Gibby Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Here's what we have in the planning stages, or more correctly, in the idea stage. I'm looking at buying some property which has a barn and is zoned commercial. We thought of setting this up as a do-it-yourself garage, geared toward those that don't have the tools or location to work on their rig. Lot's of us don't have garages, or like me, don't fit in the garage anymore :o) We looking at trying to provide a well stocked shop with a lift, jacks, tools, shop supplies, etc. We'd charge an hourly rate plus a separate charge for supplies - i.e. metal, welding rod, grinding wheels, etc. I'm not sure how big the shop could be, but somewhere between 3 and 5 bays seems right. I'll know more when I look at it later this week. We are currently after input from people like you to get a feel for the level of interest and what we could charge. There is absolutely noone around to compare with. I used these kinds of shops when I was living back in London, ON. They were a huge hit, especially after hours! Please feel free to respond with comments, suggestions and ideas as well as voting in the poll. We want to gear this towards the off-road community if we can, rather than the general public -after all, that's our interest too. We also are considering starting smaller and opening it up just to clubs. i.e the NPORA would rent a bay for $XX/month and it's members could use it for projects, but they'd be required to provide their own tools, and it'd be available 24/7/365. We have lots of ways we could go, if we go. We need your thoughts and comments. Thanks Gibby . I don't know how to change the poll. It should say between $20-30/HOUR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaritimeMan Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Sounds like a decent idea. One thing though. Location, location, location. This could really fly if you were to locate it near a major city or in a suburb. A bit further out, and you might not have people will to travel and pay, when thier buddy has a garage they will let them use. Just my $0.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Could be a good thing, but what happens if you're working on, say, a water pump...and you end up breaking a stud. Two studs, even. Special Ford studs that're gold plated, reverse threaded and are slightly crooked so they fit better(we all know Ford is notorious for making impossible to replace specialty parts)...which aren't available anywhere nearby. You came alone, can't find a ride to go get one, and in the meantime, your completely disabled vehicle is sitting in an hourly rented shop space piling up charges? What if the same happens to someone working on suspension, so that it can't simply be rolled out of the shop and off the lift? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 I'm with 88pathoffroad on this one... if you're working on a big project and you hit an obstacle in the middle, say you need some bizarre part, like the studs example, or maybe you just can't figure something out and need to come post on the board. =) Then your truck's just sitting there. You'd also have to have some extremely high quality tools at a reasonable price... and someone thats around that knows how to use them. If I needed a torque wrench, for example, I have a buddy that has a cheap one, and that'll probably work for my uses. It would have to be worth the while. Sounds like a great idea, and with the kinks worked out, it could definitely be cool though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibby Posted March 16, 2004 Author Share Posted March 16, 2004 Sounds like a decent idea. One thing though. Location, location, location. This could really fly if you were to locate it near a major city or in a suburb. A bit further out, and you might not have people will to travel and pay, when thier buddy has a garage they will let them use. Just my $0.02 The location we have is just off Meridian between Milton and Puyallup, on Valley Ave. It's less than a mile from River Road where just about every dealership is located. We'd have a supply of the common stuff, nuts, bolts, washers, etc on site. There would be a lot of working the kinks out as time went on. I really like our proposed location. Good point of course, and I appreciate the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibby Posted March 16, 2004 Author Share Posted March 16, 2004 Could be a good thing, but what happens if you're working on, say, a water pump...and you end up breaking a stud. Two studs, even. Special Ford studs that're gold plated, reverse threaded and are slightly crooked so they fit better(we all know Ford is notorious for making impossible to replace specialty parts)...which aren't available anywhere nearby. You came alone, can't find a ride to go get one, and in the meantime, your completely disabled vehicle is sitting in an hourly rented shop space piling up charges? What if the same happens to someone working on suspension, so that it can't simply be rolled out of the shop and off the lift? Good points, and here's how I deal with them. Say you need those gold plated studs. The reverse cut, off set ones... The proposed location has enough space (26 acres in all ) that the vehicle could be moved out of the shop while you wait for parts. Or if there's enought space, this is what the place that I used to use would do. They charge you full rate for the