Your Elbow Grease, Their Garage

[Paul_Heery]

Over the years on Pelican and other car forums I frequent, the topic comes up about starting a business where DIYers can rent garage space and lifts to work in their vehicles. According to the article linked below, it seems that is now becoming a thing. The article mentions "a couple of dozen do-it-yourself auto repair shops in the United States".

Your Elbow Grease, Their Garage

Featured in the article is My Mechanics Place, in suburban Detroit. Their site lists an "Oil Change Special" where you get the use of a lift to do your oil change for $12. They will also dispose of the used oil for you. For me,that would be worth it so I would not have to crawl around on my garage floor.

[svandamme]

just buy a decent floor jack and you need not crawl much on your garage floor.



I change my oil in less time it takes you to call up for an appointment, and drive over the rental garage.

[ckelly78z]

There would have to be training/insurance in place before I would allow anyone to do that on any lift that I owned. Perhaps for the urban dweller who has no facilities in place to work on his car, this would be a good idea, but not something I would ever be involved in.

[svandamme]

bay with lift is $ 25 an hour, not 12.

http://mymechanicsplace.com/tool-rental/


i fail to see the ROI for a silly oil change in that place.

[fastfredracing]

Some one would have to man the place to help with tool rental organization, equipment repair, and to put out fires .
I thought about this a few times before. I just cannot see how you could cash flow it . With the rent, equipment costs, and insurance, I just dont see 25/hr covering your overhead

[Nickshu]

There was a place like this in my city when I was a kid. Went there with my Dad several times as a kid to work on our cars. Closed years ago. I wonder about insurance costs for a place like this being a killer.

[crustychief]

Most Military bases have this, auto hobby shop. it works well for them but the overhead is a little different, all proceeds go to the Morale, Welfare, Recreation fund.

[drkshdw]

We have one near Offutt AFB that's been open for years. It's always full of military guys in there working on their personal cars and trucks. They provide the lift, all the tools, have special tools to rent (even a pro scan tool) and will even assist you if you get stuck or don't know how to do something. Not a bad thing for $40/hour.

Services

[widebody911]

There was one of those not far from where I live; it didn't last a year.

[LWJ]

I saw one in Tigard,or. Seemed pretty empty. Agree with other posts on overhead and liability.

Great concept. How do you keep the dumbazzes from breaking the tools?

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by LWJ

I saw one in Tigard,or. Seemed pretty empty. Agree with other posts on overhead and liability.

Great concept. How do you keep the dumbazzes from breaking the tools?

Or stealing them?

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by crustychief

Most Military bases have this, auto hobby shop. it works well for them but the overhead is a little different, all proceeds go to the Morale, Welfare, Recreation fund.

Pax River has a really well run one...staffed by retired guys and gals who really know their stuff.

While the lifts are great, the tool program and the ability to keep you car parked there over night (out of the garage if need be) was the difference maker.

Frankly, I'd love to see the business plan and the fixed costs involved...I wonder about the robustness of the DIY community to support those costs.

[Paul_Heery]

Originally Posted by svandamme

bay with lift is $ 25 an hour, not 12.

Rental Rates | My Mechanics Place | "If only there were a place"


i fail to see the ROI for a silly oil change in that place.

Oil change special
Oil Change Special | My Mechanics Place | "If only there were a place"

[Dantilla]

I looked into doing this in an old warehouse I have.

Liability and hazardous waste issues were enough for me to rent the warehouse to other businesses.
This would probably work only in an urban area of high income demographics. Someplace where garage space is hard to find, some place with a minimum of dumb yokels that have no problem leaving used tranny fluid all over the floor.
It was more "wouldn't this be fun" than "how do I earn money from this property".

I'll enjoy the great space I have in the hangar at the local airport for my maintenance.
Lots of room, bright lights, and other airport bums stop by knowing I have ice cream bars in the fridge.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by crustychief

Most Military bases have this, auto hobby shop. it works well for them but the overhead is a little different, all proceeds go to the Morale, Welfare, Recreation fund.

Yea, they are where I first got into working on my cars. They had a nice setup and tools I did not have I could use theirs. Of course I fond my lifelong profession of photography at the base photo hobby shop at Hickam AFB in Hawaii.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by drkshdw

We have one near Offutt AFB that's been open for years. It's always full of military guys in there working on their personal cars and trucks. They provide the lift, all the tools, have special tools to rent (even a pro scan tool) and will even assist you if you get stuck or don't know how to do something. Not a bad thing for $40/hour.

Services

That's expensive. Local mwr auto shop charges 4$/hr for stall without lift. 6$/hr with lift. Lifts won't hold my 18' 2500 ram (8,000 lbs), and they aren't willing to rent me the oil change rack all day.... Lol

[fanaudical]

Here's a link for a business like this near me:

Home

I've never visited. I have a couple friends who have used this garage and they had positive reviews.

Just my luck - If I were to use one of these places I would find my car on a rack, mostly apart, suddenly needing something that's not available for a month...

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

Here's a link for a business like this near me:

Home

I've never visited. I have a couple friends who have used this garage and they had positive reviews.

Just my luck - If I were to use one of these places I would find my car on a rack, mostly apart, suddenly needing something that's not available for a month...

That was one of my thoughts. So what happens when you have the transmission out, subframe removed, and suddenly realize that you got the wrong clutch kit , Its Saturday afternoon, your only day off, and you cannot get the right parts till Wednesday.
Your next day off is Saturday again, and the car is stuck on the lift, un moveable .
Happens to me all the time in the normal course of business .

[Brando]

I actually looked at starting one of these here in CA quite a few years ago. Great idea, impossible to insure. Liability out the wazoo, plus almost no commercial spaces would rent for this kind of automotive business. If you want to be open to the public, you would be opening your business to public stupidity, too. It just takes one idiot to drop a car on someone and you're bankrupt, if not facing lawsuit in civil court. There are only 1 or 2 ways to actually start it, but you would be revenue negative forever.

[DonDavis]

Last weekend a buddy came over and brought this up.
This idea is super easy to see why it would work. We were both military and used the base garages many times. They were/are so great.

The challenge is what's been said above. And the negatives pile up quickly.

Car stuck, waiting on parts. Guys habitually underestimate repair time. I know I do.
Injury liablity.
Stolen tools.
Environmental issues will always come up in different ways.

I think the human factor would be the largest hurtle. On base, if you eff up, it goes to your command. Private sector? Who ya gonna tell? The courts? uh huh...