New Car storage business
Discussion
I have recently been looking into setting up a bespoke storage for classic and sportscars. I have scouted for some land to build on and identified a spot 5 minutes from the M11/M25 junction. I also have a highly experienced engineer to fettle and prep (not service) allsorts of cars from pre-war to current.
The next step is to ask what PH er's experience of storage has been like and what service levels you would like to see?
If you are like me and live in London and want your vintage car every delivered to you and picked up every once in a while in a nicely prepped condition then I can see the interest but there may be other PH'ers with different requirements...I would be interested in any FB.
The next step is to ask what PH er's experience of storage has been like and what service levels you would like to see?
If you are like me and live in London and want your vintage car every delivered to you and picked up every once in a while in a nicely prepped condition then I can see the interest but there may be other PH'ers with different requirements...I would be interested in any FB.
the land forms part of an acqaintances estate therefore zero outlay, he will of course participate in th business.
The business model is based on the assumption that a good many cars are kept in non humidity controlled london underground parking spaces at collosal expense with the one benefit of immediate access OR they take up precious space on your primary residence and they are not looked after like the asset that they are. It is a pure economies of scale play.
We would offer:
Better Insurance rates
Better storage conditions
Pick up and delivery (inc to and from service garages)
short and long term storage options
Car maintenance (useful wih long term storage to prevent seal damage and to circulate oil)
Car preparation for tours/rallies
The business model is based on the assumption that a good many cars are kept in non humidity controlled london underground parking spaces at collosal expense with the one benefit of immediate access OR they take up precious space on your primary residence and they are not looked after like the asset that they are. It is a pure economies of scale play.
We would offer:
Better Insurance rates
Better storage conditions
Pick up and delivery (inc to and from service garages)
short and long term storage options
Car maintenance (useful wih long term storage to prevent seal damage and to circulate oil)
Car preparation for tours/rallies
A quick bit googling.
Warehouse 322m2
Rent £8750
Rates £1500 (wild guess - probably miles out)
Assume a car needs 15m2 for storage
You'd get 21 cars in the above (no room to move them either!)
That works out at about £500 per annum per car.
I'd suggest you buy the land and rent the unit to someone else.
Warehouse 322m2
Rent £8750
Rates £1500 (wild guess - probably miles out)
Assume a car needs 15m2 for storage
You'd get 21 cars in the above (no room to move them either!)
That works out at about £500 per annum per car.
I'd suggest you buy the land and rent the unit to someone else.
I met a guy who made a small fortune by taking a lease on a disused airfield and turned it into an open air car storage facility. His timing was perfect, mid 90's recession period, when fleet managers and leasing companies were burdened with cars from redundant staff and had nowhere to keep them before sending them to auction. I think he sold out to BCA.
Not sure how the figures would work out on indoor storage. Having said that underground car parks in London seem to house some exotic vehicles. Can't be cheap for the owners.
Not sure how the figures would work out on indoor storage. Having said that underground car parks in London seem to house some exotic vehicles. Can't be cheap for the owners.
with a clever approach to storage and a triple deck system you can sweat those numbers...
Heres a scenario - you may be aware of the rampant growth of storage firms - well what would you rather do? put all your inherited georgian family furniture in a big yellow storage warehouse at twice the cost (per 10m sq), or store the classic professionally for less?
Heres a scenario - you may be aware of the rampant growth of storage firms - well what would you rather do? put all your inherited georgian family furniture in a big yellow storage warehouse at twice the cost (per 10m sq), or store the classic professionally for less?
Mr. Magoo said:
with a clever approach to storage and a triple deck system you can sweat those numbers...
Heres a scenario - you may be aware of the rampant growth of storage firms - well what would you rather do? put all your inherited georgian family furniture in a big yellow storage warehouse at twice the cost (per 10m sq), or store the classic professionally for less?
Well... the Big Yellows of this world have operating businesses based around a business plan.Heres a scenario - you may be aware of the rampant growth of storage firms - well what would you rather do? put all your inherited georgian family furniture in a big yellow storage warehouse at twice the cost (per 10m sq), or store the classic professionally for less?
They don't come and get your stuff. They don't control the temperature and humidity of the bulding. They don't deliver your stuff to wherever you want it. There's rarely more than 1 or 2 employees in the place, in fact.
What makes you think you can deliver so much more than them for so much less?
Just thnk about the engineering cost of make an industrial unit's environment fully controllable. Then the cost of fetching and carrying customers' cars; not only the cost of labour, but I dread to think how much the trade policy will be to allow your employees to drive cars worth multi-hundreds of thousands of pounds around. And when fifty customers all want their cars at Goodwood for the same weekend, for example, how will you manage the logistics? They won't be too happy having them stacked, nine at a time, on the back of an open vehicle transporter.
As well as thinking about the capital cost in far more detail, you need to map the entire customer service process in intricate detail, identifying costs at every step.
I started putting together a business case for exactly the same enterprise atthe start of this year, to be based close to the Dartford crossing, and to be frank, once you factor in utility bills, 24 hour security, rent, rates, and the partial occupancy which will definitely occur at start-up, possibly longer, then I couldn't make the numbers work.
That said, I also couldn't find anything equivalent or suitable in the SE of England.
I suspect it might only work if you already have redundant premises to operate from.
That said, I also couldn't find anything equivalent or suitable in the SE of England.
I suspect it might only work if you already have redundant premises to operate from.
The storage part is simple....just make sure the area (inside) is clean, warm, well lit (movement sensors are a must) and with good airflow. Costs maybe upwards of £110 per week plus VAT if in a Carcoon, less if not!
The killer costs will be insurance, security, electricty, and salary's.
Good luck....
