What can I fix/repair.....

XC90s!

Converting boats and campers to Lithium Leisure batteries.  The market is huge, the numbers are big (so your fees can be also) and there is so much cack talked and very few end users, including me, don't understand the rapidly evolving technology they don't feel confident to tackle it themselves.  You can even build your own batteries for more profit.

Downside is if you get it wrong you could set fire to, or sink, someones pride and joy.

XC90s

Here's the steering angle sensor from ours - I replaced the damaged ribbon and cleaned the LED rastor sensor. £300 saved.

I have £3k of parts&tyres on order to be fitted to the rest of the car. Should be good for another 215k miles then.

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No suggestions from me, but just wondering if you want an apprentice. Sounds like me but I can only make tea!

Converting boats and campers to Lithium Leisure batteries.  The market is huge, the numbers are big (so your fees can be also) and there is so much cack talked and very few end users, including me, don’t understand the rapidly evolving technology they don’t feel confident to tackle it themselves.  You can even build your own batteries for more profit.

Downside is if you get it wrong you could set fire to, or sink, someones pride and joy.

I did think about electrifying vehicles - I'm happy with high voltages/frequencies/thyristor drives/closed loop systems etc and have plenty of Fluke gear including a 'scope but the issue is that every man and his dog is after Tesla cells&motors and the early leaders have cornered the market.

Buy knackered motorbikes/scooters and restore then resell

Land Rover restoration is very popular and can be profitable too. They’re basically classic cars but easier to work on. My BIL does this as a sideline and a means of relieving stress. You don’t need CAD tools.

Buy knackered motorbikes/scooters and restore then resell

I'm a perfectionist - I know Id spend too much on them to ever recoup my costs/time.

Ebikes motor repairs have piqued my interest especially Shimano that can't be repaired.....

My 1st gen commuting bike Steps6000 motor is still going strong I'm kinda hoping it breaks at some point so I can pull it to bits!

Land Rover restoration is very popular and can be profitable too. They’re basically classic cars but easier to work on. My BIL does this as a sideline and a means of relieving stress. You don’t need CAD tools.

Been there done that - I fully rebuilt (twice) our Overlander 110 including rebuilding the two engines (a gas flowed 2.5NA and a 200Tdi with VGT/Allard intercooler), new gearbox and tfer case, resprayed it etc. Crowded market and I fell out of love with the Landrover company and what they did to the new Defender and sold it! (no pics on my phone if it.)

RNP i wasnt talking about the main propulsion but the auxilary / leisure batteries.  These require sophisticated charging which i think are beyond auto and marine electricians.  Lithium is so much more efficient?? than the current lead acid you can massively increase capacity for the same volume.  I think it is obligatory to include a solar element - bit of green wash for you.

check this out to see what is involved.

Oh yeah - no children to worry about either (the only thing I couldn't fix for MrsRNP, but I did fix her broken heart)

I don't know that you'll make a living, but skilled people will be very useful... https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/03/30/russia-attacked-ukraines-tank-plant-but-that-wont-stop-the-ukrainians-from-repairing-their-tanks/

Militaria is a thing here too, plenty of private owners

The trouble is once you add on your living wage things that make economic sense as DIY don't when someone else has to pay. You need to find something that only you can do, so something that involves some sort of design that adds value unique to you. Let me know when you find something!

I know of a fella who buys broken clocks and fixes them. No so much old Grandfather clocks etc., too valuable and the antique dealers have got that all sewn up. Stuff like WW2 vintage bakelite clocks, carriage clocks etc. He says they are cheap and easy to come by, dealers aren't really interested, they are very easy to fix and sell for a hefty markup.

I've seen a similar thing with Honda Izzy style petrol lawnmowers. People give them away or sell for peanuts when they stop working but are usually an easy fix and quite sought after in good working order.

Maybe instead of one big thing, you need a handful of smaller gigs like those?

A quick look at Autotrader shows 37 V70 s and XC90s at under £2.5k with a few Cat D/N.

I don't know what purchase price could make one or more of these worth your consideration.

I’ve seen a similar thing with Honda Izzy style petrol lawnmowers. People give them away or sell for peanuts when they stop working but are usually an easy fix and quite sought after in good working order.

