Are Dealer Ships The Only Way To Really Make Money?

[ShineTimeDetail]

I have lots of people saying that the only way to really make money is to learn how to tint, pin stripe and #1 is get in with some dealer ships. Well, the dealer ships do seem like the way to go but how do you go about getting in with them?

[C. Charles Hahn]

In order to make any money with a dealership, you have to make your process as efficient as possible and use as little overhead as you can (think cheap products, and finding ways to use as little of your product as possible on each car). Dealerships simply do not pay big money for detailing services, so for the most part your profit will have to come from volume, not quality.

As for getting in with a dealership, the best thing you can do is go in and talk to either the General Manager, or the new/used car sales managers and find out who they're currently using for detailing services (assuming they don't have an in-house detail department), and offer to show them how you can do a better job for the same or less money than they're already paying. See if they'll let you do a car or two to prove yourself, and go from there.

Personally, I think it's more of a hassle than it would be worth doing jobs for dealerships unless they're a low volume seller of high-end cars and actually care about getting quality services.

[MrHandWash]

Well considering I am wanting to take outa business loan in the near future and start a mobile detail, who is the biggest customer base for independant detailers?

-Dealerships are good, but as soon as another person who does it cheaper steps in, you are cut out unless their work is bad.

-Word of mouth and referrals are great, but one mistake or cheaper person steps in, might lose a permenant client.

-First time customers brought in from advertising might make up a good base, but if they're not satisfied or are priced higher than they thought they might not come back.

Is it really possible to make a $30k or more doing detailing if you're willing to do it 6 days a week, say you get only 3 cars a week for $150 worth of work. That's only $21,500 a year :/ Then again, if you do get busy enough to do 6 cars a week at $150 each, you're doing good. That's $43200 a year, which would be very liveable granted you have a spouse that helps with bills, or you live alone.

Then again if you went solo for a dealer and did 2-3 hours per car (wash, polish, wax, interior cleaning, tires/dressing) $90 per car, 2-3 cars a day: $180-270 a day, very nice IMO.

Any independants on here willing to say what kind of customer base they see weekly or monthly? Not asking for financial figures unless you're willing to throw that information out there (not trying to break any rules or liability restrictions). However it would be nice to see some substantial evidence of what a part-time vs. full-time independant detailer makes. As well as dealer or per-customer number

[SeaJay's]

Honestly for the amount of work you put in at a dealership it's tough to justify the work for the pay. I would do dealerships on the side just to keep me busy when I wasn't busy with my own customers.

Also offering paint correction is where you will make decent money, but you have to put up the initial time to learn the techniques and buy the products/polishers.

You can definitely make money just cleaning/detailing but when you can offer paint correction it may make up for some of your slower or lower priced services.

Just my two cents. I only detail part time right now, but am looking into getting my own shop and starting it up full time.

[silverfox]

I think you have to see what the market will bare. Not everybody is going to get "higher end" clients that are willing to pay for professional show-car results. Most are folks with daily drivers that just want their cars taken care of without a lot of fuss or cost. The reality is that most of potential clients will fall into this category, so that means you have to detail a lot of cars to make it successful. How do you do that when you have no real customers to start with other than some friends or relatives who expect you to do it for a case of beer.

The economy sucks right now and starting any new business is very risky, especially in the auto industry. The successful detail businesses are usually ones that started long before the economy tanked, and they have established themselves already. Breaking into that market is going to be tough sledding.

I got into it a few years back by just doing my own cars, and having everybody drop their jaw when they noticed how great my cars always looked. I entered a few local car shows for kicks and got noticed that way too. Whenever you have a great looking car, its inevitable that people will ask you how (or who) keeps you car looking so good....that's your Que, your lead-in to get their business.

I went in just for the love of making cars looks good. I had a great paying job (and still do) so I never looked at it from a money standpoint. After a few months, I was detailing more and more cars for the "daily driver" type of owner...just enough to pay for the products and my time with a bit extra for the piggy bank. If I wanted to at this point I could probably quit my job and play around with detailing cars, but I will never make as much money doing that as I am now working as a data systems administrator for a college. I've save money over the years too.

I would love to detail cars to supplement my income when I finally retire. I'm 58 Y/O now, so it won't be that far off I hope. At that point, I could get by with detailing cars and living off Uncle Sam and my savings...but to detail cars as my only source of income...I could not do that, even with the good reputation I already have.

