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Co-Op Garage Space?


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Hello all,

I'm wondering if any of you have had any experiences with co-op garage space, or a communal garage/facility of some sort.

I have a garage at my house in the city, and rent another garage waaaaay across town where I store two cars that I'm working on. My home garage is used for the family daily drivers, since street parking is at a premium. The rented garage is basic car shelter, but the space isn't really large enough to do much besides store vehicles and a lawn mower, let alone disassemble a car to any big degree - just getting the Roadmaster into the garage involves Austin Powers-type maneuvering. And while the rent is cheap, the commute from my home to the rented garage is such that I have to plan the day around going there. Thus, I'm starting to doubt that I could ever finish these cars simply because I just don't have the room to even start.

There's an abundance of warehouse and industrial space all over town, so I got to thinking that a shared, secure space might be the way to go.

Have any of you started/run/been a part of a co-operative garage space situation? I'm interested in hearing any input or experiences you may have.

Thanks all!

-Mike

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Guest Kingoftheroad

If you have valuable items / cars, I would not recommend it unless you know & trust the folks your sharing space with. Things happen, something of yours gets damaged or items disappear while your not there, are you willing to take that gamble ? JMO

Edited by Kingoftheroad (see edit history)
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If you have valuable items / cars, I would not recommend it unless you know & trust the folks your sharing space with. Things happen, something of yours gets damaged or items disappear while your not there, are you willing to take that gamble ? JMO

Yeah, that is definitely my biggest concern - I'd like to think it would be a space shared with people I know and trust, but that hasn't stopped some of my tools from walking off at work in the past...

-Mike

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My son has done this with two different spaces over the years. Both times they were friends or friends of friends. Never had much trouble with things going missing forever but some times borrowed for awhile. Bigger problem was borrowing and breaking power tools and taking more than their share of space.

He is currently in space with just one friend but all of the same problems. His goal is to get space to himself but for now it is a cheaper alternative.

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I tried that years ago (you can find my comments in this thread: http://forums.aaca.org/f115/thoughts-storage-project-cars-195853.html) without success.

Locally there are places spring up called "garage condos" where basically you buy a warehouse space. I'm looking at one right now. Price is about $65,000 for a 24x48 space with heat, electricity, and water. Like a condo, it has a condo association fee for general maintenance, but all electricity and gas are individually metered. I can come and go as I please and nobody else has access to my area. Overhead door plus man door. I can build a loft for more square footage. $65,000 seems pricey to me, and I haven't pulled the trigger yet since the note will probably be $800/month. Can I rent for less? I don't know.

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I agree it's better to do this with people you know, but there are places, mostly Street Rodders that have the kind of sharing you are looking for. But you would meet alot of new people if you went there.

See: JerrysCustomCars :: as a example near Clearwater Fl. Beware that his web site is old and the price has probably gone up, but I know guys that have been there for years. It becomes like a club house for car guys.

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I am a member of a group of about 8 of us that rent a large garage to store and can do work on our vehicles. (no painting,etc). All of us have known each other for some time and even though we can not vouch individually for everyone, each of us can vouch for at least 1/2 of the group so we are covered with some aquaintance. Everyone has signed the master lease for the space. So far no problems, but as ShopRat said, we have everything in writing including rules for the "club".

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I think that the condo space (separate walls) is better than common space, as it is more secure. The "trust" option for the common space is eliminated and you can install your own security system, if needed.

Many also have minimal heat, for some year round activity (a man cave, if you will).

As to Matt's question about cost, you will have equity in the property. In our area, the industrial condo concept is quite popular and a bit more expensive.

John

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Thanks, everyone, for the ideas so far, there's certainly much to consider. And wow, Matt, what an unfortunate ordeal.

I was doing some Googling and came across a car club in the San Gabriel Valley that ran out of room and built a whole new garage and club house. Very impressive.

I'm gonna see some gearhead friends of mine this week, so I'll put some feelers out and see what they think. I know a couple of them have far worse storage issues (think blue tarp tents). Will keep you posted.

-Mike

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  • 7 months later...
Guest Jim_Edwards
Carry insurance. I was tight on space one time and went to one of these places and my car was damaged.

I would suspect acquiring adequate insurance to cover one's car in so called co-op space would be difficult or at best very difficult to collect on if damage was to occur. The owner of such buildings likely does not carry any insurance that would protect space renters from any degree of loss. Classic car insurers are likely to consider the space as any more secure than one's driveway with respect to theft without strictly controlled access, if even then.

If there is such a thing as a building off one's property where a car could be restored that could be economically rented I'd be surprised. I hate to say this, but if I had a half decent building, I'd be very reluctant to rent it out to someone restoring a car and using solvents of any nature, or likely to be spraying paint. Not to mention the disposal of old oils, anti-freeze, etc.; being a problem. Keeping fire inspectors and code compliance inspectors happy would not be an easy thing without restricting use to just storage.

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Damage to your car is the least of your problems. LIABILITY insurance is a must. If someone gets injured at the shared space, expect the lawyers to sue EVERYONE remotely involved. The landlord will certainly have liability insurance requirements imposed on the tenants.

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