Would you store your car in an open showroom?

[ElscottHavoc]

Recently, I came across a local warehouse with a upstairs loft apartment. The upstairs apartment has separate access and has a really cool "warehouse/urban/industrial" look. Below that, and with a separate overhead door entrance is this big expanse of warehouse space with climate control.

My thought is, turn that space into a cool "garage" space with racing banners and such, then rent wide parking spaces out to people with classic cars or sports cars. I think in theory, this "Jay Leno esque" storage sounds cool, but then I'm wondering if there could be problems and liabilities with having a bunch of nice cars stored together. I'm thinking theft, door dings if people park close, and just other issues I haven't considered.

My old boss used to store a couple classic cars in an airplane hanger, but then they were tucked in a corner and other pilots sharing the hanger never messed with them. So, if you needed off site storage for your cars, would you consider a "members only" type storage warehouse where your car was stored in an open space. Would you fear people would mess with your car? Or do you think since only members would have access that people would treat the cars with respect?

There's also a freight elevator to more storage in the basement, but I thought about turning this into a club lounge for members and shop space for projects. I'm thinking a sort of Collector Car Lounge and Storage Showroom.

Good idea or bad idea?

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[ssssnake]

Sounds like a very cool idea, but yes, you'd probably need to have a lot of liability insurance, fire, etc. If someone else's classic car got damaged, you can bet your insurance would be paying out. I would imagine if word got out about the number of classics there, there would be someone that would think about theft of a vehicle (or two). Who knows though. If you lived in the apartment above, that might thwart some thieves.

 

[5spd07gt]

I like the concept but I would have concerns. Is it accessible 24/7? Always open? Does everyone get a key? If it is 24/7 will it constantly be staffed? You're just asking for trouble with everyone having access to everyone elses cars etc. A good security camera system would be a must. That's just a couple things that came to mind right off the bat.

 

[Ibleedblue13]

Sounds like a really cool idea in theory but I would be very weary of taking on that responsibility alone unless you're comfortably wealthy

 

[Weather Man]

As long as income/expense work to your liking, why not?

 

[ElscottHavoc]

Well, my realtor just called and told me about this place as a potential rental property. The loft would rent for about $850 per month. I'm very comfortable with rental investments for housing but this is a new area with leasing storage. There is another guy in town that has converted a big building into storage space for cars, but he just packs them in there over the winter and its all locked up for 4 months and during the summer you can only get your car at between business hours and he has to shuffle them around, pull some outside, its a mess.

At $100k I can make it work as a good investment renting out the loft space, but then I'm left with valuable warehouse storage space. The realtor suggested leasing that space out to a business, but I just don't see the demand for random warehouse space around here.

I'm just trying to brainstorm how to make the best use of the space, I sure don't have enough cars and shit to fill it up. Thought this sounded cool, but seems more fit for a Fast and Furious Movie or Sons of Anarchy location than an actual, sustainable business venture. Just thought I'd get feedback.

Posted via Topify on Android

 

[JustaGT5408]

Depends... If it were random people that I did not know I probably wouldn't do it personally, even if they are car enthusiasts with nice vehicles as well I still would worry about something getting messed with.

Now if it were people that I personally knew that would be a totally different story, I would be all over that.

 

[Ibleedblue13]

OP I would suggest confiding in some car guys in your area who you know won't steal your idea. See if there's any interest before taking on a project like that. A member only storage facility/shop is definitely a niche market but I don't see why it wouldn't be feasible if you go about it the right way

 

[mavisky]

Seperately ID'd badges to gain entrance, HD IR cameras throughout the place, and heavy doors and that's about all you can do really.

 

[ssj4sadie]

DBK member here, did something similar. PM him.

 

[thomas91169]

Im sure in a good downtown urban setting this would be very popular. Lots of rich people with baller ass cars would love to have a place other than underground or on-street parking to store their cars that are in a block or two walking distance from their apt/loft.

 

[Laffs]

Would love to do this one day, however it would def be a members/invite only thing. Too hard to vet applicants without personally knowing them or someone I trust fully vouching. No walk in's or generic applications I think is the best way but maybe I'm off base. My fear with these things is you need to know the people for the sake of mutual respect of the cars/owners.

My only concerns would be
-Do the cars have to be insured/driveable at all times?
-Do keys have to be stored on premise? Will you have someone designated to move cars if need be? Leads to my next point..
-Spacially are you able to have the cars positioned in such a way that anyone car move their car in and out at anytime without moving others cars and with ample space? Or is there a risk of a car being "blocked in" for periods of time?
-All the usual storage issues. Fire suppression, security, etc.

Automotive Country Club is what it sounds like you are proposing

 

[coposrv]

I like the idea but if it came down to it I personally wouldn't lay down the money. I think that someone who has a few nice cars usually has their own place to keep them already. I say pack as many in as possible to get a decent return on the investment. An indoor car showroom for storage purposes seems like a tough sell. IMO.

 

[1wild-horse]

Automotive Country Club is what it sounds like you are proposing

This would be cool, with friends you trust would be the only way it would work for me.

 

[offroadkarter]

It sounds like a cool idea to me. You can implement some security features into the building to track who is there at what time. Obviously you want cameras all over, but like said earlier electronic keycards where you have to buzz yourself in would let you know who entered and exited at what time. They could be assigned to members and tracked by number for easy record keeping.