Information needed please....

[Dan]

Over the past few months me and my brother have been talking about setting up a valeting/detailing business. Were both being made redundant in September so have been thinking about doing something we'll both enjoy.

I know its an extremely hard business to get into and be successful at and I know a lot of people will just think 'oh here's another member trying to be a detailer' but I'm serious about taking it further if there's potential for it.

My main concern at the moment is getting perspective clients and business with the ever increasing economy and prices.

Now I know I haven't done a great deal of details yet, but its something that I/we will be doing more of over the coming weeks. I am fully aware that I cant just jump in and say I have a business etc etc, but will more than likely do it part time until/if there is a demand for it. In my area there is only one other company that offers paint correction and a half decent detailing service so I think it could be quite successful in this area.

What I want to find out is if people are willing to pay for this kind of service and have their cars valeted and detailed.

I'm currently in talks with a company called Enterprise made simple about setting up and have help with this but need to know its going to go somewhere even if part time at first.

So please let me know if anyone would be interested, obviously pending examples of other work etc.

I just need as much info or helpful tips as possible.

[James]

Hey Dan,

The world of detailing is pretty harsh now to be honest, there is a hugggge amount of detailers, there is a couple of things i'd personally perfect before even looking any further into it;

Wet sanding;
Rotary Polishing;

They are the 2 hard bits about detailing, if you can learn how to do both then it's going to give you a good basis because you obviousley want yor first cars (show work) to be spot on. It's hard to get a car to that standard without using both methods. It's also then going to give you an edge over the people who don't do it for a living.

Secondlly, from experiance.. on here people won't and will waste your time. Hence why I only detail friends cars on here as favours more than anything. You might get some people intrested in valeting but to make a profit your going to need a good 1-2 details (machine wise) booked in every week. All pads, polish, cloths etc need to be taken into the equation but I am sure you have already thought about that lol

If you do go ahead with it i'd probally be tempted to have a word with a couple of the shops online and see if they can strike you a bargain or order direct from suppliers in bulk.

[Viper]

one thing i can see, dan, is that with people being short of money, and a lot of people being made redundant themselves, they may well be less inclined to get their car detailed.

just a thought for you

[Mr_X]

i wash my own car most of the time, but every so often i cant be arse or havent got time then i pay for a valet.
on average i used them once, twice a year.
I pay around £75 but that includes everything you can think of.
Oh also every time i go to sell my car i get it done.
i personally think that you could make quite a bit of cash from it, near where i live everyone has a Merc/bmw they would love this service.
What about at the local golf/country club (you would make a packet there dude, when theyre playing a round of golf).

I dont know what Middlesbrough is like, but down in surrey/sussex there is tons of middle/upper class peeps that would provide you with a lot of work.

Good luck with it mate, hope my ramble helps

[Predator_R32p]

i like to do it myself, plus ive got all the gear i need to fully detail a car, and also doing it yourself you know when your satisfied with the work and its to your standards if ya catch me drift

[Dan]

Originally Posted by James

Hey Dan,

The world of detailing is pretty harsh now to be honest, there is a hugggge amount of detailers, there is a couple of things i'd personally perfect before even looking any further into it;

Wet sanding;
Rotary Polishing;

They are the 2 hard bits about detailing, if you can learn how to do both then it's going to give you a good basis because you obviousley want yor first cars (show work) to be spot on. It's hard to get a car to that standard without using both methods. It's also then going to give you an edge over the people who don't do it for a living.

Secondlly, from experiance.. on here people won't and will waste your time. Hence why I only detail friends cars on here as favours more than anything. You might get some people intrested in valeting but to make a profit your going to need a good 1-2 details (machine wise) booked in every week. All pads, polish, cloths etc need to be taken into the equation but I am sure you have already thought about that lol

If you do go ahead with it i'd probally be tempted to have a word with a couple of the shops online and see if they can strike you a bargain or order direct from suppliers in bulk.

Yeah, just in the early stages at the moment really and seeing if its worth the effort.

