car need to be gravy in your profit margin, not the difference between losing and making money. Too many unknowns in working on a car (parts costs, availability, more shit might break, etc).


EDIT: Here's a free one. This is probably worth $1-1.5k fucked, and maybe like $4k fixed.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/1655691708.html

[CrimsonRockett]

There is actually a skill to this. Flipping cars is not for everyone. It requires a really keen eye and a lot of attention to detail, as well as a talent for purchasing and selling.

Too many people think its a simple thing to try and flip cars. I am not saying you are not capable, but you can't just tell someone to do it and expect them to have the ability to succeed at it.

I think we're both experts in the field.

:bowrofl:

Never do your hobby for a living.

I can't imagine wrenching on cars all day, then coming home to work on my own. I'd hate that. That's pretty much what happened when I worked at Angry Panda Fabrications. I loved working on cars and helping make them look good, but holy fuck did that make me not want to work on mine...

I'll stick to a "9-5" desk job.

[bardabe]

I have a friend that wrenches at a Porsche dealership
pay is decent but too much bullshit to deal with

I also know of people that have worked at well known Porsche tuner shops
the pay is mediocre at best
unless the shop's got your name on the building and is well known, you're not going to make much

nothing like being your own boss but just be prepared to work very hard and starve
for a while until your name gets out

and do yourself a favor and take some business classes
you'll thank me later
pretty much what he said, just replace Porsche with Toyota

[simmode1]

Having profitably flipped dozens of cars over a fairly long period, I second this. It isn't easy, and I had a lot of friends try to emulate what I was doing and lose lots of money.

Never rely on a "value add fix" to flip a car. If you can't buy it and resell it AS-IS at a profit, walk away. Any value-adds from doing work to the car need to be gravy in your profit margin, not the difference between losing and making money. Too many unknowns in working on a car (parts costs, availability, more shit might break, etc).


EDIT: Here's a free one. This is probably worth $1-1.5k fucked, and maybe like $4k fixed.

2005 Chevy Aveo (Needs TLC) (http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/1655691708.html)


Thanks for the input. My plan is to stick to public auctions initially. Armed with the MMR, I won't go over a certain bid so assuming the car is running ok, I'll still have a healthy profit margin. If the car looks like it needs anything more than a tune up/new tires/minor shit... I'm walking away. Gonna focus on stuff that sells fast... like moderately aged Civics, Accords, Carollas and whatnot...

I think its a good plan, but how does it sound to you guys that are doing it? Holes in logic?

[Okinawandrifter87]

I like to keep it strictly as a hobby only so I never tire of it. Its good to have equal balance and like Hypertek said.. NOT ALL but a majority tend to get by check to check.

[WanganRunner]

Thanks for the input. My plan is to stick to public auctions initially. Armed with the MMR, I won't go over a certain bid so assuming the car is running ok, I'll still have a healthy profit margin. If the car looks like it needs anything more than a tune up/new tires/minor shit... I'm walking away. Gonna focus on stuff that sells fast... like moderately aged Civics, Accords, Carollas and whatnot...

I think its a good plan, but how does it sound to you guys that are doing it? Holes in logic?


First, know your laws. You don't want to get pegged as a curbstoner. Some states are more lenient than others.

Personally, I never liked auctions. An auction acts as a pricing mechanism, allowing the marketplace to determine the price you're going to pay, thus negating some of your advantage. I'm skeptical of any business model with no barriers to entry. If anyone can attend the auction and anyone can look up pricing in a book, why is there any profit in it? All profit should have been priced out in an efficient marketplace. No opportunity for arbitrage.

Private Party is much less efficient, much higher potential margins.

[rage941]

I wouldn't do it. I don't even have an automotive related job yet; I'm going to a technical school for automotive, and it has turned me away from wanting it as a career. Working on cars you don't like sucks nuts.
Picture working on dirty old neglected Grand Caravans all day. Not fun.
Also imagine working on a car all day. How much would you want to come home and do it on your own.
If I was just working on general cars, then it's NOT my hobby. My hobby is having fun with my own car. Working on other cars I don't like would just be a job.
Another type of automotive related job could still be fun though; selling parts online or something, photographing cars, writing about cars, things of that nature.

[KoukiMonsta]

I think we're both experts in the field.

:bowrofl:

Never do your hobby for a living.

I can't imagine wrenching on cars all day, then coming home to work on my own. I'd hate that. That's pretty much what happened when I worked at Angry Panda Fabrications. I loved working on cars and helping make them look good, but holy fuck did that make me not want to work on mine...

I'll stick to a "9-5" desk job.


thats it right there.....working on cars(for a living) will get you to the point where you dont even wanna fuck with urs when u get home.

[ballinnmiami240sx]

I love working on cars. I just dont have enough time to work on my cars any more..

[simmode1]

First, know your laws. You don't want to get pegged as a curbstoner. Some states are more lenient than others.

Personally, I never liked auctions. An auction acts as a pricing mechanism, allowing the marketplace to determine the price you're going to pay, thus negating some of your advantage. I'm skeptical of any business model with no barriers to entry. If anyone can attend the auction and anyone can look up pricing in a book, why is there any profit in it? All profit should have been priced out in an efficient marketplace. No opportunity for arbitrage.

Private Party is much less efficient, much higher potential margins.

I've never heard the term 'curbstoner' before, so I googled it. Pretty hilarious reading, if you ask me... Apparently there is no real penalty for it haha....

But I'm an honest kind of guy. Not really out ot cheat ppl. Just trying to pick up some cars for about $1000 to $1200 that I can sell for maybe $3500 or so with full disclosure. I mean, you're buying a $3k car... you need to know things ain't gonna be perfect in most cases. I plan on dealing strictly with the cash car market initially, to get my feet wet first...

I've looked into Texas state law on the subject and there doesn't seem to be much on it. Just a limit of 5 cars per year that a private seller can sell, but not real tracking processes... Haven't found any thing on penalties either, but I'll keep looking. Thanks for the heads up...

[WanganRunner]

Just a limit of 5 cars per year that a private seller can sell, but not real tracking processes... Haven't found any thing on penalties either, but I'll keep looking. Thanks for the heads up...

Yeah, some states are more anal than others.

In MD, if the DMV sees more than 5 cars titled and then sold in 12 months, the system automatically flags you.