Is there money to be made by working?

[bartles]

I would like some input from members regarding making money by restoring riders. I am retired and started picking up old mowers to repair or restore for resale, or sometimes just giving them away to people in need. I usually break even after a sale but ultimately the work is just because I enjoying fixing things.

Recently I bought a used 42" Craftsman rider for $50. The deck was in good shape. The mower was complete except the engine cowling was missing. I completed a frame off overhaul: rebuilt the engine(18.5hp B&S), disassembled the transmission(6 speed manual) to replace bearings and seals, replaced all the pulleys and idlers, pto clutch($110), new blades, starter, carb(will fit), battery, and belts. Without any discounted parts from OEM's, I've got just south of $800 in invested.

Considering a box store 42" lists for $1900 has anyone out there been able to establish a way to by discounted parts?

 

[StarTech]

Without having a business license it going to be hard to get good discounts. But with hard work and experience you gradually develop the resources. I took me 8 yrs just to get a parts distributor to let me in.
Also with a business license and sales tax exemption you don't have pay taxes twice that is if you even pay the required sales taxes on your sales. Just don't want get caught doing so; fines are a killer.

You also got to be especially careful using after market parts as many are just off the wall stuff.

As for profit margins they are going very tight as there is a lot of competition out there from DIYers and other shops. IF you do good work then that is a plus as you get return customers and referrals. With me billing out nearly 20K a year I usually net 5K until recently. The Covid19 has really mess things up with OEM raising my part costs but wanting me to hold line on retail price increases if I use their provide price files. My MTD distributor has the worst discount rates but is still better than most of the online stores which are selling above suggested retail now.

Having multiple distributors offering the same OEMs help due different pricing discounts schemes. Also places like Jack's Small Engines and Partstree will give businesses a discounted rate for part purchases. I admit it not much but every little bit helps.

A good example is a recent purchase of mine of Cub Cadet spindles at the primary distributor they was $85 ea with a retail of $90 but the second distributor which takes a day long to get items here was only $65.31 ea. The same for deck belt which was less at the second distributor too. So who do you think I brought 3 spindles and the belt from?

Until you good at procurement you will need to do a lot prices comparison shopping. But don't forget shipping is part of the overall cost of an item. Sometimes you pay more for the part but save more on shipping making the overall cost less. I got one aftermarket distributor that has great rates but shipping is a killer under the $200 free ship level. On one order couple years ago I got for over $45 shipping on a $190 order. I lost a good chunk of profit on that order as it sold below cost. Now if I got $190 order I just throw some junk item on the order to make it over $200 and just throw the junk item in the trash can.

Anyway you will not see a huge discount rates 5-20 percent with an average of around 10% most times off their retail prices.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

I run a small one man mower shop. I quit flipping mowers. Most folks won't pay more than 3 or 4 hundred for a used rider. By the time i figure parts and labor to make it reliable enough to sell i am always over what i can sell it for. If you want to do it as a non-profit hobby for the enjoyment of it then great but if you want to make a little money doing it then that may be a struggle. I can get parts at a discount and i can't make money flipping riding mowers.
You have $800 invested in parts not including a lot of time on a mower i could sell for maybe $400. Even if you got the parts for half that, which you never will, that still puts it at a non-profit sale not including any labor. I wish you luck, but........

 

[bertsmobile1]

