How much would you pay for an hour of garage time that included all tools (air compressed of course), a lift, and heat?

I think I would pay up to $50 an hour since is cheaper than a mechanic and easier than laying on the ground in my garage in the winter.

Any thoughts?

 

Or ya know, you could just come to Jon's Garage..lift and compressed air and all..and work for like..

FREE?

 

If you can manage to get in on the schedule....

Plus, there's always the problem with more people showing up.... More heads, more time waiting in line....

 

Still no amounts? Not everyone has access to someones place w/ all that stuff for free.

Any thoughts here?

Thanks!

Steve

 

When i swapped my motors last year in my two FD's i rented a storage shed for $150 a month and bought a space heater and did the work in there. You still have to lay on your back and have no power tools, but it worked pretty good and was pretty cheap.
-Austin

 

50 haha.. dude thats too high.. try some thing more like 5 -10 dollars an hour.
on base it was 6 an hour but bad thing like always was finding a space.

 

I'm with crashdummy, find a friend that can get you on a base... you have one, everyone has one. They have everything there you would need... the only thing I don't like is dealing with the "help" they have there. A bunch of old heads that can never figure what anyone is doing if it's something more complex than a tire rotation. I just avoid them, unless I'm doing something tire related, because they have to operate the tire changing machine and balancer.

 

I haven't used the facilities at local bases, but had very good experience a while back at RAF Welford (now defunct). It was like my own personal fully-equipped shop with a very skilled and intelligent staff to assist and advise. I can't praise the guy enough. They even bought a lot of specialised tools for me. IIRC it was <$5/hr, and ~$1/day to store a car in the compound area.

 

Interesting there is no market for this. Seems the only people responding are those that have friends or connections to a garage & a staff.

I know that is the vast miniority of people who work on their own cars. Most people are like me and lay on the garage floor to get most of the stuff done. Awkward angles & hand tools add at least 40% time to my projects versus those done on a lift where you can get leverage.

Then again maybe I just have no skills!

Also - don't use what I would pay as a measuring stick. The question is what would it be worth to <i> YOU </i>

Keep 'em coming guys. Thanks!

Steve

 

Austin - thats an interesting idea. What was your total cost incurred for the storage shed, the space heater, and all the tools you had to buy?

Also, now long did it take you?

Curious to find out. Maybe thats a different route to go. Rent a bay on a per-project basis (like an engine swap, tranny change, suspension work, etc.)

Thanks!

 

people wont think its worth as much when they can go the same if not better facility for a cheaper price..
also im sure almost every car owner has been through the "i thought it would only take an hour" days. when a 1 hour job turns into a 2 day job because of complications... in cases like this, 50 an hour, it would be better off taking the car to a mechanic.. competetive pricing would be around the 10 dollar range.

 

$10 an hour - what do you base that on? Do you know of a place that lets you do this as a business - not just a friend that left a service station open for you, or a marine buddy who lets you use the bays on the base? Do they supply all the tools? Do they supply mechanics to help out if need be?

Again - please don't use $50 an hour as the baseline for what I am thinking - the question remains - what is it WORTH to you? What would YOU pay for this service?

Note* There are those of us that want to do the work themselves no matter what the cost. In fact, I would say thats a large % of this forum. It is not so much about "can you save money doing it yourself" versus taking it to a mechanic, it is a matter of "since I am going to do it myself anyway, what is it worth to not have to buy all the tools and lay on my back in a garage".

Keep 'em comin!

 

Well, I know you said not to make $50 a baseline, but when my tire blew on my 06 MX-5 out in NJ, the station that got me a new one was charging that much per hour just for labor....

 

Again - don't use $50 as a baseline. If i could edit this enitre thread to remove all the $50's I would.

Would you pay $25 an hour to do it yourself? You would have saved $25!

 

lol, k... I'd probably be willing to pay $15-$20 max, personally....

It'd be even better if there was one low rate you could pay for a whole day, though....

 

Note* There are those of us that want to do the work themselves no matter what the cost. In fact, I would say thats a large % of this forum. It is not so much about "can you save money doing it yourself" versus taking it to a mechanic, it is a matter of "since I am going to do it myself anyway, what is it worth to not have to buy all the tools and lay on my back in a garage".


1. I dont need anyone to get me on a base ..Crashdummy=prior service/ veteran/ inactive reserve guy with a military id...

2. The hobby shop on base charges 6-8 bucks an hour for all of the above.. tools, mechanical help (though you probably wouldnt want it)...everything from air tools, to spring compressors, to paint booths.

3. 10-20 dollars is fair imo.

