Car Storage

Seperate

Lads,

I've got the go-ahead to post this from the powers that be.

I'm in the process of opening up a storage facility in the Dublin 15 area. My main motivation for doing so is that I get asked about it alot by clients who want to store their cars medium/long term, especially around this time of year.

The facility is in a great location; 7/8mins from the M50 (N3/Blanchardstown Exit), 20mins from the Airport. The facility itself is a secure modern industrial unit, which will have a 24/7 monitored alarm and various other security features which I won't mention. The industrial estate is access controlled too.

I am 98% of how I'm going to do it - and have started to kit the place out already, but my question for the people of Classic Cars; what, in your opinion, makes a good storage facility?

Open to and appreciate suggestions of every kind.

yardeyar

Hey I wish you the best of luck with the new business, great idea and I hope it goes well for you, thankfully I'm ok for storage but anyone I hear of looking to store a car I'll put them in touch with you!
YEAH!

245

Security (as you've mentioned)
Dehumidification
Separation of one client's cars from another to prevent anything from fingermarks, scratches, photos etc
Cleanliness
Freedom/ease of access
Competitiveness of price.

Workshop facilities are an unnecessary distraction IMHO - liability disadvantages & additional expense involved

Daved_XB

Ease of access would be a biggie for me... if I couldn't just rock up anytime I wanted to, but instead had to ring ahead or there where opening hours.. that would be a show stopper for me.

Also security of my car from other who have legitimate access rights... a few years back I had a mate who had his car badly scratched in a communal classic car storage facility & because the camera didn't capture that side of the car he had to foot the bill.. not sure how practical individual car cages are tho..

I wish you all the best... I would love to see you get this off the ground as the only thing stopping me buying more classic cars right now is that I have no where to put them save & secure & out of the Irish weather & convenient to me

Seperate

Thanks for the replies lads.

The ease of access is a tough one. It won't be a case where there'll be 20 cars, and everyone has a set of keys to wonder in and look around. The reason being as Daved_XB mentioned with random scratches and other goings on I've heard about over the years. As you can tell from looking at my website, the cars that I look after are often quite rare/valuable. Myself and my colleagues would be the only people with access to the facility. I can see why it may put people off, but if the roles were reversed I would feel safer knowing some random person won't be walking around or sitting on my car.

The idea is you drop the car off, we'll give it a good thorough wash, followed by a good wax and we will put it into the storage facility. Your car will be available 24hrs, with at least 12hrs notice required for out-of-hours collections. The car will be rinsed off and wiped down in preparation for collection.

How would that suit Dave? Any ideas on how to do it differently?

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Daved_XB

I know where your coming from… in fact when I was in still living in Aus I looked into starting a business like this but combining the pitlane model with access to ramps too. Sadly the logistics just didn’t seem to work out..

What your suggesting does sound good.. but I’m always put off with the idea of having to call ahead & give notice that I want access to my car.. I know that that is a silly issue & in hindsight not really a show stopper but it would only work for me if the notice during daylight hours 7 days a week was an hour or less, i.e. I’m at home or just leaving work after a crap day & I think hmmm, I’d love a drive in my whatever… I call you, get in my car & drive over & by the time I get there someone is on hand to let me in. if it was any more hassle than that it might put me off going for the drive on the spur of the moment in the first place & in turn that would put me off storing the car with you... & it would have to be 7 days, you say 12 hours notice if the car is to be collected out of hours... if that counted a Sunday as out of hours then that would be a no to me as Sundays are the most likely lets go for a drive on a whim days for me... & during the summer months this year I was out in the Challenger 2 or 3 nights a week after work so wouldn't be returning the car till late

Now as much as your we’ll wash it & put it away service might appeal to many… not me… it’s my car I’ll put it away thanks & keep my keys with me… happy to have you wash it where it sits, but leaving you the keys to put her away… nope sorry, but that may just be me…

One of the ideas I’d looked into in Aus when I was thinking of doing the same thing was to have the warehouse setup with rows of chainmail fenced lockable cages… the idea being that everyone had access to the main building but each car was locked securely away in a cage & that could only be opened by the owner & keyholder. The cage idea would also mean that people could store spare wheels & boxes of parts etc securely with the car too… an alternative to cages could be actual garages like what you see in selfstorage warehouses

mustang68

Power: Some people will want to house their cars in an additional cover, like a carcoon, as they may want the extra protection from dust and the like. Also if the car is there for a few months it will need a battery charger.

