Prius Garage in Central Florida

Go for it!!! Of course you probably need to focus on getting the basic mechanic certification stuff taken care of before you start doing anything other than minor easy-to-do Prius work. Also do more research and write a business plan first!

 

Starting a new business is not easy, but if you are determined, and put your time energy into it, you will have a chance. I would suggest that you start to work for a good repair shop, learn how they run their business, at the same time learn technique. Good luck!

 

Prii have additional electronics and hi voltage electrical work that makes them more complex than a conventional gas vehicle. While very reliable - they still need maintenace. But if your businesses is going to survive in this horrible economy you need a niche /growing market...so you need something more than the regular oil and filter change stuff. You have to give the Prius owners something that they could not or would not do by themselves that they really could use or would be driven to *gotta* get .... Hmmm. If this trend toward hotter weather continues -I would think that maintaining the air conditioner and tinting the auto glass would be a popular.... Another possible product would be to retrofit Prius (2nd gen) as backup generators - after a hurricane people often lose their electrical power - using the Prius to keep the freezer and the refrigerator going during an electrical blackout can be a nifty thing to have hanging around. .. Or a franchise with Enginer plug-in conversions....hmmm

After much pondering, me thinks that if you want to specialize in being a prius garage you need to go to San Francisco and visit the owner of the Luscious Garage. Or if you are on a limited budget... atleast go to her website and look at her videos...

Luscious Garage | Hybrid Specialists

 

GMcNeil05 – Specializing on the Prius is too narrow of a market base. You would have a much better chance of business success if you broadened your view of your potential customer-base to “Hybrid Shop Of Central Florida.”

 

I think GMcNeil05 makes an excellent point... And based on what you say of your skill set I'd set it up as a hybrid auto detailing service with minor maintenance options... Then as the opportunity presents itself you can take on more challenging mechanical repairs. There's good money and far lower liability in car cleaning. And people who want a clean car usually are interested in advice/work done on basic maintenance items...

 

Note: I'm not from Florida so I'm not a potential customer. However...

If you were an independent Prius mechanic in my area I would take my car to you. Dealers pay low and charge high. A good independent hybrid mechanic is a precious commodity.

I think many hybrid owners are taking their cars to dealers for servicing even though the vast majority of the servicing has nothing to do with being a hybrid. And even then, reading PriusChat will show you that servicing at those dealers isn't necessarily that knowledgeable. Once you learn about hybrids and can confidently advertise that you are a garaged specialized in hybrids not only would you be doing specialized work like battery rebuilds, but you would have a steady stream of customers for the regular servicing work.

I would agree with catgic that you should just say "hybrid". I think Ford's new hybrids are both going to take sales from Toyota and expand the hybrid market. There are also the inline Honda and Hyunky hybrids. In the next few years there will also be increasing numbers of plug-in hybrids. It's a growing market and it's fundamentally the same: the cars add high-voltage batteries, inverters and motors and the most popular ones replace a conventional transmission with planetary power-split transmissions.

I've now started taking my Prius to a local garage to do all the non-hybrid work.

 

I would LOVE it if you opened shop and did well. I do want to express a bit of hesitation: you'd have a pretty steep "trust" curve you'd have to climb with your clients, but if you did well, you could have lifetime clients, which would be good.

Your location, for me, personally, is a bit tough. I'm in the Tampa Bay region, and I would absolutely love to have an excellent local Prius specialist nearby. I'm a new Prius owner, and finding trustworthy folks here is not so easy.

That said... Avon Park is just on the "too far away" side for me. It is something you should consider: do you have enough of a population close enough that you could sustain your business?

 

Well, I live a bit too far north to be a customer, so I'll just offer a little general advice on starting a business. It is something I have done and have mentored others in.
This survey is a good place to start, but it is limited. This audience is far different from the normal consumer, and at some point you need to expand your marketing plans to capture the "average" Prius driver. Figuring out how do do this is just part of the process of working up a business plan.
Basically you need to estimate your costs, both fixed and variable. That gives you a starting point for calculating the revenue stream that you need to be successful. Only then can you decide if the services you are prepared to offer are capable of generating that stream.
There are a number of books available which include sections on business plans. Select one that offers help with Florida law.

 

To be honest this sounds like a very challenging business to undertake.

 

This just does not sound like anywhere near enough expertise to open a "hybrid shop." I'm also wondering if your shop has a car lift.

As an alternative idea, how about performing DIY type maintenance for the lazy wherever their car is located ? I have met people who have businesses on wheels for glass repair and removal of the yellow discoloration on car headlamps.

You can learn more about hybrid repair as time passes by reading and taking courses. Check out Hobbit's website for details. You may also want to track down ALL of Patrick Wong's posts. Many of them are figuring out owner problems. He is a wizard, but at least you will see the breadth and depth of Prius trouble shooting.

 

And then you woke up......Just kidding, you need to connect with the real world. Sounds like Prius in the sky.

 

And how much do you charge your 6 family and friends, and the lady down the street, and the guy with the 12v, and the guy with the '05? Because, if your answer is "parts only," then you are not running a business. You have a nice hobby. And you may be surprised at how fast your clientele disappears when you hand them a price sheet.

What are your plans for drumming up new business that isn't used to getting free labor? Do you know what the tax laws are? Do you have a business license? What does your revenue flow need to be to not only clear your overhead, but pay your salary? Can you afford to bring in an office person to handle phones and appointments? What will your start up costs be? You will need to stock equipment, parts, and supplies. You can't run down to the local auto supply place every time you get a customer.

I agree with all those above who say you need a business plan. There's a lot more to getting started than simply hanging up a sign, even apart from the technical knowledge you will need.

You might consider checking out your local community college for classes in how to start and run a business.

I hate to put a damper on enthusiasm, but if you are really serious about this, you will have a much better chance of being successful if you lay the proper groundwork. The world is full of people who thought they could turn a hobby into a business, and found out the hard way that it's not so easy.

 

Totally agree with jabecker.
Not sure about taking courses, but learn from real world is more important. And people skill is more important than technical skills. I don't mean that you can talk without work. It simply means that after you mastered all technical skills, you are just getting started.
I am very happy to see your ambition and wish you success in future.

 

I suggested courses as a way to get a good grounding in the legal aspects of owning a business. I agree that nothing beats real world experience for learning day-to-day operations.

 

In my opinion, you are not ready to open this business. You have a great thing: A garage your father built. You can make a living with that garage for the rest of your life, but to do that, you'll need to develop a good reputation for value, dependability, and quality.

There is a lot to know about Prius repair. People are going to expect you to be able to repair anything that fails on the car. Go join the Luscious Garage Facebook page and take a look at the kinds of repairs they do, replacing traction batteries, repairing bad transaxles, and diagnosing problems correctly by thoroughly understanding how the car works.

In order to get enough business, they operate in the thick of San Francisco, AND they maintain the City's Prius taxi fleet, AND they service all makes of hybrid and EV's. You aren't ready to tackle that yet, and you do need to determine if there's enough Prius business to keep you afloat.

You can get there, and I wish you luck, but the most important thing I can do is to help you know what it is that you don't know.

 

I'll try to only answer your question --

Do I want to support independent Prius shops ? Yes
Would I take my car to you ? No