Is there anything in the Twin Cities area in the vein of a communal garage space? I know there is a something like that for the motorcycle community (The Moto Collective) but I haven't been able to come across anything for car people. I imagine it would garner interest among the apartment dwellers. Something like the "maker spaces" that have cropped up recently.
Lets have all the MNSubaru guys who can chip in and rent a warehouse and have the communal MNSubaru garage.
Honestly I think you're pretty close to how it would work. I think maker spaces just charge a monthly fee and have rules to follow.
How much space do you think we need? Edina Office / Warehouse / Outside Storage - $4 / 6500ft2 - For Lease Warehouse and Office Combo/Suite 100 & 200 just off Central Ave 8,539 SF Warehouse/Office Just a quick search on craigslist. I wonder how much it would be per person. What do I know though?
There's a lot more to think about than just finding a space. Here's a few: Who's name is on the lease? Who gets the liability insurance? Is automotive work/storage allowed on-site? How do you handle someone using someone else's tools/parts without permission? Who gets keys to the facility? It's an awesome idea in theory as Ryan mentioned, but in practice a lot more complicated with some pretty serious liability concerns for whoever is on the lease.
Yes. Definitely a cool idea in theory. All those issues you listed are why I wouldn't be the first to establish such a space but some people don't mind dealing with such things. I imagine the cycle place I mentioned has some sort of agreement people have to sign, some type of secured entry, surveillance, etc.
There have been garages that tried and failed or otherwise closed up shop in the recent past. First Gear Garage is the most recent and probably most successful that I'm aware of. I'll bet Erik or Travis would be willing to walk you through the finer points if you want to explore the business model.
I'm sure we could get something going on a smaller scale if there was someone who had a space to use.
The military has that in place at most bases. You rent a space that has a space depending on what you need to do. Such as a lift stall or just a empty stall. Each numbered stall has a locked basic hand tool cabinet . the key ring has corresponding number tags that you can take to the main tool crib to borrow more specific speciality tools. When you are through for the day you turn all the tools back in you then get back the number tags the stall is inspected for cleanliness and all the basic tools are in the cabinet and you check out. There are lots that are fenced in but they were not responsible for your property if left there. You also had to sign a release form to work in there. I had looked into doing that back in Virginia but the size of the facility the cost involved in the initial investment of tools ,lifts ,compressor... Was a huge investment with no investors it fell through. The liability insurance along to let people work in it was crazy also. I think it would be a great investment and would be a great pay check maker.
Honestly you'd be better off renting a house with a big garage and possibly an outbuilding of some kind. Split it 4 or 5 ways, live there, party and wrench. Less headaches and you won't need to drive across town to your project and tools. Really any kind of "rent a space to work" kind of set-up is a pretty serious luxury expense. Most people can't turn a wrench to save their lives so a space would be pretty much used to stare at a now disassembled and screwed up car. The rest of us want to save money and will work in the driveway if we have too.
Exactly. And let us know when you get it setup so we can come over to use the heated garage and lift in the winter time!
Sounds like investment and liability are the biggest hurdles; and that the military had a pretty solid model.
Military also doesn't have to worry about what will happen when some moron drops a car off a lift and it lands on them.
And it has happened. It got to the point where the customers had to let the guys pull the vehicles into the stalls with the lifts and raise them up. Same with just the ramps due to people running off them.
I'd be down to do something like this. I'm sure if someone had the time and the patience to do some investigative work and they gave me a number that I had to pay per month to have my own stall I'd pay it. As far as insurance and liability you'd have to figure those rates into their monthly fee along with average utility costs. Also, creating an LLC would help protect the owner/owners of certain legal risks/hurdles/liabilities. I'd probably start off with seeking appropriate spaces and then speaking to a lawyer to see what bases you need to have covered. I know this business model was more prevalent in the 70's and 80's. I'm not sure about the viability of this business model now since most cars are very reliable and people don't have to wrench on them as much as they used to. Hell, I'd rent a space just so I could PROPERLY wash my car in a covered and possibly climate controlled space. Let's keep this discussion going and let's see what we can do guys.
Almost $500 a month. how many people do you think he could have using this space? I see space for 4 or 5 cars inside and out. A MNSubaru hangout place? No heat or water. But it isn't terribly expensive form what I've seen. Not that I've seen much. The real question is how many people would want in? Then the rent could be split up.