space while you work on it. If you left it for the day, or to go find parts, etc, it was $5 an hour for storage, UNLESS you were using the sandblasting or paint booth, or hoist. This will be marketing towards the offroad crowd. Who couldn't figure out a way to move a rig without a suspension??? I realized that they are extreme situations where you start a project, can't find the parts, and can't find a friend, but they can happen. There would be a lot of consideration being put into policy to handle those situations. To tell you how I deal with these things in business... I treat a customer how I would like to be treated in his shoes. I may lose a couple of bucks stopping the clock while he searches for a ride, but he'll come back and bring his buddies. On the other hand, if the guy's an idiot, the clock will keep ticking and ticking and ticking... I don't pretend for a second to know the answers to every question that will posed, but trying to answer them is exactly what we have to do. How we answer them will determine whether or not the business will be a success. One of the things I do in our club garage now (mine) is that all spare parts, nuts, bolts, washers, brackets, hoses, brakelines, etc, get stored there. We have Bronco parts, to Willys part, Toyota, Izuzu, Jeep, etc (no Pathfinders yet) in my garage. If we encouraged eveyone to leave their extra parts (I know, you guys never have nuts and bolts left over ) then we'd eventually get a good supply of different size "stuff" that can do in a pinch. My garage is really a co-op and I think that it we go ahead with this project, we'll see the same kind of co-op behavior so that everyone can benefit. Find your missing parts in the free bin, but don't forget to leave your extras for the next guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Boy Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Sounds like an interesting idea. As for getting stranded with the vehicle in bits, well thats just the luck of the draw for a disaster such as the stud scenario. As for say the suspension project, im sure you could arrange package deals, say one week for $XXXXXXX, an over nighter for$XXXXXX, with the base rate of $30.00 or what ever you decide for those hours you go over the package deal. You could do the package thing on hours to. If you did it right you would make more for your self!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmgar99 Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Sounds like a good idea...They used to have garages like that in the North East when I was growing up....I painted my first car in one of those garages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdub Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Sounds good to me, will NPORA members get a break? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibby Posted March 17, 2004 Author Share Posted March 17, 2004 Sounds good to me, will NPORA members get a break? Those are the kinds of things we'd be looking at, club discounts, group buys, etc. I'll have a quote tomorrow hopefully on insurance. That will be the #1 barrier to this working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathy-toys Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 The dealership I work at has a rental shop in the back, and wonderful package deals, we have people building hot rods, trail rigs, rock crawlers, and sand rails. We supply the air and some specialty tools for diy'rs. All in all it works out pretty well in the end $$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcardamone Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Ok, Here's an Angle that No One's Talking About? Liability Insurance. That's Going to Be Quite hard to Get where it would be Cost Efficent to Make Money onthe idea. Think about it. If some Yoyo comes in there and Decides to arc weld his Gas Tank.................................. NOT a Good Situation.. PS. I would be Willing to Donate a few Extra Pathy parts, if someone paid the Shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingcool Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Ok, Here's an Angle that No One's Talking About? Liability Insurance. That's Going to Be Quite hard to Get where it would be Cost Efficent to Make Money onthe idea. Think about it. If some Yoyo comes in there and Decides to arc weld his Gas Tank.................................. NOT a Good Situation.. PS. I would be Willing to Donate a few Extra Pathy parts, if someone paid the Shipping. Make em sign a liability waiver, and as long as you aren't grossly negligent they can't sue... Hey pathy-toys, where is your dealership at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 I'll have a quote tomorrow hopefully on insurance. That will be the #1 barrier to this working. Read before you post... =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibby Posted March 18, 2004 Author Share Posted March 18, 2004 We got some good news today. The quote for insurance is only a ball park estimate, but it was $2500/year. I was thinking that much per month! It looks like we can overcome this obstacle. I still have to be able to purchase the property where the building sits, but the opportunity to run a rental shop will help make the property more cost efficient. Keep the ideas coming, and we'll keep in touch with how the process is going. Gibby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathy-toys Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 