I did have a sideline a few years ago buying and repairing Honda suitcase generators (Ex650 was my favourite). I repaired a friend's John Deere garden tractor engine when it snapped the camshaft valve bump and wouldn't start.

I do like tinkering with small engines. Thanks for reminding me - I'll put it on the list.

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A quick look at Autotrader shows 37 V70 s and XC90s at under £2.5k with a few Cat D/N.

I don’t know what purchase price could make one or more of these worth your consideration.

I already have a V70 and an XC90 that I have/am rebuilding, they have 425k miles between them!

The problem is the early D5 engines and the AsainWarner 'box can have some expensive repairs.

There's also a really good Volvo indy near me. Good idea though and thanks for looking on Autotrader

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How about any large luxo barge?  They all have common faults that require thousands at the main stealers. Learn to do bmw timing chains, turbos, injection system,  wiring looms. Mercedes 7g gearbox repair,  timing chains, black death injector seal repairs.

Work out how to refirb dpfs.

What about old style radios (50/60s bakelite style) with modern bits inside to turn it into an internet based radio? Retro stuff is fashionable, apparently, so people will pay silly prices.

What about old style radios (50/60s bakelite style) with modern bits inside to turn it into an internet based radio? Retro stuff is fashionable, apparently, so people will pay silly prices.

Thanks but I don't really have an interest in audio equipment.

Bizarrely even though I hate and don't drink coffee I always fancied the idea of fixing coffee/espresso/bean grinding/barista machines as they are a good combination of heat, pressure and mechanical stuff!

You need niche.

Everyone does Cars and every ones an expert and cheap apparently.

Coffee machines are niche I like this idea. See also arcade machines and juke boxes.

Shimano EP8 motors, before long you'd have a que outside your door.

Can you make boilers? Silver soldering? For model steam engines they seem to be very expensive. Looks relatively straightforward with the right kit.

I always fancied the idea of fixing coffee/espresso/bean grinding/barista machines

another chap seems to make an income turning vintage things (including an old Brooks saddle!) into lamps.

They all have common faults that require thousands at the main stealers.

there can be a market for having a ready repair for a common fault. I used to have a car with the 1.7 Isuzu CDTI engine - quite prone to failures off the EMU and EDU - the former would fill up with diesel as a result of fuel tracking along the wires from the fuel pump, the latter would just be a dry solder joint.

The problem with the EMU was it was tied in with the locks and immobiliser so you couldn't just swap one in from another car without swapping all the locks etc with it now EMU prices and fitting were eye watering. There seemed to be a little cottage industry around them - post away the EMU - have its details cloned onto a refurnished unit- get it back in the post two days later. Cost me £300 rather than several thousand.

Similarly met a guy who's really good at getting stuck injectors out of merc CDI engines - travels the country in a little camper, with his dog - comes to your house, sorts them in an hour, carries on to his next customer. He worked as much with commercial garages  as private customer - who'd bring them in to do that one bothersome job as they knew he'd get it done quickly and for a fixed fee

So rather than working speculatively buying, restoring, selling perhaps look at something with a known Achilles heal that makes that 'thing' much more economically viable with your repair/ modification.

Could be something really niche. Met a guy when I was working on a big arts centre refurbishment who'd be hired in to crane a cat iron victorian artists etching press out of a 5th floor window. 'Bet you don't get many jobs like this' I said. "I only get jobs like this' he said ' I travel all over Europe dismatalling, moving and reinstalling difficult to reach Victorian etching presses'

The only thing with niche is - if its something someone already does then all you do by entering the market is you both go bust - the knack is in finding that unmet need or tapping an unique resource.

Nothing bicycle related, nobody wants to pay as there’s SO many experts around to give free advice, and, bicycles, they’re so simple! No help I know, but good luck.

Based on This Thread why not get that market cornered?

There is a lot of focus on cars but it’s an oversaturated market, plus vehicle lifespan tends to average 10 years.

I work on buses which tend to have lifespans of 20 years plus. Same goes for rail industry and generator engines too with things typically being refurbished as opposed to replaced.

