Opening a 'Auto Performance Shop' in Pakistan

[szuberi]

I thought of this idea some time ago and talked to a few friends in Karachi about this. Here are some details...

The plan is to open a professional auto performnace and parts store in Karachi..with a two teir objective. First..is to sell branded performance parts and accessories for the type of vehicles in Pakistan and second...to setup a maintenance service (an alternative to the dealer or a local mechanic)

The market is big and getting bigger with so many new vehicles on the road but there are alot of factors to consider. The parts segment is not too big an issue as i know suppliers and whole sales both in Canada, US, Hong Kong/Taiwan.

The bigger venture is the maintenance service..i simply love the idea but since i wont be there...so i will have to find some people or put together a team of technicians who can work full time. The core focus is customer service and professional results...not the run around or cheap work that some people do. The maintenance procedure will be the same as per OEM recommendation for the car you have...mostly preventative maintenance with a no bull shyt warranty.

There are a few people who are also willing to invest in the
project and we are working on a plan..slowly but gradually.

My question to you guys is...do you think its a good idea..cuz it will people like you who will be the potential customers?

Will you go to a professional shop like this and pay a little extra to get some good and secure work done?

Will you guys pay Rs. 12,000 for an AEM air intake or about Rs 25,000 for a Greddy or Magnaflow cat back exhaust..for example.

These are just random thoughts....the plan is not firm at all at the moment. What do you guys think????

[Faysall]

There are a lotta performance shops in Karachi,RPM sports being one of em.

I have also seen some on Gizri Road.

Seriously I think Pakistan is a underdeveloped market for such stuff,but truly the way cars (esp sports cars) are imported the "the soup-it-up culture" is fast finding new members.

Though such a shop may have a target market, prices are the main issue, otherwise I think if the shop is marketed properly, it is lkely to hit the bull's eye.

[raa20v]

First is to find out what market needs and get bulk buy discounts. if products are overpriced, consumer gets idea to buy it off web direct. As a few of my friends have suggestions to open perf. parts shops in Pakistan too, we discussed that parts need to be cheap plus expertize needed what to install in what. cant go on installing everything in car when probably it donest even need it,, thinking it will increase hp.

eg:
As you noticed toyota 20v 4age engine is becoming famous here, since ive been on the project of marketing it..

eg:
dont forget the 2nd hand market here,, i have HKS catback bought it much cheaper than RS.25,000/- on my custon made exhaust and its working perfectly loud.( lmao.. just kidding about loud.

but the thing is we need lot more shops to creat awareness nationwise

[janleva]

so u are opening a mod shop in other words.

well who will mod his mehran lolz..hahha.
people here are living just hand to mouth they dont have extra bucks for perfrormace

coz performacce=poor fuel economy
well there are some ricers who may have money.to spend like that.
but a midle class PAKISTANI who mostly own the chunk of the cars of pakistan dont think about those things
performace upgrades bla bla.

and about sports cars being impotred who will mod his AMG SL. FROM PAKISTAN hahha after AMG.

People are getin all ready tuned cars here (imported)who can afford.

rather u can iNvest in some gadgtes stuff eg omega ,o2 sensors,efi kits,alternate feuls.engine lubes ,cng stuff.this biz is boooming here in pakistan.

mostly the guys who mod their cars are DIY. AND THEY are able to dig out custom parts from the 2nd hand parts market. fro lahore ,peshawar quetta .at cheap rates.

[raa20v]

janleva: not everybody wants to import. i can easly smoke a import which costs a lot more than my car unless its some kind of rally tuned:).

my ol' saying : its not difficult buying a car,, its difficult maintaning it.. and that's what counts.

[szuberi]

thanks for your comments...lets wait for some more...i will reply to everyone.

[WA5EEM]

@ szuberi bro ... that is such a good idea .. but as someone has mentioned in a previous post .... the price is the main issue .. have high prices but high enough so that someone can afford them and not hear the price and run a mile ... i now what you mean what you pay for is what you get ...

if there were technicians in pakistan that could understand the performance cars and prestige that would be great ... well that was my opnion ...

essay over ... lol

[BlackSniper]

salam. very very good idea szuberi . yes we can performance cars like turbo fixing and nos fixing menagement by motec. modified engines. i can fixed nos around 150hp and how to fixed turbo system defrent cars with motec managment to get more hp. we can performance toyota corola by turbo around 150hp we need low presure piston and fuel ingecter and fuel pump. welllll if u want to reply mail sniper_mafia1@hotmail.com . TOPRPM WORKSHOP.

[szuberi]

great...but my focus is not just performance upgrades like turbo and stuff.....i am more tuned towards regular factory recommended maintenance of vehicles that are daily drivers on the road...like regular oil, fluid changes, cooling, heating system, brakes, exhaust, electrical etc.

so take that into account as well...pay per use or get a membership type of thing you know...

