Dealer wipe downs for $1 per car?

oh and the previous detailer left their window decals on the cars and after seeing the aftermath i said screw it ... they can take credit for that work!
 
Thanks for the follow-up Fred.

Lesson learned.
And you have a loyal crew!

Bob
 
Thanks for the update sounds like it was brutal. I am sore from just reading it. Sounds like your crew are troopers.
 
Loyal employees but I'd put in a double shift at McDonalds 7 days a week over that.

Sent from my EVO using AG Online
 
That's called tripping over a dollar to get a dime. Dont give up on high quality work just to make revenue.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online
 
Thanks for the follow-up to this venture Fred.


Can a few of our regulars remember this thread s every time someone comes to the forum asking if a similar business venture is a good idea we can send them to this thread?


That would be a big help.


By the way Fred, I edited your follow-up post to make it more family friendly. You can tell where I made changes as they are in blue text.

AutogeekOnline caters to a very wide and diverse age range especially with all our TV exposure in the past and more into the future.


Thanks for the follow-up and thanks for understanding...


:)
 
I understand that when there is a need, someone is going to step in to fill that need. But it's "painful" to think of all those cars that are being subjected to dirty towels, and the inevitable damage to the paint, over and over again.
 
JASCIN said:
I understand that when there is a need, someone is going to step in to fill that need. But it's "painful" to think of all those cars that are being subjected to dirty towels, and the inevitable damage to the paint, over and over again.
Click to expand...


The masses don't know the difference between a squirrel and a swirl so it won't bother them.

The difference between a swirl and squirrel



For clarification...

This is a Squirrel
ScottsVetteScratch011.jpg



These are Swirls
CobwebSwirls001.jpg







If they do care, then by chance maybe they will find their way to AGO and we can help them undo the damage caused by the dealerships.

The "people" that own these dealerships don't rate very high on the respect scale with me. In fact, most of the owners of dealerships that I've met and seen thier cars the finish on them usually looks the same as the cars they sell.


:dunno:
 
It's a sad thing that dealers can feel comfortable with that.

When I bought my car a few years back it was of the show floor. I went in during work hours and told the guy I wanted to come back and pick it up later that evening. I got there and it was still on the floor so they had it taken out and "washed" as soon as I arrived.

At the time all I knew of washing cars was a single bucket, heavy suds and a wash mitt then dry with a chamois. I assume what they did was even more crude.

Didn't notice all the swirls until about a week later, but with the help of this forum I am able to recognize now the reason for those swirls.

I'll be performing my second detail (had to do wife's first) as soon as I get some time but it sucks to see what these vehicles are put through.

I can understand the detailer needing to make money, but I can't understand the dealer being so cheap. A $1 wash equals a fraction of a percentage of the sale, even at $10 to take proper care in the wash is still an extreme fraction of that percentage.

Just goes to show morals aren't what I would expect in a customer driven industry. Though the squirrel/swirl comparison is true, a few years ago it (swirls) meant nothing to me, and I'm sure with 90% of car buyers it doesn't either.
 
When I used to work at the dealership there was a detail company that came in. They offered the dealership $100 per used car, $50 per new car. The deal was, the cost would cover an initial detail (wash/wax/vac/windows/tires), and they would come back bi-weekly and wash the car for free until it sold. Seems like a decent deal for both.

I think today this could be done with something like permanon? Initial detail with permanon, then spray offs every 2 weeks?
 
jrs1418 said:
When I used to work at the dealership there was a detail company that came in. They offered the dealership $100 per used car, $50 per new car. The deal was, the cost would cover an initial detail (wash/wax/vac/windows/tires), and they would come back bi-weekly and wash the car for free until it sold. Seems like a decent deal for both.

I think today this could be done with something like permanon? Initial detail with permanon, then spray offs every 2 weeks?
Click to expand...

Please explain your math on the above

A Litre of Permanon is $227

Mixed at 5% concentration, 50ml yields 32oz.

Not sure the math makes sense
 
jrs1418 said:
When I used to work at the dealership there was a detail company that came in. They offered the dealership $100 per used car, $50 per new car. The deal was, the cost would cover an initial detail (wash/wax/vac/windows/tires), and they would come back bi-weekly and wash the car for free until it sold. Seems like a decent deal for both.

I think today this could be done with something like permanon? Initial detail with permanon, then spray offs every 2 weeks?
Click to expand...

Oh my, this seems like a recipe to get burned badly. Not all cars are equal, sprucing up a brand new car and detailing a 9 year old trashed Yukon XL are two entirely different things!

I recommend no one EVER get into a deal like this. Keep your detailing and your fleet washing separate.
 
jrs1418 said:
When I used to work at the dealership there was a detail company that came in. They offered the dealership $100 per used car, $50 per new car. The deal was, the cost would cover an initial detail (wash/wax/vac/windows/tires), and they would come back bi-weekly and wash the car for free until it sold. Seems like a decent deal for both.

I think today this could be done with something like permanon? Initial detail with permanon, then spray offs every 2 weeks?
Click to expand...

Wash until it sold? Sometimes a car can be there for 2+ years. It's rare but possible.
 
One of those deals that after the 4th-5th car you start second guessing yourself.
Be cautious.





VP Mark said:
Oh my, this seems like a recipe to get burned badly. Not all cars are equal, sprucing up a brand new car and detailing a 9 year old trashed Yukon XL are two entirely different things!

I recommend no one EVER get into a deal like this. Keep your detailing and your fleet washing separate.
Click to expand...
 
VP Mark said:
Oh my, this seems like a recipe to get burned badly. Not all cars are equal, sprucing up a brand new car and detailing a 9 year old trashed Yukon XL are two entirely different things!

I recommend no one EVER get into a deal like this. Keep your detailing and your fleet washing separate.
Click to expand...

I agree.. but the "detail" on used cars is nothing but a wash, one step (if needed) with a vac, quick shampoo (if needed), windows, wipedown, tires.

And new would be a spay off/wipedown until its sold, then it'll get a vac, windows, wipedown, tire shine and wax.believe it or not some dealers dont even wax their new cars when theyre sold.

As far as "until its sold", dealerships operate on budget called a floor plan. This is their cost of inventory.. they sell cars.. they get cars. Yes you may have a car there for a while, but the rotation can be more than enough. And if theyre not selling a used car it goes to auction.. most dealerships ive worked in had no more than a 180 day policy for selling off used cars that dont sell. But maybe some of the smaller used only lots may keep cars around longer, I'm not sure about those. Anyways you can always put a limit on how old.

I agree this could be a risk, but on the subject of $1 per car or something I figured I'd bring this up. This could be a backdoor way for you to get in and charge more money. It could be $200 per car.. whatever you think you can get in your market and from the dealership.

And no, this is NOT what i do, or plan to do.
 
GM GENTS!
to add further insight for what it's worth, I was directly hired by a "make ready services" company that we'll leave anonymous.
From the sounds of it they had a prearranged agreement with the dealer that included getting new cars sold and detailed and probably somehow threw in the lot wipe downs.
I was hired by them and not the dealer and thinking back I wonder had I gone directly to the dealer if I'd gotten more or less understanding of the correct wash process had I gone to the GM....
Based on Mike's message I suspect they could care less.
 
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