rent a shop

[XJwheelman]

has anyone ever heard of a do it yourself garage? I heard of this a few times but I haven't been able to find out if its real. I am in westchester new york. I need a lift to do some suspension work.

[joe_peters]

That is pretty much a military thing on bases.

I would hazard a guess that insurance premiums to cover a civilian auto hobby shop would be way too high, if even such a policy could be written.

Any insurance experts out there?

[AIbandit]

That is pretty much a military thing on bases.


This and they make you get "certified" on some tools.

[RCP Phx]

We have a couple of them here,quite popular!

[joe_peters]

We have a couple of them here,quite popular!

Interesting. Can you PM me their names and phone numbers? I would be interested in their business models.

[crimsondragon]

About a couple of weeks ago, a guy on one of the other forums I venture on opened up a garage in OK. $10 per hour. Best rate I've heard so far. $12 with all access to tools and such.
Here's the site: http://www.theshadetreediy.com/
Here's his response as to why he can afford to keep it at such a low rate:

ok so here's the deal.. typical places (the few that exist) doing what I am doing charge $30-$35/HOUR just for the lift!! PLUS $10+/hour for tools.. another charges $100/flat rate for tools... I don't see them lasting long as the final price is far too close to mechanics rates..

I pushed hard to negotiate every item in here and kept my overhead low.. paid cash for everything in here and have retardedly low prices.. people are starting to ge teh feel of it and are coming with more frequesncy.. I charge $12/hour including the lift, tools, workbench, etc.. there is a $2.50 flat rate to cover my shop consumables.. then there are ala carte rates for other stuff like the welder, cherry picker, tranny jack, etc.. I have many things in stock like brake cleaner, brake fluid, ATF, oil, etc.. I even have zip ties, duct tape, shrink tubing, flex loom, gloves, safety glasses... all kinds of stuff. plus all parts stores deliver to me and I get a shop discounted price which I split with my customers (I kep most as profit but hey, if I save u a dollar, ur happy)

My business plan is to make money off of the high flow of people thru here and on multiple income streams getting them to buy parts and supplies from me.. the other guys, I can only imagine, are trying to make a killing off big jobs as who would go pay $35/hour to do an oil change?? yet, I get people in here for an oil change.. then do an undercar inspection.. talk them into some brakes, or whatever we can.. I am the good guy, here to help people and I will make a little money off a LOT of people in the proces.. rather than making a lot of money off a few people who desperately need a lift.. In doing so, I am getting a LOT of support from the local community/car forums in OKC as they appreciate me making things so cheap and so they are coming here even for stuff they normally do in the garage just because they want to support this shop and keep it around.. that's why I made my prices so low... I could EASILY charge $20-$25 and people would use it but then only for big stuff and I miss the millions of opportunities for upselling every person who comes for something simple...


The man has the right state of mind in terms of business IMO.