Lost in garages and car markets. You won't earn much here yet, but the prospects for this business are good: today, every fifth car sold in Russia falls into the hands of tuning masters. The demand for their services is growing, despite the fact that fine-tuning the machine often greatly shortens its life.

Many-sided exclusive

Today, increasing engine power is one of the main types of automotive tuning, in particular, this service is in great demand from the growing army of drag and street racers. In addition to tuning the engine itself, there are, as you know, chip tuning (increasing the engine power by reconfiguring the control unit), as well as tuning the interior (leather trim, installing advanced "music", etc.), external tuning (various body kits - bumpers, wings, etc.), tuning the exhaust system, etc. One of the main impulses in this matter is the desire of car owners to join motorsport with a relatively small amount of blood or simply satisfy driver's ambitions: few can afford to have a device like Ferrari or Brabus - "fancy" in the factory Mercedes. But the "cosmetic" exclusive is able to warm the soul of many motorists.
Alexander Belokopytov, Director of the Tuning Point company:

In Russia, this market emerged three years ago out of nothing, it did not exist. After the movie "Fast and the Furious" interest in tuning has sharply increased, now this interest has become stable. But tuning is still a spontaneous market.

It is clear that, in theory, you can change anything in the car. And, according to dealers, every fifth car sold in Russia undergoes one or another tuning.

Daria Alekseeva, Development Director, URT-Tuning:

The motivation and style of owners of tuned cars depends on national characteristics... In the USA, for example, the gangster-rapper style prevails, in Japan - street-racing or racing, in Germany the car owner primarily wants to improve comfort. It is interesting that in Russia there is no pronounced definite style, all of the above is present here in approximately equal proportions.

It is impossible to accurately determine the size of the Russian tuning market, since most of it is in the shadows. According to experts, we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars. The leaders of this market in terms of sales (specialization is not taken into account) include such companies as "Tuning Point", Pro-sport, "Tuning Territory", Altechno, Sport-mobile, Pit Lane, LD-Turbo, "Promaster", "Lit -design ", 4stars.

Car manufacturers have a wary or indifferent attitude towards third-party tuning. Manufacturers of expensive foreign cars offer customers a full-time, claiming exclusive tuning, provided by the factory program.

Vagif Bikulov, PR-manager of Audi-Russia:

The manufacturer has its own model lines with non-standard settings - increased engine power, leather interiors exclusive in color and quality, etc. These are factory cars, they are covered by a warranty. The price of a factory-tuned car is obviously higher: if, for example, base model "four" Audi costs from $ 30 thousand (on average $ 45 thousand), then the price of the tuned version can exceed $ 100 thousand.

Official dealerships and dealers usually do not welcome the initiative of local tuning companies. What kind of exclusiveness, what technologies can you expect from those brought up in the Russian car industry? Squeaks in the leather-covered interior (factory hauling costs $ 1.5-7 thousand, "garage" - $ 500-700), failed engines, etc.

Local tuning firms do not always warn the car owner that the same chip tuning leads to accelerated wear of the engine, suspension, other components and parts, increased requirements for oil grade and fuel quality. It is clear that an increase in engine power means additional costs for the manufacturer for a number of items, while the car owner can limit himself only to reconfiguring the control unit, which, with low quality performance, will simply ruin the engine. For example, with increasing power audi engine only 20 liters. from. the cost of each connecting rod increases by $ 200, since it already has a different design.

Alexander Belokopytov:

It is possible to increase the power of the car by chip tuning by a maximum of 25-30% (in the case of turbo engines). This type of tuning is limited to reconfiguring the control unit; no other changes are made to either the engine or the chassis. Official dealers will not be able to detect the fact of software reconfiguration even if they want to, so the car will remain under warranty.

Interestingly, there is no regulation for "combat" cars. Theoretically, all fundamental changes in the car that affect braking system, management, must somehow be coordinated with MADI or US. Help from there is quite inexpensive, but, according to many market participants, it is easier not to contact these institutions, but to solve problems with the traffic police on the spot. Note that the traffic cops still do not have serial devices that measure engine power, which many use.

Alexey Antonenko, General Director of "Super Tuning":

Nobody fixes the tuning increase in engine power. If you come from the street to the traffic police and ask - can I do this and that, then you will be told: "Of course you can not!" Therefore, no one goes there.

However, in some cases, the tuning change in engine power is still recorded (not to be confused with replacing one engine with another). The payment for capacity sometimes becomes too expensive (with a capacity of 300 forces, the tax will be 30 thousand rubles per year), and the owner of the car deliberately underestimates the number of "horses" under the hood, referring to some "ecological" or "economical" tuning, which allowed to reduce the power. Such paper "tuning" costs about 15 thousand rubles.

It should also be noted that the presence of "treadmills" at the traffic police allows car owners not to undergo technical inspection, even though recently MOT should be recorded on a video camera. According to one of the experts, only half of all Moscow cars get into the camera lenses during technical inspection. It is clear that almost all charged "cars" with non-standard engines, brake and exhaust systems, etc. turn out to be among those who undergo MOT only on paper, more precisely on an inspection ticket.
Engine tuning is not yet very cost-effective, and this is one of the reasons why companies are in no hurry to legalize and combine a tuning car service with a regular one in their activities.
Sergei Blagoveshchensky: Today you can probably earn something by tuning the engine, but this is hemorrhoids. A number of models have low tuning potential. For example, "Italians" are not tuned at all. Of the "Japanese" - ambitious toyota owners people want speed, people with Subaru want "everything to be rich", sometimes Nissan and Mazda are tuned. But you can earn more on a trivial car service than on tuning. Unless, of course, you are engaged in tuning Mercedes.

