The automobile industry is ever evolving, but tires have remained consistent – and the tire shop is a proven and effective business model. Many different niches exist within the tire business, ranging from retail to repair. You can fill a single niche or multiple, depending on your capital investment abilities and marketing.
These are two critical components to opening a tire shop: location and licensing. While you have the option of making mobile repairs, the business model is limited and is often better suited to one service in a suite of service offerings.
Your location will require space to house vehicles. At least one garage bay is required but multiple bays with high clearance increase your earning abilities. Purchasing the space is ideal as an investment, but leasing is common, especially for a new business with limited capital.
The business will come to you in a high demand market – especially with advertising – but a high visibility location increases natural foot traffic.
Always do your market research before investing in the location. Assess the population base, vehicles on the road and the competition. The tire business is often safe because every vehicle on the road requires tire service. It is however important to understand dynamics in the local economy.
For example, a small town with a staple tire business is a difficult market to penetrate while an urban or growing area with high traffic has more potential.
While conducting market research, assess the pricing offered by competitors and work through your pricing strategy. Determine the margins and profits from each service offered. Based on this information, you can calculate the number of customers required to reach income goals.
Additionally, you will require business licensing and liability insurance. A retail location requires a business tax license in many states.
After securing your state license, check the local ordinances for city or county license requirements.
You will also need to create and register your company. The corporate structure for a single-owner tire shop is most commonly an LLC and an LLP for a partnership. Speak to a business attorney to see which makes the most sense for your needs.
After obtaining the licenses and liability insurance, you can acquire the equipment needed and begin marketing your tire shop business.
The tire business has niches that include repair, retail, mounting, and balance and alignment. Some shops even offer mechanical work to varying degrees. Focusing on front end work is a good up-sell.
Brakes, U-joints, idler arms and front end parts are often in need of repair, and the shop can quickly examine and quote the additional work while increasing billable hours and profit margins.
Many shops do not work on engines or transmissions but they will handle suspension-related parts.
If you want to expand into mechanical services, you'll need basic mechanical tools like screwdrivers, socket wrenches, and even a torch and welding equipment.
Overhead for simple tire repairs is minimal. You will need plugs and patches and the ability to pull the tire off the rim and remount after completing the repair. You also need weights to balance the tire on the rim. A mount and balance machine is the primary tool here.
Like every automotive shop, you'll require floor jacks and jack stands to lift the vehicles. An air compressor to operate an air gun for the lug nuts is useful. You can do this manually with a lug nut wrench, but the air gun can set to the pressure specifications and tighten the lug nuts perfectly.
This equipment covers the basic repairs, mounting and balancing requirements for a tire and repair shop. For retail, you need floor space to display tires and storage for bulk inventory. Alignment is done on a computerized machine that requires a significant investment or lease option.
The returns are also increased, however, and many customers want their alignment done alongside tire mounting.
When the business is set up, licensed and launched, you may receive some traffic organically, but marketing will increase traffic, sales and revenue. Advertise locally, set up a website and get the business listed on Google's local business search. Customers can find you, utilize your service and leave reviews through this platform.
Run first-time customer specials, offer free diagnostics and focus on customer service to drive repeat business and referrals. Like mechanics, a tire shop can build a fiercely loyal customer base. The word of mouth aspect of the tire business is extremely valuable.
The automobile industry is one of the constantly developing frontiers of the global market. The latest techniques and technologies are being used in this industry in every aspect.
But the tires used in the vehicles keep their place steady. That’s why starting a tire business is considered to be quite profitable. There is no season or time to start it, so you can run this business effectively whether it’s retail, wholesale, or as an Auto repair shop throughout the year. You can also get a good ROI or return over investment in this business.
If you are looking to understand how to start a tire shop, it is crucial that you take care of some crucial factors:
The first factor that needs to be taken into granted is the nature of your tire shop, which can be of two types. Either we acquire a franchise of a particular company’s tire, or we can independently sell and service tires of more than one company. Of course, if you decide to go with a franchisee of any particular company, you will have to adopt the brand’s name related to their tire. But to conduct a successful independent tire business, you might not want to be subject to the products of any one company.
