Hi I'm thinking about setting up a mobile car valeting business I used to work for ford as a mechanic but when the cleaner was on holiday I had his job and did a good job at it,

I was just wondering if anybody's had experience with this type of business I know it's hard competition with all the hand car washes nower days I've done a business plan and worked out complete start up costs and how much work I need to do to break even every day, thiers slot of old and posh men round here into thier classic cars and i will try get contracts, I've also priced all my public liability and business insurances up so they shouldn't be too much of a problem I was just wondering if anyone on here had any advice with this being car enthusiasts cheers Chris

the rank english weather is what would concern me , say now for example 8am winter morning its to damp n cold to polish or wax a car without smears outside , when its not damp it will be raining or blazing sun

Its all about supply and demand. If theres no other mobile valeting compnays in you are local area then u should be okay but depending on how many will want yoyr services is a different matter. U say theres a few classics close to you theres now harm in asking the question to sew if they would allow you but that alone isn't gunna be enough to sustain a business

id see if you can rent a patch like the immigrants do , seems no end to the people that want a £5-15 car wash around here

build it up and let it get busy and you can pay some folk to do the work while you lord it about

Welli was thinking thiers theese people in the big tesco car parks who rent a large space to do stone chip repairs ect and they travel round all the local shops ect and put a gazebo up ect, but your right this time if year is the problem, my works pretty flexable and I can go down to part time to try build a customer base, I don't think a genorator or a pressure washer ect would bother me if it went bust because I'd use them anyway and thier not Maddie outlays, the thing is if I'm renting premises that's were I have to earn even more to break Even

I've looked round my area and I can find people about 30 miles north but thier is a hand car washin one of the further towns away which allways sceem busy but I'd like to offer other services drive way cleaning different levels of car cleaning ect

Edited 14 January, 201412 yr by Buxton

Road side lay-bys with big sighs ftw! Not sure if I'm aloud to wag cars on the side of the road

The majority of people that do this on detailing forum started of doing it at weekends built up a customer base then made the full switch. Loads of help on their for it

As with any business, the first year will either make or break you.

Do as much market research as possible before you bite the bullet and go for it. Look into any government or local council grants you could apply for.

Don't focus on just a specific market, the more target customers you have the better.

As mentioned the weather in this country would be a big factor, there is a valeting company near me that work out of an old petrol station, taking advantage of the large roof. Would be worth looking into something like that if you want to go to a larger scale.

Also to add with the keep your options big. I'm guessing you gunna have a pressure washer u would take around with you this stuff you can do with a pressure washer is unreal we have a bloke that cleans are bins and he basical just has a van with a decent pressure washer and generator and a big container of water and cleaning agents and he will cover the whole area washing peoples bins 1 every 2 weeks for £2 a time now I doesn't sound much but say my localy village as around 500/600 houses thats a £1000 just one day and all the villages and towns close by have there bins emptied on different days so you have the abilitie to make £5000 a week he will also wash bloke paving caraavs and the likes off.

Mattie I've written down that allready cleaning drives caravans ect ect I was thinking of fitting wipers battery's and bulbs ect but still unsure as my missus sais no one will pay to get thier car washed theese days with the economic climate ect but yet people still afford finance in this country to have a "nice new" car to out do thier mates/family/business partners

It would be quite hard to get up and going mate but what I would recommend is trying to do it at the wkend whilst keeping your full time job in the week. There's a site called British Valeters, you may need to apply to join then you can get on the forum. It's all self employed valeters discussing pricing, products etc.

I worked for a very large valeting company for a good five years, I worked at Audi and Mercedes then I was a team leader at a pre delivery inspection site where we'd valet 50-60 cars a day, I had to check the standards etc. I started thinking about doing private work and had a few hundred fliers made, I posted easily one hundred and only got one call but I valeted one car for them then they asked me back and I did three cars. I charged £40 each so I got £120 for a days work. It was really hard to get up off the ground so I didn't really pursue it too much more. I'd try and go for a full valet at somebodies house for £40-£50 if I were you opposed to doing loads of quick wash, leather vac jobs. I always liked to take my time and spend maybe four hrs on one car instead of having to do lots quickly

I'd love to get back into valeting but it's all self employed and sub contracted work, I need to apply for a mortgage soon and I know they won't look at you unless you've been self employed for 2+ years as I asked

There is a mobile jet wash guy that comes round my work every 2 weeks to do as many lorries as he can, get a pressure washer with good power though for that.

Do you know if his pressure washer is electric or petrol?

Have you thought about going more in depth to do detailing work? The market for that has increased year after year, and obviously with the right clients and reputation you can make a decent amount. I personally wouldnt let anyone wash my car other than myself or a reputable detailer for fear of them scratching it. Id imagine your potential customers sit into two sides

1. People who care about how their car is washed and its paintwork, as such they choose detailers.

2. People who just want it clean and therefore go to the cheapest place that does the job to a satisfactory standard.

I personally dont know anyone who sits in the middle, but they are most likely out there.

Have you any sales experience at all? The best thing you can do for any buisness is learn sales, you need to sell your product after all. The difference between a successful company and one that scrapes by/makes a loss, is in the selling and reputation of your services/products.You can have the best product in the world but if you cant sell it, you wont go anywhere.

Lastly, good luck! I hope you do well