Of the sedans, the highest tuning potential is in Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi lancer Evolution, they are often bought as sports cars with an eye to tuning. In particular, the designers of the Lancer Evolution made it possible to boost the engine by increasing the pressure in the turbine. The drivetrain easily tolerates the increase in power to 450 hp. with., therefore only the clutch is replaced. There are a wide variety of Evolution engine boost kits produced by the famous.

The owners of other foreign cars use tuning less often. Some companies (for example, "Tuning Point") work with all popular foreign cars in Russia under 10 years old ( Ford focus, Volkswagen Passat, Mazda3, etc.). But this is a car for the middle class, and their tuning potential is small.

Daria Alekseeva: Buyers of Nissan and Citroen are not very solvent, that is, they buy a car either on credit or with their last money, they cannot afford deep tuning.

Not a single motor ...

Car interior companies have significantly fewer problems with determining the tuning potential. Not everyone wants or can become a racer, but very many want to cover the interior with leather and install AV electronics (including high-end ones), a GPS navigation system, improve noise and vibration isolation, etc., and in most cases it can be done without big problems (it is, of course, not about finances).

Sergey Volkov, Managing Director of the Ministry of Sound:

The tuning potential of most car brands, in which you need to install speakers, amplifiers, a subwoofer, home theater or office with navigation, is about the same. Most cars come to us for tuning. different brands... Both those that are under warranty and those that are already 30 years old come. We purchase equipment from dealers, we do not contact directly with manufacturers. The installation cost is about 50% of the price of the equipment itself. Entering the market for such tuning will cost about $ 100,000.

It is possible to improve the dynamic properties of the car somewhat, as is known, by changing the exhaust system, as well as by overlaying its body with a body kit (in particular, the so-called aerodynamic skirt). Homemade exhaust systems are used by 4stars, a company whose employees once participated in races. The know-how of the company is now in serious demand.

Evgeny Saveliev, CFO of 4stars:

With our exhaust system tuning technologies, engine power can be increased by 6-7 hp. from. Our workshop is located in the Moscow region. For such manual production, you must have a guillotine, a press, lathe and some trifles, but most importantly - good working hands, which are now in acute shortage. All this equipment is not cheap - $ 40-100 thousand.

We do not service individual racers, we work mainly with legal entities, racing teams, etc. For example, one of the last orders for 10 sets with a silencer, a manifold and a resonator cost our customer - a sports team - $ 10 thousand, including warranty service ... Previously, such exhaust systems were purchased in Finland, but the Finns in terms of price-quality ratio turned out to be far from ideal partners, and a similar production in Russia has good prospects. The share of marriage in our country is small - 1.5%. I know one Austrian tuning company - Remus, we cooperate with it from time to time, so their percentage is twice as much.

It should be noted here that the developments of domestic designers, in fact, are not protected in any way in terms of authorship and wander from company to company, and many inventions are blown away by the ubiquitous Chinese.

Daria Alekseeva:

Taking into account the peculiarities of the Russian legal culture, it makes no sense to patent your own know-how. Whatever tuning you do - yachts, helicopters, cars - people go to other companies, create own business and use actually stolen technology. As soon as they make cosmetic changes to the project, you won't prove anything in court.

In addition, it is difficult for specialists from Russian tuning companies to take into account all the nuances of the production of mass brands. Somehow one of these ateliers in Moscow received an order for 50 sets of exhaust systems for the popular Daewoo Lanos model currently being produced in Ukraine. The exhaust specialists rented this model for four days and made a tuning exhaust system for it. The manager of the atelier described this process as follows: the engineer puts the Lanos in the box, disassembles it, then stocks up on coffee, sandwiches and for three days does not get out of the garage, designing the system. The resulting author's product is released in the status of an experimental batch, then small-scale production is established.

One way or another, the order - an exhaust system in the amount of 50 sets - was sent to Ukraine. But it turned out that the Moscow Lanos model did not have air conditioning, and when installing the system on a car with it, problems arise - the air conditioning pump interferes. As a result, I had to look for owners of "unconditioned" Daewoo Lanos and offer products to them.

To engage in external tuning - bumpers, fenders, sills, you don't even need your own production area. The intermediary business is quite profitable here.
Kirill Anashkin, general director of Avtomednik + LLC: We sell several body kits per month. We order the body kits at the factory, then we send them for installation along with the car, try on, paint and install (the color, of course, is selected at the request of the customer). That is, we are largely intermediaries: body kits are made according to our templates (this is the company's know-how), our function is to accept an order from a client and negotiate with subcontractors. The factories themselves are not engaged in mass production of body kits, tuning as a business is not of interest to them, dealerships also do not always show interest in it (often due to the fact that they are bound by obligations in relation to manufacturers), so we are in demand. The cost of our services is about 20-25% of the price of the body kit, on average, a full body kit including anti-fenders, bumpers, and a skirt costs the customer $ 4 thousand. This private business can make money somewhere around $ 3-5 thousand a month, since overhead costs labor organization is minimal.

