my one man repair shop

[Dmoen]

Been distant from the site for a couple years. Never really was "active" to begin with i guess. any ways little tiny background.

dropped out of high school at 17(2008), and got my GED within 2 weeks. started college a couple months later in the fall for General auto. Finally went to the doctor due to being extremely tired and feeling miserable. Said i had mono and dont go back to school for a bit. GF got pregnant (how does that even happen?) and i never went back to school. started at local chevy dealership changing oil an alignments. withing a couple months i was moved to a tech and the tool buying exploded. spent from the fll of 2008 up until the fall of 2012 there. left for a much better paying job at another GM dealer. This required me and the GF, and kid to move, with another kid on the way. Was only a 60 mile move. I stayed at that job untill the GF decided to leave me. Anyways i got a bad attitude for a while and got let go. Understandable, i deserved it. That was september of '16. me and Both of my boys moved back to hometown, and i started at an independent shop. The EX moved about an hour away from us. so i continued to work at this last shop for almost 2 years. actually a month to the day shy of 2 years. We sort of had a falling out. We probably could have worked through it, but i came up with the idea to man up and go open my own repair shop. He kindly agreed.

now July of 2018 came. The 15th of the month was my opening day of my own business. got everything with the state done in prior months while working for the former, He helped me GREEATLY in ways i dont think he realizes. Anyways, took some looking for a building, found this place im at now. it works. not ideal, but its ok and i should not complain.

i WAS broke when i opened shop. I didnt have any savings. Sold a couple cars and used the cash for a used lift, a ****** old air compressor and all the legal **** to get me going. luckily i had been buying LOTS of tool past years anticipating this to come eventually, so i was fairly well set there except the equiptment. Been picking up any "good deal" i can come across used before i buy new if i can help it.. so thats my story and im stickin to it.

with out further ado, heres my little shack.

 

[protegeV]

Dont see any pics, but I got a kick out of this one part of your story.
"GF got pregnant (how does that even happen?)"

 

[Dmoen]

you can see the nice artsy work there on the back wall, and the hoist I bought



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[Dmoen]

you can see here the shop space is quite large. I can fit 11 cars in here over night. It’s to tight to do any work, but I can run that many in



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[Dmoen]

I’ve stayed QUITE busy. Done some stuff I’ve never done before too. Kind of nice being in a position to choose what I want to work on, or turn down something really ****** if I feel. Never was a diesel guy at the dealer, and didn’t want it either. No diesel work at the independent shop i came from either. Here I did my very first duramax headgasket job. Made damn good time on that job, and am patiently awaiting my next one someday. I was a heavy line tech at the dealerships. Mainly trucks and suvs. Didn’t do a whole lot of cars. You could say my specialties is powertrain work. Last few years most notably 3.6 and LS based engines. I got fired from the last dealer ship right as the new style LT’s came out so not super familiar with theme yet. Looks like they still have there issues like the LS, so I have that to look forward to also.





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[Dmoen]

Sort of this a lot right away, but it will probably be quite slow once I’m caught up. I’d LOVE to get into machine work. Someday. As I pick up equipment when I can afford, and when I NEED it for a certain job [emoji6]

One thing I NEEDED was something better then my parts washer filled with smelly diesel fuel. Left everything greasy and smelly and really took a LOT of time to clean parts. If a customer bring there car in for say an intake gasket job, they want to be able to open the hood and see things are now clean and look like you did a good job.

Called a CUDA dealer and told him I wanted a hot washer. Under 2k. He kinda laughed. Couple days later he called me with a used trade in. Old 25/18 model. Top loader that is UGLY he said. Works well. Shipped to my shop with a tub of detergent it came to right under 1500. I gave it a quick flap disc and wire wheel and went to TSC and bought some blue paint, hardener and reducer. I looked like my mother mixing that paint like she cooks. A little splash of this and that. Mixed it up and sprayed. I used the whole small can or hardener in a pint of paint. And about a 75/25 reducer ratio. This paint laid great and is ROCK HARD. It does leak around the lid, assuming that’s why the OG paint was fairly nonexistent. I’ll get something on there to seal it up some day.


.


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[turbowoodworker]

Congrats. Looks like hard work and determination does trump hard knocks and bad luck. Your story might inspire a few folks.

 

[RustyJunk]

Good luck with the shop, where are you located.