Having said all that...if I were to get really serious about this "hobby"...I would start a detail shop that specialized in detailing daily driver type cars...but with a fast turn around and base the business on quality and quantity...it doesn't have to be either-or. I'd have a very small staff of 1 or 2 people that really love cars, and knew how to handle machine polishes and machine polishing. I've seen people pay local car wash places $35-$40 for what would call a "joke" of a car wash. They really are doing more damage than good. For a few extra dollars $100-150 (depending on severity), I could do better and achieve spectacular results that would last 6 months. Hopefully in 6 months those customers would all come back. They tell their friends, and so on.

I've actually given this a bit of thought because I will retire some day and I'm not the kind to sit in a rocking chair. Good luck to all hobby detailers out their....and remember one thing...you MUST love what you are doing.

[Shade Tree]

As of today, I have owned 3 automotive detailing businesses since the age of 17. I am now 42, have worked with business partners and have also incorporated some of the above ideas into the last couple of shops I owned.

I did enter into the corporate world for a number of years and retired last year not wanting to deal with the stress or politics ........... and really wanting to do something for myself once more. So here I am ..... auto detailing with my third shop. Definitely a passion for me.

I'll throw in a couple of ideas that have also worked for me that I would suspect would be good for just about any detail business ........

1.) Check with a reputable body shop regarding clean up of customer's vehicles. This isn't going to pertain to the exterior of the car as much as it will the interior of the car. Body shops simply don't have the time to devote to properly cleaning the interior & will usually blow it out & vacuum along with cleaning the windows. There is always going to be body shop dust that was missed. I offered interior services (sometimes custom polishing to the exterior) to body shops who had customers they wanted to "keep happy" or had extenuating circumstances. With this idea you are providing a service to the shop as well as to a customer who will likely spread the word.

2.) Combine services or share space with another automotive type of business. In my case, I had shared space with an automotive upholstery shop. This shop mainly did custom & replacement OEM interior, convertible tops and vinyl work. Many times a customer would want each of our services. Splitting the cost of leased space is always a good idea & the added advertising potential is invaluable.

3.) Fleet services are a bread & butter income for the times when you may become slower. If you have a mobile unit & are able to secure a contract or two with a large fleet (UPS, FedEx, Roadway ... trucking companies are good for weekend work) then you could hire a couple of people to help wash the vehicles on the weekend. I pay help $10 per hour and will average 8 -10 hours per day working during a weekend. Weekends are great for this work as the trucks are typically not being used, are parked with easy access and will fetch the higher price of say $9 per wash. No windows and no drying required. Past crews I have hired would average 75 - 130 trucks per weekend.

Just some ideas for thought ............ .02

[FinalTouchAuto]

I detail to supplement my income and find this works the best for me.

I have a great M-F job and use detailing, which I love doing, as a source of extra money and it allows me to continue my hobby.

I only do full details (no wash/wax jobs) and do it about 3-4 days a month (about 1 car per weekend) and add about $1000 onto what I make during the week. Not a bad supplement for doing what I love doing 4 days a month.

I couldn't see getting enough clients right now to give up my job and still make a decent wage (40k+).

[David Fermani]

I have lots of people saying that the only way to really make money is to learn how to tint, pin stripe and #1 is get in with some dealer ships. Well, the dealer ships do seem like the way to go but how do you go about getting in with them?

Yes, the best way to making real money in detailing is doing work for dealerships. Why? Because they send you work 7 days a week and will keep giving you business as long as you offer competitive pricing, service and quality. You can either choose to be a one man mobile detailer busting your back until you can't get out of bed, or hire some trainable people and take on the dealers. With doing detailing by yourself your income is very limited, but with operating a brick and morter shop the potential is unlimited.

Not many of the dealercenteric detail shops I know do tinting and/or pinstripes. Dealers usually rely on people that cater specifically to these items because they can do them more efficiently. One thing to consider is dealer lot washing and protection services. They opportunities and their job descriptions intertwine easier with detailing. Many dealers have several hundred vehicles on their lot and need weekly washing. Yeah, they only pay $1-2, but add that up throughout the year and it's a good revenue stream.

Best thing to do is get your foor in the door and carefully analyze where your services could benefit the dealer. Each dealer account can produce work from each department. Used Cars, New Cars, Service Department, Body Shop and the Rental office all could have a need for detailing.

[MrHandWash]

Do most dealers let you use their washing supplies? Not really worried about detailing, considering your making a decent profit, but washing, it would be easy since they are all lot kept. It's just easy sediment being sprayed off and washed, then dried.

I just don't see your overhead in supplies washing cars for $1-2 making much money.

[Shade Tree]

That's the point of fleet services ........... it's all about volume with minimal overhead. In my case the crew would average 75 + trucks @ $9 per. Not bad with that being the low end of a full weekend.

Dealers may let you fill up with their water, but you're going to have to supply your own means to do the job the majority of the time.