If for products domestic auto industry a body kit made of "popular" fiberglass is also suitable, in the case of foreign cars, expensive ABS plastic is usually used. And since most of the "kit" business is underground, homemade fiberglass is often passed off as a branded product. At the same time, stores usually sell body kit items with a 45-50 percent markup. As in many other business areas, tuning firms that initially established themselves as suppliers of quality parts and services may eventually lower the bar - for example, switch to using Chinese components of dubious quality.

Internal division

Many experts segment tuning by car type and brand. So, AvtoVAZ products are usually distinguished into a separate segment.
Evgeny Savelyev: Why do many people buy products russian car industry (sometimes for $ 600), and then tuning? Or do they buy a VAZ G8 for $ 8,000, and then bring its value up to $ 15,000 as a result of tuning? After all, for this amount they could well buy some Hyundai accent or even something better.

The fact is that, as a rule, these people have money for a more serious car, they just want to remember their youth, drive, then crash a car somewhere in their gardens and make a photo session out of this adventure on the topic "How I spent summer".

Yuri Belozerov, manager of the Shcherbakov tuning store:

We are engaged in tuning "VAZs", and we have two main categories of buyers. The first one is the "kids" to whom the parents gave the first car (usually the VAZ-2110 and its modifications, the latest Kalina model is not in great demand) so that they break it. Another category is those for whom tuning is a hobby. Tuning spare parts that are sold in our store, we, at the request of the client, install here, in the auto center with our partners. About half of the spare parts we have are tuning, half are ordinary. The profitability of the business in terms of tuning is about 30%.

It is worth mentioning that the cheapest tuning parts for the VAZ model are produced in the Togliatti, Lipetsk and Moscow underground, they cost 20% less than those offered by the "white" tuning companies. For example, a bumper on a VAZ-2110 from a legal manufacturer costs 5.5-6 thousand rubles, and in the South port an analogue can be bought for 4 thousand. However, most likely, it will be a "licked" bumper and not blown in an aerodynamic pipe.

Tuning SUVs

Tuning off-road vehicles is also considered a separate industry by most experts.
Vladimir Aleksashin, director of business development at Trophy-Garage:

A serial car for us is only an intermediate option, a raw material for production real car... We build SUVs - this is what real Jeepers say when converting their cars into monsters. Equipment for an SUV tuning workshop costs the same as a set of equipment for a regular service.

At the start of the business, Vladimir and his partners invested about $ 40,000 in it. In particular, the lift cost $ 3,000, the leveling and reinforcement of the floor for its installation cost $ 2,000, and sets of professional keys and the necessary power tools were also purchased. The company rents the production area - 200 sq. m in the hangar.

Now in Moscow there are about 20 specialized ateliers that tune SUVs. Specialized clubs are also working in this field - "Club 4 x 4", "Nivovody", Off Road Wrangler Club, etc. As a rule, large services do not deal with such exclusive orders - there is too much non-standard work, each car needs an individual approach.

Most often, "UAZs" are altered, 73rd and 80th Land cruiser, Wrangler, that is, "non-marketers". One of the most common operations is a suspension lift ($ 5-7 thousand), which makes it possible to install wheels of a larger diameter (thus increasing the ground clearance). Expansion of wheel arches, installation of all kinds of protection (steering rods, engine crankcase, transmission units, cardan shafts), installation of a snorkel to overcome water obstacles ($ 650-900), a roof rack for a spare wheel and things, power bumpers and sills. Full tuning assumes the presence of differentials with locks in the axles (from $ 1100), a pair of electric winches (from $ 850), additional headlights and many other options, small and not so necessary for the driver and passengers on an extreme journey.

As a rule, only work on a serious upgrade of an SUV costs an average of $ 15-20 thousand (there is no upper bar - some invest more than $ 100 thousand). Further maintenance is also not cheap: for example, a monthly maintenance of a tuned UAZ will cost about 40 thousand rubles, and most of this money is spent on paying tuners.

The turnover of an "off-road" tuning studio can reach several hundred thousand dollars a year (the total turnover of the capital's "jeep construction" market is about $ 20 million), while there is no intense competition in this market.

Vladimir Aleksashin:

All cars are built according to an individual project, only we know their features, so we serve cars for their entire life, from construction to disposal, in fact, like family doctors. And even if the owner sells the car, it usually stays with us anyway. The most difficult thing in our business is to earn trust, it takes time. Therefore, it is not easy to enter our business from the street even for an operating car service

The field of auto-tuning does not cease to be popular. Car owners always want to improve the performance and appearance of their car. Therefore, there is always a demand for a variety of services. But there is serious competition here. So you need to choose the most advantageous option. Success will depend on what you can do and what kind of partners you take to help.

Tuning types: basic business ideas

This area of \u200b\u200bauto business can include the provision of a wide variety of services. This is chip tuning, interior modernization, external body tuning, LED installation - and much more.

It is advisable to start by providing a specific service, and do not take on everything at once. For example, offer LED tuning separately. Then nothing prevents from expanding, increasing the number of employees, and providing other services.

If you take on everything at once, there is a risk of getting a failed business, when even if optimal amount customers, you will stop doing the job.

Let's consider some business ideas.