 

[Dmoen]

One thing I have needed a few times now since being open is a quick valve job. It is tedious, but not too hard. I don’t like paying the machinist to do heads I KNOW how to do them, and have many many times. So I put an add out far and wide for a valve grinder. Didn’t want to spend much either. I’m BROKE, (close enough) and I’m cheap, and I won’t use it a TON so the value just isn’t too high personally. Anyways a local ad yielded a guy to call me and say he has an OLD grinder he’d sell but it won’t be cheap and comes with a couple other things. I explain I don’t want to spend much, but politely said what are you asking? He says he won’t take a penny less then $250. That price is right up my alley and told him I’d buy it. He sent me pictures, and it’s an old black and decker unit. I almost didn’t want it. There is no line/cooling. But it came with a seat grinder and what I believe is a setup to cut cast iron heads to install hardened seats. For the price I couldn’t turn it down. This just happened, as he delivered it yesterday. Plugged it in and it does work.
Anyone have any advice on the seat cutter? Or know what I have? I haven’t ever done anything that extreme. Yet [emoji6]



Also, the front of my shop has this store front. I don’t use it for anything really, if I wnd up purchasing the building it will be turned into shop space eventually. For now the kids play in it and there’s another room in the back, 20x20 that has my desk and tv for the kids and a couch. I may have crashed there a couple times on the weekends they go to there mothers.


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[Dmoen]

Dont see any pics, but I got a kick out of this one part of your story.
"GF got pregnant (how does that even happen?)"

still havent figured it out, but it happened twice!

Congrats. Looks like hard work and determination does trump hard knocks and bad luck. Your story might inspire a few folks.

thanks!

Good luck with the shop, where are you located.

thank you, Very slow around this time of year now. It is sort of nice to be able to catch up on a few longer term jobs i have had kicking around here. SRT4 neon engine rebuilld, and a couple 5.3 engine re freshenings. and then theres just the jobs tht down right **** and get put on the back burner, aka nissan titan headgaskets
i like in Devils Lake ND.

 

[Rickster55]

Nice set up. Just need pics of the Ex! LOL

 

[theoldwizard1]

There is a LOT of money to be made in electronic diagnosis ! It does take the talent and some pricey tools. Check out these YouTube channels : New Level Auto, South Main Auto and Pine Hollow Auto. The last one is a budget business run out of Ivan's garage. He did spring for the expensive Snap-On scanner and a PicoScope, but he knows how to use both to their full advantage.

New Level Auto (Keith) is a mobile operation in a big city. He only does diagnosis and minor electrical repair (repair broken wire, replace/reprogram modules). I know he get over $100/hour from the shops he visits who obviously inflate that and pass it on.

 

[Dmoen]

There is a LOT of money to be made in electronic diagnosis ! It does take the talent and some pricey tools. Check out these YouTube channels : New Level Auto, South Main Auto and Pine Hollow Auto. The last one is a budget business run out of Ivan's garage. He did spring for the expensive Snap-On scanner and a PicoScope, but he knows how to use both to their full advantage.

New Level Auto (Keith) is a mobile operation in a big city. He only does diagnosis and minor electrical repair (repair broken wire, replace/reprogram modules). I know he get over $100/hour from the shops he visits who obviously inflate that and pass it on.

yea i have seen a little bit of there stuff. I do follow scanner danner on his free channel as well as humble mechanic. I used to watch some of erics videos, but just havent in a while.

theres LOTS of stuff id love to learn as funds coma available to purchase equiptment. One is to operate and understand a scope. i also see a 5 gas analizer coming in handy sometimes as well.

the other is machining. i will persue this first as it interests me more. I do have a machine shop owner slowly slowing down work and getting ready to hang it up for good. He has offered to sell me as much equiptment as i want and send his customers my way. not sure i want that quite yet, i have a hard enough time keeping up with my own auto customers. his customers are almosty strictly john deere, as well as a few other vintage tractors.


another update, i got a shop cat. had a few mice coming in with the cold weather, the cats still in hiding mode. havent seen it since i let it out of its cage on saturday morning.

 

[drivesitfar]

Dmoen: i've got 5 adult kids so yep there were times when I didn't think I was going to survive. if the ex wasn't THE ONE maybe you will find her one day, but your work ethic seems sound so keep that up. just be honest with your clients and friends and work will find you and maybe THE ONE will too. my dream girl didn't show up until I was 30 and she came with a 10 & 12 year old 32 years ago.

good luck!!

also nice looking space especially for your first shop!!

