Finally Did It - Rented A Workshop For My Car And Motorcycle Collection

[kevinwalker261]

Hey everyone, I had to share this because I'm pretty excited about it. For years I've been cramming my cars and motorcycles into my garage, driveway, and basically everywhere else. I've got a 1987 BMW, a couple of project motorcycles, my daily driver, and various other vehicles that I've collected over time. My wife was threatening to throw me out if I didn't do something about the clutter.

So I finally took the plunge and rented a commercial workshop space about 20 minutes from my house. It's a decent sized unit - about 2,400 square feet with a 14-foot ceiling. The landlord was cool about letting me renovate it, so I invested in some proper workbenches, tool storage, LED lighting, and a decent air compressor system. I also installed some basic electrical upgrades and got it properly organized.

The whole renovation took about a month of weekends with help from a few buddies. Total cost including rent deposit, renovations, and equipment setup was around $12,000. Monthly rent is $800, which honestly doesn't seem too bad for what I get.

Now I've actually got space to work on my projects, keep everything maintained properly, and my home looks normal again. I can invite friends over without embarrassment. The best part is being able to actually wrench on stuff without having to move three other vehicles first.

I know this might seem excessive to some people, but for me it's been a game-changer. Has anyone else done something similar? I'm curious how others manage their collections and whether this is crazy or just practical for people like us who have too many vehicles.

[david_smith]

That's actually a brilliant solution! I've been dealing with the same problem. How much was the actual renovation work? I'm trying to figure out if I should do something similar or just bite the bullet and sell some of my bikes.

[sarahhall455]

This seems like overkill honestly. I mean, if you have that many vehicles you should probably just sell some of them instead of renting extra space. Just my two cents though.

[david.wijaya]

Man, I respect the commitment! That LED lighting setup must make such a difference when you're actually working on vehicles. What kind of lighting did you end up going with?

[kevinwalker261]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! To answer about maintenance - yeah, it's not cheap. Between oil changes, brake work, and project parts, I probably spend $300-400 a month. But honestly, having the proper workspace means I can do a lot of the work myself now instead of paying shop rates. The workshop already paid for itself in labor savings after a couple months.

[daniel.smith]

The maintenance cost alone on multiple vehicles must be killing you. How much are you spending monthly on upkeep, parts, and repairs across the whole collection? That's what I'd worry about before worrying about storage.

[kevinlee912]

I don't understand why people need this many vehicles. Seems like a waste of money to me, but to each their own I guess. Just seems like a lot of responsibility.

[david.tan]

Smart move on the renovations. Did you have to get any special permits or licenses for the commercial space? I've been thinking about something similar and want to make sure I do it right legally.

[emma91]

This is actually pretty smart for a collector! I love that you made it work. The lighting and tool organization sounds amazing. Do you have climate control in there?

[emma.martin]

The before and after must be incredible! Please tell me you have photos. I want to see what the space looks like all set up. This is inspiring me to maybe do something similar.