Hi everyone

I work at a dealer here in South Florida, and we're trying to get the nerve up to start a small performance outfit that can cater to people who want to have a "one off" Jag... whether it be exhaust, wheels, body kit, paint, engine mods, or whatever, we think it would be cool to try and help people take a great vehicle and make it their own. I'm here to find out what everyone is going for, what brands you guys like, what kind of mods you're into, and all that jazz. If you have any thoughts, please let me know! Otherwise, welcome a fellow enthusiast!

 

welcome to the site Bobby, great to have you here with us
Please by all means check out the different sections / mods / upgrades etc etc and ask questions to get ideas.

Please be aware though that we have forum sponsors who also offer parts as well as various other services, some of which may be in direct competition with what you are looking to do. We must protect these vendors and therefore no unauthorised soliciting for business will be allowed and wil lresult in an immediate ban!

However, in the meantime, please feel free to browse the whole site at your leisure. I've manually upgraded you to full forum access so you can better see ALL the sites features

 

Thanks!

As for soliciting, we're not in the game to compete over the internet, and the basis of our success has always been great service to our customers, not necessarily the lowest price (which doesn't lend itself to internet business), so we will of course be no threat to your vendors.

Like I said, I'm just a fellow enthusiast here to gather information, and maybe lend some help or info where I can. Like you, I have the opportunity to drive and be around all the newest stuff that Jag (and Aston and Land Rover) have to offer, so sometimes I can show some neat photos or tell a good story. That's all I'm here to do!

 

Bobby,

Re to what kind of services you could offer to Jag owners to "personalize", pretty up, and performance up grade their cars, herewith are a few suggestions:

1. Super charger pully up grades.

2. Wheels, wheels, and wheels. Everything from repair, repaint, change outs, detailing of brake calipers/disks, installation of perf. brakes, etc.

3. After mkt. installation of features such as blue tooth, i pods, etc.

4. Correction of problem finishes.

5. Selection and installation of proper tires suitable to the customers needs.

The above are formulated from the kind of issues raised over and over in this forum. Others will tune in with other ideas. You could charge premium prices for truly knowledgable advice and service. Note that I said "premium prices, not "insane" prices.

Your target mkt. is not the guy who just bought a new Jag but the guy who is trying to get a few more years of excitement out of his older purchase and the 2nd or 3rd owner who may want to spiff up his newly affordable ride. You could call it the Skunk Works and put it under a diff roof than the dealership.

 

tarheal,

thanks for your suggestions!

I was definitely thinking supercharger pullies are in order, as it's a seemingly straightforward and inexpensive way to get some more power out of an already great setup. Thank you for confirming this.

We currently offer wheel services of which you speak, although I think we could do better in our method. Brake upgrades are also an interesting idea.

We currently also offer aftermarket installs of bluetooth, ipods, etc, which we sublet for, so I doubt we'd be very competitive in these areas. definitely worth considering adding to our in house services though.

What do you mean by "problem finishes?"

We currently do a HUGE amount of tire business, and with high performance makes under our roof, we have many different options for tires in inventory, as well as the ability to guide clients toward the right tire, order it, and install it (sometimes even the same day).

I appreciate you bringing these topics up, and even the ones that we think we are doing very well as worth giving a once over since they seem to be major concerns to our customers.

The topic of pricing is a very sensitive one around here. As someone who enjoys modifying his own vehicles, I am definitely with you on the price thing. One thing that we have to remember that a lot of other vendors don't is that our overhead is prohibitive to rock bottom pricing. We definitely can't compete with internet vendors and drop shipping companies when it comes to price, but as you say, we have other services to offer, such as knowledge and years of experience. I believe that you are exactly right when you say that the prices can be at a slight premium, but not insane. The trick is figuring out where those different numbers live.

As for our target market, it actually would be the guy who is buying a new Jag. They are our best customers, and some of the (most likely) men who are buying an XKR for a hundred grand would be desirous of something to really set the car apart for a slight premium. I have to think that if I were in that situation, and someone put a kit together that had aggressive, light, attractive wheels and 100 extra horsepower for around 10 grand, I'd be all over that. Hopefully enough others feel the same so that my ideas can be validated. That remains to be seen.

I am glad that you brought to light the others who are modifying couple-of-year-old cars too. I hadn't really thought of that guy, and I think that's a great market to explore.

Thanks again!

 

Welcome, enjoy the site ,I am sure you will make good friends at these forums

 

bobby, welcome! There is an international member XKRacer who appears to not only be an enthusiast and owner of at least one XK, his business does exactly what you are attempting here in the US. He does performance, body kits and custom fabrications, and more. If you are really serious, search out his many posts thru the forum search features, and possibly drop him a PM if you have specific questions. He seems to have alot of custumization skills and knowledge.

 

Welcome bobby,

Good luck with your plans.

 

thanks for the kind words!

I am having fun checking out the site so far, and look forward to reading tons more!