I'm looking at buying a few scrap panels and buying a rotary to practice on to gain a bit of experience on that and wet sanding.

We have had quite a bit of interest from my brothers side of things on Cliosport as a few of the local lads want theirs doing and their mates also would like it doing so I know I'd have a starting block.

Another stumbling block is that the majority of folk havent a clue what detailing & paint correction are or even excist.

Originally Posted by Viper

one thing i can see, dan, is that with people being short of money, and a lot of people being made redundant themselves, they may well be less inclined to get their car detailed.

just a thought for you

Yeah I'm fully aware of that and the info I get from here will help me target the right people/area.

[Dan]

Originally Posted by Mr_X

i wash my own car most of the time, but every so often i cant be arse or havent got time then i pay for a valet.
on average i used them once, twice a year.
I pay around £75 but that includes everything you can think of.
Oh also every time i go to sell my car i get it done.
i personally think that you could make quite a bit of cash from it, near where i live everyone has a Merc/bmw they would love this service.
What about at the local golf/country club (you would make a packet there dude, when theyre playing a round of golf).

I dont know what Middlesbrough is like, but down in surrey/sussex there is tons of middle/upper class peeps that would provide you with a lot of work.

Good luck with it mate, hope my ramble helps

Some good ideas there matey, pre sale is an area/market I'd like to target quite a bit as I know people want there cars looking the best they can.

Quite near my house there's an area of 'upper class' folk who all have porsche's, mercs etc so they would also be targets lol

Originally Posted by Predator_VTR

i like to do it myself, plus ive got all the gear i need to fully detail a car, and also doing it yourself you know when your satisfied with the work and its to your standards if ya catch me drift

Yeah I understand a lot or most people on here like to DIY but the more info the better

[MikeCracknell]

If I lived closer I would!

All I can do mate is wish you all the best with it and hope it works out for you!

[Mr_X]

also not trying to sound patronising , but the peeps on here arent too likely to be your customers so just because they say they wouldn't pay shouldnt put you off.
there is a lot of people around near me who offer a similar service, even the window cleaner. but most of them are very cheap and have a very bad reputation, so although the market is saturated with the poorer quality service when/if you start up get a great rep, because word spreads. im sure your have no probs with that tho

enterprise? you mean the car rental company?
do you know what the initial outlay is?
Also on ebay awhile ago there was a mobile valet van for sale with all the kit etc

[Penn]

Theres a few places round here that do a full valet (wash, polish, interior washing etc etc) for about £25 which are really good.

Basically, it's 10 polish blokes who pile in and do it all super fast and get paid peanuts. Gonna be hard to compete with that imo.

Your only option is to go high end valeting for up market customers imo, but that's surely gonna be mega hard and need a hefty lump sum to get you going?

[Dan]

Originally Posted by Mr_X

also not trying to sound patronising , but the peeps on here arent too likely to be your customers so just because they say they wouldn't pay shouldnt put you off.
there is a lot of people around near me who offer a similar service, even the window cleaner. but most of them are very cheap and have a very bad reputation, so although the market is saturated with the poorer quality service when/if you start up get a great rep, because word spreads. im sure your have no probs with that tho

enterprise? you mean the car rental company?
do you know what the initial outlay is?
Also on ebay awhile ago there was a mobile valet van for sale with all the kit etc

Yeah word of mouth shouldnt be hard, just need our feet in the door first then we can take it from there.

No lol, the company is called Enterprise Made Simple. They are a company who help out with funding new business and help get you started.

Originally Posted by Penn

Theres a few places round here that do a full valet (wash, polish, interior washing etc etc) for about £25 which are really good.

Basically, it's 10 polish blokes who pile in and do it all super fast and get paid peanuts. Gonna be hard to compete with that imo.

Your only option is to go high end valeting for up market customers imo, but that's surely gonna be mega hard and need a hefty lump sum to get you going?

Thats the main problem, although this is good info as it helps determine who to target and which market to cater for.

[Mr_X]

Originally Posted by Penn

Theres a few places round here that do a full valet (wash, polish, interior washing etc etc) for about £25 which are really good.

