Cost/time to take a car apart and then put it back together

[Chudi]

Hi Car Mechanics,



What does it take (man-hours, equipment...full costs) to take to apart and re-build a car (ex: 2013 Honda Accord)? I'm trying to see if it's cost-effective to disassemble cars for export and get much more than 2-3 vehicles into a 40 foot container.



I know folks that squeeze 3 into a container, but wonder if the car could be separated into 5-6 big "modules". Painted sections could be stacked. Tires/wheels could be grouped together. Chassis could be squeezed tightly together. I know that it's a bit of a crazy idea, but just trying to run the numbers.



I know absolutely nothing about auto repair, upgrades, etc. (haha, barely even maintenance).



Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

[chippie]

I would have thought dismantling a car, would take up more room......
example, engine would reside in engine bay....take it out where do you put it? it takes up space.....same with wheels.....
I think there would be an increased risk of panel damage too,
Just thoughts off the top of my head....(having broken cars over the years)

[french crap fanatic]

yes good idea!!
just watch my mate from wheeler dealers,ed he can take a car apart completely in about two hours then put it back together in three!!
go for it, i wish i had thought of this idea?
where are the cars going?africa?

[Karl]

Your idea is not viable

[Deleted]

Sounds dodgy

[Noberator]

Aug 20, 2014 20:14:37 GMT 1 @mac57 said:

Sounds dodgy

You old cynic you.

I'm out.

[spannermonkey]

seen it done like this with repair parts i.e front or rear chop,is that the phone,ring ring.

[Deleted]

Aug 20, 2014 13:32:27 GMT 1 Chudi said:

Hi Car Mechanics,



What does it take (man-hours, equipment...full costs) to take to apart and re-build a car (ex: 2013 Honda Accord)? I'm trying to see if it's cost-effective to disassemble cars for export and get much more than 2-3 vehicles into a 40 foot container.

Cheapest way to do that is stick some drugs in it and the police and customs will do all the stripping down for you , only half price labour to reassemble, or study mechanical engineering while serving your time then you can do a full rebuild

[wheelnut]

It may be opportune that this query should come up just as some people have been forced to retire from the business:

www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-28835975

Up to 120 BMW cars stolen in a sophisticated cross-border key cloning racket were to be broken up and shipped to Latvia, the High Court in Belfast has heard.
An eastern European crime gang is suspected to be behind the theft of the cars from Dublin.
They then moved them to garages in Northern Ireland, prosecutors said.
Police in England have carried out searches as part of a joint investigation by gardaí and the PSNI.
The details emerged as bail was granted to one of four men charged in connection with the thefts that happened over the last 11 months.
Vitalijs Klagiss, 29, who is Latvian and has an address at Brackenwood Drive, Dublin, is accused of handling stolen property.
He was arrested along with the other suspects after police raided a garage in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh on 27 May.
They found eight cars, six of them BMWs, as well as parts taken from 10 other stolen cars, the court in Belfast was told.
A car alarm jammer, BMW key cloner and laptop computers have also been seized in various locations. Some of the equipment was found during a raid at Mr Klagiss' home, the prosecution said.
A prosecuting lawyer said two co-accused are believed to have travelled from England to help transport the cars.
Essex and West Midlands police have now searched properties linked to them.
"Police believe this gang are operating in different jurisdictions," the lawyer said.
"Approximately 120 BMWs were stolen from the greater Dublin area since September 2013."
She said that detectives believe eastern Europeans were breaking the cars up to be put in containers and shipped back to Latvia.
Motor insurance companies have also suffered losses, the court was told.
The lawyer said: "Since the arrests, there have been no reported thefts of BMWs in the Dublin area. Prior to this, they were almost on a nightly basis."
A defence lawyer argued that Mr Klagiss would not flee if released because his partner and family are now based in Ireland.
Mr Justice Weatherup accepted there was evidence that allegedly linked the accused to the crime.
Noting that Mr Klagiss has lived in Dublin since 2005, he ruled that bail should be granted on condition of a £5,000 surety.
The judge ordered him to live at an address in Belfast and not to leave Northern Ireland.

[Chudi]

Thanks for the responses guys. I didn't even realize that the question sounded "dodgy", lol.

The common and probably most economical way of shipping cars to emerging markets is via container; however, the duties on cars are insane in some places. If the duty is US$6-8k for a full car but only $1.5k for the same car in pieces, then it could make sense if the cost of breaking down the car into easy to disassemble/reassemble pieces was $3k or less. Hence my original question - what does it take in time (man-hours mostly) and other costs to take the car apart and put it back together? Ideally, this will not involve any kind of welding.

Also, I am not running any sort of illegal operation. And by the way, I heard about a man who used to do this in West Africa back in the 90s to ship more cars in a container. Maybe, after removing the delicate outer parts, the chassis and other pieces could be placed in the container more compactly. I don't know but that's easier to figure out.

First, what's the cost to disassemble and reassemble a car?

[Deleted]

Personally I can't see the point of it, or how it could save money because modern cars are all integral/mono construction nowadays and any removable parts must be stacked and stored somewhere so how could it save money if the space required is greater when dismantled and the weight of shipping is the same  

[natedog]

They'd never be right once rebuilt. Trust me on this, I've stripped a few to bare shell and rebuilt. They never go back together quite as well as before they were touched

[wheelnut]

As Harry has pointed out, cars are monocoques which means they are a single shell and can not be taken apart. You might gain a few inches by removing the front and back bumpers and that might make the difference to get three small cars into a container instead of two. Otherwise you will have to invent something like this: