Mobile wash and wax business.

**tuscarora dave** · 10-30-2011, 05:57 PM

I didn't want to further highjack MaxWax's swirl removal thread with my talk of restructuring things, possibly eliminating paint corrections from my services list all together. The last reply was this.

Originally Posted by ALLN1WASH

You know Dave, I actually did the same thing this year. Thursday-Saturday are strictly reserved for washes and washes&waxes with an occasional interior detail here and there. Monday-Wednesday are reserved for boats, and the occasional paint correction.

Yesterday alone I was able to (wash, vac, & wipe down) 13 vehicles at 40-50 dollars a pop. This is definately what rolls in my market...

I am thinking 1 ton Econoline or better yet Freightliner Sprinter, large water supply, pressure washer, of course my giant stainless steel coin op vacuum, a "five" of some good spray wax and some tire and interior protectants.

Who here has thoughts on this? Negative or positive let's hear them.

**silverfox** · 10-30-2011, 06:21 PM

I can't comment on the equipment you are considering but I agree that the real money is in wash-n-wax business. The fact if the matter is that an overwhelming majority of car owners want a nice clean car at an affordable price ($50) and don't care at all about paint corrections. Also with this economy it's even more true than ever before. A great spray wax at affordable price point is Meg's synthetic express spray wax. It's one of the most underrated products in this business. For high volume jobs it's perfect. A very little goes a long way. Can be used as a drying agent too so you can dry and wax in one step.

**tuscarora dave** · 10-30-2011, 06:23 PM

Thanks for the reply John. these are the kind of replies I was hoping to see in this thread.

**LuxuryMobile** · 10-30-2011, 07:23 PM

This is a topic that I am surprised does not get more attention.

A good amount of money can be made without ever touching paint corrections (not to say one shouldnt have the ability or knowledge to perform one)

I think it is a good idea, particularly if your area has a good market for it. Medical parks, attorney offices, parking garages. This is going to be for people that are looking for a budget "detail" anyways.

Detailing forums have really had an impact on what most guys think they need or want to do in order to make money cleaning cars. Forums are flooded with incredibly impressive paint corrections on top dollar cars. The truth is, clients who want and are willing to pay for these services are very difficult to acquire. However, clients who can easily fit a wash and wax in their budget or much easier to find. Wash/wax clients are almost always happy with these results and are not concerned at all with swirls, etc.

If you are good at marketing wash/wax jobs, this set up can be a great money maker, assuming you will have set prices and not an hourly rate.

My 2 cents...

**fredcandetail** · 10-30-2011, 07:36 PM

True, sorta, kinda, well maybe for you...Well I thinking was washing cars sux... Like really scrubbing tires and wheels and wells, roofs, all the bending over vacuuming... Before I ran my shop I did do the dirty work and simply washing is a pita and I would prefer paint corrections and 1-2 steppers over that anytime... I hear and have felt the pain in the faculties after a day of washing cars!

**ALLN1WASH** · 10-30-2011, 08:34 PM

[QUOTE=LuxuryMobile;561771]This is a topic that I am surprised does not get more attention.

A good amount of money can be made without ever touching paint corrections (not to say one shouldnt have the ability or knowledge to perform one)

I think it is a good idea, particularly if your area has a good market for it. Medical parks, attorney offices, parking garages. This is going to be for people that are looking for a budget "detail" anyways.

This is the exact situation that I am in. Bottom-line, in my area, there are far more people/clients only wanting a clean interior and "shinny" paint then there are people actually willing to pay for a full paint correction. Im actually fortunate in my situation being that i literally live in between two of the areas larger hospitals. on top of that there are several business parks here as well. and literally all it takes is one job in either of these places and you'll be booked every day...

on top of that Dave, Its much easier work and the all the risk that come with detailing are cut drastically. i also found that running my business like this, I am saving big bucks on supplies. Im not replacing pads regularly, nor is it necessary for me to keep up with all types of sand paper, compounds and polishes. Best of all, with running these type of services, I can literally take a buddy and train him in a weeks time...

all-n-all, if your market will support these services, you should definitely consider doing it, IMO.

**tuscarora dave** · 10-30-2011, 09:35 PM

Oh, I am definitely considering it. In fact I have been looking at vans on a regular basis. I also intend on marketing some of my mechanical skills as well so I have been looking into the right tool box for in that van once I do decide which one I will buy. The water tank is easy because there are tons of them for sale used and the new ones are not that big of an expense either. In my area there are no water recovery requirements that I am yet aware of and probably 98% of the market are after cheap and quick. The market that I currently cater to are somewhere in the middle of cheap and quick and high end.

It's not that the work is too hard, it's that the work is too long and when people bail out at the last minute and they often do, I lose the entire day's pay not to mention the time I took planning the days work. Doing washes/waxes at least if someone bailed there would likely still be money to earn that day. There's just too many reasons to do this over corrections.

The nice thing is that I am already great at doing corrections and it is an option from time to time.

Well thanks for your input guys. TD

**ALLN1WASH** · 10-30-2011, 09:50 PM

You know Dave, now that you mentioned mechanic skills, you actually made me think of a guy in my area who also offers oil changes. And that's all he does, wash/wax/interior details/oil changes.... AND HES ROLLING....

**Dugdug** · 10-30-2011, 09:50 PM

hmmm.... Laitly I have been getting a lot of people asking to partner up/ work with me. I turn them down, it's something I will do later but this sounds like a pretty good idea... bring along a guy and do a ton of wash/wax

**tuscarora dave** · 10-30-2011, 09:56 PM

Originally Posted by ALLN1WASH

You know Dave, now that you mentioned mechanic skills, you actually made me think of a guy in my area who also offers oil changes. And that's all he does, wash/wax/interior details/oil changes.... AND HES ROLLING....

Yeah and with the high cost of heating there are more and more folks buying the drain oil burners for their commercial facilities such as salvage yards and auto repair establishments and it's getting easier and easier to get rid of the waste oil from doing oil changes. I've put some thought into that as well.