A Great Idea!!!

[Improved700]

Saw this place while rolling through Milwaukee last week.
Cool idea.

http://www.handsongarage.com/index.html


Perhaps there are other type of these.

Sure looks like a great idea/investment.

I didnt stop there, just drove by it, and checked it out on the web.

Kev

 

[kartracer23]

I've seen a number of those franchised over the years under different names, but I've never seen one open for more than a year.

 

[Grumpy365]

READ THIS THREAD!
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4950

 

[ramtuff]

I looked into this a few years back. A local three bay garage closed up, and the rent was decent, which sparked the idea for me. After some number crunching, I realized it was a financial disaster waiting to happen. lol

 

[Improved700]

Perhaps not a great investment, but if you a guy who does his own oil changes, dosnt have a heated place to do it in the winter, this would be a great place to go.

Kev

 

[meissen]

I'd love to own a shop similar to that. With all the dealerships in Metro Detroit that closed during the auto bailouts, there's tons available with decent service bay setups.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I utilized the one on base while in the Marines. It was a good idea, but I can see some serious legal issues happening in the civilian world.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Insurance will kill you on that. In a best-case scenario, it allows DIY guys to pool resources.

But imagine how great that would look to a lazy, unskilled, corner-cutting type guy who's looking to fix his beater and isn't thinking about what might happen if he doesn't get the car seated on the lift right, or the risks of some quick sawzall bodywork, etc., etc...

 

[Zeke]

Yep, it's been done and I don't see any left. I've even seen co-op used car lots.

I guess these things just don't work out.

 

[bchee]

They should open one of these places next to a pick-your-parts.

 

[Stuart in MN]

There's a similar place in the Minneapolis area: http://firstgeargarage.com/ They are apparently doing okay, the place has been open for a couple years now.

 

[Wes28376]

We have something like this on all the Army installations and I love it. You can rent a lift bay for $3 an hour and borrow tools you don't have for free. They have mechanics to advise you if your doing something you've never done before. I'll continue to use them until I retire in 1440 days and can build my own shop with a lift.

 

[Rixter58]

There's a similar place in the Minneapolis area: http://firstgeargarage.com/ They are apparently doing okay, the place has been open for a couple years now.

Thanks for the link Stuart. While it isnt something I'd ever need, it was interesting to get a close up view of the concept.

 

[arb905]

Like the other veterans, I used the garage on post several times. I actually did a complete front and rear bushing replacement in Monterey, CA on my '71 Nova. Then at Ft. Hood did a intake, carb, ignition and header install on it's 260 I6. It was great because they actually had real mechanics with some knowledge. They also assisted with the lifts and required cars to be braced once in the air. We never did the high risk things without assistance. Signing a waiver for garage use really limits their liability. Would be the same for a civilian shop setup. It would be a great idea for someone with some good business sense.

Changed the oil on my Yukon in the snow today. It sucked because I have a 45x72 garage with a dirt floor and full of half dead tractor, 4-wheelers and car projects. With something like that close, a do-it-yourselfer who lives in an apartment, no garage or needs some assistance would really help. I know a few people in my area that rent out garages at night to work on their projects.

 

[meissen]

Insurance will kill you on that. In a best-case scenario, it allows DIY guys to pool resources.

But imagine how great that would look to a lazy, unskilled, corner-cutting type guy who's looking to fix his beater and isn't thinking about what might happen if he doesn't get the car seated on the lift right, or the risks of some quick sawzall bodywork, etc., etc...

I've thought about this type of shop a lot and if I could get the financing for opening this type of shop and be able to handle the insurance, I'd do it in a heart beat. It would seem that there has to be a way to write a solid disclaimer/clause that the shop can't be held responsible for any work done there or any damages/failures as a result of work done there.

The second part of that would be to have one or two full time mechanics on staff that would be required to make sure every car is properly seated before the lift goes up. The mechanics could also answer any questions or for a fee do the job for you and you can watch/help and learn.

 

[hetkind]

At those minute by minute prices, you better be FAST and accurate. At the lift bay use rate, if your job runs a few hours long, then it would have been cheaper to pay a shop.

 

[milkovich]

What if you incorporate and skip the insurance... you can own the building and lease it to the business. First idiot that sues you, you go out of business.... but you only lose the business, not the building... by that time you have a customer base you trust and turn it into a "club."

Shame, there are so many common sense ideas in America that never come to fruition because of the lawyers and insurance companies.

 

[meissen]

What if you incorporate and skip the insurance... you can own the building and lease it to the business. First idiot that sues you, you go out of business.... but you only lose the business, not the building... by that time you have a customer base you trust and turn it into a "club."

Shame, there are so many common sense ideas in America that never come to fruition because of the lawyers and insurance companies.

Amen to that. Part of the reason why I would love to start such a shop is for the club/website I run.

 

[Mike662]

It would seem that there has to be a way to write a solid disclaimer/clause that the shop can't be held responsible for any work done there or any damages/failures as a result of work done there.

I think that sounds great in theory, but the truth is that regardless of the disclaimer/waiver, if something happens and someone gets hurt, you are going to get sued. Now, the waiver they signed might help you ultimately pervail, but you're probably still looking at significant legal fees.

Now, I suppose thre might be insurance to cover the legal fees, but I think the premiums would be pretty high.

I think this is one of those things that just might not work in our litigious society today. Which is unfortunate, because I would have been one of your biggest customers back when I was living in an apartment.

 

[sneezer41]

You would quickly find out the limited utility of incorporation

If you owned the building through a corp, owned your house through another corp and ran the business through another corp, you might not lose them all, maybe. if he has a bad lawyer

 

[wornoutoldman]

Here is where the owner makes his cash http://www.handsongarage.com/fleetcrew.html

those on "the crew" probably do ok as well provided they are professional techs.

http://www.handsongarage.com/docs/FCM_Client_Handoutv2.pdf

 

[Brew62]

I agree, the FleetCrew idea is not bad. I don't think you could rent a bay for anything more than an oil change that you could do in 15 or 20 minutes. Anything more technical than that would be very expensive if you ran into a problem and took several hours to fix.

 

[brianh]

I spent a lot of time in the army garage on base setup like that. They even has engine stands for full overhauls.