Looking to relocate. Need advice.

I hope this post isnt out of line.

I'm strongly contemplating chasing my life dream and getting into the old car biz. I want to go to the Dallas, TX area. I would prefer my shop to be pretty close to Dallas, but my house to be in the surrounding area. I'm not looking for the high priced suburbs. I really would prefer the preverbial " one horse town". Something with maybe 2000 people. Preferably less. No fast food joints or Walmart. Just a quiet little town. Anyone have advice on anything like that. And cheap housing is a must. Also are there any areas in Dallas that would be good for a shop? Low crime and such.

 

1. Build time machine
2. Set machine for 1955
3. Press "Start" button

 

Dallas is a great area.. I hope you find the spot you're looking for.

 

Why Dallas? Why in the "boondocks" You have both worlds now in Cimarron, do your thing where you are and save on moving. (I have been to Cimarron many times).

 

There's so much sprawl in the Dallas area, that to have a shop 'in Dallas' and live 'in the sticks' would require about an hour commute each way, usually.

 

There is just no market out here. Not enough folks with money.

 

Dallas is a tough market . I lived there after moving my own business that I started in Houston . Unlike Houston, Dallas is a very upscale and diverse city as opposed to the worker bees of Houston . I actually loved the look and feel of Dallas and was sorry that I had to come back East . As for a one horse town and low crime , UH FORGET THAT ! scrubba

 

i would suggest work on everday cars to get started and slowly incorporate old car stuff , im in houston and its a great place to live , houses are still cheap and very little regulations , and no state income tax...mac

 

Im pretty shure there is no market anyplace. And with the internet you have a world wide market? Hardly anyone has money to burn and the few who do dont buy regularly enough to support a buisness. You need something that is repeteable on a weekly basis to make a living. Dont believe TV shows Like Gas monkey - Texas car Wars ect. They are getting paid by the TV. Its fake scripted. Its just entertainment lies on TV. Prior to the mandatory insurance law,s and high priced gasoline ect. I made a good living selling parts, swapping cars and working out of a 30 x30 shop. those days are long gone. Thats my opinion anyway. Old Wolf

 

Sorry, probably no one horse towns in the area, but you could live and work in Grapevine. Close to DFW, midway between Ft. Worth and Dallas.

 

My guess if it is a one horse town you would have to work on his wagon.

The best way to make a million in Texas working on cars is to start with two million.

 

I bet any of the pros on here who build hot rods or customs for a living will tell you it is a very tough business to make a living at. Sure, we have people like Langy, who does well and others, but they generally got into the business long enough to learn what works and what doesn't. They probably also got into it in a better economic climate when people were willing to shake loose of money more easily than they are today.

I've looked at a bunch of ways to at let our hobby shop make some money every month to at least cover the rent, but am always faced with the realization that I can earn more money working at another job than I could ever make building things for others. If I charged them what I would need to charge to turn a profit they would never pay me that much.

Today is not a good time to be taking on a limited market venture. I know that sounds defeatist, but if you look at how many established businesses are failing that should tell you something. The suggestion to first start with a business that caters to people trying to keep their daily drivers running and then branch into custom work once you are established seems to make more sense to me.

Don

 

I was actually looking at getting started selling cars, some old some new. Then working my way into building cars. That way the retail can support me and the shop work can have a chance to grow.

 

sounds like a pretty bold move unless you have connections in the car world there. Family & friends there? how often have you been to Dallas? looked into cost for car sales business, like business license, insurance, commercial building rental per sq ft, etc?

 

Kansas is old car heaven. You have Jeff Myers over in Arkansas City, the whole Wichita scene, then there's all kinds of HAMBers all over the state, really good guys that are totally into the traditional rod and custom thing.

You could also consider a place like Tulsa area, where there really are small towns with less expensive housing not too far away from the city. I've lived in Plano, just north of Dallas, and there is no such thing as inexpensive housing anywhere near the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.

Whatever your decision, I wish you the very best!

 

That is some good advice, Don. Very good advice. The economy is going to have to recover considerably more than it has to support more toys.

 

You also need to consider that the old car market is probably a shrinking market. Most of the old antique car guys are in their 70-80's. The hot rod guys are mostly boomers-now mid 50's-60's. After that are the muscle car guys in their 40's and the tuners in their 20-s and 30's. There are exceptions, of course. But, a lot of your target market is now thinking of downsizing, not expanding. How do you feel about neon ground effects?

