Just finished

J

jdmser

New member
I just finished putting my shop together and getting my occupancy/use permit. Once my website is up and I get some fliers done I should be ready to rock.

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You sure have plenty of room to work with there. Is that a wash bay (w/drain) over in the corner (where the blue car is parked)?
 
Mr. Clean said:
You sure have plenty of room to work with there. Is that a wash bay (w/drain) over in the corner (where the blue car is parked)?
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Yes, yes it is. I'm going to see how it works out as is but, if I start getting to much water over the wall or on the ceiling I'll make some changes. First I will cover the ceiling in FRP and then I'll hang sheets of plexiglass above the wall with stainless cable in a louver design. I will be adding a threshold to box in the end of the wash bay to keep water from going around the wall shortly. Might even add a rear drain but, that's in the future.
 
Sounds like you have your plan envisioned and well on its way. Good luck with your endeavor. BTW, what part of the country are located in? Are you currently mobile or have some sort of existing clientele book?
 
I'm about 45 minutes for St. Louis MO. I'm not mobile and don't plan to be. I like having a fixed location where anybody can walk in and shake my hand. It also allows me to have complete control over the environment in which I work. Which in St. Louis gives me two or three months more operating time than the mobile guys. I don't currently have a clientele list but, I'm active on the local car broads and they're helping spread the word. Along with that my website should be up and running soon. It will have a blog that updates to facebook and twitter every time I post. Then when anybody responds it automatically updates the other two and so on.
 
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Man that is a beautiful shop I am jealous. I want to leave my job and open up my own shop so bad. Having 4 other mouths to feed makes it difficult to do that though. Maybe one day...
 
Just a comment. Looks like you could use more lighting down the walls. If you drive in large van or SUV your lighting may not be as bright as you want. The lights could be put on the back side of the plexiglass you may install. Theres never enough lights even for just washing!! Something I really want is a lift hoist for cleaning the lower portions and underside of cars. A mid raise lift night work will too, it would raise car up 3-4 feet to do underside cleansing and if removing tires and wheel assembly to clean that area better. Even a 9000-12,000lb 2 post lift would be handy for any one. Not saying everyone needs one but! That could get some additional revenue too. Such as brake pad replacement. Underside cleansing to remove salt and other grime. Oil changes, not big money makers but if your under there what the heck. Tire balancing, tire and wheel sales, rotation, and tire repair if you want to. Just and idea, that Id like to have some day.
 
RANDAL said:
Just a comment. Looks like you could use more lighting down the walls. If you drive in large van or SUV your lighting may not be as bright as you want. The lights could be put on the back side of the plexiglass you may install. Theres never enough lights even for just washing!! Something I really want is a lift hoist for cleaning the lower portions and underside of cars. A mid raise lift night work will too, it would raise car up 3-4 feet to do underside cleansing and if removing tires and wheel assembly to clean that area better. Even a 9000-12,000lb 2 post lift would be handy for any one. Not saying everyone needs one but! That could get some additional revenue too. Such as brake pad replacement. Underside cleansing to remove salt and other grime. Oil changes, not big money makers but if your under there what the heck. Tire balancing, tire and wheel sales, rotation, and tire repair if you want to. Just and idea, that Id like to have some day.
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I've got a lift in my shop and its made money for sure. It was already in the shop when I leased it. I've got a hot water power washer and offer undercarriage steam washing as an option. Granted not many individual customers are interested in this unless they had an oil leak or something, but its a sure fire way to get dealership business. Its also a great way to stand out from the competition.
 
I'm in the process of building a portable light stand using two 4x2 fluorescent fixtures stacked on top of each other on an angle iron frame with casters. That way I can move it around so I'm never in my own light. I've been looking at lifts as well. I have a background in amt so it only makes sense for me to get into that. I also have a show room that would work well for wheel and aftermarket exhaust displays. Couple that with my high dock and I'm ready to rock and roll. The only thing preventing it right now is the economy and that fact that I bank rolled the entire project out of pocket. I need to start seeing a positive income before I do anything else.


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if you were closer to my area i would offer my services and give you a hand, but your a bit to far of a drive for me, great looking set up man, keep us all posted on how things are going!
 
Nice looking shop. I was going to rent out one of my uncles bay that was big enough to hold 5-8 cars and had an office already made and waiting area but someone beat me to it
 
It's been a little over a year since I opened. As we were dropping off a car the other day my helper let me know it was the last invoice in the book. I started that book at the beginning of the month and there are 50 invoices in a book. It seems just like yesterday I was happy to get in 5 cars a week.

recent shop photos
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