Chip tuning

HiP tuning is used for different purposes:

• Increased engine power... With this, the main thing is not to overdo it, because software work with the engine can lead to its wear. With the right approach, there will be an optimal increase in power, an improvement in acceleration dynamics.
• Trouble-shooting... Car owners, especially domestic ones, regularly observe the engine check signal that comes on. In this case, the device itself works normally. There can be a lot of such errors, so car owners often turn to this service.

For such a business, you will need a computer, adapters, a microcircuit programmer, the microcircuits and sockets themselves, a firmware loader program and the firmware themselves.

Salon tuning

Tuning a salon is always promising... Not everyone wants to improve the performance of a car, but everyone wants to feel comfortable. In particular, this applies to covering the interior with leather, installing a powerful speaker system, improving sound insulation, vibration isolation, etc.

Interior improvement may be required for a car of any brand, any year of manufacture. Even if the car is new, the car owner may regret not taking advantage of some of the benefits of the improved equipment.

External tuning

External tuning is used for two purposes:

• Improvement appearance car;
• Improvement of driving characteristics.

You can tune the exhaust system. This improves engine performance. Also, cars are equipped with body kits - aerodynamic skirts that improve driving performance... For such tuning, you will need a guillotine, a lathe, a press, and tools. But not everyone knows how to do such tuning.

Car owners also want to give the car a sportier look. To do this, spoilers are installed, headlights, bumpers are changed, new rims are installed, the sizes and shapes of the wings are changing - this list goes on for a long time.

LED installation

LED lighting is installed in the form of a strip or separate small lamps. It is installed on any part of the car, both inside and outside. Can be illuminated separately rims, install the lighting on the body pillars. If you have a controller, you can change the color of the backlight, its brightness and saturation. You can completely change the interior lighting and install LED.

This business is convenient because no special equipment required - just a basic set of tools, and most importantly - your knowledge and skills. Funds are only needed to buy the backlight. It is available on request, so organizing a business is also no problem. As for the premises, any garage will do.

Airbrushing

This can be done if you know how to do it or you know an excellent specialist. The service is in demand, you can even specialize in it at first.

To do airbrushing, you need to select a separate box, purchase equipment:

• compressor
• airbrush
• spray booth
• infrared drying

It is very important to have a good portfolio... If clients do not see examples of your work, they are unlikely to want to place an order. Therefore, practice on your car, the cars of your friends. Offer someone airbrushing for a nominal price.

Defining your niche

As already noted, at first, a narrow specialization is important in this business. But this is relevant not only for starting a business, but also for its functioning in a competitive environment. You can specialize in a specific car type or brand.

Selected brands

As an example, you can start tuning VAZ cars. It is popular in Russia everywhere and always. You can endlessly deal with the interior and bodywork - there will always be those who wish. Spare parts are quite cheap, produced in Togliatti, Lipetsk, Moscow and other cities.

You can tune certain foreign cars, for example, Subaru... Study the market, and if car owners in the city have a need for tuning cars of this brand, you can make a service and form a permanent customer base.

SUVs

You can also specialize in tuning a certain type of car, for example, SUVs. It is generally considered by many as a separate industry. For SUVs, you will need a room with a larger area and other tools than for a different type of car.

The wheel arches are widened, a snorkel is installed for unhindered movement on the water, a roof rack, etc.

Where to begin

The most important points when starting a business:

• Market analysis, choosing your niche... Talk to car enthusiasts, do your research, make a list of auto centers offering their services. Identify their shortcomings, note if all services are available.
• Defining your own specialization... If you choose, for example, a chip tuning business, move in this direction.
• Drawing up a business plan... It should reflect all costs, competitive advantages, development and promotion plan.
• Search for premises... Typically, a garage, a small hangar or a special building for an automotive tech center - depends on the type of business and the size.
• Parts Supplier Search... Experienced businessmen advise to find a maximum of 2-3 regular suppliers and work only with them.
• Staff... Find yourself a partner. It is advisable that this be an experienced foreman or an easily trained employee, in the case when you will take on the bulk of the work. Business does not require a large number people if you work in a room designed for 1-3 cars. In this case, 3 people is the maximum.
• Register a business... If you will be doing airbrushing, installing LEDs or painting on your own, it is enough to issue an IP. And if you perform body tuning and work with a large number of clients and staff, it is better to register a company or legal entity.

As for the payback and profitability of a business, it all depends on its type. The minimum start-up capital is in the case of lighting installation. It will take from 10 thousand rubles + room rental... There is no maximum value - it all depends on the cost of the equipment, the need for preliminary purchase of spare parts. For tuning VAZ cars, you can purchase the most necessary things in advance. But for foreign cars - it is better to work on order.

Video: tuning cars

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Such a thing as car tuning has been practiced in the world for many years. And today there are many types and varieties of this "art".

These are airbrushing, LED tuning, widening the wheel arches, boosting the engine and many, many other things. Therefore, the profit from such a business will not be so small. However, in the post-Soviet space, only a few companies are involved in such an industry that are engaged in tuning cars at a professional level. And if you are wondering how to make money on cars, the most profitable solution would be to create your own atelier. However, there are pitfalls here. Which ones? We will tell you about all this and not only in this article.

Tuning as a business: is it profitable?

Firms that deal with the conversion and upgrade of cars have achieved significant success. Moreover, most of them are engaged in tuning the interior of the car, that is, the interior. Today in Russia one can observe a high demand of motorists for leather interiors and various electronic "gadgets".

