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Detailing

5K views 30 replies 13 participants last post by  Percy247 
#1 ·
Evening evening.
I was wondering if a few of you lovely folk would be interested in helping me out, with a little feedback re: detailing.
The idea is market research for a small business idea, flourishing from a passion.
For starters, is having your vehicle/s detailed something that interests you?
Is it something you do already?
How do you currently care for you vehicle/s? - mechanical car wash, jet wash, pay someone to hand wash it, wash it yourself, etc?
Do you use waxes/polishes/sealants etc?
How much would you expect to pay to have your vehicle/s detailed?
Is it a service you'd expect to be mobile?

Any feedback you have from previous experience would also be appreciated, or sply any relevant thoughts.
Thank you :)
 
#2 ·
I wash mine with hose, bucket every couple of weeks. I use the autoglym products to wax twice a year.
I enjoy doing it as its good exercise, so would not pay to have it done, however if I did, I would like a mobile service.
I have never used an auto car wash, or the do it yourself jet washes as I am lucky enough to have a hose and no water meter.
 
#4 ·
Hi Dave..
I know my mum and dad use a guy who comes round to their work and washes their cars.. He has his van with all he's gear in.. I think they pay around 15quid.. And he spends a good hour on the car.. I know they've used a few other people before who charge more and do it to half the standard. He really does a good job and the cars look like showroom cars after. I suppose that's the bet way because they will always use him now on a regular basis because of that.
I think that would be a good thing for you to do.. There's alot of people who don't wash their cars themselves and would pay the money for someone who will do a good job on the car.
Personally when my up! comes next week I think I'd rather have the satisfaction of doing it myself.. But we will see how long that lasts!! Lol
I would still prob use a service like this on the odd occasion due to my laziness! Lol
Hope that helps!
 
#5 ·
Dave, I am part of a very lazy family. There are 3 cars in our household and none of us wash the cars ourselves. Having run a petrol station for a number of years, I would never use a mechanical wash. We are surrounded here by old petrol stations & yards where they will hand wash the car for anything from £4 to £10 -- we pay £7 and for that the car is descended on by around 6 "operatives" who do a great job in a very short space of time. We generally get this done on average every couple of weeks.

I would certainly welcome a mobile person to detail the car. I currently go over mine in depth a couple of times a year, but generally can't be a%&ed and use it as thinking time. I spend a long time doing and think I am very picky.

I get confused by the polishes/wax/sealant thing and use a Meguiars product, just spray on and wipe off.

If someone who I knew, or was recommended, came round every 4 or 5 weeks I would gladly pay say £20/£22 but for that would expect the car cleaned inside and out and a good polishing (waxing?) and would expect it to take a couple of hours.

Hope this helps?
 
#6 ·
Davec86 said:
The idea is market research for a small business idea, flourishing from a passion.
These Belgian guys have done it : starting a detailing company
Wax-it Facebook page
Wax-it website (in dutch, but lots of pics)

You have to be passionate / obsessive about it, if you want to succeed.
It's labour intensive, so it's pricey, which means you'll have to deliver results that are beyond most people's abilities and/or expectations.


How do you currently care for you vehicle/s? - mechanical car wash, jet wash, pay someone to hand wash it, wash it yourself, etc?
I could tell you, but it'd likely make you cry or cringe ...


Usually DIY in under 5 minutes.
1 euro for foam. 1 to wash it off.

Mech car wash after winter so the salt on the undersides get washed off.

Do you use waxes/polishes/sealants etc?
Haven't even once used them in over 7 years .

Car was nanosealed when new, which seems to have helped to keep the paint in fair condition.


How much would you expect to pay to have your vehicle/s detailed?
The guys above are charging 520 euro + VAT for a "basic" detailing job on a new car.

Pricing page

Corrections, extra's and specific protection packages are extra, on top of the basic treatment (basisbehandeling)

"Lichte" = light, basic
"Uitgebreid" = extensive

"vanaf" is starting from ... usually means things get expensive quickly


Is it a service you'd expect to be mobile?
Can you do extreme detailing with a mobile unit ?
You don't control the dust out there, nor the lighting.
Edited by: _1S_
 
#9 ·
Wow, cheers for the responses guys.
It is a passion of mine, and I spend a lot of time on it, an have produced some good results, IMHO.