To open a tire shop, you should keep two things in mind – the location and the authority or franchise. The garage you choose for your shop should be in an excellent location to ensure a good business. The choice of location depends a lot on your budget. The godown for the tire shop can be leased or rented out with a limited investment of capital.
Starting a tire shop in a garage can be quite important as there will be a lot of movement of vehicles and people.
Before diving into “how to start a tire shop”, you must conduct a thorough research about the field. You will have to take notes of the total population and the number of vehicles in the chosen area, along with the means of transportation and other tire shops there.
If you think of starting a tire shop in a less populated area, it will be challenging to conduct a profitable business there. You will also have to ensure that there is excessive vehicle traffic for the tire business in that area.
You should also get the information about the kind of vehicles driven by the people in that area. It will help you assess the category and brand of tires that are most liked by the people.
You might have to assess the market to find out what brand and kind of tires are sold by other dealers in the area. Additionally, you will have to work out how much profit the tire business will make after deducting the expenses. Then, you can set the sales target on that basis.
Also, you will need to arrange finance before starting the tire business. For that, you will need to combine your investment with bank finance. But, again, it must be done before starting the shop so that the business runs smoothly.
Before starting the tire shop, you will have to obtain a license per the rules prevailing in that region or state. There will also be a need to form a firm for your tire shop. It can be a sole proprietorship or partnership firm.
Along with sales, service will also be required at the tire shop. It can be a tire repair and other related work. Apart from the tire, the vehicle also needs other services like wheel balancing and alignment. These additional services can also be provided at the tire shop.
The tire is one of the most important components of any vehicle. Fixing, balancing, and alignment of wheel and tire are very important. Providing your customers with these facilities at your tire shop will increase sales and services.
Lifting equipment, changing tables, alignment machines, balancing equipment, air and nitrogen compressors, tire wrenches, etc., are just a few of the necessary instruments and machinery required before you open a tire shop. Apart from this, a compressor-driven air gun is also required for opening, tightening the tire. It will help improve the quality of work, and time will also be saved.
If you are thinking of starting a tire shop, you might want to think about having a good display space to exhibit all the different brands and kinds of tires available for the customers to choose from.
If you have a query about “How to start a tire shop?” log on to www.garageplug.com, and one of our experts will help you with everything you need to know about starting a tire business.
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But how to make money on it?
Taking a closer look:
Typically, a tire shop earns over 80% of its income during high demand seasons - by changing tires before winter and a second surge in spring.
In this hot time, there really is no end to customers and the owner, rubbing his hands, comes up with something else to buy from equipment to speed up the process and let more cars through the season.
The rest of the time (if you don't think of anything else) tire workers have a rest: pumping wheels, express puncture repair, less often - serious side cuts of tires. Sometimes straightening disks, and then, if you are actively engaged in this service.
In general, there is no download and no money either. At such a time, the owner wants to close his business.
As a result, we draw the first conclusions for ourselves: How to earn the main money on tire fitting?
Don't miss them too - they are richer (since they can afford it) - and a rich client is useful for any business (even if he only drinks coffee from you). To discuss with you the question - what else to load your workshop during the off-season? - now we won’t do it yet - but by the end of the article we will advise, based on the accumulated experience, what services can be offered additionally.
There is one more main feature of the provision of tire services:
Of course, times are changing - and in the age of the Internet, everything can be fixed. But this business is still weak in this:
for example - type in a search engine request:
"tire fitting in Kyiv" - in Zhytomyr - and in your city?
So far, there are few - and only large centers.
Although there are already such requests: "tire service around the clock.
" Think.
New communications only give chances to the new and the young, the advanced.
For a normal European level, this is a room for a mini-service station for 2-4 posts, with cars driving inside.
These are standard modern approaches for tire centers and, if you wish, we can calmly work out the layout with you and make a technological project for such a service (Automechanika designed something else). But that's another story.
The topic of our article is more real from the life of those who start their own business, and therefore we land:
There is a separate list of questions related to the design of the premises and official business permits. This is a separate topic not for our article, but you will have to solve these issues too.
A well-organized business is always under control. Trust but verify.
There are many tricks on how to organize accounting and control in your business, and therefore learn.
