Advice for standard cleaning?

MrHandWash

MrHandWash

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So, now that i have all my supplies layed out, I'm debating on what would be a good standard wash.

The highest wash price where I am from is actually where I work, here's a list of the services done through the touchless wash:

  • Interior fully vacuumed (trunk as well)
  • Rubber matts shampood and dried off
  • Pre-PSI wrinse with car shampoo
  • Diamond shine quick detailer (3 coat triple coat spray on wax)
  • Rim cleaner (sprayed on as it goes through)
  • Rain X (spray on coat as it goes through the wash)
  • Pre-wrinse again and blow dried
  • Then hand dried. Windows sprayed and cleaned
  • All jambs and trunk jambs wiped, as well as dash/center console/cup holders
  • White walls cleaned, rims hand cleaned, then armor all on tires
Total price after tax: $25

I'm offering:
  • Full interior vacuum, matts shampood
  • Pre-non PSI wrinse to ensure no abrasion to finish
  • Quick detailer meguiars foam cannon and 3 minute soak
  • Then hand-cleaned with foam application pad
  • Low Ph rim cleaner and then soft bristle brush rims while car is soaking
  • Wrinse with low PSI setting
  • Full microfiber hand-dried
  • Full interior wipe down, same as above (jambs/windows included & trunk)
  • Wheel wells soaked and brushed down, then hand-cleaned
  • Rims hand-cleaned as well, then buffed with polisher and protectant
  • Tires get application of hand wax to ensure no run off
  • Exhaust tips cleaned and metal plisher added if they're in good condition
So... basically I'm adding wheel wells, exhaust polish/wheel buff polish. I'm estimating this cleaning service to be about 45 minutes a piece. What else should I add to appeal to people?
-Engine cleaning/detailer to make housing look nice?
-They use a spray air freshner, I'd have a non-spray b/c they're corrosive.
-Standard seat shampoo/vacuum, or possibly quick leather conditioner added?

I know that my price will have to be probably $40 for this service.

Advice? or what's something your company adds that is not on a standard low end wash, or am I offering too much?
 
Well I can hand-dry a car, do all the jambs, wipe full interior, console/cup holders/dash and seats (sprayed and hand-wiped), spray and clean windows, hand clean rims (as long as they're not flaking or destroyed from lack of proper care), do white walls, and apply tires gloss, wip off exhaust and bug clean the front grill and side mirrors all in 10-20 minutes car/truck/SUV. I've been doing it 3 1/2 years and not ever had a complaint from 1 customer and I've done it at least a few thousand times.

At the wash I work at now, typically guys do 20-40 cars a day on a 8 hr 40 minute shift (solo). That's approximately 22 and-a- 1/2 minutes per vehicle if we are permitted to baby a nice car and dont feel like busting our balls. The worst is spring... 16-22 employees up front doing cleaning service on 1000 cars. It's horrible lol, pretty nice walking out with $150-200 a day in hand though, plus hourly.
 
Just remember a couple of really cruddy cars can throw off all of your time schedules. You may want to give yourself a little wiggle room. It sounds like a great package,do you blow the water out of the seams on the car ?
 
I'm offering:
  • Full interior vacuum, mats shampooed
  • Pre-non PSI rinse to ensure no abrasion to finish
  • Quick detail meguiars foam cannon and 3 minute soak
  • Then hand-cleaned with foam application pad
  • Low Ph rim cleaner and then soft bristle brush rims while car is soaking
  • Rinse with low PSI setting
  • Full microfiber hand-dried
  • Full interior wipe down, same as above (jambs/windows included & trunk)
  • Wheel wells soaked and brushed down, then hand-cleaned
  • Rims hand-cleaned as well, then buffed with polisher and protectant
  • Tires get application of hand wax to ensure no run off
  • Exhaust tips cleaned and metal polisher added if they're in good condition
So... basically I'm adding wheel wells, exhaust polish/wheel buff polish. I'm estimating this cleaning service to be about 45 minutes a piece. What else should I add to appeal to people?
-Engine cleaning/detail to make housing look nice?
-They use a spray air freshener, I'd have a non-spray b/c they're corrosive.
-Standard seat shampoo/vacuum, or possibly quick leather conditioner added?

I know that my price will have to be probably $40 for this service.

Advice? or what's something your company adds that is not on a standard low end wash, or am I offering too much?




That's a lot to offer & I agree with Mike, too much or maybe it's just the wording that makes it sound like more.

Everything you listed for YOUR services sounds good with the exception of the last few .....

I wouldn't buff/polish rims for anything less than $10 per. If you start throwing in "freebies" like that then you're opening yourself up to a customer potentially not being happy with the polish job & expecting a better finish etc. If this happened you would have created a headache type problem that you weren't being paid anything extra for in the first place.

Tires are hand waxed or the WHEELS/RIMS? No more than a tire dressing & drying of the rims should be offered with a hand wash service.

Again, exhaust tips should receive the same hand washing as the rest of the vehicle. Anything above & beyond should have an added charge. $5 might be an acceptable charge for tailpipe polishing.

This is what I offer for a hand wash service: $30 for cars / $40 for trucks & SUV


  • Thorough vacuuming of interior spaces inc. trunk area
  • Glass cleaned inside & out
  • Door jambs cleaned
  • Interior dash wiped down
  • Water gently blown out from exterior crevices (decreasing drips)
  • Tires & wheels cleaned & dressed
You don't want to compete with a car wash type of establishment. You're offering a higher quality service to a more educated clientele (that's why THEY sought YOU out, right?). Besides, a car wash is about volume & convenience. You're about quality & convenience (are you mobile?).

