Need your advice and input

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ddukeboy

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Location
Saugus, California
I am curious how many shade tree mechanics here would pay a small fee for the use of a lift and professional shop? I have always had a garage to work on my cars but my driveway has not always been convenient. I have also turned down side jobs and large jobs on my daily drivers because it would just be too difficult to complete the job with my limited resources. Also, many of the neighborhoods where I live will not allow you to work on a car in your driveway.

I see these needs and have decided to work on opening a shop where a regular guy like myself can pay a couple bucks an hour to use a lift and professional tools. I figure a couple lifts, a stabilizer and telescopic trans jack, industrial air compressor, a brake lathe, a press, a couple well stocked tool boxes, and some other little odds and ends would make a nice shop.

I have never owned or worked in a mechanic's shop, so I know I am missing some things. I have already looked into insurance. I need your advice though. Would you be willing to pay an hourly, daily or weekly fee? What else would this shop HAVE to have?
 
There has been a couple of places like this in the Denver area over the years. None of them seem to last very long. Overhead has too high for the rates people would pay. Might work some where else, but you could your investment.
 
We used to have a place like that. They offered a space, car lift, cherry picker, tranny jack and air. You could check out air tools from the office if you left a deposit. Anything past that would be too hard to control. Ours was tied to the auto parts supply business that was housed in the same building. I loved it but it is now a convenience store and the whole auto related business is gone.
 
I wish there was a shop with a lift open today. If certainly jump at the opportunity. I'm under the hood of my wife's Tahoe to replace intake gaskets and freezing my arse off
 
As soon as I saw this I thought of Denver.I went to school in 76 and used a place like that. I would think that insurance would kill you.But I do see the need.You can check into insurance and some sort of waver to protect yourself first thing. I do remember that work had to be completed during business hours,nothing left overnight.Nothing outside in the lot.Good luck !Hope you can make it happen.
 
A guy did that here and lost his azz,insurance and theft and idiots, crackheads would tie up the shop and not pay even after paying for shop upfront for a day or 2, would drag into days and stole him blind and ended up tearing up cars into pieces and abandoning them leaving behind a big mess that he had to clean up and get rid of,had a lot out back for such vehicles and 8 out of 10 turned out to be stolen was a legal nightmare for him,he got educated real quik and closed it down and turned it into a tire shop only,he was a super nice guy who tried to help people and got screwed bad, and since then he is not such a nice guy, I cannot blame him, for it sounded like a good idea at the time and in theory should've been a money maker,took him a year to recover most of his losses and now he doesnt take no **** from the public and is doing well now...so I guess it depends on the area and the people you deal with, which in most cases you do not have a clue until something goes wrong then its your azz on the line and when the lawdawgs get involved you lose total control on top of your losses and legal fees defending yourself...I had almost jumped in with him in the begining as I thought it would be a great plan but was I ever wrong and so glad I didnt pull the trigger and invest my time and money for if I had I would be in jail for multible assaults and destruction of something and several people wouldnt be walking without help or missing an ear or something..hey it looked good on paper and not all of them were deadbeats just 90%....
 
As far as the tools getting stolen I would have to have a well organized box. Keep a license or run a card and then check the box before returning. I think I can handle the stealing.

My mother-in-law works for a commercial insurance company. I can get the advice and service I need there. Either an employee operates the lift or leave it to the customer and his liability, we will see.

Mopar Daddy, I am in So-Cal so I think I'll put a portable swamp cooler. Not as much need for the heat.

My brother-in-law is a mechanic and figured he would be there for advice and to work on cars to supplement costs.
 
I don't see this as ever working. I've known two guys in different towns who tried it.

EXTREME liability

People expect everything for "free"

EXTREME abuse of tools. You'd spend more time monitoring customers than you could ever afford

Also, I worked at the Navy N.A.S. Miramar Auto Hobby Shop as a civilian part time employee. That is, I was in the Navy, but this was an after - hours job. This was very enjoyable, but you had to "ride herd" on those guys every second. Stuff "I've seen"

Guy working on a 57 Chev, had two bumper jacks jammed up between the "big tits" on the front bumper. I dragged him out of there by his ankles. He got nasty and I told him I could fix it so he could never come back. What would it be?

Guys installing an engine / trans in a 57? Ford PU installed the tail housing right through the windshield

We got an air / grease gun. Had two outdoor hoists. One day I heard the pump "ka pop, ka pop, ka pop" thought, THAT's a lot of grease, two guys were having a contest to see how far they could lob "grease luggies" over the fence into the storage yard........where cars were stored!!!!

Heard a hell of a noise, big cloud of grey, go out there, and some bonehead had a low pressure "Sears" spray gun with pressurized cup hooked to 150 psi shop air. Blew the bottom out of the cup and generated a gigantic cloud of primer, headed for MY CAR. There were "words"

This was when B&D first started making drill motors with metal front gearboxes and plastic handles (early 70's). We had two 5 gal. buckets full of broken drill motors.

We had at least two ball pein hammers WITH BROKEN HEADS.

Somebody broke a CROWBAR

I have NO idea why someone didn't blow up the oxy/ acet torch outfit. Someone dumped the cart over BOINGNNNNNNGNGNGNGNGNGNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGgggggg and miraculously did not break off a regulator from a tank

Broken/ damaged screwdrivers by the "sets of ten." LOL

SPILLS. Oil. trans fluid. antifreeze. Someone blew up a couple of batteries overcharging.

Crashes. "We" fixed the ?brakes? and crashed into the car in the next stall when "leaving."

Missing tools

Missing tools

Missing to................

We bought a new compact floor jack............went AWOL

The tools were handled with "chits" (tags) on a ring. You got so many "chits" with your stall no. and were supposed to trade chits for tools. Sounds simple, right? Dammed if I know. Stuff walked off

Then there's the people who should never be working on a car, show up and create a disaster. "Change" their oil but forget to drain the old. So now they have no oil, no transportation, and it can't run. You / they are stuck trying to get the car somewhere so they can go get more oil, 'er whatever.

I can only imagine how much worse this would be on today's cars

I think........my opinion.........that if you want to invite lawsuits and bankruptcy, a business like this would be the fast track.
 
i have been a back yard wrenched for ever lift is nice but don't need and i mean motor changes trans changes, lifted jeeps and or trucks jack stands and a floor jack and away we go
 
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