Take for example an Allison 2000 automatic gearbox (I’ve stripped its older brother the AT545 and it was relatively straight forward for an auto box) could do a job rebuilding them a lot of small independent operators have vehicles that use them.

For example my employer is a large national bus company and we use a small firm in Elland Halifax to refurb our fuel injectors and pumps.

If you are thinking about electrics it might be worth reading up on Sodium Ion batteries ratheer than Lithium Ion. They are cheaper and environmentally friendlier and the big Chinese manufacturer (forget the name) has announced their market launch recently. Should be suitable for electrification of barges - boats or old Volvos

Have you thought about customer car builds? Resto-mods are all the rage right now but even one-off builds can turn a profit if you do the right man maths.

Where are you based geographically? Is there an idea popular elsewhere in the country that you could replicate for your local area?

@muckytee  feather diesels?

I know someone who just does jacks and presses as well.

Just being a general handy  man seems to work. Mate does it. Stacked out.  From putting shelves up to painting sheds. No big refurbishment jobs.

I thought he'd have no work but then I think about folk in my office and 90% couldn't wire a plug

Yeah it is Feathers diesels

My skillset is massive – I can design/fabricate/repair anything mechanical or electrical. I’m fully self taught – think Fred Dibnah but with a Solidworks license.

The mortgage is paid off, and the ground floor of our Victorian mill house is workshop/studio/tinkering/creative space

Worst. Humblebrag. Ever

Why limit yourself? repair stuff. Get a website, advertise in the paper, work out a reasonable pricing structure/rate, maybe get some insurance (might be the dfficult part) and start repairing stuff for people?

so much stuff gets thrown away, and people just dont have the knowledge of how to fix it, so are stuck binning it.

I think it could be popular.

Diesel stuff - I have a good contact as I use diesel pump and injectors at work, I'm jealous of his nice little cottage industry!

so much stuff gets thrown away, and people just dont have the knowledge of how to fix it, so are stuck binning it.

Yeah this is where I'm at - but I'm not sure those same people are willing to pay ~£40 an hour to repair a kettle/toaster?

The problem is the early D5 engines and the AsainWarner ‘box can have some expensive repairs.

I got rid of my MY13 V70 when the box started playing up and then threw up a warning light on trade in day - literally (as in 'actually' not 'oh my God, like literrrraaalllly') on the entry into the dealership. I would have had that repaired but quotes were up to £3k on an ~£8k 80k miles car so I chopped it - the week before lockdown...

but I’m not sure those same people are willing to pay ~£40 an hour to repair a kettle/toaster?

actually, if you’re [i]really[/i] good, get yourself on telly surely!!

As you say you're a perfectionist, you need a market to suit that. In many case, people want things fixing because they can't afford new ones, so they only want a fix that works. So unless you're prepared to subsidise your customers by not charging for all your time, your target market is cherished items, historical items, things that need to be perfect for functional or reliability reasons, or niche skills.

Can you find a 'thing'  that has a problem described as 'they all do that sir' and be 'that guy' who fixes the thing?

A pal of mine became incredibly successful repairing a known fault with the cam driven pumps on VW group diesel engines. Fixed them on an exchange basis with garages all round the west midlands with a decent sideline buying the best condition cars sold as spares/repairs with that fault.

Admittedly it does corner you a bit and may not be rewarding to someone with the enquiring mind of a classic tinkerer. It would give you a regular turnover and freedom to tinker without the need to turn a profit every time?

For variety - repairs / restoration for industrial or science museums - or the production side of interactive exhibits

make yourself known to a few museum exhibition designers. Kids smash the ever loving shit out of museum displays so it’s an opportunity to design in serviceability at the outset

If you're electronically minded there are a huge number of bits and bobs on modern cars that need quite simple repairs to control units. A mate got an Audi TT for pretty much scrap value as the dealer said it needed a new gearbox management unit for four grand, sent it off to someone who did a bit of soldering and testing on it for a few hundred quid.

Another friend is making a reasonable sideline in changing the flexable ribbon cable in the climate control interface of newish VW vans as the LCD packs up. Again the alternative is a whole replacement unit at the dealers for a lot more than he charges for the repairs.

Go to eBay.

Search for "spares or repair."

...

Profit?

