The ultimate "Group Buy" = Automotive Restoration Club.

[Cuda Cody]

Thank you everyone for comments and the phone calls.  The suggestions and advice has been fantastic.  Based on what I've heard I've made some small changes to the membership pricing.

We'll be at the Portland Roadster show next week, feel free to stop by the ARC booth if you're in the Portland, OR area.

[torredcuda]

Look at it this way though. You pay a premium to be able to use the shop and tools, plus you get the ARC employees who are professional body technicians and engine builders. Think how much faster you could restore a car when you have the facilities, tools, expert help, and deep discounts on restoration parts.

$1099.00 X 3 months. I could get a looong way on my car because all the pieces of the restoration puzzle would be right there. You would be paying a lot more that $1099 in labor hours at a shop. For someone in an urban environment, like myself, this would pay off. I live in a condo, I can't just walk through the laundry room to the garage like my Dad does or go out back to the metal building like at Mopar Al's.

I've actually been looking for warehouses down here in San Diego and if I found one that had good secure doors and such I am going to ask them if I can lease some sq ft'age.
 
$1099 does seem like a lot for long term but with all the benefits it would make for an awesome 3-4 months of thrashing!

After expaining it from your standpoint I could see it working and the price isn`t that bad if you are are able to do most of the work in 3-6 months.

[dodj]

I like it. If I was just starting a project, definitely a good deal. Just think, with the tools, space, and professional knowledge also the communal knowledge of everybody else working on their cars/trucks (so long as you don't stand around talking all day), you could make a huge amount of progress in a short time. I think we have all been in the garage scratching our heads (on the hood latch?) wondering what the BEST way to restore a part/structure. At ARC, I assume there would be someone there who could tell you how a professional would do it, and you would have access to the tools to do the job. Job done maybe that same day. At home, you would post a question online, wait for feedback, find out you need a special widget tool, research online, order the tool and then get the job done a month later.
There would also be the incentive to work on your project, because it is costing some $ to sit in the ARC facility whether you work on it or not..

Wishing you every success Cody 

A 'Cuda for your first club car restoration, Good Choice! Of course a Challenger would have been an Excellent choice....

[Cuda Cody]

Day one was pretty slow at the show.  It was only a half day and a Friday too.  Hoping today is a much busier. 

A couple photos of before the show....

[Jesus H Chrysler]

I think it's an excellent idea!  I wish there was something around here like that.  I had a grand vision of doing something similar to this years ago, but my divorce put a stop to that. 

When I first bought my Challenger I lucked into a 6 bay garage for cheap rent.  Lift included!  I sublet to a couple buddies of mine with Coronets and we had a ball working on each others cars.  What I didn't know was the building owner was letting it get foreclosed on and before you know it we were all out on our buttocks!  Since then I can't find an affordable "restoration friendly" building around here.  Either it's dead storage, or they expect 3 grand a month from you since it's a working garage.

This scenario works because for the money you are getting secure storage, access to tools, knowledge and (if they're friendly) others who can help you when you need it.  Let me tell you, Challenger doors are heavy when you're trying to put them on by yourself!.

As far as the associate memberships go, I am cautiously optimistic.  Understandably legal hurdles prevent them from disclosing most of the information but from a customer standpoint I would like to know what's involved a little better before plunking my money down.

Anyway congrats on your venture and good luck!

[go-fish]

Cody,

Is there any way to find out where we are on the associate wait list? Were you able to look up the web site I told you about on the phone?

-John

[Cuda Cody]

So far everyone on our list for the various memberships would have a space.  Not as much interest as we expected, however today we had a tremendously positive response.  We're still in a research mode at this point to see if this can work.

I'm very surprised that more people didn't see the value in the pass-thru pricing.  Most of our feedback today was people telling us how excited they were about other values in this club.  Some pricing has been adjusted to address some concerns possible members had.  We've added a day use option for standard members that should help.  The website does not have that price update.

We still have another day at this show and 3 more days at largest swap meet on the west cost before we decide to move forward or not.  Thanks to those who stopped by and said hi.

[GranCuda1970]

I will prolly do the associate membership but would like to meet to discuss at a later date. I have your card you gave me and will call for details. Busy with family all weekend and my brother was helping work on the cuda today so I could not get to the auto show at the expo. Will keep in contact.

[go-fish]

Cody,

I think the problem is with the people not understanding how the "club" works as far as the pass through purchases. The "Pro Purchases" club I am in that I spoke with you about is similar and I think this one would benefit from focusing on the "Pro's" in THIS hobby. There are guys I know that have body shops and do restorations that can't "buy in" to all the companies that you can pool together. Yeah, some of them have bought into Goodmark or AMD but with ALL the companies you are getting they could get those same great deals they get on metal on so much more.
The guy that has relegated himself to dragging his project out for years isn't going to see the great deal it is. He thinks, "This thing is going to take me years to complete anyway so why spend money on a membership because I don't need to amass parts now." There could be other skepticism as well.
I know I could benefit right now and can't wait to get my assoc. membership. I'm dropping a lot of coin on it and could use any break I can get, not to mention the benefits of getting deals on items other people need.
I think you have explained the pass through pricing deal well enough. I think people aren't focusing on the buying power that comes with membership. Like I said, there will be people who try to see a scam in everything but the other "club" I'm in that deals with outdoor professional gear is set up the same way and I am rewarded greatly by being a member. This is essentially the same thing.

[Cuda Cody]

We've had a few days to go over all the surveys and to ponder the responses we got from the many people who stopped by the booth to talk to us.

Overall the idea was very well received, however it appears to us that a large number of potential members need or want to be an exception.  We have people that want us to be open at 4 am because they want to get there early and make sure they can get "the good tools" (that's just how they said it) to guys that wanted us to stay open until midnight and later because they work odd hours.   We had many people that just wanted to rent one piece of equipment (like the paint booth, lifts, dyno or things like that) and not want to join the club.  The more we kept trying to make changes to the club, the more it drove up the cost.  Lots of input and ideas were given to us and we're very thankful for that.

One thing that really surprised me was how little people cared about the pass-thru pricing.  Many just didn't understand how much it costs to restore a car and therefor didn't see any advantage to it.  We had this set up at true wholesale and I thought this would be a big hit.  I thought people would have loved to be able to open up a catalog like the new Classic Industries Mopar one for example and know they're getting around 30% to 40% off anything they order.

Unless something drastic changes I can not see this going forward with the responses we got from the show.   There are some very smart people on this board and I thank you for your input.

[MEK-Dangerfield]

My only complaint is you aren't on the East coast.   

Bless you for taking this on Cody.   

[GranCuda1970]

Well it was a good idea and yes most don,t realize how fast a mopar restoration can drain your wallet. Huge sucking sound.