Well, the year is coming to an end and business has been OK compared to 08.
Not sure what to expect for next year... I'm the LA area, and we have the largest
number of body shops, probably, in the world. It's slow everywhere. The ones
that stay busy have good reputations or have a special relationship with
insurance agent that send/steer them work (not DRP); something i'm thinking
about doing myself...

Anyhow, how goes it for you all?

This year has been a roller coaster ride for us

busy one month and dead the next I give up tryin to guess what's around the corner. Gonna take a good year to make up for this last one

can't do another like this one

So far my numbers are up 10% from last year, not bad.. I was figuring to be down again this year.. Hopefully this trend continues for us.. Shops are closing in this area, so that will help some..

been up an down all yr here to november was really dead for me sure glad i dont have much overhead this yr

on the custom and resto side of things, overall this year business has been really good. oct, nov and now dec are pretty slow although its always slow this time of year. right now i am starting to get a few big projects rolling then first week of feb is when it gets crazy. people get their taxes done and its time to play with their toys!!

It's been a roller coaster ride for sure... Gotta do something different next year
to get it a bit steady. I never bothered to advertise nor promote myself; been too
busy sniffing paint. But i should try.

Is it possible to get more business and have weekends off??

Jim, the custom/resto is pretty much another world. How is this market over all?
Not just for you but the entire scene? How is the competition doing?

well i dont pay too much attanetion to what everyone else is doing but i think its just like everything else. the guys who have built a good name for themselves are doing good and the others have gone under or have found another job and just do it on the side. the economy seems to affect the classic car market a bit less than others. most of these are old retired guys who have money regardless.

I agreed with Jim C. the custom work is steady.Too be honest it don't take to must to keep me busy.collision work has been good and I have a few people I paint custom/restro for and they are building cars about as fast as I can do the bodywork and paint

Im just the painter at a dealership in a town of about 40,000 with 4 other shops comparable to us. We have been slower this year than what we were last year. Im down about $12,000 YTD in commission compared to last year.

we have had a pretty good year i think ..the numbers are not out yet.. i do combo work at a dealership.. the animal collision seemed to be up and the vehicle collision are starting to pick up ..we have a very strong sales staff and that keeps the internal work steady..the other shops in town are up and down ,,but i stay focused on what we have and not the other shops...i also am flat rate and my hours are up slightly from last year ,,,

I think thats my problem. I used to do a lot more combo work. We had new management come in and now I paint only. I think the money is on the body side not so much the paint.

have a reputation for low cost paint..and they come out decent..
Low overhead, no debt to speak of..I do all the painting and my
wife does all the masking and sanding..Shops in So Cal, the inland empire, badly hit by this depression were in..down a bit from last year but not much..Seems that folks can always afford $200 for a
paint job...Sending many back home so they can do the prep them selves...Got to bend or you will break...
Dennis

jim c wrote:
the guys who have built a good name for themselves are doing good and the others have gone under or have found another job and just do it on the side. .

I agree 100% Jim. Our shop never really slowed down much if at all in the last two years. I've heard horror stories though of shops sending their guys home at noon for a month straight and so on. So the only conclusion I can draw is it's the lower quality shops that are being weeded out. I was really surprised that we have still had a pretty high demand for custom and resto work, when the economy sunk in 08 I thought I'd be doing a lot more collision work. Luckily, that hasn't really been the case.

My shop is packed.... can't keep up with the custom interior stuff and the wiring jobs, detailing, remote starts, and other random crap.

The body shops here (there are 2) are both busy. no complaints from them. I think part of it is people are choosing to keep up their old car instead of buy a new one. The biggest car dealer in Southeast AK just closed all 3 stores. Big loss for those employees.

big snow.our shop will do 1.5 million this month.we average 1.3.thank god im at where i am.i have heard terrible stories.7 painters.