Chris Partridge, founder of FargoDIYGarage, said he came up with the idea for his do-it-yourself auto shop during his time in the military.
“I can’t claim that it’s originally my idea,” Partridge said. “I was in the military stationed out in Seattle and the military has had auto hobby shops for probably 40 or 50 years or more.”
Partridge used the military’s auto shops all the while wondering how the concept could be scaled into a business. “It’s something I’ve been kicking around for 20-some years and finally got the opportunity last year to start working on it,” he said. “Unfortunately for me, everything came through by the time COVID-19 started.”
The shop at 901 Westrac Drive was slated to open at the end of March, but the pandemic pushed the opening back to June 1.
One of the greatest hurdles to opening FargoDIYGarage, Partridge said, was finding insurance. “Insurance makes it very difficult to do this concept,” he explained. “It’s kind of pricey to find insurance for it and it’s not something most insurers are willing to work with you on. I think that’s probably why no one’s ever done this before.”
FargoDIYGarage has five bays for working on cars and motorcycles. Customers can rent a bay without a lift and with tools provided for $20 per hour. A bay with a motorcycle lift and tools costs $25 per hour. A bay with tools and a car lift — which can hold up to 9,000 pounds — costs $35 per hour while those who bring their own tools can use the car lift for $20 per hour.
All of the bays are fully-equipped with a five-foot by five-foot toolbox containing roughly 400 tools as well as a workbench, vice, air compressor system and other specialty tools. “It’s like renting someone’s auto shop out,” he said.
Chris Partridge opens one of the tool boxes Friday, Sept. 25, available to rent at DIY garage, 901 Westrac Dr., Fargo. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor
Projects have run the gamut from basic “mechanic’s gravy work” such as oil changes, brakes suspension and fuel pumps, Partridge said, to transmission replacements.
Customers can save hundreds of dollars renting the shop rather than visiting a mechanic, Partridge estimated. A mechanic’s hourly rates can range from $80 per hour to $150 per hour for high-end vehicles before charging a mark-up on parts and shop fees, he said. “I don’t have any of that. I don’t charge anything other than what it costs you to rent the bay,” he continued. “It’s completely transparent. You don’t have to wonder what exactly is going on.”
Before the advent of the internet, mechanics could offer expertise that everyday motorists couldn’t access. With both Google and YouTube readily available, that knowledge barrier has been removed, Partridge said. “If you can think of it, somebody else probably already has and I would bet you there’s a video on YouTube of how to do whatever it is you want to do,” he said. The access to knowledge plus finally securing insurance makes the operation “uniquely viable today”, he continued.
“Having that knowledge available to you, once you have that, all you need is the desire,” Partridge said. “If you feel like doing it, you can do it.”
The response from the community has been “overwhelmingly positive”, Partridge reported. “They’re as happy to have it as I am,” he said. “I love cars and fiddling with them is fun for me, so this is exactly what I wanted: a job that I love and something I can do and enjoy.”
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September 28, 2020 at 08:00PM
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Military veteran opens one-of-a-kind DIY auto shop in Fargo - INFORUM
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