 

We lived in Grapevine, Texas. A great place to live but not much of a one horse town anymore. Its a big suburb between Dallas and Fort Worth. Go too far out in the sticks, your business will dry up and blow away.

 

I let my boss take the risk ..it has been a tough year , BUT GOOD LUCK

 

Good luck, I think 5 Window nailed it, same scene here in AZ, old guys with $$ to spend are a dieing breed and younger guys can't afford a 50K Deuce. I'm sure there will be a niche for you, don't give up the dream IP

 

if you do good work people with money will find you! a vehicle built in kansas is every bit as cool as one from socal! stay put and build!

 

Gotta agree,,,people will come to you for your work. Po' folk do their own work. My wife routinely suggests I "relocate to points south"

 

Stay away from California. 13.3% income tax and some counties and cities have sales taxes at or above 10%. Real Estate is unreasonable too. Nice climate but in my mind not worth it. If I could get out of here I would. Car license fee are double the next highest state fee. State Gas tax on 14.9 per gallon also. Not a small business friendly atmosphere either.
Normbc9

 

I lived in the greater Houston area for 17 years before relocating to the DFW area. Housing is about 10% more expensive here in DFW and water in 50% higher. All the other bills are about the same. Traffic is horrible in both. One horse town areas are 50 miles or more out of town (beyond the city limits).

Every person I know who could afford a cool car and bought or had one built, didn't care where it was built, They went to the best builder and paid the price.

Good luck to you and yours and if you come to the DFW area, look us up.

 

Another large part of wanting to move is to get out of Kansas. I hate the cold and the wind. There's not a lot to do here. I can always find something to do when I'm in Dallas. I'm 29 years old now with no kids and nothing to really tie me down. I have a home which will easily sell where I'm located. Otherwise I can just up and go. I feel like I'm at a point in my life that if I don't try now I will never be able to again. I have been in transport refrigeration for years and could easily work a second job on a night shift if I had to in order to get started. I'm not afraid of work or of just scraping by. If it leads to my final goal I will do whatever I have to. Are there any affordable suburbs that are bigger than "one horse"?

 

What makes you think that Dallas is any warmer or less windy than Kansas? Lived and worked there for a couple of years, endured tornadoes, ice storms, flash floods, hail storms, freezing rain, dust storms and some monster wind storms. Better thought would be to stay where you are and apply any money that would have been used for moving expenses to start your business.

 

Drive to Dallas and take a right at I-30. Fort Worth is about 30 miles west and is the biggest and friendliest one-horse town in Texas. A lot of car guys here too.

 

I opened this thread expecting something different, but what I found was a car guy, not unlike myself, having the same thoughts I had.

I opened up my shop a few months ago but really the business has been in existence since late October, and what I have found is not far or exactly the things that have been expressed, speculated or deduced by some of the responders.

1) Its easy to underestimate just how much time and money are actually spent BEFORE you open the doors. - Rent, deposits, licenses, fees, inspections, entity creation, marketing/advertising, etc.
2) If you build it they will come is a great movie line but doesn't exist in the real world.
3) I have not turned down a job because its not a classic, hot rod, kustom, etc. and have yet to make any money at this.
4) People like us on the HAMB, great hot rodders and like-minded folk like to do their own work which further shrinks the market for labor.
5) Its logical to think that a bigger customer base (bigger city) might increase your chances of success but will also increase the number of looky-loos.

I feel I have taken the steps to do this right, following the laws and regulations, being a dealer for national, name brand products we all know and trust, and offering my services at a good, fair price. But, DANG its tough!

If you want to move to Texas, Welcome buddy. Its a great state and a whole other country. We'd be glad to have you.

Sorry for the lengthy post, hopefully it got read. LOL

 

The rules and regulations add significant cost too. I have lived there for 12 years and could go on all day about the crazy stuff they make you do. W.r.t cars, for instance a lot of oil based paints are now being targeted. Also if you're a business you can't have any heavy object on a shelf etc. Everything needs to be tied down, you have to haved escape routes, on and on..

Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone

 

I work at a high end resto shop in Houston. We have a steady supply of work but I believe that it's due to the quality of our work and not the price. Having said that, if your thinking about opening a shop in Texas, you better do perfect work. There are plenty of good customers. Plenty of bad customers too. Know the difference and cater to the good customers.