Wash and wax side business?

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Garce421

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Hey guys, so I have a full time job already but I get a lot of comments at work about how clean and nice my truck always looks. I like to wash and wax and detail my truck and people joke about me cleaning their cars. So today I agreed to wash and wax my boss's wife's minivan. I only charged $40 and it took about an hour for a quick wash and wax with some good liquid wax.

Now I know $40 is cheap and pros charge hundreds and you get what you pay for, but I've had a bit of interest from people about just a quick wash and hand wax. I also said I would do it in their driveway using their water and they are fine with that. I use microfiber towels, foam applicators and a quality car shampoo. I also don't have the time or want/ need to do a full 4-6 hr detail in somebody's car tho I do have a shop vac for extra $$.

I'm mostly interested in a "client" who just wants an exterior hand wash and a wash and wax combo. Keep the job to about 1-2 hrs.

What would you guys pay for a hand wash and a hand wax. Like I said I did it for $40 today and the owner was pleased and I've had others say they would let me do it for $50 and a wash for $20. What do you think for a few quick bucks after work and on the weekends?
 

Pull Ya

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How do you wash? Do you use the 2 bucket method? What products do you use? If you do it in their driveway, does that mean you wash and wax in the sun? What about swirls and scratches? What do you use on the windows? How do you avoid water spots? Can you remove them? What do you use on wheels and tires? Do you charge the same for a VW as you do for a 1 ton crew cab? It really all depends on your "client's " expectations and understanding of what services you actually provide. Calling this a detail is really stretching the term IMHO.
Jay
 
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Garce421

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Right It's more of just a wash. I used a single bucket and a microfiber mitt. Too to bottom side to side wash method. I haven't had any swirls or scratches on my truck being careful with this method. I was using ice liquid wax that I use for my truck and either the spray detailed or spray wax on the wheels and windows. Like I said not going for full details with paint correction and a full day worth of work. I was planning on making two different prices for cars and trucks but getting a feel for how much. I try to schedule for early morning or later in the afternoon to wash in the shade it if people want their car washed in the sun that's fine. This is really an alternative to the commercial washes we have here that do 150 cars a day and swirl your car to hell and some guy uses an old towel to spray some Greasy junk all over you car to make it shine while you drive away with streaks all down the side.
 
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Garce421

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The majority of people in this area have low expectations of a "clean" car. I cringe every time I drive by one of those car washes because I would say less than 1% of cars that drive around here don't have water spots and swirls and the people don't really seem to care. As long as the dirt and sand is off and it looks "clean" and the tires are dressed they are happy
 

tipnitty

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I tell my coworkers that for $100 or $70 and a nice 12 pack of beer, I'll clean their car. That includes de-bugging the front of the car, cleaning the car, cleaning the wheels and wheel well, windows, interior wipe down and a vacuum. People think that's extreme and most of the time they say no. Take it to the self car wash in town and pay the kids there to wipe their car with the brush and send it through a non-touch less car wash. I cringe every time. But makes me laugh when the next day their car still doesn't look as good as my truck.
 

tncruiser

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you don't say where you live 'but I would be happy to pay 50 bux
im in e Tennessee and got a garden hose and a truck that needs washing and then a motor home
brianj
 
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Garce421

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Well I live in Texas but my wife's family is from Nashville I'll be there at the end of the month I'll do the truck and the motor home haha. Well I think I'll stick to $50-60 for wax and then probably $20 for a wash. Really a bottle of ice wax is about $17 and lasts a really long time if you do it right and apply a thin coat. Not sure how many but I've done probably a dozen wax jobs and haven't even used 1/3 of the bottle. Same with the soap for $9 I can get at least 50 washes out of it.
 

Pull Ya

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If it works for you and it works for you clients, i say go for it. You might raise your prices just a little to include maybe a 6 pack or even a 12 pack. LOL
Jay
 

autokraftgt

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the products are cheap for the most part.
Simply depends on how much your time is worth
from there, your customers will decide
 
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Garce421

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Did a little more digging. Was wanting to keep the "clients" to people I know or people around where I work and on base. Im in the military so I have quite a few people with who I work around. Do you think an operation like this would require a business license, insurance and a tax number? I'm going to ask tomorrow but since it's Sunday I don't know who would know the answer.
 

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Cash only! When you start using business cards and do a web site and register your name with the county/state then you might be have to pay sales tax and inventory tax etc. etc etc. Really gets to be a pain in the ass. I'd try to avoid that if you can. You might look into insurance just in case you have a problem with someone.
Jay
 
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Garce421

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Yea this is more of a beer money thing I'm thinking at most making $100-$200 a month. If I went thru all that making a business nonsense I'd end up making -$1000 a month probably haha so far this just pays for supplies for my hobby
 

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A lot of people have found that when a hobby turns into a job it's not as much fun.
Jay
 
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Garce421

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That's where the full time job comes into play. If it got to be too much I can just stop. Or taper down to a few of my buddies who don't like washing their cars and are satisfied with the job I do
 

Pull Ya

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Good luck! I hope things work out well. If your looking for a little light reading you might take a look at autopia. It is a worldwide professional detail site. I think they have a thread somewhere about starting a detail business and some of the things that others have experienced. It might have some interesting information that maybe useful to you.
Jay
 
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Garce421

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Thanks for the insight wanted to get most of my ducks in a row before I jumped in and there's some things I need to consider. I ordered some Optimum No Rinse wash and wax to use on my camper and my truck when I don't have access to a water supply for a hose I'll let everybody know how it works. Looks like a tool a lot of mobile detailers use to cut down on water costs.
 

xtr3me

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Here's a tip for detailing those customers vehicle interiors...
I basically use 4-5 different scents, if it's a female I usually go with ' Stripper Scent '. I buy the empty 1 oz spray bottles online (15¢), fill with scent and leave with the customer. Majority of them would call for repeat service when the scent ran out regardless of the condition of their vehicle. Most men prefer the leather or new car smell... Pina colada and watermelon are popular also...
 

THETANK

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I always scared people away with the reply "300.00 will cover it" My kind of OCD is this, 2009 GT500 with 2400 miles 219 coats of polish/wax/yada yada yada I really do not have the time or energy to do anyone else's vehicle and so are so dirty I would not even know where to begin.

In days past my car was cleaner going into the car wash than 99.99% coming out.
 
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