 

[Dmoen]

@drivesitfar, she definitely was not THE ONE looking back. I’ve come a long way in life since she left. I probably would still be at the same dead end job. A little freedoms sure is nice!! Although being a full time single father to 2 young boys is tough, it sure does make me feel good most days!

And if my deadline is 30 to find the right one, I just turned 27 last Saturday, so the clocks ticking haha. And honestly right now I’m A-OK on my own.

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[Dmoen]

Got a bit of cleaning done today after getting a couple jobs done and out the door. Not much, but did get some tools put away and most of the floor swept.

Kinda in a crappy mood with the shop lately. Everything is such a big job the past few months. Engine replacement, trans replacements, have a couple engine I have/am going through and heater cores. So no quick work. Sure helps having some quick turn around jobs once in a while to feel like somethings actually getting done. Instead of working on the same car multiple days in a row. After Christmas and the New Years it should pick back up again. Hopefully








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[drivesitfar]

Dmoen: your shop and work ethic look and sound great. another good option if you can swing it is to have a few project cars you pick up cheap to flip that you can work on in the slow times if you have any.

also don't worry about the AGE CLOCK TICKING in your search for THE ONE cause if I hadn't found mine when I was 30 I would have waited another 2,5 or 10 or so years.

that said we had some days when neither one of us wanted to be married to each other so it's probably always a work in progress.

good luck with business and raising your two boys and keep positive as you can.

cheers (cold ice tea for me mostly these days)

 

[Dmoen]

Yes I tend to actually mike more cash buying and flipping vehicles. I have done more then I can admit for this year already, but the Chrysler 300c with a bad engine I have yet to finish should also yield a nice pay day [emoji106]


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[1Garageman]

I am subscribing! I bet you will make some good money with this business later on.
Look for some cars to "Flip" at some auctions, divorces and estate sales.
Good Luck!

 

[Unruh]

This was a great start to my day. I really enjoyed your story and garage. I bet it is really nice having some say on what jobs you take and what you don’t.

 

[Dmoen]

Had a few people interested in the one of my hoists. It’s an old MAXON brand. I can only guess mid 80’s. It was the first piece of equipment I bought when I made the decision to open shop. Found it about an hour away on a local buy sell trade website. Had it listed for 1300, when I got there I ended up cutting a deal for 1200.
It originally had a 5hp 3phase motor on it. He couldn’t use that at his farm so he put this single phase 5hp BALDOR motor on it. Seemed quite odd he had a 5hp running off 110v but he swore up and down his electrician said it was a dual voltage motor. It seemed to work fine with no vehicle on it. Took the 4 anchor nuts loose and unplugged it. He loaded it on my trailer with a pay loader and off I was. Got to my shop and got a skidster and unloaded it. Was easy to move around with a pallet jack till I wanna it decided where to put it.

Fast forward to trying to lift a vihicle. My ‘09 1500 ccsb chevy. It barely started to lift and about died on power. Checked the motor and it is NOT dual voltage. Wired it to 220 and it works awesome!! I’d like to put a standard rotator switch on it instead of how it’s set up now.
Right now you flip the top switch in what direction to go, then flip the bottom switch for power on/off. Kinda nice I can walk away for a couple seconds while cars going down, but very dangerous. Makes me nervous when I have hired help here and there using it.








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[Dmoen]

Well today started out a bit rough, oldest boys being a bit bullied at school and did NOT want to go. Got that dilemma out of the way, got him into school. Dropped the little one off at preschool and went to the shop and turned on the open sign.
Customer calls upset I haven’t finished his vehicle. Long story short, he’s an idiot. It’s a severe misfire(fixed) and a small battery draw (80MA). Told him 2 weeks ago that the battery draws gotta wait till I get free ruins that I have some more important things at hand. It’s either going to be a while, best to just come get it and drive the damn thing. Any ways, today he tells me that’s poor business. I told him to come get it, pay the bill and please find someone else to work on his stuff.
IMHO, bad business would be turning down lucrative jobs to do someone a favor. Oh well

On to the first task for the day before the engine goes back in a truck. One broken TQ converter bolt. All the bolts were loose and customer thought engine was knocking. Oh well I’m still putting the engine in it. Got it semi rigged on the drill press and it was out in about 5 minutes.



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[drivesitfar]

Dmoen: I HATE BULLIES and hopefully your son is learning to deal with them on his terms early in life cause it will do him well later. yep making tough choices with you work is also not fun so best of luck keeping your reputation in tack so your business keeps growing nicely.

the sad thing is that if you do too many favors you end up getting business from their friends that also want favors and it's a spiraling path in the wrong direction.

i'm sure you're learning that if you charge a fair price for quality work you'll succeed. AND keep the drama out of your work and life will make you a lot happier too.

good luck!!

