specific questions about starting a side car cleaning company.

[powerpunk5000]

ok, first off I'm 18 and work 30+ hours at my job and i hate it tbh. I'm in the process of getting my certificate for personal training. I love cars its one of my passions. I would love to have a steady or decent amounts of clients built up in the sumer so i could quite my job spend time on focusing on getting my certificate and spending time with my family. So i want to start a business in detailing with one of my friends or alone. I want to target average joes nothing high end, but i do have experience refinishing paint. wars, clay, compound, wax, steam cleaning ext. I also have some experience tinting but am no wear near the point wear i could charge money for it. So what i have at my disposal is a vr2500 briggs pressure washer a generator i could barrow from my father cheap buffers and a 6 cyl chevy truck and my friend has a doge mini van. So our main questions are what we need to hook the pressure washer up to a tank. Will a need a pump and how powerful will the pump have to be? also intend of buying a expensive tank is it possible to buy like a storage tub at walmart 50 gallons or so and make that work as our tank, and if so how should that be done? those are our main obstacles we are facing right now. We want to be mobile but not spend a huge amount of money.

[hernandez.art13]

Sorry I took so long, I went to go get a sandwich

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKBnJAmoE0w]Joe Fernandez-- High end detailing, detailing for the affluent! - YouTube[/video]

^ Check this video out

[Flash Gordon]

ok, first off I'm 18 and work 30+ hours at my job and i hate it tbh. I'm in the process of getting my certificate for personal training. I love cars its one of my passions. I would love to have a steady or decent amounts of clients built up in the sumer so i could quite my job spend time on focusing on getting my certificate and spending time with my family. So i want to start a business in detailing with one of my friends or alone. I want to target average joes nothing high end, but i do have experience refinishing paint. wars, clay, compound, wax, steam cleaning ext. I also have some experience tinting but am no wear near the point wear i could charge money for it. So what i have at my disposal is a vr2500 briggs pressure washer a generator i could barrow from my father cheap buffers and a 6 cyl chevy truck and my friend has a doge mini van. So our main questions are what we need to hook the pressure washer up to a tank. Will a need a pump and how powerful will the pump have to be? also intend of buying a expensive tank is it possible to buy like a storage tub at walmart 50 gallons or so and make that work as our tank, and if so how should that be done? those are our main obstacles we are facing right now. We want to be mobile but not spend a huge amount of money.

If I were you I would focus on getting more clients then tying up all your money on a Rig. Use your customers water/electricity. If using $2 worth of electricity causes them concern you are better off without them. Stay away from people who only want car washes too

I've found people who take care of their bodies typically take decent care of their cars. You should maybe hit up people at your gym. Maybe even ask if you could leave biz cards somewhere? Personal Training/Physical Therapy is a very smart business to be in. Get out of this one as soon as you can. I wouldn't want a biz partner in this either. One will give more then the other

[rolop6]

There are tons of other treads here on those subjects. Just do a little reaserch.

[spiralout462]

If I were you I would focus on getting more clients then tying up all your money on a Rig. Use your customers water/electricity. If using $2 worth of electricity causes them concern you are better off without them. Stay away from people who only want car washes too

I've found people who take care of their bodies typically take decent care of their cars. You should maybe hit up people at your gym. Maybe even ask if you could leave biz cards somewhere? Personal Training/Physical Therapy is a very smart business to be in. Get out of this one as soon as you can. I wouldn't want a biz partner in this either. One will give more then the other

Interesting observation! Makes sense to me.

[Flash Gordon]

Interesting observation! Makes sense to me.

It's nothing scientific. Just my observation

[thebamboo23]

so is your target audience "average joes?" or are you saying you dont want to do high end work?

because not many "average joes" will fork out more than $20 for a wash.

but if you want do do high-end, quality work, then the "average joes" wont pay for it.. at least ime.

Quality volume will be a nice way. If you and your friend are hard working individuals, and study up on business, 2 guys can run a mid volume operations.

Charge a huge SUV $200 for an AIO and finish it in 3.5 hours (only clean the face of wheels, no polishing on roof, no removal of deep scratches) that will average to ~$57 an hour. just a thought.

Mike finished an SUV in 4 hours: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-phillips.html

[DaVinciAutoSpa]

Do more research. You'll be better for it in the long run as opposed to us spoon-feeding you and you still not really knowing. Then try things on your own.

First thing is to find out how 'involved' you want this to get. Is it weekends only? A lot of people want details the day they call. What will you do if you are working? Wait until the weekend or your off-day? Things to consider.

Prices. What will you charge?

Equipment. What do you need? Chemicals, polishes, compounds, cleaners, clay bar, tire dressing, adhesive remover, leather conditioner, pads, clay lubricant, window cleaner, waxes, metal polish, micro fiber towels, etc. etc.

I'd pass on the water tank. You really don't need it. Use Optimum No Rinse and 5 gal. buckets. (And that means you wont need the pressure washer either).

Keep us informed of how you're doing.

[powerpunk5000]

i want to get into personal training asap, but this would be a great summer job. me and my friend both get off at noon everyday because of our jobs and for the most part are off weekends. if we were able to get up to the level that we could quite our jobs we would. i probably make a little over $350 every two weeks, after taxes. so if i could get anywhere near that level id be happy. but i know it would take time. we are trying different prices based off of competition in the area. we would like to be fully mobile just because it seems unprofessional to use the customer electric/ hose, and we are worried about if we advertise we come to you if they'd except use to use there utilities. these are some of the prices we are thinking about using and what they include .



*All Clients over 10 miles from our current location please add a $15 surcharge

BRONZE

Cars $25
SUV/Vans $35
Large Vehicle* $40
100% Hand wash and dry
Clean interior glass & mirrors
Thorough interior vacuuming (floor mats, carpet, trunk, and seats)
Wipe-down of each door panel, dash, instrument panel, cup holder, interior plastics
Wheel & tire detail plus door-jams




SILVER
cars $30
SUV $40
larger $45
cludes Bronze Package
Spray wax for a showroom shine
Cup holder and dashboard detail.

GOLD
car$60
SUV $80
larger$90

includes silver package
application of tire dressing, trim, bumper
machine wax and buff.


and if we buy a hot water carpet extractor we plan to have a premium option that will include that.


there is a competitor thats mobile that is offering this sale


$39 for a 60-minute Express auto detail (up to a $125 value)

Hand wash and dry with cleaning of wheels, wheel wells, and tires
Vacuum interior, ashtray, and trunk
Spray wax that leaves surfaces shiny and protected for about one month

[powerpunk5000]

If I were you I would focus on getting more clients then tying up all your money on a Rig. Use your customers water/electricity. If using $2 worth of electricity causes them concern you are better off without them. Stay away from people who only want car washes too

I've found people who take care of their bodies typically take decent care of their cars. You should maybe hit up people at your gym. Maybe even ask if you could leave biz cards somewhere? Personal Training/Physical Therapy is a very smart business to be in. Get out of this one as soon as you can. I wouldn't want a biz partner in this either. One will give more then the other

i quoted my prices below