Moreover, not only owners of old 20-30-year-old cars turn to the atelier, but also new foreign cars. Based on these statistics, we can safely say that tuning applies to absolutely all brands and models of cars, of different ages and prices.

External tuning

Those firms that provide external tuning services are also doing well in the market. The most popular of them are airbrushing and installation of plastic body kits (bumper, fenders, spoiler, etc.). Here you can purchase parts and spare parts in advance, and then install them on cars.

However, the most profitable option will be when you make body kits according to ordered patterns. In this case, the car enthusiast is given the opportunity to purchase parts according to his own design. To do this, it is enough to have your own directory, through which the driver can choose suitable option and the design of the bumper (or other body kit).

The scheme of work of such ateliers is quite simple - first the company accepts the customer's order, and then its employees come to an agreement with the companies involved in the production of such products. On average, income from such a business is about 20-30 percent of the total price of the product.

How to make money on cars? Tuning option for SUVs

If earlier we talked about electronics and body kits, which are installed mainly on cars, now we will tell you about tuning off-road cars. In general, there are much more opportunities for the development of this business, even in comparison with the ateliers that upgrade exclusively to "passenger cars".

The fact is that, in addition to airbrushing and interior tuning, an SUV can be equipped with a kenguryatnik, a winch, strengthen the frame, expand the arches, make a suspension lift and much more. However, to start this business, you need to have a lot of capital - all equipment for work, rental of premises and staff will cost you several million rubles. But we will not be silent about the profitability of such a business either - the payback of such companies is no more than 1-2 years of stable work.

In what ways can you customize SUVs and passenger cars?

Most often, the following range of works is performed in the studio:

• Expansion of wheel arches, installation of power canopies and bumpers (exclusively for all-wheel drive jeeps).
• Airbrushing.
• Protection of such vulnerable elements as the engine crankcase and transmission (especially popular not only among SUV owners, but also among car drivers).
• LED tuning auto. For the most part, this applies to "cars" - this illumination perfectly decorates not only the external, but also the internal appearance of the car.

Considering this entire list of works, we would like to focus on the last category of works.

Business idea: tuning cars with LED strips

LED car tuning has enjoyed great success and popularity among car enthusiasts. Why did he become so popular? The fact is that this is the only type of work that has the most optimal ratio of price and practicality. After all, LEDs do not aggravate the aerodynamic and other characteristics of the car at all, nor do they spoil its appearance.

But with the onset of night, the effect of such tuning will be simply charming. It would seem that several small bulbs glowing at the same time on one ribbon - what could be interesting here? Looking at the photos below, you will understand without explanation how effective this tuning is.

Why exactly LED tuning for cars? Every car owner wants his car to stand out from the others, to be different from everyone else. However, many people solve this problem by installing plastic body kits. Yes, this is a good tuning option, but if you don't approach this issue correctly (that is, do everything spontaneously), it will only disfigure the look of your car.

But how to make the exterior of the car unique without undertaking airbrushing work and without installing body kits on the body? That's right, with the help of LEDs. But here, too, the issue needs to be approached wisely, which means that the driver cannot do without the help of specialists. This detail is the very gold mine on which many companies enrich themselves. LED car tuning is the future of all tuning studios, and this has already been proven by time.

Where are the LEDs installed?

As practice shows, LED lamps can be mounted almost anywhere in the car, with the exception of engine compartment... Most often, these lamps are used as a backlight for a radio, other interior elements and, in general, the entire cabin as a whole.

What are some ideas for tuning a car? Pretty interesting idea will be installing LEDs on the underside of the car. If you are planning to create your own tuning studio, your company's business plan should definitely include several such upgrade ideas. The more professional your staff will be with LEDs and optics, the more profit will be.

Disc illumination

By the way, you can offer your customers the installation of LED-lamps on disks. This idea is quite rare and not very popular, but if the driver wants to make his car look unique, this tuning method will be just right. Agree, such a vehicle will definitely stand out among the gray "crowd" of other cars!

The service of re-equipment of the interior lighting of the car will be more in demand. The meaning of this work is to completely replace the standard lighting equipment with LED. Knowing a lot about car electronics, you can make good money on such a service.

Is it worth doing an LED business?

Opening your own illumination tuning studio is a great idea for those who have minimal start-up capital to run their own business. What are the advantages of such a case? The main feature of this type of business is that you do not need to hire a team of employees and rent premises to perform work.

It is enough to have basic skills and your own garage with a minimum amount of equipment. LED strip is a very primitive detail, and absolutely everyone can cope with it. Therefore, you do not need to possess special technical skills and knowledge.

If your start-up capital is measured in several million rubles, then of course, you cannot manage with one employee, because the full payback of the enterprise will come by its 10th anniversary. If there is enough money you should not save on equipment (if you are engaged in a more serious type of upgrade) and the area of \u200b\u200bthe rented premises. Remember that the more cars you serve in a day, the more profit the company will have.

What will be the profit?

It is not difficult to calculate the profitability from the installation of LEDs. On average, such services for installing LED lamps on the bottom, in the cabin or in disks are about 5,000 rubles. Subtract the cost of consumables from this. As a rule, the cost of one LED strip, depending on the length and color, ranges from 200 to 500 rubles.

Plus, the lease of premises and the salary of employees (if any) - up to 20 percent of the proceeds. The net profit from one car will be at least 3,500 rubles. As you can see, the profitability of this business is quite impressive. This means that it is understandable why tuning studios pay off so quickly to their owners.

