Chicago Area - Cars & Coffee with Dr. Beasley's Chris Racana at the Bays in Wheeling 7/13

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Karl_in_Chicago

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Just passing this on for those in the area . . . the Bays at Wheeling is hosting a Cars & Coffee event this Saturday from 9 AM to noon with Dr. Beasley's "Director of Success" Chris Racana. I've never met Chris in person but chatted with him online and on the phone and found him very helpful, even with questions not directly related to Dr. B's products. I've also been to the Bays at Wheeling (of Car Supplies Warehouse) and found it to be quite a nice facility. The flyer also indicates they will be raffling off 3 prizes - $50, $75, and $200. It's free but they are requesting RSVP. I have no interest, financial or otherwise, in any of these concerns other than being a (pretty small by $ volume) customer but figured I'd pass it on. As I loathe Facebook I'll just post the link to the Dr. B's page where one can then click through to the FB site where I assume RSVP's can be made.
Events at Dr. Beasley's
 
THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

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Thanks for posting that--I'm not in the area but I looked at it to understand what "The Bays" was--that's a pretty interesting idea, I wonder how successful that's going to be. (For people who haven't looked--"The Bays" is a do-it-yourself detail shop, a big indoor climate-controlled space with wash bays and space where you can detail your car, even tool rentals, etc.)
 
My buddy Marcin got the initial free 1st hour and paid for the 2nd hour and we cleaned his car up 2 winters ago, great space and great tools to use there️

They've also got their location in Bolingbrook as well

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Oh, I figured it was a new thing--how crowded was it? I'm just trying to imagine if that's really a viable business venture--I mean I can see how a DIY garage for repair/maint would be maybe more of sure thing, just not sure how you would keep someone from dropping a car off a lift (in a previous life I worked at a dealer for a short while--and either while I was there or not long before because people were still talking about it, one of the mechanics dropped a car...it must have happened before I was there because I'm sure we all would have been over looking at it).
 
You have to make an appointment

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Setec Astronomy said:
Oh, I figured it was a new thing--how crowded was it? I'm just trying to imagine if that's really a viable business venture--I mean I can see how a DIY garage for repair/maint would be maybe more of sure thing, just not sure how you would keep someone from dropping a car off a lift (in a previous life I worked at a dealer for a short while--and either while I was there or not long before because people were still talking about it, one of the mechanics dropped a car...it must have happened before I was there because I'm sure we all would have been over looking at it).
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Well they do detailing there so it's not like they are dependent upon the membership to pay the bills, AFAIK; in fact there was a drop dead gorgeous 911 on the other side under the lights that was there to get a full correction and coating when I was there. The appeal of a service like this is, IMO, to serve a specific niche so I wouldn't believe there's going to be some level of demand that outstrips their "supply" (space, equipment, etc.). At one end there's the car owner that never or infrequently washes, tunnel-washers, and so on. At the higher end (ignoring actual professional detailers on busman's holiday to do their own) there exists those that either have a pro do it or have made an investment and do it themselves (and presumably have available space/facilities). In between I believe there exists a potential for the "serious" home detailer that either needs access to space/facilities or certain equipment that's not used often enough to warrant the investment (buffers, serious lighting, etc.). For most stuff even a relatively serious hobbyist can get by without this but if that hobbyist doesn't have a garage being able to use a space like this for the occasional clay and paint correction and whatnot can be well worth it (or even if they do have a garage but want to be in a temp controlled one!).

Again, this is part of the Car Supplies Warehouse umbrella so it's not a business wholly dependent upon enthusiast detailers.

Hope that helps.

Klasse - enjoy! I'm sure you will like it.

I booked and attended a hand-on detailing class there that surprisingly ended up being 1-on-1 (which was awesome, btw). It was on a weekday night and a couple members came in during the few hours I was there. They washed and dried their vehicles (pressure washers and EGO's are at the ready over on the "wet" side) and did the usual post-wash detailing and then went on their way.

