Commercial Units - No motor trade - Why?
Discussion
I've got myself into a bit of a pickle...I have amassed quite a collection of classic cars, and have run out of space to keep them!
So I thought I would start looking around the local area for commercial units to store them. However every single unit I go to view I'm met with "No motor vehicles, no motor trade, nothing to do with cars" from the property owners!
Nobody will tell me why, and they don't seem to care that I'm just one guy, not a business, who wants to put a few cars in what is little more than their overpriced commercial garage and pay them a tonne of cash. I don't need to work on my cars, I don't need constant access to my cars, they're not noisy. I tell them all of this but nope.
So I figured I'd ask on here what the deal is? Do car dealers and mechanics have such a bad rapport with their landlords that they want to avoid them like the plague?
So I thought I would start looking around the local area for commercial units to store them. However every single unit I go to view I'm met with "No motor vehicles, no motor trade, nothing to do with cars" from the property owners!
Nobody will tell me why, and they don't seem to care that I'm just one guy, not a business, who wants to put a few cars in what is little more than their overpriced commercial garage and pay them a tonne of cash. I don't need to work on my cars, I don't need constant access to my cars, they're not noisy. I tell them all of this but nope.
So I figured I'd ask on here what the deal is? Do car dealers and mechanics have such a bad rapport with their landlords that they want to avoid them like the plague?
The Rotrex Kid said:
Probably insurance related? Cars = theft risk, fire risk.
That’s my first thought.
I can certainly understand the fire risk aspect - if that is a factor maybe I could offer to install a sprinkler system. As for the theft, I guess that would be on me. I would need to pay building insurance anyway and even tho my cars are in storage they are all insured :/That’s my first thought.
When I tried to band together with some friends to rent a unit/workshop for our assorted old crocks valuable historic vehicles we ran into the same problem. We were told that it was because motor traders/garages have a tendency to fill not only their own parking apron but any spare space in the complex/estate with cars in various states of disrepair, plus problems (imagined or from experience) with noise and 'test drives'.
Nigel Worc's said:
As someone who rents a small commercial unit for his own business I can only pass on my experience.
In my experience it is because anything to do with the motor trade causes problems , usually parking related, for all the other tenants.
Ahhh yes I hadn't considered that. Thanks for the insight. In my experience it is because anything to do with the motor trade causes problems , usually parking related, for all the other tenants.
One place I looked at was previously a car showroom and had 6 parking spaces, but he still didn't want anything to do with cars in there again. I guess he got burned somehow.
They are really talking about car mechanics. It is noisy, dirty, a big fire risk, lots of cars coming in and out and they often damage the concrete floor putting in lifts (without permission). Storing personal cars shouldn't be an issue really, but it seems some landlords copy others without understanding what they really mean.
Keep the dialogue going and see if you can persuade them.
Keep the dialogue going and see if you can persuade them.
Edited by drakart on Tuesday 1st February 15:05
drakart said:
They are really talking about car mechanics. It is noisy, dirty, a big fire risk, lots of cars coming in and out the and they often damage the concrete floor putting in lifts (without permission). Storing personal cars shouldn't be an issue really, but it seems some landlords copy others without understanding what they really mean.
Keep the dialogue going and see if you can persuade them.
ThisKeep the dialogue going and see if you can persuade them.
Its the mess, damage, pollution, noise and cars being left all over the shop that they don't want. The same applies to people trying to rent units for dance studios or kids play centres etc - too many visitors & cars for the average industrial estate.
There is a unit on the estate my business is on that is used for car storage so some landlords will do it. Never seen anyone going in or out of the place. If you offer to restrict use to just storage & rule out any kind of workshop activities or storage of vehicles outside then they might listen. Those are the things they don't want.
jimxms said:
Nigel Worc's said:
As someone who rents a small commercial unit for his own business I can only pass on my experience.
In my experience it is because anything to do with the motor trade causes problems , usually parking related, for all the other tenants.
Ahhh yes I hadn't considered that. Thanks for the insight. In my experience it is because anything to do with the motor trade causes problems , usually parking related, for all the other tenants.