The prospects for this business are quite good today, every fifth car sold in Russia falls into the hands of tuning masters. The demand for their services is growing. This trend is very developing in Russia, and the need for specialists is growing. It is very profitable: little competition, if there is a great need, a workshop is not required to run this business, and if required, it is not a store for expensive rent.

After all, there are so many areas of activity in tuning:

• Engine tuning - chip tuning: increasing engine power by reconfiguring the control unit
• Interior tuning: leather upholstery, installation of advanced "music", etc.
• External tuning: various body kits - bumpers, fenders, exhaust system tuning, etc.

You see how many different directions of your business. After all, not everyone can buy foreign cars, but everyone wants to make a car that is different from others.

You can change anything in the car. And according to the data, every fifth car sold in Russia undergoes different tuning.

The variety of tuned cars depends on national characteristics. In the United States, the gangster-rapper style prevails, in Japan - street racing or racing, in Germany the driver primarily wants to improve comfort. But in Russia there is no specific tuning style, all varieties are present here in approximately equal proportions.

It is almost impossible to find out the volume of the Russian tuning market, since the maximum part is in the shadow. According to experts, we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars. The tuning market leaders include the companies "Tuning Point", Pro-sport, "Tuning Territory", Altechno, Sport-mobile, Pit Lane, LD-Turbo, "Promaster", "Lit-design", 4stars.

But car manufacturers have their own opinion on tuning, wary or indifferent. Manufacturers of expensive foreign cars offer their customers full-time, already exclusive tuning, provided by the factory program. But such tuning is not cheap either.

Such companies have their own model lines with tuning - increased engine power, leather interiors exclusive in color and quality, etc. These are the cars of the plant, they are covered by a warranty. But the price for such a pumped-up car will be higher: For example, an Audi 4 costs an average of $ 45 thousand, then the price of a tuned version may exceed $ 100 thousand.

Many do not know that a car with chip tuning leads to wear on the engine, suspension and other parts. Even the demand for more quality oil and fuel. It is clear that an increase in engine power leads to additional costs for a number of items. But if this is done underground, reconfiguring the control unit will simply ruin the engine. Let's say with an increase in the engine power of the Audi by only 20 hp. from. the cost of each connecting rod increases by $ 200, because it already has a different design.

In principle, chip tuning is not so difficult for knowledgeable people of course. And it will not be difficult to establish your professional activities for this.

The increase in power by tuning the engine is not recorded anywhere. However, in some cases, the tuning change in engine power is still recorded (not to be confused with replacing one engine with another). And it becomes too expensive to pay for power. If the capacity of 300 forces the tax will be 30 thousand rubles. per year, and of course the owner of such a beast deliberately underestimates the number of "horses" under the hood, indicating a certain "ecological" or "economical" tuning, which allowed to reduce the power. The cost of such a paper "tuning" is about 15 thousand rubles.

The owners of other foreign cars use tuning less often. Some companies work with all foreign cars up to 10 years old that are popular in Russia (Ford Focus, Volkswagen Passat, Mazda3, etc.). But this is a car for the middle class, and their tuning potential is not great.

Those who buy Nissan and Citroen are not too solvent for in-depth tuning, that is, they buy a car either on credit or with their last money.

Salon tuning

Companies dealing with car interiors have much more demand and success in development. Not everyone wants or can become a racer, but very many want to cover the interior with leather and install AV electronics (including high-end ones), a GPS navigation system, improve noise and vibration isolation, etc., and in most cases this can be done without big problems (this is, of course, not about finances). Buying a car, immediately after running in, they begin to tune the interior.

Here, as one might say, there is where to roam, more brands of cars, where you need to put speakers, amplifiers, a subwoofer, etc., or even an office with navigation, is approximately on the same level. Both those who are still under warranty and those who are already 30 years old come. Equipment can also be purchased from dealers. The installation cost is about 50% of the price of the equipment itself. Entering the market for such tuning will cost from $ 100 thousand.

You can slightly improve the dynamics of the car by changing the exhaust system, as well as by overlaying its body with a body kit, the so-called aerodynamic skirt. The company 4stars made its business on homemade exhaust systems, its employees once participated in races. The know-how of the company is now in great demand.

By tuning the exhaust system, you can increase the engine power by 6-7 liters. from. For such manual production, it is necessary to have a guillotine, a press, a lathe and some other little things, but the most important thing here is golden workers, which are now in acute shortage. All this equipment costs from $ 40 to $ 100 thousand.

Individual racers, in such services are not served, they mainly cooperate with legal entities. persons, racing teams, etc. with an order for a kit. One of these orders for 10 sets with a silencer, a manifold and a resonator will cost $ 10,000 including warranty service. Previously, similar exhaust systems were purchased in Finland, but the Finns in terms of price-quality ratio turned out to be far from ideal partners, and good prospects for production in Russia opened up. If only the share of marriage did not exceed. For example, an Austrian company -, Remus ”3% of marriage. And our Russian company has 4stars, the marriage rate is 1.5%.

It should be emphasized here that the developments of our masters are in no way protected in terms of authorship and wander from company to company, and many inventions are stolen by the Chinese.

Considering the peculiarities of Russian legal culture, it makes no sense to patent your own developments. Whatever tuning you do, even yachts or helicopters, people go to other companies, create their own businesses and use already stolen technologies. As soon as they make small changes to the project, you will not prove anything in court.

