Renting a shop?

[equate975]

I'm thinking about renting a shop for a year. I need a place to store my car for winter and it would be nice to actually be able to work on it too.

I found this place to rent. Its shitty and raggity as all hell, but its pretty awesome. 20x34, heated, and I have access to a cruddy lift.

The guy is asking $200 a month, and more if I sit there all night burning up electricity with lights and whatnot, which I probably won't be. Also more charges if I let my car sit on the lift for like a week, which again I doubt I will be on it that long. A day or two he said he won't care.

I don't plan on being there that much. Mostly its just gonna be storage since I don't have much to do to the m3 right now.

I shoulda got pics, but I am stoked lol. Imagine one of those houses you drive past in the boonies that you debate weather anyone lives there or not. It looks like that but a tad better. The whole thing is just full of crap right now. Hes gonna move it all out if I move in. Theres wires hanging all over, looks like several electricity violations. Anything thats powered by electricity is taken apart (like the air compressor) and rigged into the outlet. But the garage door works :)

I'll probably end up bringing my compressor out there though. So as long as the breakers don't blow I guess its fine.

So, I'm excited.

[gazellebeigem3]

thats pretty awesome. Lifts make life much easier, even if its for something simple.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Its great having access to a lift, I have 15 of them at my shop. Now I need one at home. I've been tossing the idea around to pick up a used lift (7,000lbs) out here and pour a small slab on my sideyard to ste it up, but SoCal and the heat, I dont think I wanna be working outside in 115 degrees.

[Jscotty]

That's an excellent idea. I have seen plenty of abandoned shops in my area and I am sure that if I contacted the owner I could get it for a song.

The only thing that I don't know (or trust) is the condition of the lift and if it is operational and/or if there is even a hydraulic pump on site. Usually when buildings are abandoned, the owner will sell off most of the high dollar appliances (like the roof A/C unit and things like that) to recoup some of their losses.

[speedhop]

Its great having access to a lift, I have 15 of them at my shop. Now I need one at home. I've been tossing the idea around to pick up a used lift (7,000lbs) out here and pour a small slab on my sideyard to ste it up, but SoCal and the heat, I dont think I wanna be working outside in 115 degrees.

DOOOOOO ITTTTT!!!! You'll make tons of friends...me included! All ya gotta do is get one of those ac fans, a "tent" like thingy and you're done!

I wish I had access to a garage....:roll:

[bmwpower]

Do you know this guy personally?

I'll be devil's advocate... Why does it matter if the car is on the lift for more than a couple of days? Is he using the place when you're not there? Is it secure? Are your tools gonna walk? Sounds like it might be a fire hazard with wires hanging all over the place.

Be careful.

[equate975]

Do you know this guy personally?

I'll be devil's advocate... Why does it matter if the car is on the lift for more than a couple of days? Is he using the place when you're not there? Is it secure? Are your tools gonna walk? Sounds like it might be a fire hazard with wires hanging all over the place.

Be careful.

Well, its not in town. Its about a 20 min drive for me, and I live on the edge of the city. I asked the guy if he has ever had and problems with theft of vandalism, he said they have been renting shop space for 24 years and haven't had a problem. The guy looks legit, and we don't have a huge problem with that kind of stuff in our area.

The only expensive stuff other than my car that will be there is my air compressor and air tools. Everything else would be crappy to get stolen, but its not anything thats real high ticket. I wouldn't be out toooo much.

[Digitalwave]

Dude, you are being way too lax about it. Find out more about this guy before you hop into the deal. He could open up shop and be gone with all your tools AND your M3 one night. Why the fuck would he charge you more for leaving the car on the lift? It's not using any power just sitting there.

[BeirBrennerE30]

if you are renting the place why should it matter if you leave the car on the lift... no one else should be using it if your the sole renter and its not using any power... whats security like? who else has a key to this place? does the owner drop by often? I would find out a lot more info before you give this guy you dont know your money/ Put all your expensive posessions in essentially someone elses place

[equate975]

The owner has his own auto shop in the same building, so we would be sharing the lift. Thats why he doesn't want me sitting on it for weeks at a time. I should have mentioned that earlier. Its technically 1 building (and his house is right next door) with lots of garages, but he doesn't use them all so he rents them out.

I asked him about security. Theres the garage door to get in, and a regular door. He said that me and him would have the only keys to it. The spot I am renting is shaped in an L-shape, but I am only renting 1/2 of it because I don't need the other side. So he is going to put his stuff on the other side and needs to get to it from time to time.

As far as like the security of the building goes, I'm sure one swift kick to any door would open it. But then again its gonna be like that just about anywhere unless I get an alarm installed. If this was going to be some place I was going to actually do business in and plan on sitting there for years I wouldn't rent it. I think the fact that its not in town is better. The town its in has a population of maybe 100 people, and I had never even heard of the place before.

There was a few places in town I wanted to rent, but they are almost the same thing but in town. A run down building that could easily be broken into. And since its in the city (plus the main area I looked at used to have huge problems with theft) I'm sure it would just be a matter of time before someone kicked the door in and stole all my shit.

[Jscotty]

You ought to get one of those rolling "Job Box" containers that they use on construction sites to store your tools. Keep everything in there and chain it to the wall. That way your stuff won't walk or get "borrowed" and if someone decided to break in, it would take them some time to get to the tools.

[equate975]

You ought to get one of those rolling "Job Box" containers that they use on construction sites to store your tools. Keep everything in there and chain it to the wall. That way your stuff won't walk or get "borrowed" and if someone decided to break in, it would take them some time to get to the tools.

Yes I have been looking for something like that for a while now. I was trying to find some sort of floor tool chest to do the same thing. I really need a good place to keep my tools as it is.

[blunttech]

call your insurance agent and tell him your car will be stored offsite and see if it will be covered if this guy gets shitfaced one night and torches the place after he passes out in a pile of his own vomit and a lit cigarette. better to know up front than be sitting there with a pile of molten metal

[Farbin Kaiber]

Once again, blunt steps in to tell it how it is....

[mudflaps]

do it, but get renters insurance. haggle the price to $150. i pay $275 to live in my frat house, utilities included. i have two huge rooms, and a baucony. my computer also sits on a lift 24/7, its called my desk.

/thread