Jay

To add a little perspective from what I've seen, heard, and a few folks that I have been in contact with. Here is what many say, "I really like the Hurricane but You don't see that many of them around and there is not much representation at shows".
There is also a lot of interest from people at car shows,and rallies.
I had a friend go to another kit company because Hurricane wasn't able to produce the kits (at least two cars). Just check the forums history and see how many people wanted or are interested in the Hurricane, I think a lot.
There are also some folks out there that have produced their own version of the Hurrricane and called it something else and did a good job and have sold several of them.

Bottomline, the company needs to be very aggressive with there advertising, improve the production levels, while delivering a better quality product. There are plenty of good examples of Cobras out there...just deliver the product that beats all the competiiton in all categories.

I really think its possible! Bill

PS. if I was younger and richer, I would be interested.

Buying a Cobra Business
 

This is an interesting time to buy a business that makes replicas.

1) Raw and processed material prices are increasing with no end in sight.
2) Home prices, both primary and secondary are way down. People are leaving keys in the mailboxes again as they move out and abandon mortgages.
3) Discretionary income now that the Home ATM's are tapped out (Read home line of credit) is back to normal.

Several questions.

Has anyone checked to see if orders are up or down at the main kit car manufacturers? How long is their backlog compared to previous quarters. Kirkham and ERA should be more recession-proof than others, so you can't judge the market by their business very easily.

Are there more Cobras for sale now than in previous years?

Thoughts:

Get a conservative accountant to put together a spreadsheet for forecasted sales and cost in a way that lets you play 3 scenerios related to sales and manufacturing costs; good, OK and a little worse than OK and be conservative about your cost, everything always cost more than you think it will. Be very open about what you would like to get as a salary or return, because that is important in this. And see if it makes sense. Most of us could probably put together a draft spreadsheet, but you need to get a conservative professional opinion to help make this decision.

Selling something is a lot harder than most of us ever consider. Selling something once is not to hard, but building sales into a repeatable process is pretty hard, factor that into the equation. Repeatable sales that you can forecast is what provides cash flow. This can take years to get a handle on and until then you will have to rely on lines of credit or your money to pay the bills even if your books at years end show profit.

One other point be very conservative about how much time you have to spend on this because time is like money, you always find yourself wishing for a little more. Even if you are a silent partner, do you want to feel the burden of customer problems that can happen even in the best of plans.

If you think it will cost 250K to get started, you probably should be ready to back it up with another 500k or so.

Make sure you are making an asset purchase, if you buy a corporate structure you also buying all the liabilities and I would not want to own the liabiliites that can be associated with a lifestyle business.

Enough rambling, for all I know most of you have more knowledge about this stuff than I do. If any of you jump in I hope you have great success.

Never go in to business because it would be fun to do.;) Business is about making money; hobbies are for fun.

Great advice on both counts. Most businesses run out of working capital before they can "get over the hump." I do M&A work for a living (domestically and internationally). I've seen what this recession can do to what appeared to be a solid business model. :eek:

Good luck with your venture...I hope it brings you prosperity and satisfaction.

-Dean

You also have to list out all of the reasons why your strategic vision to capture market share and grow the company will be significantly different/better than the previous owners. There's so much competition in the space, it's hard to see how how you can shave corners enough to eek out a profit. Without volume, I would think that you would almost be better off having a non-US company manufacture the body.

Excellent stuff. Sounds sexy until you dump everything into Excel and slice it every which way to Tuesday. Best of luck...sounds like an adventure!

If the business is not fun, get the hell out..if you dread going to work each day you will do yourself(if self employed) or your employer no justice. Trust me on this one...I have worked for several.Fortune 500 firms and myself over the years. Own a mfg business at this time and having more fun than an old man should be allowed by law to have.

The difference between an entrepenuer and a professional gambler = BANK FINANCING !!! Every day is a crap shoot. Just hope the bones go your way.

I do not wish to tell anyone how to do their business, however, I would hate to read about a business failure due to improper planning, under capitalization or just bad timing.

May I recommend a few things:

1. A market study ( can the market stand to have yet another car company ).
2. Company profile and assessment of assets ( you are buying a company? ).
3. New company profile ( what are your skills and what do you bring to the table? ).
4. Corporate leadership structure ( more complex as you introduce more things ).
5. Legal assessment ( people enter "arrangements" with the best intentions...BUT ).

If a good business plan is written and a suitable quality plan put in place, you should be able to use BANK money over your own with minimal investment.

Just my suggestion.

:D :D

I may have missed It somewhere, But why is the company being sold off in the first place???

This was a hobby business of sorts for two guys that have a software engineering business. I think it came to the point that this business required more of their time than they could devote to it. They had a pretty good back log of orders when they decided to stop taking orders several months ago.
Matt

You didn't miss it. Mike & Rich have never said why. It certainly wasn't because of lack of orders. They couldn't keep up with all of them. There were/are many who were upset when they called to place an order only to find out that Hurricane quit taking orders around the first of the year. Some went elsewhere, many are waiting for a Hurricane resurrection.

Jim

Trularin,
We all know the man who redefined the use of "OPM" (Other Peoples Money), as a key strategy in executing his business plan, his initials are CS!

And his apprentice, Mr. Lubinsky!!!!!!!!!:eek:

They deicided to sell the business for personnal reasons that are very valid but personal. They shouldn't/won't be shared here. I would hate to see rumors of slow sales or money trouble start flying. Neither was the case. I think they have a good name and a loyal following. They produced a fantasic car. I know that when I had mine, I wouldn't have traded it for any other glass car short of a CSX car. I truly hope someone can continue the legacy that they had just begun to build.

Good luck with the sale of the company.

How much area as far as sqft do you need to have I know bigger is better whats the min.

A lot of folks are chiming in with there options and Corporate mentalities, not to say that is a bad thing but it all depends where you are looking to take this bussiness.
The size of the bussiness as it was I'm sure would classify as "mom& pop" which it not a bad thing bigger is not alway better when it comes to custom anything and I really do not think you would need the kind of capital that is being spoken about to keep it at or about that level, remember slow and steady wins the race

there is a lot of speculation going on here,to me the bottom line is for arguements sake if you sold 2-3 cars a month could you make a profit and if so is it worth it?


Me personally would rather keep it at that level I'm not looking to go after goliath and only quality and your sanitiy will suffer

Bobby

Responding to Jayscobra, I was settled on purchasing a Hurricane and have been watching the demise of the company over the last few months. If someone could buy Hurricane and make those uneasy about purchasing feel comfortable that their deposits are not going to vanish. Then I would move Hurricane back to the top of my list. I beleive I plan to purchase with in 12 months.

I applaud Mike and Rich for the way they handled the failed buyout. They honored obligations to every purchasor, then shut it down, pending a new buyer.

This hobby is full of those who took the money and ran - a business ethic that has given replica cars a very bad name.

They are very honorable people and the build is excellent. A prospective buyer of the assets can be assured he will be dealing with very upright people that have a very loyal following.

Paul
Proud Owner - Hurricane HM1078

I'm making some progress on this deal on my end. Anybody else want in? Rcherv1228ataol.com

Who has the closest Hurricane, Turnkey, kit, rolling chassis, partially built whatever to Pentwater, Mi.? I want to see one- willing to travel of course. Pentwater is on the west side of Mi. about half way up the state.

DV