To engage in external tuning - bumpers, fenders, sills, you do not need your own production area. It is better to do an intermediary business here.

Realistically selling several body kits per month. It is better to order the body kits themselves at the factory, and only then send them for installation together with the car, and then paint and install. It means to play the role of an intermediary: to make body kits according to ordered patterns, all activity will consist in accepting an order from a client and agreeing with subcontractors. But the factories themselves are not engaged in mass production of body kits, they do not need tuning as a business, and dealerships generally do not show interest in this, as they are associated with the manufacturer. This means that such activities are very much in demand. Well, the benefit of such services is about 20-25% of the price of the body kit, on average, a full body kit together with anti-fenders, bumpers, and a skirt costs the customer $ 4 thousand. You can earn about $ 3-5 thousand a month with such a business, because the most important thing is the overhead costs of such a business are minimal.

A body kit made of "popular" fiberglass is also suitable for tuning our cars, but in the case of foreign cars it is more difficult, they use expensive ABS plastic. But the bulk of this business is underground, and this fiberglass is often passed off as a branded product. Moreover, shops usually sell body kit items with a 45-50 percent mark-up. As in many other business areas, tuning firms that initially established themselves as suppliers of good parts and service may over time lower the bar - for example, switch to using Chinese components.

Tuning is divided by types and brands of cars

Tuning is divided by types and brands of cars. And, in a separate segment, the products of AvtoVAZ are distinguished.

Basically, many people buy our cars, and then do tuning. They buy a "eight" "VAZ" for $ 8 thousand, and then bring its cost by tuning to $ 15 thousand. The fact is that, as a rule, these people have money for a more serious car, they just want to remember their youth, drive , in search of adventures. It's like a hobby for them.

If you are engaged in tuning "VAZ", there are two main categories of buyers. The first one is the "kids" to whom the parents gave the first car so that they crashed it, and they tune it. Another category is those for whom tuning is a hobby. Tuning parts can be sold in your store and installed in cooperation with the auto center. Let half of the spare parts you have tuning, and the other - ordinary. The profitability of the business in terms of tuning is about 30%.

I think it should be noted that the cheapest tuning parts for the VAZ model are produced in the Togliatti, Lipetsk and Moscow underground, they cost 20% less than those offered by the "white" tuning companies. For example, a Top Ten bumper from a legal manufacturer costs 5.5-6 thousand rubles, but the same can be bought for 4 thousand. But, it will not be of high quality, this bumper is "licked" and not blown out in a wind tunnel.

tuning SUVs

But SUV tuning is considered a separate industry.

It is also profitable to make SUVs in our country if you take up this industry. Equipment for an SUV tuning workshop costs the same as a set of equipment for a regular service. You yourself understand better than me that the one who makes monsters out of jeeps has a lot of money and is ready to pay decent money.

This requires different tools than conventional machines and a larger service area.

Now in Moscow there are about 20 specialized ateliers that tune SUVs. Specialized clubs are also working in this field - "Club 4 x 4", "Nivovody", Off Road Wrangler Club, etc. Simply, large services will not deal with exclusive orders - there is too much non-standard work, each car needs an individual approach.

Most often, they remake "UAZs", 73rd and 80th Land Cruiser, Wrangler, that is, "non-parquetry". The most popular work is a suspension lift ($ 5-7 thousand), which makes it possible to install wheels of a larger diameter, thereby increasing the ground clearance. And in demand:

Widening the wheel arches

Installation of all kinds of protection for steering rods, engine crankcase, transmission units, cardan shafts.

Installing a snorkel to overcome water obstacles ($ 650-900)

Roof rack for spare tire and belongings.

Power bumpers and sills.

But, already full tuning assumes

Availability of differentials with blocking in axles (from $ 1100),

Pairs of electric winches (from $ 850), additional headlights

And many other options, small and not so necessary for the driver and passengers in extreme travel.

All of this is written so that you understand that such services are worth the time and effort.

If you seriously tune an SUV, it will cost $ 15-20 thousand. And, this amount is not the limit, the price can grow, there are cases when the price reaches more than $ 100 thousand. Further maintenance is also not cheap: for example, monthly maintenance of a tuned UAZ will cost about 40 thousand rubles, and most of this money is spent on wages for tuners.

The turnover of an "off-road" tuning studio can reach several hundred thousand dollars a year, and there is no sharp competition in this market.

All cars are built according to an individual project, only the craftsmen know their features, so that they can be provided for their entire life, from construction to the way to the landfill. And even if the owner sells the car, it usually stays with us anyway. The most important thing in our business is to earn trust, it takes time.

Well, in conclusion, I would like to say. A car in our time is not just a means of transportation. It's like a girl, you want to look after him. And a lot of drivers strive to make their own car. The tuning business is very conceptual in its benefits and in the ease of its development. There are still few competitors in this business, real competitors who can compete in our tuning market. To start this business you need:

Initial capital, without it there is no place.

Premises (garage) or just intermediary participation.

And most importantly, the desire to earn.

I wish you success.

*The article is over 8 years old. May contain outdated data

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Ready ideas for your business

Thanks to the network, hotel booking has become more convenient, because now you can quickly find and place an order on one of the hotel booking sites. Let's find out what is needed to create such a resource.

