Mike McQuigg will return to his first love, but he’s not necessarily selling his shop to do it.
McQuigg owns CarTech in southern Oregon, a conventional collision shop, and is setting up a smaller operation to refocus exclusively on custom and restoration work.
“I’m wasting a lot of time and skill fixing dents,” he said. The new set-up will be “way less stress, doing more of the stuff I enjoy.”
The 1930 Model A, 1972 Bronco, and Freedom
CarTech, in Medford, is about 6,000 square feet grossing $800,000 a year. It has six employees and works on 60 to 70 cars a month. The shop’s been there eight years; McQuigg leases its dirt.
His new shop will be about 2,000 square feet. He’ll rent a paint booth.
Mike McQuigg in front of his first shop, CarTech.
McQuigg started out in his dad’s shop.
“It’s hard to find guys to do specialized work,” he said, “and I’m going to start doing stuff with my dad again.”
His current shop is permitted, with production accounts and off-the-street work on Nissan, Dodge, Honda, Kia and others. He’s got plenty of tools for both shops, and doesn’t have to sell. His wife Cassy will oversee office duties and social media.
He has work lined up: a ’30 Model A and a ’72 Bronco. For his own stable, a wide body ’68 C-10.
“I’ve got a pretty good reputation for this kind of work,” he said. “Custom to me is whatever spikes my interest, the freedom to do what I want.”
Ron Collins Has Never Been This Old
In Middle River, MD, Ron Collins wants to downshift, and is looking for someone to run the business.
Collins Collision Auto Repair has been his since 1996; he’s been in the industry since about the mid-‘70s.
Ron Collins is looking forward to more time to fish.
He started his shop because “I was tired of working for the dealer, and watching how other people do it.”
It’s possible to say Collins is stepping back for not dissimilar reasons: a certain amount of fatigue has set in.
“Time does not stand still,” the 64-year-old noted with some rue. “I’m not getting any younger.”
Collins looks at it not as retreat, but redirection, planning travel and time with grandkids.
“I’ll hunt a little more, fish a little more,” he said, and be with family.
The shop is 5,000 square feet and, “we’re not slow,” he said.
Collins is looking for a manager, possibly a part-owner. “Either, or; it just depends.”
He said at one point Gerber had kicked the tires a bit, but talks ended.
“Eventually, I want to step down entirely.”
More Sell, Which Can Be Harder
McQuigg and Collins aren’t alone.
Autobody News found a North Carolina owner looking to dial down full-time status. From the flip side, one recent searcher sought a shop in Long Island, NY, where he could “rent-to-own” so to speak, and pick up the slack an owner might want to give.
It’s not as common as selling, though not unknown.
Same time, they’re also not setting a trend.
Paul Williams, president of regional multi-state MSO Brightpoint Auto Body Repair, hasn’t seen the desire in about a dozen shops in six states. Occasionally when Brightpoint buys, a family member of the seller wants to stay with it and continue working in the shop, but for the most part, buyers buy and sellers sell.
“I haven’t run across this before,” he said in an email. “The reason why is owners have a hard time letting go of the day-to-day operations.” It’s a “business ownership” mindset that’s reflected in their actually owning the shop, or by the intensity of their pursuit, if the buyer.
Most shops pursuing this will ultimately sell; most buyers will want to run the shop themselves.
For a few, though, it’s a way out -- and a way in.
Paul Hughes