How Would You Spend $2500 USD?

[taspin]

Hey. I'm new around these parts. I'm looking to start a detailing business in my area. I have extensive experience with auto painting, prepping, etc. With alright skills in the detailing department. I've been away from the industry for a few years focusing strictly on marketing endeavours in unrelated fields. But due to the local need I'm looking to invest in this field. So with that out of the way we get to my question...

If you had $2500 USD to invest in starting a detailing business, where would the money go? I'm not interested in business costs, marketing, vehicle, etc. I'm looking for the best way to spend on tools and equipment to be as equipped and ready to rock as possible with a limited budget. After some research, here is what I have came up with. I'm wondering what you would do differently, if I am being unwise in my purchase decision in anyway. Could money be better spent elsewhere? You know. Stuff like that.

DetailersMaterial List

Polishes

• Meguiars M105 Ultra Cut Compound 128 oz. - $82.99 USD
  • Meguiars M105 Ultra-Cut Compound 128 oz.
  
  
• Meguiars M205 Ultra Finishing Polish 128 oz. - $79.99 USD
  • Meguiars Mirror Glaze #205 Ultra Finishing Polish, final polish, Meguiars polishes, car polish, 205 FP
  
  
• 64oz. Meguiars Mirror Glaze #21 Synthetic Sealant 2.0 64 oz. - $42.99 USD
  • Meguiars #21 Synthetic Sealant
  
  
• Meguiars Ultimate Paste Wax - $25.99 USD
  • Meguiars Ultimate Paste Wax, Meguiar's car wax, best car wax, Meguiars Ultimate Wax
  
  
• Meguiars D156 Synthetic X-press Spray Wax - $54.99 USD
  • Meguiars D156 Synthetic X-press Spray Wax Combo Pack

Total - $381.54 CAD

Dressings

• Meguiars D170 Hyper Dressing Combo - $79.99 USD
  • Meguiars D170 Hyper Dressing combo
  
  
• Black Label Leather Kit - $129.99 USD
  • Pinnacle Black Label Hide-Soft Leather Kit

Total - $279.20 CAD

Detail Cleaning Products

• Optimum No Rinse Wash and Wax 128 oz. - $49.99 USD
  • Optimum No Rinse Wash & Wax, no rinse car wash, rinse free car wash, optimum no rinse
  
  
• Optimum Car Wash 128 oz. - $29.99 USD
  • Optimum Car Wash Gallon: Concentrated auto shampoo with optimum suds to wash away grime from your car.
  
  
• Meguiars D101 All Purpose - $32.99 USD
  • Optimum Car Wash Gallon: Concentrated auto shampoo with optimum suds to wash away grime from your car.
  
  
• Mckees 37 Road Kill Remover - $42.99 USD
  • McKee's 37 Road Kill Bug Remover, best bug remover

Total - $207.37 CAD

Brushes and Applicators

• Interior Brush Kit - $49.99 USD
  • Ultimate Interior Detailing Brush Kit
  
  
• Mothers Tire, Wheel and Brush Kit - $17.99 USD
  • Mothers Tire, Wheel & Well Brush Kit

Total - $90.39 CAD

Specialty Products

• Chemical Guys New Car Scent - $49.99 USD
  • Chemical Guys New Car Scent 128 oz.
  
  
• Wurth Odor Eliminator - $24.99 USD
  • Wurth Eco Biological Odor Eliminator, odor remover

Total - $99.70 CAD

Supplies

• Dual Action Accessory Kit - $199 USD
  • Complete Dual Action Accessory Kit
  
  
• Nano Skin Auto Scrub Speedy Prep - $24.99 USD
  • Nanoskin Autoscrub Speedy Prep Sponge Combo Pack

Total - $297.83 CAD

Miscellaneous Products

• Kwazar 1 litre spray bottles(6 pack) - $79.99 USD
  • Kwazar Mercury Pro + 1 Liter Spray Bottle (33 oz.) - 6 Pack
  
  
• Cobra Microfibre Kit - $119.99 USD
  • Complete Microfiber Kit
  
  
• Microfibre Towel Kit - $49.99 USD
  • Microfiber Towel Combo
  
  
• Color Coded Microfibre 24 Pack - $49.99 USD
  • Color-Coded Microfiber Bulk Detailing Towels - 16 Pack
  
  
• Gold Wash Mit Kit - $24.99 USD
  • Gold Plush Microfiber Kit, Microfiber wash mitt, microfiber towels
  
  
• Dual Bucket With Grit Guard - $119.99 USD
  • Grit Guard® Dual Bucket Washing System - RED

Total - $591.61 CAD

Equipment

• Porter Cable 7424XP - $124.99 USD
  • Porter cable 7424xp, 7424xp, Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher, Porter Cable polisher, car polisher, buffer, sander-polisher
  
  
• Little Green ProHeat - $139.99 CAD
  • https://canada.bissell.com/little-gr...-cleaner-52075
  
  
• Ryobi Electric Pressure Washer - $198 CAD
  • https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.1...000756406.html
  
  
• Ridgid Convertable Shop Vac - $159.99 CAD
  • https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.r...000790444.html
  
  
• Auto Geek Foam Gun - $69.99 USD
  • Autogeek Half Gallon Foam Gun with FREE BONUS

Total - $757.24 CAD

My prices are listed in Canadian dollars because that's where I'm from. With shipping, handling, etc. I can get this all for right around $2500 USD. What do you think? Of course. I would like to upgrade to a Mytee 8070, flex polisher, Tornador, compressor, water reclamation, etc but that would push me way over budget. I feel this covers the essential and will allow me to upgrade as revenue allows. Thank you for your thoughts and opinions...

