Renting a shop worth it?

[WhyMe]

So the consensus is its a bad idea..We have a place in the area that rents a lift for $40 an hour. may that's the way to go if i need a lift. i would love a lift at my house,but the ceiling is not high enough. For sure if i move, i am going to look for a place with height for a lift or space to build a real garage.

thanks and happy new year to all

 

[DoubleWasp]

Renting a shop when you're operating a profitable business is hard enough. For pleasure? Never.

All gearheads have this idea at some point or another. Never works out.

 

[Chris142]

How much are you looking to spend on rent? A shop with a lift already in it would be at least $10k/ month here.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by WhyMe
So the consensus is its a bad idea..We have a place in the area that rents a lift for $40 an hour. may that's the way to go if i need a lift. i would love a lift at my house,but the ceiling is not high enough. For sure if i move, i am going to look for a place with height for a lift or space to build a real garage.

thanks and happy new year to all


The consensus is that the numbers usually don't work. Yeah if you can get a space for $100 a month with a lift, that'd be a good deal, but if it's $1000, then the math probably doesn't work. What's the cost going to be? It's probably going to be closer or above $1000 than $100. At $1000, split 4 ways is still $3000 a year, not really worth it for oil changes and an occasional repair.

 

[oilpsi2high]

Rent a garage with electric and water, not a full blown shop. You'll have to enter into lengthy leases, pay property tax, insurance, etc.

Not worth it.

 

[skyactiv]

I don't know what the OP drives, but leasing or even making car payments on a new reliable car might be cheaper than renting a shop to keep the wheels spinning on a junky vehicle.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by skyactiv
I don't know what the OP drives, but leasing or even making car payments on a new reliable car might be cheaper than renting a shop to keep the wheels spinning on a junky vehicle.

True, true. I still do all my work outside so it's not even like you need a garage to do an oil change, tire rotation, brakes or a timing belt. Anything more complex might be best left to a garage (dropping a trans, pulling a motor)--and perhaps those are signs that you should have moved on long ago.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by skyactiv
I don't know what the OP drives, but leasing or even making car payments on a new reliable car might be cheaper than renting a shop to keep the wheels spinning on a junky vehicle.

True, true. I still do all my work outside so it's not even like you need a garage to do an oil change, tire rotation, brakes or a timing belt. Anything more complex might be best left to a garage (dropping a trans, pulling a motor)--and perhaps those are signs that you should have moved on long ago.


I take my car to an indy who does work out of his garage and doesn't have a lift. He just throws the car up on jack stands and I've had him do things like the suspension, motor mounts etc. He does have an impact gun and a compressor so he's still pretty fast.