As regards you cleaning and waxing it, I would hate the idea of someone else giving my car a clean and a wax, I would consider that service a negative. I have visions of it being scrapped by accident. think it might be better as an extra.

scoobymunster

Seperate wrote: »

The idea is you drop the car off, we'll give it a good thorough wash, followed by a good wax and we will put it into the storage facility. Your car will be available 24hrs, with at least 12hrs notice required for out-of-hours collections. The car will be rinsed off and wiped down in preparation for collection.
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I don't mean to nitpick but how are you planning on charging for this - a flat weekly rate yeah? The reason I ask is if your gonna give it a good clean everytime someone takes the car for a spin that screams extra charges for using their own motor? Keep it simple, either have a monthly wash included, or offer a decent clean as an extra service. It'll keep the costs down both for you and the customer.

ahal

Assuming that cars will be started from time to time, this may seem a bit extreme but with older stuff I'd be concerned that if one went on fire for whatever reason that it not be able to damage adjoining machinery. Fire prevention methods in place would be high on my list.

antodeco

Could you not security code the door? Each user has their own security code. This could then be used for tracking purposes. If someone comes in and it turns out another car has been scratched, there is a record of who it is.

Put it this way, Im currently paying to keep my car in an underground car park. It has electronic gates, but thats it. Once I can get access to it whenever I want, I will pay for it.

twebb

I have to agree with antodeco. From what you are saying, there will be pretty adequate security so I'm guessing you will have pretty good cctv, which though its terrible that it should be needed would deter most people who might have a right to be in there from interfering with other cars. Also if there is damage to a car, most systems record on a 30 day basis so it would be relatively easy to pinpoint who is at fault. I think access and price are going to be the deciding factors for most people, assuming as I said security is adequate. I'm in Dublin 15, recently got a garage to rent for one car but could do with storage for another. Just look out the window... that rain isnt going to go away for the next three months.. and then it'll just be a break for some snow..

You could always cage off a couple of areas and charge extra for those if people really feel they need it. Also I wouldn't bother with washing etc!

bijapos

I looked into this a few years ago when I came back here, I also wanted to do a workshop like Pit Lane but gave up because of insurance and rental costs.

You have to decide who you want to cater for: those who need a parking space and need unrestricted access whenever they and those who want to "hibernate" the car. The latter is people who would keep the car at home during the summer but want a place for it over winter as they don't drive in rain, snow etc. The garage in this case should be secure, dry from rain as well as condensation and moisture and heated to a minimum to prevent ice damage. If you decide to go this route you should also aim for motorbike, camper and boat owners.

The unrestricted access is the other option, essentially for someone who comes out of work on a sunny evening and decides to head out for a spin, or wakes up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning in June, looks out the window and sees the sun shining. These people will be massively frustrated when they have to give a 12 hr notice to pick the car up. The other side is the guy who says he will pick the car up at 8 am on Saturday and doesn't show up because he ended out on a session on Friday night, meaning you wait around for a no show.

There have been enough developments in cameras over the past 5 years to get a well priced bunch of cameras that will cover every parking bay, along with this cheap, soft barriers can be erected between the bays, so there should be no issue with cars being damaged if access is unrestricted. Or, as Daved-XB said, consider a bunch of chain link lock ups so the customer has space for spares etc.

Consider the fact that some people will also want to use car coccoons.

Forget the washing, it will get complicated and only drive up the base price, offer it as an extra. Trickle chargers etc should be optional too.

Best of luck with it of you do decide to go ahead, btw heres a pic of an upmarket one in Berlin, everything stored in some nice glass boxes, aim high as they say.

dkd21

Just came across this ,

I really hope you all the best on this ! There is a major lack of good quality storage for cars in Ireland !

I , myself been looking for a decent place for aaagggeeess to store my car for the winter but to know avail !

mi16

Hi Separate,

Are you up and running?
I'm looking for winter storage for a car in the Dublin area. As with any of these things, I've left it to the last minute and am keen to get the car locked up out of the elements.

Have you a website with further details?
Thanks,

T Carson

How much will it cost per month? Security is a definite issue as I lease a unit in Dublin 15 and there are always security issues there. But I would like to move one or two cars out of my place as my wife hates them at the house.

TRNIALL

Was in Blanchardstown Today and seen a lot of Cars/Classics stored in a ex Car Dealership Showroom,it was at the Reanult Dealer up near PowerCity, Carrickmines i think they call it,might be worth checking out if your out that way.

hi5

I saw this in DoneDeal,it may be of interest.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/2633291