[mercielago]

@szuberi
for worker(team) for regular maintenance of vehicles consider me am HINO certified technition also doing efi an other courses from other institutes but i can just give max 6 hours to ur mod shop kauze of further studies am doing

[Jag]

@salman, it seems great initiative on this note my two cents thoughts are..

There surely is market for people who will buy 12K AEM and 25K for Greddy but will be few. You can think of this like as if people can spemd millions of rupees on Importing High Performance Cars, then why not maintaining them by professionals. It will surely take time to win some confidence as assuming if I own a high-end car I will never send it to a local weird looking garage i'll prefer to send it to some professional people who know their job well.

But thinking of ROI (Return on Investment) it will be too long but one thing for sure it will be worth it, since the industry over here is just started to grow!!

Oh btw, please make sure you have CNG installation experts for high-end cars ferrari's, rolls, mercs, etc... lolz j/k

[aridsoul]

Naveed and I have been thinking along the same lines in Lahore, with CNG as our speciality

[mrhot2000]

well

I have bought a workshop around 14 marlas near defence. waiting to get possesion as there was already a work shop running there and they are moving. they have lots of stuff to move. I already have a lot of people to work things. (secret personal). and as for prices 200 USd for an aem cold intake is to much. as you see we can get 35-50 percent of label prices easily of the net and special sources. I know someone in khi who can get any part on 50 percent off. so why would someone pay you over the label price when they can get it for less. Labour here is cheap but most peopel will pay you anything you ask for tunning a car if you can give results.

[testdriver]

(y)....nice idea!

[Starlet_GT]

There are some potential customers here but ... as far as the performance parts buyers are concern I think they are not consistant ... like police following street racers so most of the modifications went into water ...

If the main focus on avg cars ... then it can be a good business ... on the other hand one of my friend went to singapore and told me that he saw few shops selling second hand performance parts ... I think if some one can manage to bring second hand performance parts then he can attract more buyers ... coz branded parts are so expensive ...

[szuberi]

ok good to see some more responses so far..here is my response.

@starlet
i know people usually run around alot to save some money but u cant beat the reliability of a brand new quality product. infact..i do the same if i am sure the price is just too much and i cant afford it. but like i said before...the bigger objective is not performance upgrades...cuz most of all this stuff is just bling and does not add alot to performance in relation to the money that is spent on them.

@MrHot2000
You obviously dont have any idea of prices of branded performance parts. At U$200, an AEM Cold air intake is cheap...not expensive. I think we can have some good competition since you have 'secret personal' and on another note...if you have better costs than i do...i will buy wholesale from you then...lets do some business.

Overall..its somewhat time consuming but very interesting..i dont wanna do anything which is illegal (in case you dont know...aftermarket turbo and nitrous and all that shyt is illegal)...and if you think nobody gets caught...that doesnt mean that the law doesnt exist. i have a copy of complete regulations and you guys will be surprised to see the restrictions that the city has on them.

I am also in touch with some folks at Indus and Atlas..developing some maintenance plans...cuz i would eventually want the technicians to get trained with them and get certified before they touch any car...that is required for warranty that this business will offer.

I am aware of the affordability issue of the people in general so that will always be a priority...i hate rip-offs myself but im sure that if someone can pay 1.2MM for a civic or 2.5MM for a camry...they can spend 20-25K on regular preventitive maintenance on the car per year.

[malikg115]

@ szuberi
bro
y donb u think
it can b a gradual increase in all fields u wan,
eg started from a normal shop. like v hav in montgomry rd LHR,
eg a shop i think muighal auto, he has good verity of normal xtras,.,

instead u plan for v high profile items, this way u ll b able 2 enter the market and by simple little business u ll b able 2 undertsand wats going on right now & wat ll happen after some time n wat after long time
wat do u say ?

[mrhot2000]

well y not. Waise once you start i will more then happy to introduce you the people who can import you at cheap rates. We wont be in competition as we weill be in differant cities

[vteclude]

sounds like an excellent idea! are there any 'performance shops' in pk at the moment?
i mean proper ones where they can advise you on performance upgrades, carry out the work and remap? not the local 'service centre' where kids do all the work! (fair play to the 'kids' tho, they'd put a lot of people to shame!)
most new cars are full of electronics which requires experts to diagnose and repair.
so if there isn't any place like that in pk, its about time there was!
i was in pk last year and didnt see many performance cars. but for those people who do have them, i'm sure they would pay that extra bit to ensure a proper job is carried out by a professional tuning company, be it an oil change or a full engine rebuild.
In the UK there are a handfull of tuning companies and people do travel and pay that little bit extra to have a proper job done.
not sure what the tuning scene is like in pk. like you mentioned, would people pay more to have a tried and tested part fitted or would they go for the cheapest option. i'm not saying that branded products are the best, but you need to have the experience/knowledge of which part performs well in which car and under which conditions.

good luck with the venture!

[portage1]

I am opening a body-shop than