One place I looked at was previously a car showroom and had 6 parking spaces, but he still didn't want anything to do with cars in there again. I guess he got burned somehow.
I feel sorry for some of them, because I use small garages myself.
As it's only for storage (and I guess the odd bit of fettling), and not a business, speaking directly to a small landlord may help.
As an aside, on the subject of fire risk, Trumpton appeared on our small estate one day last year and became all worked up at the amount of us that have at least one motorcycle in the units.
A friend works in commercial lease / renting.
Nothing to add except 'environmental'.
It's becoming increasingly common for trading estates to be zoned.
They don't want a car workshop next a sandwich packing business or soft furnishings workshop due to pollution.
And also ground contaminants. Fluids like oil / petrol etc in the building / surrounding ground can make it a right bugger to lease next time and can change the classification of the unit.
Nothing to add except 'environmental'.
It's becoming increasingly common for trading estates to be zoned.
They don't want a car workshop next a sandwich packing business or soft furnishings workshop due to pollution.
And also ground contaminants. Fluids like oil / petrol etc in the building / surrounding ground can make it a right bugger to lease next time and can change the classification of the unit.
As others have alluded to, car dealers often end up with cars rammed here, there and everywhere, garages with cars parked for months, chemicals, noise and high traffic can all play a part too. My newest local garage had an intervention from the other units on the estate when he had room inside for about 8 cars to be worked on but had about 30 clogging up the communal car park. Give them their due, they soon shifted them but it'll only ever be a recurring problem.
I also see enough posts with dealers etc refusing to pay for warranty work so I do wonder from time to time how unscrupulous they are with paying their rent too.
I also see enough posts with dealers etc refusing to pay for warranty work so I do wonder from time to time how unscrupulous they are with paying their rent too.
I'm renting a container at the moment for storage - it's in a old farm yard up the road from me in semi-rural Cheshire. Was quite surprised to find that in the various out-buildings there are no less than four car related businesses, including a JLR specialist that I never knew existed. The repair side of our village garage has just relocated there too.
I rented a unit to sell cars from and just kept it fairly under the radar. When asked by a council jobsworth I was a car detailer. Obviously, if you cannot get the class of use altered you could only sign short term lets in case you got busted.
My cars were hot hatch and performance cars so I preferred to keep myself to myself and only appointments.
I certainly didn't take liberties around the estate like those described in the thread.
My cars were hot hatch and performance cars so I preferred to keep myself to myself and only appointments.
I certainly didn't take liberties around the estate like those described in the thread.
Are there any farms nearby with those steel machinery storage buildings, like the one Harry Metcalfe keeps his cars in? In my neck of the woods there's a place that stores motorhomes, caravans, etc. and has one of these buildings for people who want to store their vehicles undercover.
Does seem unfair as ‘garage’’, ‘motor dealer’, ‘motor trade’ etc are far from want the OP wants to do. He is looking to rent a unit for personal car storage. Surely landlords must be able to understand the obvious difference. The first thing is he is not a business, so no customers and all vehicles stored inside.
Interesting.
There’s a very fancy new “industrial” estate not far from me, well really its mostly data centres and research centres.
One of the units is used for storing high value cars which are bought for investment purposes.
You wouldn’t know as all the cars are delivered in covered transport. Although I guess it will be a little more obvious if you’ll be driving them out regularly.
I’d love to have a look around but there’s no windows and it’s covered in cctv and security checkpoints
There’s a very fancy new “industrial” estate not far from me, well really its mostly data centres and research centres.
One of the units is used for storing high value cars which are bought for investment purposes.
You wouldn’t know as all the cars are delivered in covered transport. Although I guess it will be a little more obvious if you’ll be driving them out regularly.
I’d love to have a look around but there’s no windows and it’s covered in cctv and security checkpoints
Edited by Puzzles on Saturday 1st June 18:52
I see the point made my most posters, especially if you are looking at clean. new so-called units in a busy city/ large town. However, if you are a ‘semi rural’ resident there will surely be several premises around. When you consider the appearance of some farms, I doubt if anyone could object to a few stored classics. Old established genuinely local estate agents may have an opinion.
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