In a new selection, the portal “1000 Ideas” has collected 15 unusual business projects on transport topics. Read about how you can adapt buses to hotels and meditation salons, how to refuel a car using a mobile application, what smart gloves for motorcyclists and a vending machine for cars are, read our material.

Wear warning smart tires

Italian pirelli company presented smart tires that can warn the owner about the degree of wear using a mobile application. Small sensors built into the tire sidewalls are capable of collecting data on mileage, temperature, pressure and wear. The information is collected for each wheel separately and then sent to the driver using the app. So far, such chips are built into two types of proprietary buses. In the US, the novelty will be available in the summer of 2017, while in Europe and Russia it should appear no earlier than the end of the year.

Hotels in old buses

The owner of the Chinese amusement park Tai Tai Mountain Park has come up with an unusual type of hotels, buying several dozen old buses at a cheap price and creating themed interiors in their salons. Now, among his works, you can find bus numbers with Mickey Mouse, Hello Kitty and other famous cartoon characters.

Services for protection from tow trucks

In large cities of our country, Internet services and mobile applications began to work to protect drivers of personal cars from tow trucks. The owners of improperly parked cars learn about the approach of a tow truck, as a rule, from former victims of the evacuation, who themselves experienced all its consequences. It's no secret that in order to free your vehicle from imprisonment in the impound, sometimes you need not only a lot of time and money, but also nerves.

Gasoline delivery using a mobile application

In American cities, services for the delivery of gasoline using mobile applications are actively appearing. The client informs about the place of the parked car, the convenient time for refueling and opens the gas tank flap, and the courier arrives and refills the car. The idea turned out to be very popular - such services were also tested by entrepreneurs from Russia.

New York appeared new system to combat drivers who violate parking rules. On their windshields a system called The Barnacle (translated as "tongs") is attached, which cannot be removed without paying a fine. The system looks like a large book that, when opened, is hung on the glass and completely blocks the driver's view. When you try to rip it off yourself, the alarm immediately turns on. Therefore, the only reasonable way out is to part with money, pay a fine for an offense, receive an activation code and enter it through the keyboard built into the device.

Two Indian artists from Ahmedabad, mother and daughter, Soundya Pandya Thakkar and Shakuntala Pandya, have come up with an unusual way to reduce the number of accidents on Indian roads. By drawing a three-dimensional zebra in the form of concrete blocks on the road, they were able to force drivers to slow down to the limit before a pedestrian crossing.

The TurnPoint Glove is a rotary navigation device for motorcyclists that was designed to make GPS tracking safer. It resembles a rotating disk of an old telephone and is located in a special socket of the left glove. The device shows the rider the direction of the turn and the distance to it, synchronizing with the GPS-navigator via Bluetooth LE. The advantage of the device is that it is quite easy to use, but at the same time it helps the driver not to be distracted by the navigator and not to peer at the diagrams, as well as to avoid situations of “flying” past corners. In addition, gloves allow you to operate the system without taking your hands off the wheel. For example, touching your thumb and forefinger will indicate the distance to the next waypoint on the route.

Anti-collision detectors with kangaroos

There are more than 20,000 kangaroo road traffic accidents in Australia every year. When this carcass weighing up to 60, and sometimes 80 kg suddenly crosses the road at a speed of up to 60 km / h, any Australian driver is not at all laughing. In this regard, the carmaker Volvo, which already had experience in creating radars that can detect animals such as elk, reindeer or cows, decided to add a kangaroo radar to the list.

Spherical tires

A company called Goodyear has developed tires for the cars of the future that can rotate 360 \u200b\u200bdegrees. Spherical tires called Eagle are the same as regular ball bearings or wheels in a computer mouse. At the same time, such balls are not attached to the body, just hanging in the air due to magnetic levitation.

Canadian clothing brand Lululemon Athletica has decided to help Londoners find peace of mind by adapting a double-decker bus for meditation. The interior of the bus has been transformed into an oasis of tranquility and scented with cinnamon, lavender and jasmine. Also, passengers are offered light snacks from the Neat Nutrition brand. It was possible to use the bus services for several days in January 2017. The action was timed to coincide with the opening of the flagship clothing store on Regent Street.

Car roof tent

IKamper specializes in tents that are installed on the roofs of cars. The head of the company was inspired to create the idea by the novel "On the Road" by the American writer Jack Kerouac and childhood dreams of a tree house. However, the "houses" created by him are much better - they can be taken to any place where the road will allow, and installed in 1-2 minutes.

At the exhibition high tech in China, a bus was presented that can move over traffic flow and accommodate up to 1400 passengers. The structure of the vehicle is a tunnel with a height of about 3 meters. Driving along the rails set along the roadside the new kind public transport skips two lanes of cars underneath.

L'Oreal has come up with an original promotion for Victor & Rolf's FlowerbombSurprise fragrance, creating a branded flower taxi. The design of the body of the taxi completely repeats the bottle of branded perfume, and the interior is trimmed with pink suede upholstery and more than 1000 colors.

Modular unmanned trucks

In 2017, the UK will see the first modular self-driving electric trucks that can be built in just 4 hours. They will be powered by electricity. At the same time, the base battery charge is enough for 160 km of driving. According to company representatives, it was decided to make the trucks as "affordable, elegant, quiet, clean and safe" as possible, and their use will help at least halve the costs of logistics operators.