MikeinBloomfield

A friend of mine had an idea that I thought I'd share to see if you more knowledgeable guys thought there were any dealbreakers.

He thought we could get a bunch of guys together (5-6) and rent the out-of-business service station near us to work on our cars. He's got a 96 Miata he wants to do a bunch of stuff to, and my 928 list is growing by the day. There's a guy down the street with a hopped up Nova. I don't think finding participants is an issue.

The station has two lifts. I figure we'll pay for rent (a big number), insurance (a big number), electric, water, etc. He thinks we'll still come out ahead as compared to putting a lift in our garage, which in all honesty I couldn't fit anyway (mine is really just a detached, covered car port).

Scheduling conflicts would be an issue I think, especially for amateur wrenches like us where things seem to take twice as long as we planned.

Anything else? Good idea or forget it?

Speedtoys

Ive seen these before..but for the life of me, I dont recall where.

bigmac

Mike where are you? Bloomfield,MI?

blown 87

If you have enough money to throw away, go for it.
But most folks that have that much extra cash are going to pay some one else to do the work.

It is a very slippery slope that has been tried many times before and it never seems to work out, for a lot of reasons.

FAR cheaper to do what ever you need to do to install your own lift just for your use.

BlueRiver86

Don't some military bases have shared garages like this for project cars and such?

WallyP

Make certain that insurance is part of the deal.

SteveG

What a slippery slope toward SOCIALISM. People with a common interest, banding together for the common good. Call it a "co-op"

You do realize that insurance is communism in its purist form: "From each according, . . . to each according . . ."

I agree, a lift isn't that expensive, but a building built to code, water, elec, heat, taxes, equip like a compressor, etc.: the initial nut is high, but rent just keeps coming, each month. A unique situation like if you got it thru a Sheriff's Sale could be attractive if the overhead is only a couple hundred/month. Getting insurance might be the killer. It might not be available even if every user signed a release.

James Bailey

It would be like having five wives......or shared ownership of a boat or airplane. As soon as one thought they were not getting their fair share or expenses were too high.....Yes military bases have shops....but they are FREE ! to the users. Many do it yourself shops have tried in the past to just charge a nominal rent but everyone wants to work on their days off/weekends and as mentioned have a problem or part needed and it sits on the lift or in the shop for a week. Some even had tool rentals available. Insurance was a HUGE problem and very expensive for a hobby shop. Several years ago I rented part of shop from a friend even that added up to a few thousand dollars over the years. Big issue is who signs the lease ! because that is who MUST pay it.

SeanR

I'd not want to do rely on 4 or 5 other people to assist in paying the bills. I'd rather buy it myself, and then ask for some donations anytime anyone wanted to use it.

James Bailey

Walking into "my" shop on a Monday morning finding empty beer cans all over , a half taken apart car on the lift, oil dripping on the floor and the bathroom sink all greasy........would make me feel ....at home

cpayne

Yes most military bases have whats called a hobby shop. Problem is you can't get it in and go past your time. so when you go in you can't lollygag and have to have a runner when your done or flatbed it. Unless you know the guy that does the scheduling. It's best to find out when the major units are going on maneuvers and you will have less competition and more married women availble.

GeorgeM

I used to do my work at the hobby shop, but cpayne is generally right. The shop here at NAS Oceana only has a time limit on only 2 oil change lifts. But, at the end of the day, you have to get it off the lift. If you can get it to a flat stall, you can rent those overnight.

That's why I got my own. It has paid for itself... although I haven't quite saved enough on labor to have paid for the garage addition that houses it...

danglerb

A co-op can work great or total fubar, and not a whole lot can be predicted in advance.

OTOH if everybody going in thinks its going to be cheaper, or save them money, chances are pretty slim it will work out.

Didn't one of the guys in the NE have a shared garage?

RKD in OKC

Had several rent a stall places here in Oklahoma in the 80's. Complete with tools, etc. Everybody talked about how convenient it would be, but never heard of anyone actually using them and they were out of business within a year.

Seems like ideas like that always sound great, and everybody SAYS they are in, right up until it comes down to having to put their money where their mouth is.

Have also seen several "Friends" that went together to rent space in one of the cheap metal building storage/office parks and put in portable lifts, etc... Seemed to work well for about a year, then fell apart as the rent kept coming and fewer cars actually got worked on. Ended up going to the guy that had the most personal junk stored in the space.

hb4

Here's a repair bay rental spot near Seattle - haven't been there myself, but they seem to have lots of ways to generate income, including renting space to third party mechanics.

http://selfservegarage.com/about