[KirkH]

Some quick thoughts:

You should get wholesale accounts set up with vendors. That will get you 20-40% discounts.

Are you going to be mobile? If so, pop-up tent for shade.

You will need business license, permits, etc.

I would not get the Porter Cable. Gets too hot, too much vibration. Get a Flex 3401. Did I miss polishing pads?

Drying aid (quick wax)

Blower

Buckets

Extension cords

Glass cleaner

[taspin]

Some quick thoughts:

You should get wholesale accounts set up with vendors. That will get you 20-40% discounts.

Are you going to be mobile? If so, pop-up tent for shade.

You will need business license, permits, etc.

I would not get the Porter Cable. Gets too hot, too much vibration. Get a Flex 3401. Did I miss polishing pads?

Drying aid (quick wax)

Blower

Buckets

Extension cords

Glass cleaner

Thank you for the reply KirkH. I've been back and forth between the PC and Flex. I think you just made up my mind to not cheap out on this. Thank you for the tip about setting up wholesale accounts. Any advice on this? Yes, I plan on being mobile. Will look into popup shades. I had polishing pads included as an add on for the porter cable, will replace with a complete flex kit.

I'm not sure what is meant by Drying aid (quick wax). Would meguiars D156 X-press wax be an example of this?

For a blower I intended to use the ridgid shop vac convertible. Is it a different type of blower you were referring to?

As far as glass cleaner I was just going to use optimum no rinse.. I guess I should be considering a dedicated glass cleaner?

Thanks for your input.

[boomdone]

Definitely buy wholesale or at a minimum buy when there's 20-25% off sale happening.

[Cruzscarwash]

id also get the FLEX or the griots 6

the scents id skip on as well and look into other options like a machine

[Detailsbydaniel]

The griots boss lineup is also great for machine and products. The warranty is a very nice thing to have in your pocket as well

[spazzz]

Get the blue Optimum no rinse wash and shine.
You can always hit it with D156 for the sealant add.

You can trim a a Benjamin if you get 2 five gallon buckets from a store and just get two grit guards.

[LydiaGP]

My thoughts (everyone has their own opinions about which brand they prefer so this is just my opinion) - trade your Optimum Car Wash for Meguiar's Hyper Wash. It's cheaper and works great. Don't get the proportioner as Hyper Wash is too thick to use with it. The pump is handy though, and helps proportion it out. Helps the gallon of HW last longer.

Get Wheel Woolies if at all possible. They're excellent for cleaning the barrels of wheels, if that's something you intend to do. Definitely worth the money. The Mother's wheel face brushes look great as well if you can afford both.

Get some kind of brush that will get into the lug nut area.

Get a dedicated wheel and tire cleaner. I would recommend Meguiar's Non-Acid Wheel Cleaner.

I've found that, without the proper tools, wheels and tires that are in rough shape can eat up a LOT of time. It's worthwhile to spend a little extra money to get the proper tools and cleaners. I also have Meguiar's Wheel Brightener, which is acid. It works great, but you'll want to be sure and use it in a well-ventilated area and wear acid-resistant gloves. Or, if you ask some, wear a respirator and a space suit. Just kidding. It works well on particularly rough wheels, just be careful and observe precautions listed on the bottle. I would say Non-Acid or some other good wheel cleaner is a must and Wheel Brightener is an option.

I have no experience with the Chemical Guys New Car Smell - I've never seen the need to use anything like that personally. But it does say on the product page that it can not ship internationally, just FYI.

Dedicated Glass Cleaner? I think so. See if you can guess - yup, I recommend Meguiar's Glass Cleaner Concentrate. Cheap, lasts a long time, works GREAT. It smells good too. I've never used Optimum for windows but I have heard it works well.

Like someone else mentioned, wait until AG kindly has one of their 15% off sales at minimum. Wait a little longer if you can, and get 20-25% off. It probably won't cover your machines but it will help with the supplies.

When you do place the order, check the buy one, get one page to see if there's anything there that you could add on. In particular, if they have some nice microfibers on BOGO it never hurts to have more of them, IMO.

One other thing you might want is some metal polish. I recommend - wait for it - Meguiar's Hot Rims Metal Polish. It works great. As you can tell, I tend to stick with one brand, somewhat for simplicity's sake, somewhat because I've always been happy with the quality of Meguair's products.

I also always like to have a couple packs of cheap terry towels for "dirty" cleaning, cleaning pads on the fly, etc. You can get them from Walmart or your big-box store of choice.

D156 should work as a drying aid.

[KirkH]

Chemical Guys New Car Smell is legit. It really does smell like new car more than any other brand and it lasts pretty well. My customers want scents. My selection is nuts.

[KirkH]

Thank you for the tip about setting up wholesale accounts. Any advice on this? Here in the states, I needed a Federal Tax ID Number to get wholesale accounts set up with the various wholesalers. Trade shows are great ways to learn about large distributors products.

I'm not sure what is meant by Drying aid (quick wax). Would meguiars D156 X-press wax be an example of this? Yes it is just a quick wax to give you lubricant for the drying towel. I offer a quick wash and wax. That's a foam wash and a dry with quick wax.

For a blower I intended to use the ridgid shop vac convertible. Is it a different type of blower you were referring to? I use a dedicated leaf blower to blow water out of grills, mirrors, etc. No leaf junk in it!

As far as glass cleaner I was just going to use optimum no rinse.. I guess I should be considering a dedicated glass cleaner? I have found that glass cleaner and a squeegee is fastest and best way to clean glass in a mobile setting

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