You talking Juniper lane, like Audio Obsessions and all those back there? The buildings are small. and parking is like 10-20 cars in most lots.
You, me and some others who actually flog their cars on a regular basis would enjoy a 10-15 min romp down some back roads to get to the shop, but many others are just too damn lazy/cheap and would think its too “out of the way”… lame I know.
Low key would kick major ass. A place far enough out that making some noise only has to be acceptable to you and you alone is clutch.
Would you be opposed to getting a building that required a little work? Every once in a while you see foreclosed buildings go for DIRT cheap. A little money and some hard work turns them around, and puts you ahead of the game as far as bank loan/vs property value.
Totally NOT where you are looking, but its a dream location. In toga, sorta across the street from Baily’s, there is a BIG old building, looks like a manufacturing place of some sorts. There is a few loading docks, and one big overhead door on the front. Building is BIG. I would make a tuner shop on one half, and a bar/car theme club on the other half. Have Bike nights there, the parking lot could hold 100 bikes. Would make BANK with all the rich urban bikers, and the younger crowd that flood the streets every fri/sat night.
honestly, since i’m from clifton park, I’m going to be reluctant to drive out past altamont or voorheesvile.
Obviously it’s dependant on where people are from and what they need done. I’ve heard great things about you’re alignments and that’s something that it doesn’t matter if you’re 40 minutes away, I’d drive that far for an alignment to my spec without BS arguments of whether or not it can be driven up on the table.
IMO if you are not in a mainstream location, you will miss out on the regular day to day jobs that will generate revenue. Oil changes, mounting tires, alignments, tune-ups, simple diag and repair…
If the shop isn’t in a good location, all you’ll have is stuff like that 3/S and Cobra. Long term projects generating little to no money.
It’s a huge investment, but I really think Mike has the right idea with the whole Saratoga Car Shop/ Bar & Club idea… There is NOTHING like that in the area. You need to go on vacation to see shit like that.
Although I dont totally disagree with you, the location and cost to lease go hand in hand. we aspire to the car club thing but thats something we will have to earn our way into… so Saratoga is great but not realilistic.
I believe we will find something within 15 mins of the current location. where neighbors cant complain about the noise, the ride is easy and fun, the area is open for friday saturday meetscar show and other events where the 5.0 won’t bother us and the work we do will be better then that of what we are able to do in the current location.
its mostly a matter of math…but hopefully our track record allows for us to be sought rather then stumbled upon.
Big +1. The idea is awesome, but it’ve be extremely hard to execute within the next few years I think.
There’s a difference between spending it on our cars for our own personal enjoyment and spending it on community things. People are cheaper than ever, with the exception of a few.
Plus, you know how the car community is. For every 10 “FUCK YEA I’D DO THIS IN A HEARTBEAT!!!”, you can almost certainly only get one or two people that go through with it.
August, 2011
Re: New Salem Saab
Dear friends of New Salem Saab,
In 2011 Fred Carl’s New Salem Garage d/b/a New Salem Saab hit a huge milestone that very few other Saab Dealer’s in the Country can match. New Salem Saab celebrates its 50th year as a Saab dealer, which is a monumental accomplishment and we are very proud to have achieved this mark.
However, I write you today with troubling news. On August 12, 2011, Fred Carl’s New Salem Garage, Inc. d/b/a New Salem Saab will be forced to close its doors forever. In the past four years the Saab Franchise has been experiencing the most challenging period of time since their inception and introduction in 1947, which troubles continue to this very day. This fact has dramatically altered the ability of our exclusive Saab dealership to sustain a profit since 2008 when the financial, housing and automotive industries collapsed.
As a result and by no fault of my dealership, or its personnel, the unthinkable is about to occur; we must close. We are beside ourselves in disappointment and frustration. As all of you know, my team has feverishly tried to reduce expenses and the size of our operation and its business plan for the last several years. Although this allowed us some additional time, the continual disruptions of the Saab brand and its operational difficulties put us at a disadvantage that is uncorrectable with Saab’s current state of affairs. We are sorry and saddened to express this news to you.
The Carl family truly appreciates your friendship and business over the years. We have successfully maintained your Saab for your family for a very long time. We still love the Saab brand and would like nothing more for them to recover from their difficulties and continue to grow; Saab is still a Swedish wonder. Although we have lost our personal battle, we will continue to cheer and support the brand in hopes Saab’s resurgence is long, strong and soon.
Every great book has an ending. This is ours. Neither by intention nor plan was this the ending I had envisioned. There is not much I would have done differently if I had to do it all over again. The knowledge and experience I have gained over the last 20 years and especially the last 5 will serve me well in the future. For this experience and knowledge will again be applied to our personal future endeavors. We hope to see you all in the community in the very near future.
Sincerely and truly yours,
Darryl F. Carl
President
New Salem Saab *** 1961-2011 ***