Same story as Hammer .
I gave up on trying to refurbish riders & try to sell them at a profit. there is just no money to be made in it down here.
People seem to think they should be getting a mower that is better than new for 10% of the retail price.
Every week clowns come to the door looking for a $ 100 trade in and expect to get a fully serviced mower with new belts & blades.
Then you are competing with the bored retirees who just charge out what they paid for the parts so at the end of it they are not out of pocket.
However there is reasonable money to be made in repairing them when at least you can put a cost on your time .
Even more so if you work mobile as I pretend to do.
The person I ran into who makes a killing only does services on push mowers
Each day he does a particular street or couple of streets , does a full service including changing oil , filters & blades for $ 50 ( Aust )
His customers subscribe to the service, he tells them when he will be there & they leave the mower out , or allow him access.
Currently he is doing just under 1000 mowers a year , fits after market parts unless asked for original in which case there is a surcharge.
So he can buy parts in bulk ( very cheap) and does not end up like me with $ 75,000 of inventory just in case I need a particular part this week
Lots of people just want their mower to start first pull every time & not be bothered to service it or take it out for servicing then have to go pick it up again.
Particularly popular with Honda Self propelled owners as none of them ever properly lube the rear wheels .

 

[ILENGINE]

I run a small one man mower shop. I quit flipping mowers. Most folks won't pay more than 3 or 4 hundred for a used rider. By the time i figure parts and labor to make it reliable enough to sell i am always over what i can sell it for. If you want to do it as a non-profit hobby for the enjoyment of it then great but if you want to make a little money doing it then that may be a struggle. I can get parts at a discount and i can't make money flipping riding mowers.
You have $800 invested in parts not including a lot of time on a mower i could sell for maybe $400. Even if you got the parts for half that, which you never will, that still puts it at a non-profit sale not including any labor. I wish you luck, but........

For my area that is a $400-500 mower that you may have to sit on for a year to get that money. That mower may go for $75 at the community auction.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

And i love the folks who buy a used mower and feel it comes with a lifetime warranty.

 

[bartles]

I run a small one man mower shop. I quit flipping mowers. Most folks won't pay more than 3 or 4 hundred for a used rider. By the time i figure parts and labor to make it reliable enough to sell i am always over what i can sell it for. If you want to do it as a non-profit hobby for the enjoyment of it then great but if you want to make a little money doing it then that may be a struggle. I can get parts at a discount and i can't make money flipping riding mowers.
You have $800 invested in parts not including a lot of time on a mower i could sell for maybe $400. Even if you got the parts for half that, which you never will, that still puts it at a non-profit sale not including any labor. I wish you luck, but........

Yep, I'm figuring it isn't a volume business either
?
Thanks for your input.

 

[bartles]

For my area that is a $400-500 mower that you may have to sit on for a year to get that money. That mower may go for $75 at the community auction.

I am seeing this as well. Thank you!

 

[bartles]

Same story as Hammer .
I gave up on trying to refurbish riders & try to sell them at a profit. there is just no money to be made in it down here.
People seem to think they should be getting a mower that is better than new for 10% of the retail price.
Every week clowns come to the door looking for a $ 100 trade in and expect to get a fully serviced mower with new belts & blades.
Then you are competing with the bored retirees who just charge out what they paid for the parts so at the end of it they are not out of pocket.
However there is reasonable money to be made in repairing them when at least you can put a cost on your time .
Even more so if you work mobile as I pretend to do.
The person I ran into who makes a killing only does services on push mowers
Each day he does a particular street or couple of streets , does a full service including changing oil , filters & blades for $ 50 ( Aust )
His customers subscribe to the service, he tells them when he will be there & they leave the mower out , or allow him access.
Currently he is doing just under 1000 mowers a year , fits after market parts unless asked for original in which case there is a surcharge.
So he can buy parts in bulk ( very cheap) and does not end up like me with $ 75,000 of inventory just in case I need a particular part this week
Lots of people just want their mower to start first pull every time & not be bothered to service it or take it out for servicing then have to go pick it up again.
Particularly popular with Honda Self propelled owners as none of them ever properly lube the rear wheels .

Thanks, good info to chew on for sure!

 

[StarTech]

Same on flipping mower for a profit. I finally quit even trying anymore and just away request for to sell any of my mowers; just parting them out and making more that way. All DIYers that were just patching up mowers have ruin it for us that sell correctly repaired and warranted mowers.

I have became a repair only shop too just like others here have done.