Basically, it's 10 polish blokes who pile in and do it all super fast and get paid peanuts. Gonna be hard to compete with that imo.

Your only option is to go high end valeting for up market customers imo, but that's surely gonna be mega hard and need a hefty lump sum to get you going?

same as in most places, but theyre shit my friends dad had to get his 911 resprayed because they scratched the shit out of it.

[Dan]

One of the main problems is getting it into peoples heads that its not just a wash and polish and that paint correction is so much more.

Even the consultant cant seem to grasp this aspect of it lol

Having some good advertising will be a great help.

[Payney]

I'd get mine done quite alot depends on prices really, as half the time i cba to clean my car, and when i do i like to do the full works tbh.

[Luke]

It’s a good thought Dan, but like everyone says it’s hard to get into and I found that – especially trying to get business. We have done a LOT of advertising in terms of flyers, business cards and website – the one that has been most successful is the website – I get on average 2 – 3 calls a week and the flyers/cards just a few tbh.

Me personally though, I’m solely focusing on valeting for the time being whilst Jason (business partner) is more into detailing. That’s the way I’d go to start with Dan, it may seem the better option to get yourself ‘established’ as say a valeter and then work on detailing because whilst you are earning money doing cars you can be learning at the same time if that makes sense.

Like I say though, the website has paid off for me – my work can vary from week to week, but between us we are doing 7 cars a week on average which I don’t think is too bad and now I have passed my card around my new job with a good response rate back too.

I have a few contacts too if you are interested, just drop us a PM if you need anymore information.

Luke

[Dan]

Originally Posted by Luke

It’s a good thought Dan, but like everyone says it’s hard to get into and I found that – especially trying to get business. We have done a LOT of advertising in terms of flyers, business cards and website – the one that has been most successful is the website – I get on average 2 – 3 calls a week and the flyers/cards just a few tbh.

Me personally though, I’m solely focusing on valeting for the time being whilst Jason (business partner) is more into detailing. That’s the way I’d go to start with Dan, it may seem the better option to get yourself ‘established’ as say a valeter and then work on detailing because whilst you are earning money doing cars you can be learning at the same time if that makes sense.

Like I say though, the website has paid off for me – my work can vary from week to week, but between us we are doing 7 cars a week on average which I don’t think is too bad and now I have passed my card around my new job with a good response rate back too.

I have a few contacts too if you are interested, just drop us a PM if you need anymore information.

Luke

Yeah will do matey, any help would be appreciated and will all help.

[vidal]

Get in touch with all the owners clubs. this time of year there are many competitions for the concours sections. Also make sure you have a shed load of public liability insurance.

V.

[Luke]

That's one thing I forgot to mention in here lol.

As said in the PM Dan, Public Liability is a must - I paid roughly £360 for the year I think it was.

[Branter33]

Originally Posted by Dan

One of the main problems is getting it into peoples heads that its not just a wash and polish and that paint correction is so much more.

Even the consultant cant seem to grasp this aspect of it lol

Having some good advertising will be a great help.

The power of sight is what always gets me extra work.

What I mean by that is when you are doing just a basic clean, demonstrate something small (not time consuming) that you will get instant results on. I recently done this on an old classic merc which was recieving just an interior valet. When I had finished, I spoke to him for a while about the potential for further improving the appearance of the car. So I polished up the windows, inside and out and as the car has lots of chrome trim, I polished up a few bits. Showing him a few 50/50's and all the grime that it lifts off an already 'clean' surface. Needless to say he was extremely impressed and is looking to get a full detail later in the year.

People always like to think there getting something extra for free... so throw in something every time. Whither it be sealing the wheels, Polishing up the exhaust.. Or even throw in a wee sample of air freshener

Even with the 'Credit Crunch', the people you want to target for this service (middle/upper class...Professionals) are always going to have an expendable income. And so long as your giving showroom results people WILL come back. If someone gets a basic valet, go that wee bit more and they will very likely come back for a protection detail next time.

[Dan]

Cheers for the replies, all good info. Keep it coming