After getting the o.k. from forum admin, I wanted to post an introduction of our new business: FirstGear Garage. FirstGear is a new do-it-yourself garage located in Eden Prairie. We opened doors in May. Some introductory points I'd like to communicate: - We have a fully equipped shop to do just about any repair big or small. There are no membership fees or buy-in's. We rent our lifts, tools & shop on an hourly/daily/weekly basis to the general public. - FirstGear is about offering the public a NICE place to do their own repairs in a good environment but still offer good value. The emphasis is on nice. While the DIY garage idea isn't novel, when it has been attempted in the past it has usually been in a substandard space, with cruddy equipment and lack of tools.....all for the low, low price of $10/hour. That isn't what FirstGear is about. - We have an open door policy whether you are a DIY'er looking to save money or a car enthusiast. For the enthusiast, FirstGear was created as gathering place. We have a large parking lot and a "lounge" (free wifi, big screen TV, pub tables, couches, etc..) right on the shop floor. Whether it is a formal event/meet or something more ad hoc, anyone is welcome to use our lot/lounge for little or no cost. Northstar BMWCCA used FirstGear for their annual Garage Opener event in May. - To support the business, we will be offering DIY clinics of all flavors & abilities, from basic brake clinics to race suspension set-ups.. Our first clinic was "DIY Car Maintenance for Women Only" which we conducted in May. We are still building our tool inventory, working-through the logistics of operating the business day-to-day and expanding our parts procurement. However, a variety of repairs we've had include: transmissions swaps (5 hours), differential & rear axle replacements (7 hours), many many brake jobs (1-2 hours), 35-60k mile regular maintenance and a few shock/coilover jobs (5 hours). Lastly, we do have the ability to order and procure parts. You can even call ahead and we will order the parts for you, ready when you arrive. We buy the parts on our account and you pay only for what you use, when you use it. Pricing is competitive with anything you will get at the local parts counter yourself. Stop by and check us out, even if just to say hi. I'll give you the personal tour. Erik Dieterle Website: www.firstgeargarage.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Gear-Garage/302644687510
That is such a cool concept, I was thinking it would be cool to open a garage like that when i wrote a business proposal in college. LOL, my professor said something like that would never work, clearly he was wrong. Glad to see the business is going good. BTW, I'm the guy at the TP down the street that swapped over all those bmw tires for u a few weeks ago, lmk if I can help again!
Maybe your professor was right, and maybe there is a reason we don't seem more of these business....but we'll find out soon enough! Stop by and say hi. Those tires were for our Chump Car (E30 bombers). We made it through Saturday but the engine completely blew on Sunday. Engine rebuild this weekend.
Either way, I think its a great idea!(obviously, since I created a complete business plan around the concept) Also, EP has a lot of automotive business, there should be enough to go around (look at me, I'm actually connected to 2 other shops, and there is 6 tire shops in EP alone, and I still do ok). Just keep workin on that customer base and getting ur name out there. I'll definitely pass on the word too! LMK if u need any tire stuff too, I work with quite a few of the local shops GL guys!
Great concept... Love it.. Having owned a shop I am curious how you cover for a dumbass dropping a vehicle off the lift or on someone...? also I am curious how a 260pc tool set = tools the pros use ha ha ha The clinic stuff is an awesome idea... especially for the ladies... keep it up.. remember it wont take off over night but I think long term you guys will go well... oh and Welcome
In the 70's, the was a U-DO-IT garage in Bloomington, or so my dad tells me. If you can make it work, more props to you. Just make sure you have your liability covered in this litigious society.
To answer your question, and those that others asked. There are risk with everything and every day I walk in the door my main goal is to prevent that guy from doing just that. The business is covered by generous liability insurance, and most importantly we wouldn't be doing this if we didn't believe we could operate safely. Customers cannot operate the lifts themselves and we take every precaution to ensure safety while vehicles are on the lifts. The lifts are inspected daily and serviced by an ALI certified installer regularly. The idea of renting the lifts is really no different than the heavy machinery that can be rented at any rental store around the country. The other restrictions are no welding/open flames or bodywork that requires sanding. Other than that, it is pretty wide open as to what you can do. As long as you are 18 y/o, have car insurance and can pass a mandatory IQ test. As far as the 260 pc tool set = tools the pros have. Yes, you get a 260 pc tool set with each rental, and it is sufficient to do most jobs. But if that were it, it'd be a silly proposition. Among many other things and to name a few, we have free Alldata Pro access, Rotary lifts, workbenches, bench grinders, oil disposal drains (free disposal), parts washers, fully plumbed compressed air throughout the shop (with various impact wrenches), wall mounted vacuum cleaners, under hoist jacks, transmission jacks, shop presses and engine hoists that are all included with each rental. If 260 pieces (actually closer to 300) isn't sufficient, we have a number of 600+ piece rolling chest tool sets that can be rented. Additionally, we have a storage room full of specialty tools available (ball joint service kits, on-car bearing presses, brake bleeders, scan tools, engine support brackets, about 30 different snap ring pliers, air chisels, cut off tools, and much much more. We are still building our inventory of tools, but the general idea of my ad nauseum listing is to demonstrate that the goal is to have everything available in the shop that a reasonably well equipped professional shop would have....so that there is no job out of reach. At this point, we are about 75% there. Anyways, thank you for the welcome. Do stop by and say hi. Our big marketing push is going to be promoting the cost savings with DIY auto repair. However, we are kind of car nuts by nature and have several interesting cars under the roof. They range from a couple track prepped german cars (one ran the One Lap of America in 2001), a tuned Japanese "thing" that does 0-60 in under 3 seconds, and a few other secret street weapons. But that's just me bragging.
Hey, sometimes details need to be pushed for, and you've provided them. These details are what make or break you. Thanks for providing them.
After I went to Firstgear yesterday to put my cat back on I figured I would post a review for anyone considering using the shop. The shop is really easy to get to; they have a map on their web site that will get you there very easily. The shop is very clean and well maintained by Eric, who was there when I was working on the car. They have almost every tool that you would need to do almost any repair, the 250 piece tool box he mentions is not the biggest set they have also. They have a much bigger set for an extra $25 charge, but it also comes with some of the specialty tools. Also they sell nuts and bolts if you were to break one and needed one ASAP; they also have parts delivery that is very prompt. If you were to go there for oil changes they will dispose of any waste oil free of charge, but filters are only $1. They have a parts washer, press, work bench with grinders and engine lift. Eric was very friendly and was even willing to throw in a helping hand if needed, not for what to do, but if you need help doing it. They also have computers on rolling carts so you can bring it over to your lift and check online for information on how to do something. The rates are very reasonable, as compared to paying a shop $90 to $100 an hour. I would highly recommend them for any lift needs if you are a do it yourselfer and need a lift or specialty tool.
I've been to First Gear Garage a few times now, and never have I had a bad experience! I highly recommend them!
This idea sounds great!! Good luck to you, glad to see another business open, concept seems to fit a need.
wish we had something like this in duluth!! sweet idea i hope you guys are doing good!! ill stob by when im in the cities to check it out sometime
