I’m an 18-year-old guy from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, taking a gap year with a dream of working with luxury cars and hopefully becoming a multi-millionaire by 25. I’ve got $1000 saved up, and I’m eager to dive into the world of high-end automobiles. Winter here is brutal, but so are my ambitions!
I’ve considered starting with car detailing and eventually moving into car wrapping, but after checking out the local competition, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. There are 5-10 established car wrapping businesses with experienced staff and sleek setups. I don’t have their level of expertise or experience, and it’s intimidating. To counter that,my goal is to find a unique angle or service that sets me apart from the competition and allows me to work with luxury cars. I’ve even thought about getting into car repair, but I lack the license or qualifications (though I’m confident I can learn).
So, dear Redditors, I’m reaching out for advice and creative ideas. How can I make my mark in this industry with a limited budget? What can I do differently to attract potential customers, especially when competing with established businesses?
I’m open to any suggestions or success stories from those who’ve faced similar challenges. Maybe you know of some untapped niche or have insights on how I can leverage my limited resources effectively.
Help me figure out a way to get up close and personal with a Rolls Royce – I’m determined to make it happen! I will get into the car detailing and figure out the car wrapping problem later but I also want opionions and other alternative ideas from guys here, anything else I can do to get close high end cars immediately, is there even anything other than cleaning them or chauffeuring them? Did i miss an idea or an option
You need to learn the skill first. Go get a job with one of your “competitors” and learn everything you can.
Tbh, people with rolls royce, they only want the best. Money is not the issue with these folks. So they will usually go to the most experienced person in their city.
+1 for photography. A few dealerships I worked with in the past had a third party guy who came in once a week to take pictures of all the cars to upload to the website. If you can become the go to guy for all the dealers, you could make some consistent money doing this
Learn to be a mechanic, valet, work at a specialized service center behind the desk, etc.
Mobile valet specialising in luxury cars seems obvious.
Get a camera go to car events. Offer to take pictures of their car. Learn photoshop and send them what their car would look like in different wraps.
Don’t get stuck on being unique. It’s more important to get started than to get caught on differentiating yourself. Differentiate as you go.
I also wouldn’t get too focused on the wrapping yet. Car detailing is a great idea to get started. Start that TOMORROW and then reassess in 6 months. With some experience and customers it will be much more clear what the best next step is.
I’ll pitch another angle for you to consider. First thing for you to do is understand what the community of luxury car owners is like where you live. Car owner clubs like the PCA for Porsches, Ferrari owners club, etc. one thing that long time owners of vintage luxury cars are always on the hunt for are folks who can do specialized work on their vehicles, and you could carve a niche out for yourself if you played your cards right, connected with the right people and got yourself set up with the appropriate tools and expertise. Finding club presidents and finding out what the critical service needs are for a particular car would be a good route. It can be very difficult to find vintage parts for Cars, but finding folks who know how to rebuild mechanical fuel injection systems, or tune carbs, or any manner of maintenance can be just as painful for these folks.
Main thing is, the only way to get into these types of circles is to make friends/connections within those circles and learning. I bet a lot of these folks would be happy to speak with a young person who shares their passion for cars. Good luck to you!
Try to get a job at Inkas they are near you and work on all types of luxury cars.
I have a few business ideas I want to get started I just lack the space to do so at the moment. First one I want to do is start a mobile oil change/ basic service company. The premise is that a technician goes out to the customers house to perform the oil change, swap windshield wipers, air filter etc. I would like build that up to the point of having a 30min oil change shop/ repair of my own. My then goal is to go to salvage/ repo auctions by repair and flip cars or even rent them out. I have to look into the legalities of renting out salvage title cars but the end goal is similar to yours. I then have a fleet of exotic cars.
I guess my point is the same as everyone else’s. Find a way into the industry. If you can detail cars and build your reputation put that money back into your business and open a car wash that has mobile detailing. That way you get the average car and you or your crew go out and service luxury cars or even have a bay dedicated to luxury cars
Go work for the best of the competitors you mentioned. Become their most valued employee and then either establish yourself as a partner or become competition once you’ve really got your chops.
I have various luxury and exotic cars. 99% of people just go to the dealer for everything including wraps and detailing. All dealers have a guy for this and that.
If I were you if find some parts you can make and sell in the communities. For example my Ducatis exhaust was 10k for the part alone. Randon carbon fiber pieces and all the installation was another 10k or so. I found some guy in Greece that makes specialized phone mounts that screw right in the middle in the handlebar hole. Was only like $100 but would have paid $500+ for it. Still need to reach out and see if he can make it larger for a fold5 I use as doesn’t fit perfectly either way.
My Porsche had some weird glitch for the radio where xm stopped working sometimes. They wanted 8k for a new stereo. Found a way to rebuild the drive and make it work. Would have spent a few grand for someone to do it for me.
I still can’t find a single phone mount for my BMW M6.
I’d love some cool custom key covers or such but companies don’t make specialized products for cars that aren’t mass produced. If some kid came up to me asking to borrow a car for a few days so he can use it to measure and create specialized products then give me them for free I’d hand over the keys right now.