The mobile bit is a just an idea. Obviously the was an dry business is fine outside, but the rest can be tricky. One of the thoughts I had was essentially a pop up garage with lights, so as a basic idea, something like a gazebo complete with sides, using mobile flood lights if necessary. As I say, that's currently no more than an idea in it's simplest form.

Detailing does get expensive, quickly. However, as a start up business, I believe I'd be able to offer a basic package (pre wash, wash, dry, polish, seal, wax) for around £20-30 with optional extras like clay treatment, interior etc available at a small cost.
 
#10 ·
I usually spend a good 2 - 3 hours on mine. I use Autoglym stuff to clean it. I even clean the inside of the alloys, and the wheel arches. I clean inside all the doors, the body from A - C pillar, boot, the 5th door, fuel flap, and bonnet and engine bay, and I always use a tyre shine and full leather down on all those items. I do this at least once every 2 weeks. If I vacuum and clean the dash and windows, It can easily take 3 hours. I also do this on my other car, so It usually takes a full day, which can be about 8 hours, as my wife has a Citroen Berlingo and is a lot, lot, bigger. I usually try to wax both cars at least twice a year, and have bought an Autoglym Clay kit which I'm looking forward to.
I really enjoy cleaning my cars, which Is both every 2 weeks, one after the other, but lately it's been bloody cold with the wind we've been having. I can't wait for some decent weather!
Also my biggest bug bear is the way that water residue always turns white as it dries and can be a pig to shift. There is a water container that I've seen on the internet that eliminates this, but from what I can tell, it doesn't hold much water and wouldn't be of much use to me. I know it's a bit anal, but the result speak for themselves.
 
#12 ·
My car (whichhasn'teven arrived yet) is booked in for a full detail with one of the best detailer's in the UK and probably the best in N.I about 5 days after I pick it up.

I'm telling the dealer not to touch the car at all with any of their sponges or anything, then when it goes to get detailed he will be doing a fulldecontamination (this take off all iron flakes and dust that may have got on the car on the train from Germany to France? I think its France they go to) it will also take off all the nasty stuff that sea water does to the car.

He is then going to build up about 5 to 6 layers of his ownpersonalisedwax and wipe down the interior (he wont spray anything in the interior as it will remove the "new car smell" I felt that this was a very nice touch!)

He is also going to give my Schmidt TH lines a quick going over.

He will have the car for a few days to do his stuff which I reallydon'tmind because he does some amazing work!

So yeah if this helps at all? lol. For this he charges about £100 (the joys of having a small car haha)

Also I've started using his products to clean my current car (Land rover) I clean my car myself, It takes longer but I feel much better doing it myself, went to a hand car wash a couple of times and got swirls in the paint in basically every panel and it was hardly even clean! Ridiculous!


Hope this helps? haha
 
#13 ·
Cheers dude. Who is he, if you don't mind me asking? Or what products?
That seems a very good price for a few days work, although it should in theory be fairly easy, very good call though, and I certainly wish if thought of asking my dealers to leave my car be! Haha
 
#16 ·
I detoxed mine with dodo juice lime prime when I got it then applied a couple of coats of dodo juice light fantastic wax. 6 months on it only needs a gentle wash (dodo born to be mild shampo) and rinse to come up like new again, dirt just won't stick to this stuff.
 
#17 ·
Mine don't get treated that well unfortunately. They both work for a living and get washed most weeks with water, turtle wax shampoo and a sponge. After I've gone to work and back a couple of times (75 mile round trip) they are filthy again so it's not worth doing much else.

That said, the Take Up is a year old now and the rain has stopped 'bobbling', so it will be getting a polish soon. I'll be doing it myself though.
 
#18 ·
Davec86 said:
Cheers dude. Who is he, if you don't mind me asking? Or what products?
That seems a very good price for a few days work, although it should in theory be fairly easy, very good call though, and I certainly wish if thought of asking my dealers to leave my car be! Haha

He goes by the name OCD-NI (Orchard County Detailing)

His site:
http://www.ocd-ni.com/

His products:
http://www.orchard-autocare.com/

His facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/OCDni?ref=ts&fref=ts

Yeah mine is a good price because its an easy enough job, he quoted a friend of mine (red seat Ibiza) about £350 for a full paint renewal, polished, waxed and the rest of the works.