I imagine like many car washes of all kinds it's probably a lot busier on the weekend, and thus the need for a res, but I don't think it's in any danger of being an over subscribed service or anything - which I don't believe is at all what you were suggesting, just filling in the blanks for others. Also no lifts that I recall.
 
They don't do detailing there...YOU do it

I'm looking forward to it, I'm about 20 mins away

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Karl_in_Chicago said:
The 911 that was there was definitely to be detailed by staff.
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Hmmm, maybe they've expanded into that There's usually just the one guy there who runs the place, he used to play pro ball.

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Klasse Act said:
Hmmm, maybe they've expanded into that There's usually just the one guy there who runs the place, he used to play pro ball.

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Yup, that's who I was paired up with! Fun to talk with while we washed/decon'd/clayed a pretty blue Audi something - do they have "S" versions of the little Q "SUV" models? I think maybe an SQ5? Then we moved to doing buffer work on the 911 and he was really good at helping me get a feel for keeping a DA properly engaged with the surface, not stalling, and so on. While I'm not currently planning on going I could always end up calling an audible and if I do I'll be sure to look you up.
 
Karl_in_Chicago said:
Yup, that's who I was paired up with! Fun to talk with while we washed/decon'd/clayed a pretty blue Audi something - do they have "S" versions of the little Q "SUV" models? I think maybe an SQ5? Then we moved to doing buffer work on the 911 and he was really good at helping me get a feel for keeping a DA properly engaged with the surface, not stalling, and so on. While I'm not currently planning on going I could always end up calling an audible and if I do I'll be sure to look you up.
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Yeah, there's an SQ5, he likes Audi

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Klasse Act said:
My buddy Marcin got the initial free 1st hour and paid for the 2nd hour and we cleaned his car up 2 winters ago, great space and great tools to use there️

They've also got their location in Bolingbrook as well

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Would be a wesome place and worth the price to coat your car. I like that you can rent tools too.


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Coatingsarecrack said:
Would be a wesome place and worth the price to coat your car. I like that you can rent tools too.


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The tools are free to use with the hourly package, not sure about polisher though.

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I just got back from The Bays Wheeling w/ Dr. Beasley's, the rep is a really cool guy, nice car too...Heritage Edition GT350, it was dirty but he brought it into the Bays to wash it when the meet was over

I got some tips on how to use Paint Hero better, I like the product but it gets lost in my collection

Oh yeah...you see my new acquisition as well, I guess I'll find out soon about it's hype, everything has been about it...stay "tuned"
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Karl_in_Chicago said:
It's Chicago-Mac race weekend and I like to grab a coffee and walk around the harbor watching and listening to the hustle and bustle as the racers prep for heading out; the one handed cellphone camera method this dictates makes my normally not very good photos more not gooder. :)

Friday night view of our little corner of Monroe Harbor
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Unlike the locals that have their own buoys or dock spaces most of these boats are transient and so need to raft up to get everyone to fit. This makes arriving and leaving a real team effort to avoid unwanted contact - teamwork makes the dream work!
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Not only is this a really nicely outfitted boat but I just loved the color and shine of the blue hull. Blue is my favorite color and every vehicle I own is blue except my '88 Candy Brandywine FLHTC (red's my wife's favorite color so it's cool!). Unfortunately the position of the sun, shade, and the limited skillset of the photographer combined to not show that blue to its best effect.
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I believe it's the law that one must incorporate a skyline shot in any lakefront photo session so here's one.
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Hot and humid at ~9 AM on the lakefront so a number of boats started leaving a little earlier than normal just to sit out on the lake in cooler temps while they waited for their start times. Winds out of the SE should provide a nice reach north with minimal need to tack/jibe but there's a good chance of some weather moving in this afternoon. Fair winds and following seas, sailors!
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These pics make Chicago look "human" and habitial

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