Offer a better service/product for a justified price. Don't feel like you have to offer more in your services in competing with a car wash .......... a customer is going to use the service he/she is most comfortable with regardless if you're throwing in the extras here & there. They're also going to take advantage of all the extras you're offering ...... as soon as you begin raising your prices to cover the added costs ...... do you think the majority of customers are going to stick around or go back to the car wash for the cheaper price & same service?

Feel free to take a look at the Services Menu on my site to get an idea of where I'm coming from.

Sorry, I'm long winded ....... (catching my breath) :xyxthumbs:
 
That sounds like a lot of work in a small amount of time.

I personally don't offer any sort of basic wash package like that because I don't find it to be worth it if you're mobile. If you are having people bring the cars to you then it could be an entirely different scenario.
 
Well, I am planning on being mobile so I can advertise and potentially work at dealers if a contract opportunity occurs.

-I would do crevice blow drying as well.
-I think I would offer the wheel polishing seperate, probably $5 per wheel as opposed to $10 though, not sure. Just would depend on the amount of applicator used after a set of 4 rims. Probably would have to do my own car or a couple friends to gauge the amount of product used vs. price cost analysis.
-I would do upcharge for polishing the exhausts.

i was thinking about having a standard car wash, then a bronze, gold, platinum, diamond, etc... kind of option set up.
 
MrHandWash said:
Well, I am planning on being mobile so I can advertise and potentially work at dealers if a contract opportunity occurs.

-I would do crevice blow drying as well.
-I think I would offer the wheel polishing seperate, probably $5 per wheel as opposed to $10 though, not sure. Just would depend on the amount of applicator used after a set of 4 rims. Probably would have to do my own car or a couple friends to gauge the amount of product used vs. price cost analysis.
-I would do upcharge for polishing the exhausts.

i was thinking about having a standard car wash, then a bronze, gold, platinum, diamond, etc... kind of option set up.
Click to expand...


It sounds like a typical car wash ............ do you really want to compete at that level?

$10 would be more of a thorough polishing as opposed to a quick "brightening". $5 sounds right ......

I would offer a straight hand wash, hand wash & spray wax, hand wash & wax ....... I wouldn't bother with anything more than that. With your experience in a high volume car wash you probably know better what a customer might go for and maybe not want. Capitalize on something the car wash doesn't offer, but there is an obvious customer base for.

My .02
 
For 40 bucks doing a package like that I feel like you wouldn't be making any money after gas, insurance, and chemical costs. It is going to take you a few minutes just to get set up to do that kinda of work, also you have to take into account the cost for soap, wheel cleaner, polish, sealants etc.

IMO you are better off offering a thorough wash and wheel cleaning with a quick interior vac and wipe down for that price. All the extras are upsales. I start at 35 for a maintenance wash and vac and that takes 40 minutes on its own.

Also you mentioned soaking in QD before washing and hand wax on tires? Is that a typo?
 
Man... if I were going to offer that much in such a short time, I'd have to have 2-3 guys attacking the car to get everything done!

I'd agree with the others' advice, here... maybe look at shrinking your offering down a bit to prevent yourself from rushing through jobs. Better to offer less services and do a better job of them than to offer more services and do a crappy job.

Make your reputation one of quality, not quantity, and you'll ultimately be more successful in this industry.
 
So, maybe upgrade my price for a premium wash with the wax... or go with a basic wash, then let the upgrades be optional for additional pricing?

Hand-wash (going to use a dual quick detailer for finish protection) hand-dry, interior wipe down, windows, rims hand-cleaned, tire gloss, air freshener, rubber/plastic matts hosed off and wiped down.
ADDITIONAL OPTIONS:
-Rims buffed and polished
-Exhaust polished
-Engine spray and detailer wipe down
-Seats shampood/conditioner
-Interior carpet shampood
-Full interior trim/vinyl cleaning and protectant added (includes doors, dash, door boards, foot guards) individual pieces are optional.


Still working on ideas. I think since I prefer to take my time, I would charge $10 per rim buffed, $5 for exhaust, $25-30 for engine detail, $20 a seat, $35 all carpets shampood, $50 for full interior (not including seats cleaned and conditioned) $10 for individual pieces of trim.

Sound better?
 
MrHandWash said:
So, maybe upgrade my price for a premium wash with the wax... or go with a basic wash, then let the upgrades be optional for additional pricing?

Hand-wash (going to use a dual quick detailer for finish protection) hand-dry, interior wipe down, windows, rims hand-cleaned, tire gloss, air freshener, rubber/plastic matts hosed off and wiped down.
ADDITIONAL OPTIONS:
-Rims buffed and polished
-Exhaust polished
-Engine spray and detailer wipe down
-Seats shampood/conditioner
-Interior carpet shampood
-Full interior trim/vinyl cleaning and protectant added (includes doors, dash, door boards, foot guards) individual pieces are optional.


Still working on ideas. I think since I prefer to take my time, I would charge $10 per rim buffed, $5 for exhaust, $25-30 for engine detail, $20 a seat, $35 all carpets shampood, $50 for full interior (not including seats cleaned and conditioned) $10 for individual pieces of trim.

Sound better?
Click to expand...

Yeah. Up the price and offer a top of the line wash as a base service. Everything you have listed would be deserving of the price.

Offer the extras up front upon inspecting the vehicle. You don't want to offer an "engine spray & detail" until you've seen what you're up against. That particular service may have repercussions depending on your area & regulations governing waste water runoff.

A customer is more apt to include one or two of the extras if you approach the sale as a "have you considered polishing the wheels at all?" or "I could have this looking better than new for just ...$" ........... approach the customer as a knowledgeable professional wanting to help the customer get the most for their money rather than just pitching a sale. This will see your 'add-on" services selling more times than not. :xyxthumbs:
 
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