4. I do all the work on my car, and its alot less of a hassle if you have your own tools or are able to borrow tools for jobs that will leave the car undriveable for days/weeks at a time.

5. do you think alot of people are going to be all over this idea? sure alot of rx7 owners have the "im going to do it myself" mentality, and they also have the "i dont have any money and im lazy mentality also.. meaning that they would rather work for free in their own garage or a free garage (such as the rx7 garage).. and if your an rx7 owner without tools, then you probably shouldnt own one unless your gonna pay someone to do your work for you.

 

1. Thats great. Thanks for putting yourself on the line to defend our freedom.

2. Again - not everyone has this kind of access to such things. Glad you do, but I don't.

3. Finally! An amount!

4. If you are going to rent space somewhere, it sucks to have to bring tools back & forth. Most people would rather rent space at a place that HAS tools.

5. A lot of 7 owners either 1) don't have a garage, 2) don't know anyone that will let them use the garage, and 3) do the work out in the parking lot of their apartment/condo complex b/c thats the only available space.

6. I don't expect everyone to be all over this idea. Obviously it caters to a specific market - the car enthusiast w/ cash to burn, and a desire to work on their own car. All I was looking for (and still am), is an amount per hour (or now per day - Thanks Brandon) that you would be willing to pay to have everything you could need to do the job at hand.

7. You provided that at #3. You could have stopped typing there.

 

Thanks! I've been getting a lot in the $20-$40 range. First anyone has suggested to rent the space for a day though. Interesting idea, especially for those long projects (like the downpipe).

For people doing things like engine swaps or rebuilds, this situation wouldnt work so well. For those doing exhaust (especially downpipe), suspension, brake, tranny, moderate engine (intercooler, radiator, hoses, belts, pulley's etc) or turbo work (any of the stuff that can be done in a day or 3), this could be completely worth it.

$150 a day (including overnight storage, cleanup, & disposal) seems like a good place to start.

 

i have a compressor and most of the needed tools, and i usually just charge dinner and consumables (beer, locknuts, washers, bolts, did i mention beer, other misc consumable hardware, beer)




edit: btw, post this in the Maryland Guys!!! thread... you might get more of a response

 

If you're looking at this as a "business" venture, it'll never fly... Wanna know why? Insurance. Johnny boy brings his hot rod in to work on it, and promptly chops his leg off.... Now Johnny sues your *** because you LET him be a dumbass... And don't even bother bringing up "waivers", and other crap like that... Doesn't matter how big that waiver is, you are still gonna be paying....

Dan

 

I can't imagine why anyone who had his own garage would be interested, unless he did not own any tools. But in that case it would make more sense to spend the $50/hour or $150/day to acquire tools which could be used for future projects as well, rather than renting space and tools each time, then having nothing to show for it.

The idea seems more suited to those who live in an apartment or condo without a garage--often renters. Therefore it would have to be priced appropriately and not beyond the means of that group.

It would definitely be a challenge to operate as a stand alone business, and cover the investment in tools, and expenses of rent, labor, insurance, maintenance, and utilities while charging a price low enough to attract customers. Ask around and check the yellow pages as I have heard of clubs or co-ops which operated a similar garage space/tool rental for auto hobby use. They may or may not still be in existance.

 

Steve, you buy me a lift and you can use my garage anytime you want!

I think 40-60 bucks for a lift and tools is more t han fair. 80-100 if there is a fridge w/ beer in it.

 

if you really want to look at it as a business, do the following things.
1) buy a shop in east bumfsck where the land is cheap (get people to pitch in -- same as 2)
2) purchase insurance (have everyone who wants to work on their cars at the shop pitch in
3) purchase equipment at auction

if you can actually get people to get in on the shop/tools/insurance with you, you will be much much better off. so start writing that business plan. :P

my $.02 worth

 

For some stuff, I'd gladly fork out some dough for access to a lift. I have a two car garage + air tools... but what I don't have is a lift. Doing a job like the transmission/clutch with a lift is 2 hours TOPS, but on your back in the garage can easily be 4-8 hours of back-breaking, chest-crushing work. I'd definitely pay 25-50 per hour for a 2 hour rental that let me make that clutch job a snap.

For longer jobs like engine swaps, some kinda daily rate would need to be worked out.

 

There are relatively inexpensive lifts for home use, and they are very handy for storage. Check them out, for example http://www.stingerlifts.com

Interestingly when I replace a clutch or pull the transmission, I generally have the car at the same height and bench-press it, whether it's on a lift or jackstands. But that could be just an excuse to avoid the gym.