 

[theoldwizard1]

After many years of trial and error and watching some YouTube videos, this is what I have learned about removing broken bolts.

• File/grind the top of the bolt flat and center punch it. You only get one shot at this so BE CAREFULL/EXACT !
• Use a pilot drill to start the process. They are disposable, so buy multiple,
• Use left hand drill bits ! Start small and work your way up. If you are lucky the bolt will unscrew.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Good for you for not quitting and trying to make a better life for you and your kids!

The shop has great potential.
In my experience, long term and complex jobs are very fulfilling and you sure win a lot of confidence in your skills, but from a financial point of view they are not at all profitable.
They take a lot of time and they force you to lose other jobs because most customers won't wait for you to be done with that long job.
Best thing to do is to set your priorities and decide what is best for your business in the long run.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Dmoen]

Good for you for not quitting and trying to make a better life for you and your kids!

The shop has great potential.
In my experience, long term and complex jobs are very fulfilling and you sure win a lot of confidence in your skills, but from a financial point of view they are not at all profitable.
They take a lot of time and they force you to lose other jobs because most customers won't wait for you to be done with that long job.
Best thing to do is to set your priorities and decide what is best for your business in the long run.

Keep up the good work!

you hit the nail on the head here!! the engine swaps and stuff are sure fun, but they do not pay the bills like the average joe thinks. now, if i have to repair the engine in question, theres good cash flow there.

 

[Dmoen]

After many years of trial and error and watching some YouTube videos, this is what I have learned about removing broken bolts.

• File/grind the top of the bolt flat and center punch it. You only get one shot at this so BE CAREFULL/EXACT !
• Use a pilot drill to start the process. They are disposable, so buy multiple,
• Use left hand drill bits ! Start small and work your way up. If you are lucky the bolt will unscrew.

ive removed HUNDREDS of broken bolts over the years. i think ive had a left hand bit work MAYBE 10% of the time.
my aproach is always start small!

ALWAYS base the mothod on material im working on and space i have to work with. If im getting a metal bolt out of aluminum, the welder comes out 100% of the time unless i can spin it out with a pick. Its just not worth wasting time with a drill and a removal strategy. Weld a nut on it and remove it. on to the next job.

another thing i really like using if the part is not too big is my drill press. its makes slipping, or twitching and breaking a bit MUCH less likely.

well thats probably it here for a while. Boys are begging to go get setup on a nice little perch lake i found a few weeks ago.!

 

[SkywalkerCR]

Dustin,

Just found your thread. Well done!

Your diesel story reminded me of another one from when I was a kid.

I went to work in a Texaco station when I was 15. The owner used to specialize in working on Corvairs. The local Chevy dealer would send all of them our way ( they hated to work on them and they were a specialty vehicle any way for them). Anyway, the word spread, and I bet we worked on every Corvair in the metro area. He also did the same for many British Leyland cars at the time (MGs, Triumphs, Jaguars, and a few Rovers).

The moral to the story is, that he made a great, and I repeat great living, working on stuff no one else wanted anything to do with.


Sounds like you might have the same opportunity.

Good Luck

 

[Dmoen]

Dustin,



Just found your thread. Well done!



Your diesel story reminded me of another one from when I was a kid.



I went to work in a Texaco station when I was 15. The owner used to specialize in working on Corvairs. The local Chevy dealer would send all of them our way ( they hated to work on them and they were a specialty vehicle any way for them). Anyway, the word spread, and I bet we worked on every Corvair in the metro area. He also did the same for many British Leyland cars at the time (MGs, Triumphs, Jaguars, and a few Rovers).



The moral to the story is, that he made a great, and I repeat great living, working on stuff no one else wanted anything to do with.





Sounds like you might have the same opportunity.



Good Luck

That’s the idea I have in mind!
First week I was open I had a bmw dragin it’s behind in the door. Air shocks would not pump up in the back and local shops told him to take it to the dealer in the cities(6HRS) and it would HAVE to be towed. It was about nondrivable.

Couple minutes on the scanntool I had the compressor running and crawled under to see where a MASSIVE air leak was coming from. Both air bags were blown open on the bottom portion. Vehicle was a few years older so it’s just wear and tear. Couple arnott air bags over nights from NAPA and we were in business to the tune of around $650 if I remember correctly. That’s less then the tow bill alone would have been. Not including the astronomical cost of dealer parts and heaven forbid labor.