If you just understood and could fix problems with DPFs - even for just one make / model -  to the extent that you could tell a customer whats actually wrong (ie whether the DPF itself is the culprit or the victim of something else)  and what you'll do and what it'll cost  to make it better...... then thats a niche service right there.

So rather than working speculatively buying, restoring, selling perhaps look at something with a known Achilles heal that makes that ‘thing’ much more economically viable with your repair/ modification.

This is the best advice if you want to go the automotive route. Another example that was doing the rounds a few years ago was Vario seazed injectors.

I have been racking my brains for years for something similar. My CAD is shit but otherwise I have been fixing everything for years in work and at home. Out of touch with cars now due to a long period with no workshop

Back on topic, the best repair niches are industrial ime. The cost of the plant is massive but more to the point the cost of the plant not running is the real cost! The difficulty is finding the niche as you t nd to need to be in the industry. One thing I would consider is getting into hydraulic repairs. If start off man with van doing hoses etc you can then get known for doing more. The issue is if you then start doing cylinder repair the size and weight can require some good workshop space even if you get the cylinder off on site.

Other area is if your bold work has lots of machines in the field if you can set up as a indipendant field service engineer / machine modifier. This would upset your employer possibly but they may have clients they don't want to deal with as they are too small fry / not profitable for a "proper" business

For variety – repairs / restoration for industrial or science museums – or the production side of interactive exhibits

I do have a customer though who produce events for corporate clients, they have a guy full time who's a chippy/fabricator/electronics/programming guru who builds stuff - sounds very fun & varied and these kinds of customers [I]do[/I] have a reasonable budget. Examples of what they've done include chopping the front off a car and making a "whack-a-mole" game where the engine was, an interactive VR halloween horror thing for Fanta set in a lift, and intentionally crashing a car so it resembled the one from the tv show "End of the ****ing World" 😂

What about old style radios (50/60s bakelite style) with modern bits inside to turn it into an internet based radio? Retro stuff is fashionable, apparently, so people will pay silly prices.

Not sure how to quote now, but I know OP said audio doesn't excite, but met a chap the other day making a tonne on buying spare/repair vintage amps and retro modding modern gubbins for bluetooth etc. Really cool stuff.

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I was in a piano shop the other day.

It was full of £40,000 pianos. Lots had been refurbished.

Piano refurbishment?

£40k piano delivery expert?

How about smart home technology. Entry level is a change to full led lamps, for alot of people this is beyond them.

Then smart heating, smart security, smart music.

If not then bespoke fabrication. Glass and stainless staircases for example. Pagodas are big darn south at the moment.

You need to tap into the wealthy and supply what they want

Turntables inside their garage, pointless to you and me, but if you own 8 cars and have a convert ed stabled this is where its at.

Race car build? Specifically classic stuff. Mult millionaires dont race their lambo at goodwood, its a copy.  Look at historic sporys saloons, buy old capri and make them into zakspeed replica, or any ford escort mk 1 or 2. People pay bonkers cash for turnkey race cars

I think both maccruiskeen and zilog are onto something with museums and theatres; exhibitions less so but that's only a personal view based on absolutely no direct experience.

Handyman on a country estate?

You need to tap into the wealthy and supply what they want

A sound engineer who used to Freelance for us has turned his car audio] obsession into a full time business and has had to take someone on. One client has just flown him and his wife to Australia to work on his car! He was going to ship the car to the UK but decided it would be quicker to fly him out. Obviously not short of money.

Retrofitting something that looks like flames to the soon to be defunct log burners.

I always fancied the idea of fixing coffee/espresso/bean grinding/barista machines

In which case, I have your answer OP.

You are basically this bloke:  http://coffeemachinist.com.au/

Who also does a lot of work for these blokes (who are being extraordinary successful at the moment):  https://spechtdesign.com.au/

Also consider this bloke:  https://www.kafatek.com/

These two are interesting also:  https://newtonespresso.co.nz/ and http://www.cafelat.com/robot.html

All of whom seem to do alright with basically a shed-based business doing exactly what you describe.  I particularly like the Kafatek model:  he does a production run every quarter - you pay a deposit (which I assume covers the outsourced manufacturing of the components, which he then assembles and ships after final payment.  My back of a napkin calculations has him doing very well out of it, with a business that he can scale up/down as he wishes.