The technical part with staff training can be solved very calmly:
Ready-made tire fitters already have minimal skills, and therefore sellers of tire fitting equipment will help you teach how to work on new modern stands - and do not be shy with questions and requests.
It's also easy to teach more advanced professional tire repair techniques.
It is necessary to contact importers of tire repair materials, for example: the official representative of the company TECH (materials and technologies for tire repair) is the company AM-Technology Kyiv www.amtech.com.ua.
Large serious firms conduct regular free trainings and training courses in tire repair technologies, and therefore it is easy: contact directly: they are waiting for you and will be happy to.
Determine the number of tire fitters according to your project.
At least one shift - one competent main pro and 1-2 assistants with lesser requirements and skills.
For the wheel re-shoe season (1-2 months in autumn and 1 month in spring), it is advisable to provide for the possibility of additional involvement of staff for peak load - you will earn more.
For a first approximation and a correct economic assessment of our project, we will draw up a budget for the purchase of equipment. First - the most necessary from practice.
Prices are not junk (so as not to be mistaken), but at the average cost of proven Italian machines.
According to the list - the list of the main equipment:
The minimum total is 7500 euros.
This is a fairly standard worked out list of customer requests.
There are several bottlenecks in it:
As a result, the initial settlement amount may increase by another 2000-3000 euros.
For more advanced tire centers with high load and more expensive car wheels, the required technical and price level of equipment is several steps higher:
There are questions about choosing a good tire changer for heavy, hard, low profile tires and higher standards for high speed tire balancing accuracy, from wheel and tire imbalance optimization to full wheel diagnostics.
But this is the topic of our next articles: Top-level tire fitting.
We buy wisely.
Proven for decades: Tire fitting equipment is your main investment in your project. And you need to do them with a confident expectation of a good and successful business - otherwise you don’t even need to start.
Our long-term experience shows that the main equipment for standard tire fitting is bought almost once every 10-20 years.
And therefore, even having saved at first on cheap China, do not count on the fact that you can change it later “when the business gets on its feet”:
, believe someone else’s experience, it won’t - and you will still be on your knees all 10 years in repairs. And everything will break down exactly when the most customers are ready to pay you for the service.
Based on real practice, we advise you to choose the technical level of equipment based on its maximum load and performance during peak periods - where speed and reliability are important.
In order:
What to buy: cheap Chinese machine or reliable Italy?
The answer is very simple - 15 years ago this question simply did not arise, but why? It's just that in China at that time tire fitting equipment was not produced.
Everything is fresh and just recently made.
Moreover, (if you understand a lot about equipment) everything is 100% copied in China - and not always good and not always good. You want to double-check it - then this is your conscious choice.
If you buy for yourself (and not for rent), we recommend starting with a good proven Italian machine: it will last a long time, believe us.
A note for a businessman - like all cheap, used equipment from China, after 2 years it costs nothing, and a normal German or Italian stand can work for decades and loses little in price.
We know this for sure: in Avtomekhanika there is one of the directions - the sale of used tire changers.
Hofmann stands from the 80s came to us for repairs and, after a small repair, they are still working for many years.
Due to the specific nature of the pronounced seasonal load, each owner of a tire shop asks himself a reasonable question about an additional set of services, especially for the summer period, when there is no load at all.
A rhetorical question for the authors of the article, although the answer will not be so unambiguous:
Equipment must be purchased from the importing company and not from intermediaries.
This is the smartest choice and here's why:
As you understand, it's all about Automechanika.
We are a responsible company and offer tire fitting equipment only of an average price level - Sicam Italy and the highest TOP class - Hofmann Germany.
We value your investment and will help you choose the best value for your money. We advise and advise, train and support.
All that we have in the program on this topic you can find on our website autom.com.ua in the section "Tire fitting equipment from Automechanika".
Get in touch. Always glad to see YOU.
How to open a tire shop.
Opening your own tire shop, at first glance, may seem like a very common business idea.
Indeed, it is difficult to call this niche in business free, however, despite the great competition, the development of a tire service today is a fairly successful investment.
