A Kenyan mechanic identified as Dennis Were, who went viral online after transforming his 1986 classic Peugeot 504, has revealed how much he spent on the pristine beast.
Speaking exclusively to Kenyans on Sunday, January 30, the Nairobi-based mechanic noted that he spent a sum of Ksh300,000 to transform the car that was, otherwise, gathering dust in his garage.
He further disclosed that the whole exercise, which he kicked off on December 9, 2021, took 6 weeks to complete.
"It had been parked for 10 years. I am a mechanic. I started out doing body works and restoring cars like 10 years ago. I was still a young man," stated Were explaining that the car was part of his collection.
Were went viral on social media on Sunday, January 30, after he shared the before and after photos of his classic ride.
The initial photos showed a beaten-up Peugeot spotting a tired yellow colour but after the exercise, the car emerged with a sparkly syrup brown colour and a new value of Ksh900,000.
Below is the video showing the transformation:
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His journey to the top of the industry, as he admitted, has not been an easy one. Were began by salvaging accident cars but his interest in the classic was pricked when a client approached him.
"I started out with salvage cars, there was a craze at the time. I would repair for them (clients) then they sell and because of my passion, I decided if I can be able to restore an accident car, why not try classic restorations.
"I got a client, a civil servant. She had a Datsun 1600 from 1975. I restored it for her and it went viral back then. People with classics started reaching out. I then thought of starting a classic garage," he noted.
The dream was, however, short-lived because the necessary market research had not been done before he dived into the trade.
Dennis revealed that after getting a few clients, he discovered that some would not live up to his quotation leading to losses, which then forced him to close down the classic restoration division for a year.
"I started the garage, did a few works that went well but I realised classic cars were not a cheap affair. Most guys only buy classic cars because they are cheap. They buy the cars as starters. They could not repair to the standards expected.
"I decided to make a show car and if people can reach the budget, I will restore it for them. This car was lying around and I decided to make it as a show car. I did it for my own research," he added.
When he relaunched, he decided to start by restoring his own car to determine the estimates and established that he would only work on two cars concurrently.
"I cant work on more than two classics. I have to work on schedule because classic cars involve a lot and if you juggle a lot of cars, you will mess," he explained.
He now runs Hojinx Motors located off Wanye Road in Nairobi's Dagoretti Corner. The company has two partners and 20 employees.