I live quite close to him so I can call round basically any time and get products, really handy! plus he is really friendly, I've talked away to him for hours haha
 
#21 ·
Ecksile said:
If someone who I knew, or was recommended, came round every 4 or 5 weeks I would gladly pay say £20/£22 but for that would expect the car cleaned inside and out and a good polishing (waxing?) and would expect it to take a couple of hours.

You clearly have no idea of the economics of running a small business.

Enlighten me please as to how a business with an £11 ph top line would translate into a viable enterprise when you take into account capital investment and ongoing running costs?

It is because of the gross misunderstanding of the economics of running a valeting/detailing business that so many people who start up these enterprises crash and burn within a very short space of time.




Edited by: VWXYZ
 
#22 ·
Davec86 said:
Wow, cheers for the responses guys.
It is a passion of mine, and I spend a lot of time on it, an have produced some good results, IMHO.

The mobile bit is a just an idea. Obviously the was an dry business is fine outside, but the rest can be tricky. One of the thoughts I had was essentially a pop up garage with lights, so as a basic idea, something like a gazebo complete with sides, using mobile flood lights if necessary. As I say, that's currently no more than an idea in it's simplest form.

Detailing does get expensive, quickly. However, as a start up business, I believe I'd be able to offer a basic package (pre wash, wash, dry, polish, seal, wax) for around £20-30 with optional extras like clay treatment, interior etc available at a small cost.

You are a zillion miles off base and clearly have no idea of what you are talking about.

How long do you think it would take to properly pre-wash, then wash a car followed by 3 stages of polish, seal and then wax?

You'd do that for as little as £20?

Stick to the day job is my advice.
 
#23 ·
_1S_ said:
Davec86 said:
That seems a very good price for a few days work
100 GBP for a few days of work ?
That's not a good price when you're running a business.

At last - an oasis of savvy in a desert of utter stupidity!

***

£100 for 3 days work! That would translate into about £50 net so call it £17/day.

I'd not trust my car to someone living under an arch subsisting on a diet of watery gruel and bin pickings.

This forum can be a hoot at times!




Edited by: VWXYZ
 
#24 ·
I know exactly what it takes, detailing is not new to me.
However, I am aware that these days people want more for their money, and it's important to provide people with a value for money service to build a customer base, as for me, that's the initial make or break of a business. Without a customer base, what is any business?

I would happily pre-wash, wash, dry, hand polish, seal and wax a car for around £30 as a start to build myself a reputation and a base.

That aside, it's no more than an idea. I appreciate constructive criticism, but your negativity isn't helpful.
 
#25 ·
VWXYZ said:
At last - an oasis of savvy in a desert of utter stupidity!

***

£100 for 3 days work! That would translate into about £50 net so call it £17/day.

I'd not trust my car to someone living under an arch living on a diet of watery gruel and bin pickings.

This forum can be a hoot at times!
You must be very bored today!

Why don't you go and check out some of his work before you make comments like that?

He charges £100-£150 for a 2 day job, he produces his own products which he will be selling online whilst he is doing car detailing work, he sells great numbers to auto shops and other people that are in the detailing business.
He obviously does alright for a living considering he has a large house, 2 garages, 3 cars, a wife and a couple of kids.

Your level of rudeness and lack of respect to someone who has created their own successful business appals me!

Learn some manners!
 
#26 ·
Davec86 said:
I know exactly what it takes, detailing is not new to me.
However, I am aware that these days people want more for their money, and it's important to provide people with a value for money service to build a customer base, as for me, that's the initial make or break of a business. Without a customer base, what is any business?

I would happily pre-wash, wash, dry, hand polish, seal and wax a car for around £30 as a start to build myself a reputation and a base.

That aside, it's no more than an idea. I appreciate constructive criticism, but your negativity isn't helpful.

Think of it not as negativity but as tough love.

I may save you a fortune without you even knowing it.

That service you quote there is under-priced by a factor of 3-4, ergo you are dead in the water before you even start.

You are also equating cheap with vfm. This is a fundamental mistake of many would-be business owners.

Building a customer base is not the make or break of a business. The make or break is the financial outcome of the business.

Re: reputation. yes, you would build a reputation but it may not be the one you think it would be.
 
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