anyone here pretty well famaliar with it? as in the ownership/running of a gas station? i got questions

I don't know how much I can help.  My personal experience is related to my uncle owning a station many years ago.  But, I'm pretty friendly with my current mechanic and we talk a lot.

2 hours ago, 1LtCAP said:

anyone here pretty well famaliar with it? as in the ownership/running of a gas station? i got questions

Ok...what the hell are you doing? 
 

I understand that the margins are thin, and there is a lot of regulatory crap to deal with. Other than that I don’t know much 

6 hours ago, EdF said:

I don't know how much I can help.  My personal experience is related to my uncle owning a station many years ago.  But, I'm pretty friendly with my current mechanic and we talk a lot.

 

4 hours ago, Displaced Texan said:

Ok...what the hell are you doing? 
 

I understand that the margins are thin, and there is a lot of regulatory crap to deal with. Other than that I don’t know much 

i have the chance to get the gas at my shop. i feel it's almost a necessity, as i think my landlord's gonna sell that business either way. if it's sold to someone else, that may end up forcing me out of the shop. i know what he makes per gallon on reg and super, and it's actually pretty decent considering what i know my old boss used to make per gallon.

 as far as regulations go, i know i need insurance on the tanks, and know it's about 10k/year. i don't think i could get away with what he does as for help, as he's got only 2 guys coveriong all the hours. i figure i'd need at least 3, plus (probably) a manager. i don't know what other regulations i'd have to deal with though. i feel that if i do this that it can turn out good for at least the next 5 to 10 years, but not too sure. i feel that if i'm gonna pass on this then i need to start looking for a new location......

Is it a branded station?  If so you should get a lot of help from them. The number of people you need depends on the number of pumps. My mechanic covers 16 or 17 hours a day with two full time (many hours!) and a few part times pump operators. It’s likely that his two would stay on. 
 

I don’t know how it’s done but you need to have the tanks checked. It takes months and tens of thousands of dollars to replace them. 

1 hour ago, EdF said:

Is it a branded station?  If so you should get a lot of help from them. The number of people you need depends on the number of pumps. My mechanic covers 16 or 17 hours a day with two full time (many hours!) and a few part times pump operators. It’s likely that his two would stay on. 
 

I don’t know how it’s done but you need to have the tanks checked. It takes months and tens of thousands of dollars to replace them. 

the tanks are my big worry. i can't find anything on if it's mandated for them to be replaced at a specific age. i'm pretty sure that the ones in the ground there now are double wall, but they're also at least 20 years old. the station owner is indian(sikh) and his guys are going home in the spring.

oh.....it's not branded. it's off-brand, but usually runs between 70k and 100k gallons a month

 

33 minutes ago, 1LtCAP said:

oh.....it's not branded. it's off-brand, but usually runs between 70k and 100k gallons a month

Make sure the current owners aren't paying protection money to the Russian mafia. 

And when you hire a few slobs to run the pumps, remember NJ's skyrocketing minimum wage. 

9 hours ago, Handyman said:

Make sure the current owners aren't paying protection money to the Russian mafia. 

And when you hire a few slobs to run the pumps, remember NJ's skyrocketing minimum wage. 

they buy their gas from russians. the min. wage is another thing.......i think it moved to 12/hour already? that's a lot to pay a gas jockey......

6 minutes ago, 1LtCAP said:

they buy their gas from russians. the min. wage is another thing.......i think it moved to 12/hour already? that's a lot to pay a gas jockey......

Wonder why the Sikhs want out?

9 minutes ago, W2MC said:

Wonder why the Sikhs want out?

i think the kid(yea right....he's in his late 30's) sees himself becoming his father. i've noticed over the last 5 or so years his demeanor change. he's on meds, and drinks heavily. if he starts smoking, he will be exactly like his father who died at 61 years old. he owns 10 of these places, and i think it's all getting to be too much for him. i've got a friend who flips houses checking with real estate friends to see if there's anything bad coming with this property.

 i don't want to move or start over or go back to working for someone else. i've already been looking for possible locations close enough to here that i wouldn't lose my customer base....there are none. there's 3 shops i know of for sale. one half the distance from home than this one is......he wants what i and another real estate friend think is too much......then there's 2 in the opposite direction from home but same distance as here......dunno what they want yet......

I sent a PM with some contact information that might help you out with some answers.

Keep in mind that the owner wants to sell because he already knows that the tanks need to be replaced and he doesn't want to spend $35,000 on the project.  You can do that but you need to build it into the price.

17 minutes ago, EdF said:

I sent a PM with some contact information that might help you out with some answers.

Keep in mind that the owner wants to sell because he already knows that the tanks need to be replaced and he doesn't want to spend $35,000 on the project.  You can do that but you need to build it into the price.

I've no first hand knowledge whatsoever, but my gut tells me that replacing the underground tanks will cost a lot more than that.  At least in NJ it will.

17 minutes ago, 10X said:

I've no first hand knowledge whatsoever, but my gut tells me that replacing the underground tanks will cost a lot more than that.  At least in NJ it will.

I picked an arbitrary number . . . It doesn't make any difference if the cost is $5 or $500,000 . . . It can be handled as long as it's built into the price.

5 hours ago, 1LtCAP said:

they buy their gas from russians. 

I'd make sure you know in detail all the ins and outs of the relationship so you don't become the inspiration for the next round of John Wick movies. 

1 hour ago, Handyman said:

I'd make sure you know in detail all the ins and outs of the relationship so you don't become the inspiration for the next round of John Wick movies. 

. . . Yes . . . Keep a careful eye on your dog . . . 

7 hours ago, EdF said:

I sent a PM with some contact information that might help you out with some answers.

Keep in mind that the owner wants to sell because he already knows that the tanks need to be replaced and he doesn't want to spend $35,000 on the project.  You can do that but you need to build it into the price.

thank you!