The killer costs will be insurance, security, electricty, and salary's.
Good luck....
belleair302 said:
The storage part is simple....just make sure the area (inside) is clean, warm, well lit (movement sensors are a must) and with good airflow. Costs maybe upwards of £110 per week plus VAT if in a Carcoon, less if not!
The killer costs will be insurance, security, electricty, and salary's.
Good luck....
Bloody hell! Who'd pay £6,500 a year just to keep their car warm!The killer costs will be insurance, security, electricty, and salary's.
Good luck....
Mr. Magoo said:
If you are like me and live in London and want your vintage car every delivered to you and picked up every once in a while in a nicely prepped condition then I can see the interest but there may be other PH'ers with different requirements...I would be interested in any FB.
I like your idea, but I think the big thing is to be flexible. Flexibility and trust.Some (a few?) would want their 250GTO delivered to Eaton Square.
Others would be happy to turn up, ditch their snotter and climb into their classic - if they can do it in 5 minutes, and if you've got the classic ready (out of it's bay onto the forecourt, battery, tyres, fluids checked, engine nicely warmed), they'll be very happy. Ditto the reverse - they park up, you move it back to the bay, chamy off the rain, drain the tank, etc. while they are back in the snotter already on the way home to bed.
In between you have the value-added services - valeting, battery conditioning, basic servicing (inc. arranging the MOT), up as high as you want to go.
You can guarantee that whichever market you specialise in, the demand is in another.
So look at a pricing and account management structure that covers the full range of options.
- Regular contact: You tell them (or they can check) vehicle status.
- Quick response: They phone, and the car can be ready for collection/despatch in 20 minutes
- Newsletters: e,g. the Goodwood Scenario mentioned already
- Flexible pricing, with a low entry point.
- Create a checklist for delivery & receipt - things for that particular car.
- Build trust. Trust that the car will be ready, trust that costs will be controlled, and trust that any work on the cars will be done with care.
- Race cars (they collect/drop on their own or rented trailer)
- Self-service. They can come in on a Saturday and work on their car in a bay. They can borrow/rent the 4-post lift
my thoughts at ths stage is that there is a basic storage cost. The extras ar all a bit like ticking the boxes for breakfast at your hotel, You can have the basic or the full monty treatment on top of the storage.
As you say this is a diverse market with different levels of wealth. The idea would be to give a firstclass storage and prep service for 40 - 60 cars from WO's to 911's.
As you say this is a diverse market with different levels of wealth. The idea would be to give a firstclass storage and prep service for 40 - 60 cars from WO's to 911's.
I would imagine the numbers wouldn't stack up
Factoring in the site costs, Equipment and building costs would probably require you to get a mortgage or large loan (not exactly the easiest things to come by these days) Then you factor in advertising in all the mags, sites and shows, Rent & Rates, Insurance, Cost of delivery vehicle ( not exactly going to spend all that time prepping someones P&J only to stick it on the back of a low loader in the elements are you?, Set up of CCTV, Alarm and all the other necessary security
Payroll for drivers, 24H security, mechanics and all thats before you settle on any dead time and space professional fees all the rest of it.
In my opinion this would only have a hope of working IF you have a heated, air conditioned site available to you for not a lot for the first few years that is suitable to store 30+ vehicles.
these things are workable but only if they have been established, set up costs these days might just kill it before it starts.
Factoring in the site costs, Equipment and building costs would probably require you to get a mortgage or large loan (not exactly the easiest things to come by these days) Then you factor in advertising in all the mags, sites and shows, Rent & Rates, Insurance, Cost of delivery vehicle ( not exactly going to spend all that time prepping someones P&J only to stick it on the back of a low loader in the elements are you?, Set up of CCTV, Alarm and all the other necessary security
Payroll for drivers, 24H security, mechanics and all thats before you settle on any dead time and space professional fees all the rest of it.
In my opinion this would only have a hope of working IF you have a heated, air conditioned site available to you for not a lot for the first few years that is suitable to store 30+ vehicles.
these things are workable but only if they have been established, set up costs these days might just kill it before it starts.
Mr. Magoo said:
on average looking at about 200 - 220/month + VAT....
Looking at it a different way, how much is a lock-up that way? There are a couple of websites that list rentals by area.For a lock-up, I get:
- Basic security (unmanned, so basically a lock and a door)
- Basic cover (protecting from the weather, but not a controlled environment)
- 24-hour access
- No power or lighting
- I need to walk/drive (with all my kit) to access.
Now your minimum proposition might be:
- Partly-manned (someone's there at least part of every day)
- Controlled cover (temp, humidity) and battery conditioning
- Quick turnaround (when collecting or returning)
- A basic roadworthiness check pre-delivery and "wipe down" check post-return, when manned.
- Some secure reception area when unmanned
- The option of additional paid-for services on-site
I would certainly be interested at that price point - the selling points would be the "plug-&-play" element and being able to instruct someone to get the MOT sorted (outweighing the additional travel)
If you can make it work (break even) at that sort of price point, you will get the cheapskates like me and the premium buyers will follow for your profit. If your price point is moving to 50% over a lock-up, I think you risk losing the basic market and the demand may dwindle.
I think people are adding in services which would actually be available only at extra cost. We would certainly not be prepping and driving five cars in a covered 'artic' to goodwood as part of a the basic storage costs - sheer lunacy. The aim is to offer a tailored service so those that just want to have the car 'mothballed' for 12 months canand those that want the car looking splendid for 3 big occaisions of the year can have this at extra cost.
The truth is that many cars kept in a professional garage are collectively better looked after and safer than on domestic premises.
The truth is that many cars kept in a professional garage are collectively better looked after and safer than on domestic premises.
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