I am trying to gauge SERIOUS interest in a local DIY shop extremely similar to Project:Forward Motion. I would be all over PFM myself if it were closer to me, but 160 miles back and forth is a little bit too far of a hike for me and some of my friends who have been looking for such a shop.

I have serious interest from 5 people right now which is not enough for me to start looking for a building to set up shop. If I can get enough interest, I will begin to look locally and seek parts discountsupport from local parts stores.

**For Nissan owners, I have already begun negotiations for Nissan parts for very good parts pricing**

The shop (name TBD of course) would consist of:

1. very basics to perform light to extensive modifications on your own car (i.e. one dual post lift which can accomodate lowered vehicles)
2. training on lift use for new members so no one gets squished
3. Possible set of shop tools
4. Air compressor
5. Parts storage area
6. (Possible) Extra indoor space to hold 1-2 more cars over night
7. Some type of theft prevention system (TBD)

Members would be charged dues every 6 months or one year once building/startup material costs are calculated.

Let me know if you are interested and i will add you to the list. All makes and models are welcome, not just Z's and G's.

 

Any rough estimate on how much it would be? The only problem is if you get a lot of people to opt in, one or two lifts might not be enough.

 

Right now I am trying to judge interest. I my plan is to rent property with a decent building...I am thinking old gas station or a small busniess which had door to pull a vehicle inside for loading. Something in a decent area and low key...with real estate being so low, I think we could strike a very reasonable deal for property rental.

At bare minimum we will need a lift which can run between $1-2,000. The only thing I want to do for sure is have the lift professionally installed. With this said, initial dues may be about 100-150 more for the first year to cover the lift. My goal is to have about 25-30 people sign up at 350-500 for the inital year, then sub $300 ($250 being my target) based upon shop needs.

There are VERY preliminary figures at this point, property has NOT been researched yet until interest is high enough.

Let me know guys and feel free to PM me. I will have the other interested parties post on their respective STI/Evo forums in the next couple days

 

wow, sounds like a great idea. Wish it were closer to me

 

Come oonnn, you can make the trip

 

my dad wants to rent out his shop..its located in west orange nj...PM if you are interested.

 

 

There has to be another form of income. If you sign up 30 people at 500 for the first year that will only be $15,000 for one year. Which you will have to pay for rent, electricty, gas. Unless your monthly bills are less then $1000 a month I cant see it working out. Its a great idea but idk if you will come out on top. I know that pretty much all military bases have the same exact setup that you are aming for but the big difference is that it is funded by the military and there are no fees to join. The only thing you pay for is lift time which is about $2-3 an hour, and that includes tools and such.

 

This is strictly to gauge interest...if no one even wants to do it, I won't bother pricing it out

 

This is extremely reasonable. I recently rented a shop for private use leading into commercial use and found that rents (in my area) run from 500 to 1000 for a shop with enough room for a lift plus 1-2 indoor parking. I found a great deal but had to do some renovations - ie build a wall, electrical updates and paint.

My lift ran me about $1600 I purchased it from Metro Lift (can be found on ebay) and picked it up.

Protect yourself - purchase an insurance umbrella and have a limited liability agreement drawn up for your members. Assuming your going to be investing some of your own capital to get things off the ground I think this will work out great for everybody.

How do you plan on scheduling lift time?

Good luck!

 

This is awesome idea

 

I'll play devils advocate and say that the PFM Model is flawed. Unless someone wants to go into their pocket for the rent for the space, how do you raise enough money to pay the monthly nut? PFM is run out of a space that costs $1550. per month for the rent and another $450. for utilities. In addition, a policy which covers liability for any incident that could occurr would run an additional $2k per year.

Expect to pay about 25K per year for the facility (2500-3000 sq ft) and utilities. Lets assume you have 35 members, that roughly $700. per member per year.
It would be difficult to find 35 guys who would be willing to pay this much annually AND make a two or three year commitment.

PFM charges $200 per year and has a core group of maybe 15. It does collect shop fees from non members who wish to do work. But as you can see, its not a working model. PFM can do it because one person pays the bill.

In my view, if its going to work, it has to be a dual purpose space or the club has the ability to generate revenue somehow. A strip club could work , but probably not practical.

 

Theatrix has a point. PFM is currently looking to downsize their space, and will most likely loose the use of their current lift. I've been to their shop, and it is huge!! They have enough space for at least 5 cars, plus plenty of storage for tools, parts, etc. Hell... They even have a small gym in the back offices for their members to use!! But alas the rent is too much to absorb, and they are considering giving up 1/2 of their space (which includes the lift area).

That being said, I still like your idea and am looking forward to participating if the location is not too far from me (West Orange would work for me). But it must be stressed that the location must be in a safe area (industrial park perhaps), where the members can feel safe leaving their stock parts or tools behind (I for one am tired of using a spare room to keep my stock exhaust and wheels).



BTW... A strip club would end up costing the members a lot more than $700 per year!!!

 

Theatrix, thank you for your response. This is what I kinda feared was that someone there was paying much more than others to keep the shop alive and kicking. I planned on hopefully consulting with the head honcho there to model the shop similar to PFM...but as you said, it is not that type of operation where it is %100 equal in $$$ contributions. I really liked the shop when I went there and I noticed the SERIOUS amount of space you all had there (paint booth, gym room, etc.). I think you all could do with a lot less and still have the same great club. Our little shop would be 'LITTLE' in every sense of the word...enough to get the job done with one lift and space to move around a little bit and store parts.

Safety is definitely something I am concerned about hence the importance of selecting the correct area. I wonder if the local police would be interested in some kind of exchange for added protection. This is where the strip club idea comes into play!!!

But seriously, I am still 100% committed to do the time looking and pricing out places/equipment if interest gets high enough. Keep the interest and suggestions coming guys.

 

Count me in, depending on location and $$$.

 

pmd

 

PMed back...keep the interest/responses coming guys!


Thanks

 

BAR/SHOP.

Nuff said. I would totally go in on a place where I can drink and work on my car.

 

hey if u guys eventually start this thing up. i have a post lift for sale. it came out of a dealership so its no weekend warrior mechanics play thing. pm me if your interested

 

im in for more info, i'd def be interested.