The liability waiver is how we do it here. It seems to work well, and our techs are always willing to help out. We do have a superviser watching so people don't try to weld gas tanks and other odd behavior. I actually got the job while renting a space. Helping others is good trait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 sounds like a good idea, if you can straightn out the bugs i wont be using it though..... just moved out of home and now have a double garage to my self!!!!!! hehehehehehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey.T Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 When I was in the AirForce... We had a shop on base that was "Do It Yourself" Paid by the hour, lots of premo tools and Certified Mechanics and reference material availible.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 When I was in the AirForce... We had a shop on base that was "Do It Yourself"Paid by the hour, lots of premo tools and Certified Mechanics and reference material availible.... sssh and where are they when you need them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 When I was in the AirForce... We had a shop on base that was "Do It Yourself"Paid by the hour, lots of premo tools and Certified Mechanics and reference material availible.... Helped a college bud work on his Camaro in one of those at Wright Pat. I thought it was cool. They gave you a stack of like 5 "chips" that you could use to borrow certain tools (from impacts to engine hoists). Those chips were marked with the bay, so if something wasn't returned they knew who to go after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earth1 Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Yeah good idea. I am actually looking for a house with a garage and getting out of my apartment because I can't stand not having a workspace anymore. I have a few friends that would use something like that if it were available around here. I was going to say the tool loan idea could be a hassle from an owner's perspective, but the chip idea would help. With so many people using the shop tools there would inevitably be some maintenence/replacement cost, but maybe the impact of that would be minimal. Maybe you should give a garage proficiency test to qualify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 I might be interested (especially since I live within 5 miles and will work within 1 or so). I've got most truck situations under control at home, but there are obviously times where a lift or extra space would help a ton. These would be my major interests- access to equipment the average guy doesn't have at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 Pathy Gary Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 (edited) Canadian military here, and am familiar with "Auto Hobby Clubs" (along with wood hobby clubs, etc., etc.) on military bases. My random thoughts: - Make it a "club" with membership fees. - Charge an hourly rate for basic bays, a different rate for a bay with a hoist, etc., etc. - Loan tools out with some sort of an accountability system (tool tags, for example, where members are issued tags that are hung on the tool boards in place of the tools when loaned out) Tool use (except for, perhaps specialty tools) is included with membership fees. - Specialty tools (engine hoists, transmission jacks, engine stands) cost extra (but maybe not too much extra) - Offer secure, long-term storage at a reasonable cost to members. An engine rebuild (for example) would entail renting a bay to pull the engine, long term storage while the motor is out for machining, then renting a bay again to drop the mill back in. - Offer bench-space for rent as well: If someone wants to rebuild a tranny and take up part of a workbench for a week, it should cost 'em something. - Sell consumables (nuts, bolts, clamps, oil, filters, tranny fluid, screws, loctite, etc., etc.) at slightly below retail. - Make members responsible for cleanup: Their auto isn't released until their work area is clean and all tools are acocunted for. - See if you can work a deal such that there's a licensed mechanic on duty as a supervisor. Maybe pay them a small wage for part-time work and give them free memebership or something... They'll be available to answer questions and maybe do things for those people that shouldn't do them themselves: Torque head bolts, for example. I'm sure there's a thousand other useful suggestions. Maybe these ones will spark some good discussion. I was an apprentice mechanic as a kid and own my own tools but would MUCH rather make use of a DIY garage.... I would sell my tools and dirty up someone else's. Cheers! Gary Edited April 2, 2006 by 94 Pathy Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffman Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 Good idea, my only concern would be liability. This is America, people will sue for anything. Something I would take into consideration is taking the persons credit card info down and charging a flat fee + time in the shop. If any tools are missing or damaged you got yourself money in advance. If nothings wrong all the money would be returned to siad persons acount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subwaydiet Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 real quick....... where are you located?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now