Joined
·
5,291 Posts
You and everybody else...
Have you built one car yet?
Have you built one car yet?
Hey @remy_martianYou and everybody else...
Have you built one car yet?
Understood, and point taken. This is why I am here collecting information and learning from those who presumably know more than me. So my question is, can cars be converted at a low enough price to have it make sense for people to convert?I think that if a vehicle has a combustible engine, it should certainly be scrapped or converted.
If you don't know the difference between "internal combustion" and "combustible", then my suggestion would be to learn a lot more before trying to build a business converting vehicles.
The answer is "no". Conversions are generally done as hobby activities; they never make economic sense if the people doing the conversion are getting paid. The most economically feasible way to make an ICE vehicle into an EV is to sell the ICE vehicle and buy an EV; if the ICE vehicle isn't worth anything, then recycle the materials to partially compensate for the materials which will be used to build the EV. If a new vehicle isn't required, buy a used EV.So my question is, can cars be converted at a low enough price to have it make sense for people to convert?
If I were to convert an ICE vehicle to EV what would I expect to spend money wise? Say something small like I saw one of the other threads talking about converting a mini cooper.The answer is "no". Conversions are generally done as hobby activities; they never make economic sense if the people doing the conversion are getting paid. The most economically feasible way to make an ICE vehicle into an EV is to sell the ICE vehicle and buy an EV; if the ICE vehicle isn't worth anything, then recycle the materials to partially compensate for the materials which will be used to build the EV. If a new vehicle isn't required, buy a used EV.
Thanks Remy, All good insight...even the jabs.Now you're going from a business to one car, which is strange considering you seem to not know much about it other than a PowerPoint slide with a concept - that means you'll be hiring someone or a shop to do one car. There are established businesses that do it for $80,000 to north of $200,000...you supply the car. Get a quote...
Or are you talking about materials, labor, tooling, engineering, overhead, SG&A, etc...in other words...you want us to hand you a business plan?
The easy business plan is to look at existing shops. The clientele has bags o' money and a special car to them. A job shop. Job shops suck because people suck. An EV reveals every squeak and rattle. A diesel tuner can't even order a burger in the lane at McDonalds
Most of the conversions here are done as a hobby, as Brian stated. That means moneypit, wife divorced/ing you kind of spend, and insane amounts of time and buying many boxes of bandages.
If I was to bill my engineering time on my planned conversions (all for me), I could buy a Gulfstream jet. But I didn't build the jet.
Meanwhile, I pop in a fair bit to take a break, help the guys with skinned knuckles, and be an asshole.
That's essentially it. If you're more familiar with cars with engines, I would compare this to swapping out the original four-cylinder engine in a Mazda Miata for a GM small-block V8. The engine is several thousand dollars, but the conversion is several times that even though it has been done many times and everything that needs to be known is well understood... due to the need to buy and tediously change many components and to fabricate parts that don't justify mass production. The result is a car which has a small (but enthusiastic) market of people willing to pay twice as much as the car is objectively worth.... So what I hear is every car is an individual job. there is NO WAY to create 'assembly line' mass conversions at a cost effective price. 80k for a conversion to me seems steep when you can buy an engine for 8k (and that is a higher end smaller motor). I obviously don't know what goes into the design as you can tell by my posts.
Which is exactly what I'm talking about. They are a growing niche. E30 M3, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, etc... Improve drivetrain, optional Carbon and exotic material use, and keeping the driving experience. Company's are building series of Cars now. Not just client orderedRestomod is merely the unfaithful RESTOration of a classic car, but modifying it with MODern, reliable, usually performance, components.
A shop-created restomod car costs over $100,000 to have done.
Dr. House, is that you?...and you're not doing it (for the children, of course) because...
Awesome input. Thank you Brian. Makes perfect sense, and that was what I was wondering is how much fabrication is involved with conversions.That's essentially it. If you're more familiar with cars with engines, I would compare this to swapping out the original four-cylinder engine in a Mazda Miata for a GM small-block V8. The engine is several thousand dollars, but the conversion is several times that even though it has been done many times and everything that needs to be known is well understood... due to the need to buy and tediously change many components and to fabricate parts that don't justify mass production. The result is a car which has a small (but enthusiastic) market of people willing to pay twice as much as the car is objectively worth.
Also, while electric motors can be expensive, the motor cost isn't the important part of the budget, due to the battery, the inverter that connects the battery to the motor, and the many other smaller components.