Rent-a-Raceshop Why You No Work?

Why don't car/motorcycle rental workshops survive outside of the armed services? Privateer's Garage in CA was a great idea, but apparently not commercially viable for the long term and only for motorcycles. Having been a several month trial member of Tech Shop, and also touring Maker Works, it is clear they are not geared towards a racing/vehicle crowd.

Is this simply a case of the upfront/overhead costs for the space/tools required for a vehicle-specific shop far exceed the actual income because the number of people that can physically use the space at one time is limited? What about the racing crowd that primarily needs tire mounting/balancing and platform/scales/alignment, has there been a rent-a-raceshop that caters to that crowd?

Why doesn't this work?

In with insurance before anyone else!

Ive wondered the same thing. My guess is most people around here dont want to pay for a shop, they want the space to be a "favor". I would guess other areas are the same.

How many people without a garage of their own or tools have the skills and drive to join that sort of a club?

This one in Denver has been open for quite a while. The owner is into cars and has lifts, parking, etc. although it is not just a place to work on cars and bikes. He gets the arts and crafts crowd as well as the metal and wood workers and makers too.

http://www.clubworkshop.com/

This one has been in operation for several years now in the Minneapolis area, and seems to be doing well. I was there earlier this spring and it's a nice place. http://www.firstgeargarage.com/

There is a very small percentage of people out there who actually want to work on their own cars, even fewer who are capable of doing it, and of those, most are the cheapest shiny happy people you would ever want to meet.

Oh dear, did I say that out loud? Here?

People with nice cars who can afford the rent have a space already, or have a mechanic do all their work.

People with the hoopties who need a place to work on them work on them in the Autozone parking lot because thats all they can afford.

There is one of those places in Milwaukee, no way I would go there. Perfect chance for someone to check out your car since they will have ample time to see it with the hood up and doors open, get the VIN, get a key cut, and take it home with them.

93gsxturbo wrote: There is one of those places in Milwaukee, no way I would go there. Perfect chance for someone to check out your car since they will have ample time to see it with the hood up and doors open, get the VIN, get a key cut, and take it home with them.

Huh? Modern cars have the VIN right on top of the dashboard where anyone can see it, they don't have to wait until you go to a do it yourself garage.

Streetwiseguy wrote: There is a very small percentage of people out there who actually want to work on their own cars, even fewer who are capable of doing it, and of those, most are the cheapest shiny happy people you would ever want to meet. Oh dear, did I say that out loud? Here?

Heck I only work on my own cars because I'm cheap (although I don't actually have the money so maybe "cheap" isn't the right word). If I was rich I'd never touch any part of a car except the controls again.

stuart in mn wrote:

93gsxturbo wrote: There is one of those places in Milwaukee, no way I would go there. Perfect chance for someone to check out your car since they will have ample time to see it with the hood up and doors open, get the VIN, get a key cut, and take it home with them.

Huh? Modern cars have the VIN right on top of the dashboard where anyone can see it, they don't have to wait until you go to a do it yourself garage.

and by "modern" you mean "everything built and sold in the USA since about 1968"..