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These are common on Military bases for sure. Just as PNWBRZ said it may be cheaper just to have a mechanic do it for you, which may explain why these shops have incorporated having a full-service mechanic as an option. A lot of the push back is "I'd just do it at home!" But this isn't for those folks. It really more of an appeal to folks without the means at home to do this.
The key target are DIY'er, enthusiasts w/o tools and folks who live in apts/condos/housing developments with tiny garages.
There's also the convenience of fluid disposal and time especially with the 30-minute oil change special. People could change their own oil quicker and cheaper than using a quick-lube place and there's nobody to lie to them about how their blinker fluid is low, or how a minimum wage monkey over-torqued their drain plug bolt and stripped the threads.
It seems to be a tough enterprise for sure which is why it needs to hyper-focus on certain demographics and expand the offerings (self/assisted/full service).
It would definitely need to operate with very low overhead in order to sustain and it would be difficult to be decently profitable without a consistent volume of traffic. It would have to geared toward being a place that people wanted to be, wanted to visit, felt welcomed and where others are willing to educate and help out.
Another business aspect is appealing to the racing/drifting/track day crowd by making it easy/quick/affordable to change out brake pads/fluid/rotors and to change tires. Train/certify people on the tire equipment (and sign release waivers) and they can mount/balance their own tires for cheaper/quicker than going to Discount Tire and the shop would be open on Sunday. Even have their Tire-Rack order shipped to the shop. I think it would also be wise to have an alignment setup and corner-balancing scale setup as well.
Once, all that sounds great but keeping up a consistent volume is the key. Empty bays are like empty hotel rooms.
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SCCA T4 - FRS
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