Here it was patiently waiting to be picked up




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[Dmoen]

The boys and I had a good couple hours fishing! Both of them bought a ton of fish, I may have landed a few also. Nice break from reality is nicenonce in a while








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[Madc]

Great back story, and great shop. I wish you the best of luck but sounds like you're on your way. If I can get a little preachy for a minute, just to remind you the most important job you'll ever have is being a Father. I remind myself each day that everything I do and say in business and my personal life is an example and lesson to my kids good and bad.
The lessons they're learning from you about hard work, perseverance, sacrifice, dealing with people and fairness will literally shape who they become.

My hats off to you, keep grinding (no pun intended) and keep you eyes on the prize- your sons. Very interested to follow along and watch everything grow.

MADC

 

[Bogdan M.]

That’s the idea I have in mind!
First week I was open I had a bmw dragin it’s behind in the door. Air shocks would not pump up in the back and local shops told him to take it to the dealer in the cities(6HRS) and it would HAVE to be towed. It was about nondrivable.

Couple minutes on the scanntool I had the compressor running and crawled under to see where a MASSIVE air leak was coming from. Both air bags were blown open on the bottom portion. Vehicle was a few years older so it’s just wear and tear. Couple arnott air bags over nights from NAPA and we were in business to the tune of around $650 if I remember correctly. That’s less then the tow bill alone would have been. Not including the astronomical cost of dealer parts and heaven forbid labor.

Those Arnott air bags are very close to the quality of the OE parts.
Very easy to change. It's an easy fix. Well done!
I changed a lot of them on X5 and especially on F11 5 series.
The problem with those is that sometimes you replace the air springs but the compressor must also be replaced otherwise the air springs deflate over night from time to time. And that's a very expensive part.

 

[Spareparts]

Nothing better than taking your boys fishing, and catching them, good for you. That is something they will remember for ever, Keep on keeping on your doing great.

 

[drivesitfar]

Dmoen: I've never understood how ice fishing was called fun, but that smile on your son's face is giving me a clue. looks like you have some nice stuff to go out to he ice and have a fun time too. Isn't it good to SMELL THE ROSES so to speak so you know why you are working so hard?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

 

[Dmoen]

Dmoen: I've never understood how ice fishing was called fun, but that smile on your son's face is giving me a clue. looks like you have some nice stuff to go out to he ice and have a fun time too. Isn't it good to SMELL THE ROSES so to speak so you know why you are working so hard?



MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

untill you go out and enjoy it,, you probablly never will see the joy.



a lot of the days is drilling TONS of holes. literally sometimes 150 holes and keep dropping the vexilar for a few minutes just to find some fish. lately ive found a remote lake no one even knows exists. backstory:

i live very close to a reservation. one of my customers happens to be native and told me of a lake he fished when he was little on the rez that was loaded with perch, and no ones fished it since the 80's. he would know that, as its literally in his backyard. very remote, and almost no access except to pretty rough trails to get back there. we have been snowmobiling back there. any hole i drill on that lake is stacked with fish! its non stop. drop doan and somethings yankin your chain [emoji106]





for the past month ive been holding a drawing on facebook. a like,comment, and share deal EVERYONE has come to know all too well.

im giving away (for christmas)



5-$100 gift cards

1-$500 gift card



its been getting some pretty good attention and feed back i think, still getting the word out that i have opened shop on my own. Its a lot to give away, hoping most of it will end up being billable labor. Also hoping they go to someone who either may really need it, or will be a good repeat customer!

 

[GaryB1]

I don't hang out much here either, life gets in the way all the time. Sounds like even with issues popping up you are still moving forward. All I can say is keep plugging away and never let it get you down Also, "GF got pregnant (how does that even happen?)" Scientists are pretty sure they have that figured out! LOL

 

[Trapps]

Dustin,

Keep swinging. Your work ethic and your smarts will serve you, your business and, most importantly, your boys, well! Shop looks great.

 

[Finallygotit]

Great shot there!! Sounds like you are well on you way with a thriving business. I love that B&D grinder.


Subscribed!

 

[Bryan Burns]

Dustin, you've led an interesting life and I truly admire your honesty. I also admire your courage for striking out on your own, especially with little funds!

Keep the stories coming! I'd love to hear what your daily pain points are dealing with the public and also the mechanical end of things.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Congrats on the garage you are doing great! Nice ingenuity with your projects!!