Ok, so being back to uni life is starting to hit hard at the finances... The part time job I have got is doing my head in, so have been thinking about what elese I could do for a few months. So heres where I would like some advice / if it would even be a starter... I was thinking about offering an 'at home' car cleaning service to the masses of the Old Holywood Road and surrounding areas / beyond. The idea would be, I would come with all the kit and good quality products, offer external for 7.50 and exterior/interior for 12.50. Or there abouts. Just requiring use of the outside tap. In the inital stages it would be by getting some flyers round the doors / talking to folk in the process. Question is what do you think the interest would be? Would you look at something like that or just throw it in the bin? Opnions please! If I could even clean 5 - 10 a week it would keep going rightly and doing something Im rather fond of. Fooking student life is a bollox!!!
Thinking about it from a completely "customer" point of view... If I received a leaflet through the door with a number to phone to have my car washed I'm not sure If I would make much use of it. However If I was aware that on a certain day someone would be in street / area doing this then to be honest at those prices I'd be more than happy to try it out and see what the results are like. Especially if the person seemed well mannered etc and didn't just arrive in a random car asking for the keys to mine for £12.50! Given that, I'd say weekends would be the most promising option and then you may be likely to get a few cars in the same area and maybe getting a T-Shirt or Fleece made up with some business type name on it might look the part too although that's an extra outlay for something that might not take off - then again I'm sure there's plenty of Autoglym etc etc T-shirts already available to buy for next to nothing that would provide the same look / impression / result. At the minute I rely on one of the local ex-petrol station valet places for £10: exterior wash, "proper" hand wax, windows polished inside and out, vacum inside (inc boot) and dash clean etc. I'm sure that wouldn't suit the purists but to me it's money well spent in saving me time and effort until I can do it myself. But as I say if someone knocked on my door when the car needed washed and they looked like they were responsible and knew what they were doing then I'd be likely to say Yes
I'd sooner stop at 1 of the numerous attended car washes that are appearing on every other street or large car park on the way home to be honest, but then again, I live in the back end of nowhere and the Terrano would get washed every 6-8 weeks, depending on how long it takes for the windows to become opaque... Others may be more open to the idea, but I wouldn't be a fan of having a stranger about the place, charging more for a service that is only a few quid and already so readily available each time I venture out, and I would imagine anyone that was looking a home valet would be more interested in a detailer to come out and spend time being pernickety about the job and doing the likes of a paint correction or something. Sorry to sound like I'm p!ssing on your parade; I'm just giving my own personal view on it. Another thing to consider would be insurance. Where do you go if you scratch a car, damage something, trip over a hose at someone's house etc etc? I'm not saying you'll damage a car, but someone could well try to blame you for such a thing. And as for the personal injury thing, where would you be with a broken arm/leg etc? It's a lot to consider... Good luck to you if you do go through with it though
These are some of the things that might make you think twice about starting I think, between insurance and keeping track of possible receipts / tax it might sound like a bit of a headache, although I'm sure there's plenty of people out there cutting grass, clearing gutters, cleaning wheelie bins and all the rest of it that don't bother worrying about the legalities and get away with it (that's not to say all of them, just some I am aware of). It's just whether you decide how much risk you want to take I suppose. I think Nicky has hit the nail on the head looking at it from a realist point of view for things to consider just.
I'm just going from personal experience after a so-called professional window cleaner tried to claim off the parents when he tripped on our patio many years ago. He tripped over HIS OWN bucket and tried getting £15k odd from them... Needless to say, he didn't get paid for cleaning the windows that day, he didn't get the claim he pushed so hard to get and he never even came down our road again to do anyone else's house
It works on the mainland but unfortunately I can't see it working here. Even if you are using top quality materials it doesn't make a difference to the people as about 5% of them will really notice a difference or know a difference between a safe wash technique and a bad one. The car washes popping up that many will drive past on the way home from their places of work will be less than half the price. They are around £3.50 now a wash and it will be 10 minutes but they also won't have foam and dirt over their patio or whatever or neighbours complaining about foam in the streets. Competition is a big factor and many foreigners are now doing car washes ridiculously cheap because they're likely not paying tax on it or else are just claiming at the same time and people will be more inclined to go to them because of the price especially atm with the current state of the market. Just my 2p but I have been going nearly 3 years learning and doing the odd car for people now and again and the amount of people that just don't see the value in a good wash is astonishing, a car is likely to be the second most valuable asset in your life at a time and the vast majority just don't seem to take much interest in caring for it to help keep its value and appearance for personal pleasure. Even if you do research and people say yeah I would be interested in that, many will say that they are interested as it is the easier answer to get you away if they are busy as if they say no you may as why not etc. But there are so many people that will say yes I would definitely be interested but when it comes to booking or going ahead when they think about it they will cancel. The amount of people I have provisionally book something or ask about something and then cancel is a joke! Sorry to write negative after negative but it's better to hear the negatives so that you don't start something you haven't fully thought through. But it could be a roaring success and word could spread and spread fast how do I know. If you do all the best with it and let us know how you get on. If you're a student you could always go about student areas however finding a tap would be impossible so you would need a van with a big water tank in it I guess.
It's just not a viable business I'm afraid. Your insurance costs are going to make it instantly non profitable for the sort of workload you are contemplating. Then again you might think ah can do without insurance etc but if you are doing something do it right. Biggest problem with the car care trade is alot of it is hobbiests living in fantasy lands playing at being a detailer, without taking the risk or the professional necessities. Just my 2p
I'd pay someone to clean my motor at the house provided they didn't swirl the fook out of it. Unfortunately thats probably not going to be guaranteed, particularly at under a tenner a go... so i DIY it.
Getting access to some peoples tap could be hard. I have 1 round the back of the house but car cant get anywhere near it. Id be willing to pay someone to wash mine
I'd be interested in it during the winter months as to be honest I can't be bothered to get all the gear out when it's cold and I wouldn't go near one of the polish or similar roadside setups. I would even be willing to take it somewhere local on a Saturday morning to have it washed correctly but unfortunately these places do not exist.
Thats interesting some folk may be keen... For those worring about swirls, I drive a black Meggy Sport... 1 its black 2 the paint is *****. (sort of like Honda but not quite as bad) So swirl combating has become but second nature. (and to be fair joe bloogs would think a swirl is a chocy bar.) I use a strick 2 bucket method with grit guards even for a quick wash. As to access, I own a 50m hose so back tap access wouldn't be an issue. The whole idea im huming a haing about. There have been some valid points listed above.
would you be doing it your car or a van? id expect a powerwasher witch then needs power aswell. so youd need a geni aswell.