The world of specialty coffee loves boujie products like these.  If you are in any doubt, check out the "accessories" that Weber workshops sell.  Fairly sure you could knock-up some of their "bean cellar" line up without too much difficulty and turn a profit.  ( https://weberworkshops.com/collections/coffee-accessories)

A sound engineer who used to Freelance for us has turned his car audio] obsession into a full time business and has had to take someone on. One client has just flown him and his wife to Australia to work on his car! He was going to ship the car to the UK but decided it would be quicker to fly him out. Obviously not short of money.

I know a guy in Sydney who does something similar but in houses. Basically building bespoke AV systems in the houses of people we've heard of in the media. It's a bit sad actually as he's personally over the whole consumerist lifestyle whilst being dependent on it to feed his family. But he makes a fair bit of coin.

You obviously have a significant talent.  I think you might have overlooked @jaminb suggestion.   New lithium batteries on boats and motor homes, not for propulsion.   I know 2 people looking for this now, high value specialist work.

Thanks for the input / suggestions / links etc, I've got the XC90 to finish before I can do anything else and I'm just taking the money and running now as far as work is concerned but I will do something soon(ish).

I've just finished adding a self designed and built 40bar liquid CO2 blending system to this mixer so the links to coffee machine's above and their talk of pressures piques my interest even further!

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My Porsche?

Business converting Euro 5 to Euro 6 diesels. Lots of very usable low mileage Euro5 cars and vans about that could be converted so they can be used in the various LEZ cities.

Also converting Ice cream vans to run on batteries. They love keeping the old 70’s vans on the road but would benefit from not running everything on the diesel engine all day.

ive thought about stuff like this. basically you want to look into a market that has a lot of people with disposable income and/or a need.

ebikes fall into that category and it would be very easy to set yourself up as a motor repair specialist.

What ever you do, make sure you start a YouTube channel.

This Guy

https://www.youtube.com/@M539Restorations

Was in IT with a passion for old BMW's, he now restores BMW as his day job for YouTube, mostly keeps them, sells some, as he feels like it.

I don't know of anyone doing it for Volvo's?

Dunno about Volvos, I do know I guy who now does his hobby full time to earn a living which is restoring Morris Minors. Absolutely massive demand apparently, always has multiple on the go & the owners are not shy of spending money!

Removing, refurbishing (or converting), and reselling Agas and other range cookers.

You can't give them away and to buy a refurbished one costs many thousands.

What ever you do, make sure you start a YouTube channel.

I do need to start a channel as our XC90 has a good back story. I paid £500 for it as that's what the owner friend was offered trade in value, I'm looking to spend ~£3k on parts plus a bit of CAD time making it into an 'Overlander-lite' then we are planning on driving it to Sweden so we can visit the Volvo museum and then on to Finland so Bert our Karelian Bear Dog can visit 'home'

Move to an island in Scotland and build a distillery?

Go to eBay.

Search for “spares or repair.”

…

Profit?

Based on the electronics repairs stuff I've watched on YT I think the last bit is hard.  I've been surprised at the prices broken stuff goes for, not leaving much margin, and there'll be a natural skew towards hard/uneconomic repairs in listings because people may have already tried a local repair place before listing, or may be other repairers chucking stuff back on ebay after failing to fix.

I think repairing car electronics is a good shout.  I shipped the sat nav from my old BMW to Poland for repair for £150 or so.  The repair probably cost pence in parts, but this was still good value compared to sourcing a replacement.  Similar story with fixing something in the instrument cluster in my mum's car.

Whatever you're doing I think being profitable means doing exactly the same repair, again and again, so you probably don't get the satisfaction of problem solving that you do when fixing whatever random stuff comes your way.

I think the winning plan is making a living from YouTubing yourself unprofitably fixing random, interesting stuff.

It's an interesting topic. With the fact all the easy money is beasted by everyman and his dogs uncle before you have even thought about it. The way corporate companies sew things up, with patented interfaces/connections, who they will and won't supply parts to, as well as parts they won't supply to anyone at any price!