Judging by traffic jams, the number of cars is increasing every year, and each of them sooner or later needs to be repaired and replaced tires. Therefore, even if you start with a small business, over time you can open a tire service in other areas of the settlement or expand the list of services offered.
The first and one of the most difficult stages of opening your own tire service is finding a suitable location for its location. It seems that the most “profitable” places have long been occupied and you will have to study your future competitors well and find out which workshops cannot cope with the influx of customers, especially in the “season”. Pay attention to the quality and level of service in these workshops - later you can compete by providing high quality service and speed of service.
Consider also places in the vicinity of car washes, gas stations and car parks. Remember that your tire shop must be clearly visible from the road. If not, list signs or billboards on your list of expenses. Sufficient parking space is essential.
The next step is to consider what equipment you will be using. According to the type of services provided, tire fittings are divided into partial and complex, passenger, cargo and specialized. Depending on which tire shop you will open, the list of necessary equipment also changes.
The minimum basic set of equipment consists of a tire changer and balancer, a compressor, wheel wrenches and wrenches, jacks and a tire inflation gun. Without this equipment, the station will not be able to work.
The tire changer is the main link in the tire shop, on which the quality and speed of the work performed depend, and its choice should be taken as seriously as possible. Prices for tire changers depend on the degree of automation of the equipment and on the diameters of the wheels being serviced.
Nowadays, wheels of different types and their complexity, as well as high quality requirements for the work performed, force the use of more and more advanced equipment.
When choosing a SHMS, pay attention to the following factors:
On automatic devices, for the safety of employees and speeding up the work process, the employee uses the remote control: the paw automatically presses the side of the wheel tire.
Balancing stands differ in technical capabilities, as well as the presence of special programs, work programs, programs for balancing motorcycles, optimization programs, ALU - programs and service programs - stand calibration and diagnostics. For balancing motorcycle wheels, the stand is equipped with a special clamping device.
It is easier to work on such a stand - it is more accurate and faster. Ways to display information to the user are also different: on a digital display or display (monitor).
Stands with a digital display are cheaper, and it is more convenient to work with a monitor - all the necessary data is provided in a more informative form, and such stands look more presentable. The display can be either LED or LCD.
But even scroll and screw compressors are not designed to operate at maximum around the clock, although they endure peak loads and emergency work much better. For a workshop that repairs and replaces tires only for cars and minibuses with a small workload, a compressor is recommended with at least a 100-liter receiver and a capacity of at least 500-700 l / min
An important parameter is air consumption, a good powerful light wrench can consume up to 340 l / min, and a cargo wrench up to 1100 l / min, keep this in mind when choosing a compressor and pneumatic tools.
Take care of the purchase of consumables for tire fitting. Main range to be stocked:
Don't forget your work clothes and gloves.
Then you should decide what list of additional services you would like to provide to your customers - this will determine the list of additional equipment that can be purchased immediately or later.
You may need:
When expanding the list of services, you may need: equipment for adjusting the toe angle, tire inflation with nitrogen, a welding machine, a workbench, equipment for repairing and refueling air conditioners.
You can conveniently and quickly calculate the cost of equipment for passenger car tire fitting, and for trucks, on the Mobilservice website.
In addition to stationary tire fitting, it is also possible to open a mobile workshop.
It will be a bit more expensive to open a truck tire shop. You need to choose a place for it very carefully. The truck service area will require special tire fitting consumables. The advantage of such a business is a completely different cost of services and low competition, which means you can count on constant demand and high income.
Particular attention should be paid to the quality of the work performed. Today it is very important to have qualified personnel who are able to work both with wheels and with customers, since the reputation of your company directly depends on this. Customers are increasingly interested in the type and brand of equipment, the brand of tire repair materials and the quality of service. High quality allows you to expect a higher return from the workshop.
To make your Tire Shop positively different from your competitors, you can think of ways to stand out from them:
Many tire shops do not have telephones. It's a shame when, after an extra 2-3 kilometers, you find yourself in a queue and have to wait a couple of hours.
Tire shop is a business that requires investment, that loves work, diligence, attention to detail. But at the same time it is cost-effective and pays off in a fairly short time. Even a point with several employees is able to achieve in half a year a profit sufficient for a return on investment.
