Hey guys!

My friend and I have been going over the idea of making a DIY garage and meet-up lounge in the Toronto area for a while now, and finally we decided it would be time in 2015. We see this as a unique opportunity to bring together the love for all that is motor related in a comfortable and well equipped space within the community. Right now we are in the late planning to early implementation phases and we would love to hear some feedback going forward from the local enthusiast community.

To tell you a bit about the planned shop: we are going for 4-5 bays to start, divided into 2-3 for cars and 2 for motorcycles. We also plan to have an area for exclusively for DIY detailing with all the fixings. Each bay will be equipped with a full toolkit, air tools, work bench and some sort of media browsing device for your articles/YouTube. Specialized tools will be rented separately.

We are planning a pricing scheme competitive with dealers and independent garages, with various options based on your needs. More on this closer to our opening date. Long hours, especially into the night will be accommodated for those with long/ongoing projects.

The lounge area is just that, a place to meet and talk to other enthusiasts over free coffee/other drinks and Top Gear playing in the background. The emphasis will be on bringing together the enthusiast community in an environment that encourages sharing your skills, knowledge, and in the successes of each others' projects. We are currently scouting for a location which can accommodate meets and cater to special events.

With this said, and as I’ve mentioned before, we’d love to hear some feedback on what you guys think of this, any questions or concerns and where your interest level would lie. Shoot anything towards us! Cheers!

Thanks all,

Stefan and Radu
Grease Monkey Garage Team

 

Socially it may well be worth it, but business-wise it's not a very good idea for a number of reasons. First, there are a number of places in the GTA where you can actually rent hoist time. Second, I would only work with my own tools, and I neither want to lug them around back and forth every day nor want them to go missing if I leve them overnight. Third, if my project hits a snag, I may have to leave the car up on the hoist for another day (or a week or a month), and that would certainly interfere with either my ability to finish the project or your ability to book the hoist in advance and rent it to someone else. Lastly, seeing as I'd be doing all the wrenching myself, I'd expect to pay no more than $15-20 per hour (for an oil change) to a daily maximum of, say, $80, otherwise I might as well take it to a mechanic and have them do the job in 1/3 the time it would take me, without getting my hands dirty to boot.

Now, for what it's worth - I already have a shop and hoist at my disposal that I can get on very short notice for as long as I want. What I find increasingly more lacking is the time to wrench on my own cars, and I suspect that you'll find most Mercedes owners to be in the same category. If you can afford a Benz, you likely have the necessary means to make more money per hour by doing whatever it is you do instead of getting your hands dirty by working on your own car. Yes, some of us love cars (myself included) and do some of our own work when necessary, but it simply doesn't make much sense from a business perspective. The morning coffee and Top Gear reruns while chatting with other Merc owners would certianly fly though - but then again, I'd rather be driving on some back roads or in the winter karting on Sunday mornings with the local PCA or BMW club and sipping coffee, watching Top Gear reruns and chatting about cars instead of getting my hands greasy.

 

Thanks for jumping in! I completely understand your concerns but I hope you can still find value in this. Of course it might not appeal to everyone, and we cannot possibility strive for that. That being said, we would provide you with all the high quality tools needed for your job in order to not have the worry or to lug them around with you. If your project hits a snag, we would definitely find a way to accommodate that; you wouldn't be paying while not working. Whether to store the car temporarily or to send it off to a mechanic, we would make it work.

On the other hand, I don't think that this boils down to income/hr. I personally own an Audi and I still love to wrench in my free time, regardless of my income. It is a passion of mine and something that will continue. If anything, my income would enable me to have the time to work on my projects. Our shop would be geared to those who want to work on their own vehicles, who take pride in fixing a problem or modding a part with their own hands. It will be geared towards people who wish to be around others who share similar interests.

Hoping to see you around once we are up and running! Cheers!

 

Oh - I most certainly can see value in it, but at the end of the day it would depend on the price and location. If I am going to a DE event and need to flush my brake fluid and swap the brake pads on a Friday afternoon, having a convenient, nearby place that has the tools would indeed be very valuable. Keep us in the loop!

As for wrenching on Audis... no, you don't want me to go there. I have unfortunatley had way too much first-hand experience with the greasy bits on both of my B7s that proved very costly and frustrating (that's a story for when you open your shop). These days I only occasionally wrench on my old P-car, but unlike the Audis at least it has consistently given me more joy than grief so I don't cringe at the mere thought.

Cheers,
Doug

 

For sure and this is exactly why we want to open this service for you guys! Whether pre or post track day, jsut swapping something or want a quick detail for your baby, we want to have the space available.

I'm sorry to hear about your B7 experience, I'm guessing it was with the 2.0T. I've personally owned a 96 A4, 00 A6, 08 TT and now an 09 A4 and couldn't be happier, but I stayed away from the notorious 4 banger turbos. The again, I also loved my 08 C350 4matic. In any case I'm looking forward to hearing your nightmare stories!

Thanks!

 

Actually, the 2.0T A4 Avant was the third B7 that I hated. The two that really pissed me off tough were the 4.2 V8s in my 25quattro S4 (scored cylinder walls) and the carbon build-up that required wallnut shell blasting every 12000 km on the RS4. Never mind the "little" things like HID ballasts & control modules, the stupid glove box damper that kept breaking the door hinges, or the faulty coil packs that Audi still can't fix to this day... but yeah, the 2.0T was the most hateful of the bunch 'cause it required the most attention of the bunch and didn't perform worth ***** even when it worked. That was a horrible engine.

 

Hey guys, we've put up an introductory page. It would be awesome if you could sign up and let us know a little bit about yourself! Don't forget to like us on Facebook as well

http://garagemonkey.ca
www.facebook.com/greasemonkeygaragetoronto

Check us out and become part of the family!

 

The garagemonkey.ca link is ??