How to approach businesses for waterless washes

Steadfast detailing said:
Keep in mind I'm also taking into account middle to high socioeconomic areas. So $70 is not unreasonable.

I don't want to approach dealerships because they will probably ask $3 per car or something like that.
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I hand wash dealer lots and charge $5 per vehicle (car, truck, SUV) . I wash, dry, and wipe down the wheels for $5 using the dealers water and my products -- No tire dressing
 
Steadfast detailing said:
I don't believe there's a law which forces me to disclose this. I plan on doing this right in car parks, private business parks, public spaces so I don't see how I could pitch it any other way other than a waterless wash as people will be asking how I plan on washing the car and wondering where I will be hooking up the water if I don't tell them outright that it's waterless.

I want to apply tyre dressing but not sure how to go about it. Do I just use a degreaser/APC and scrub it down and then use spray bottles of water to rinse it down a bit and then apply the dressing? Or should I forego it all together.
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This is the way I clean tires and wheels and dress tires when there is no water source --- Spray the whole wheel and tire with Optimum Power Clean at 3:1 dilution and wipe clean with a black microfiber. Then rinse with ONR in a sprayer and wipe dry with another black microfiber. Then dress the tires. If the wheels are not very dirty you can clean the wheels with Optimum Opti-Clean but still clean the tires first with Power Clean
 
Totally forgot about Opti-Clean. How does it compare with other waterless washes on the market?
 
Steadfast detailing said:
Totally forgot about Opti-Clean. How does it compare with other waterless washes on the market?
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Since Opti Clean does not come in a concentrate and only comes ready to use I only use it to clean black plastic trim and wheels. It works great for cleaning painted wheels and it hydrates the plastic trim. For waterless washes on the paint I use a concentrated product to save money. I usually use either Meguiars D114 Express Wash at 128:1 or Ultima Waterless Wash and pour a 1/2 oz into the Ultima 22oz bottle and shake
 
Real Riders said:
Since Opti Clean does not come in a concentrate and only comes ready to use I only use it to clean black plastic trim and wheels. It works great for cleaning painted wheels and it hydrates the plastic trim. For waterless washes on the paint I use a concentrated product to save money. I usually use either Meguiars D114 Express Wash at 128:1 or Ultima Waterless Wash and pour a 1/2 oz into the Ultima 22oz bottle and shake
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I can get Opti-Clean as a 3.8L concentrate that makes 15.2L for $62 whereas the ready to use 500mL bottle costs $17. I can't get Ultima in Australia though.
 
Steadfast detailing said:
I can get Opti-Clean as a 3.8L concentrate that makes 15.2L for $62 whereas the ready to use 500mL bottle costs $17. I can't get Ultima in Australia though.
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That is good you can get Opti Clean in a concentrate. Autogeek also sells Opti Clean in a concentrate . I thought they only sold it in ready to use
 
Steadfast detailing said:
I don't believe there's a law which forces me to disclose this. I plan on doing this right in car parks, private business parks, public spaces so I don't see how I could pitch it any other way other than a waterless wash as people will be asking how I plan on washing the car and wondering where I will be hooking up the water if I don't tell them outright that it's waterless.

I want to apply tyre dressing but not sure how to go about it. Do I just use a degreaser/APC and scrub it down and then use spray bottles of water to rinse it down a bit and then apply the dressing? Or should I forego it all together.
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I think it all depends on how dirty the wheels and tires actually are. Having a couple of sprayers (1 with a stronger solution, and 1 with a rinsing element) might be your best bet. I typically just use a little bit of my rinseless wash to clean the wheels/tires weekly as they never get a lot of gunk accumulated on them.

I wouldn't forego that step as it just adds a nice little cherry on top of the experience for the customer to leave a lasting impression. It sounds like you'll hit a decently high profit margin with these washes, so you want to pump as much value into them so you can get repeat business.
 
cleanmycorolla said:
ONR is horrible as a waterless wash, great rinseless but poop as a waterless. OP try Ultima Waterless, its a rinseless and waterless combo. And as far as approaching business, I usually talk to the people who are in charge of managing the office parks, they usually have the hot in as to where you can park on their property and such.
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Sorry for the side step op, but I can't understand how people are comfortable with using a Rinsless product on their paint when the product isn't good for a waterless. If it's not good at more concentrated forms, why is it better at less?
 
expdetailing said:
If it's not good at more concentrated forms, why is it better at less?
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As I see it, the overriding factor is the wet sloppy microfiber cloth or mitt that uses the lubricity of the rinseless solution to glide and catch dirt vs the thin layer of a more concentrated surfactant that protects the paint from a dry microfiber cloth.

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natewood70 said:
I wouldn't forego that step as it just adds a nice little cherry on top of the experience for the customer to leave a lasting impression. It sounds like you'll hit a decently high profit margin with these washes, so you want to pump as much value into them so you can get repeat business.
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Good idea. Nobody wants to come back to a clean car with dull looking tyres. Thanks.
 
We've always called it a "wash, wax, wheels and tires" and charged $40 for it in Hawaii. The stipulation was they had to have at least 4 cars for us to show up. I could knock one out in 20-25 minutes with a waterless wash and DA wax application. Are you just planning on washing them with no wax? If you are serious about making money with it, you should get a small inverter generator in the 2000W range, and a good vacuum with good attachments. Get some envelopes printed out with some business info and a place for them to write in their number plate (I lived in Sydney for two years so I learned some of your words haha) and give them some options like vacuuming or cleaning the interior windows. Develop one contact at a particular place of business and get them to ask coworkers about their interest in a scheduled and reoccurring visit from you. Give them some kind of incentive like half off and and if he can get 4 people interested, schedule a date and give that person some envelopes so you can show up, gather up the envelopes with the payment already inside, and do the cars. If they need interior stuff done, have them put their key in the envelope as well. It's obviously better to go as high as you can in the chain of command at the work place. You don't want the low guy on the totem pole getting yelled at for putting any time into arranging it while they should be working.
 
Waterless is usually a hard sale to a potential customer for me. I do only waterless and they're rarely interested without a lot of coaxing. I explain the process to them, and I tell them I wash my own vehicle with it. What's worked for me more than probably anything else is me busting out one of the towels I use and letting them feel it. Well that + me telling them how I use a clean new towel for every panel, or more often even if needed. I suggest getting the best towels you can afford. Most people feel my towels and are sold. I also tell new customers the 1st time if they don't absolutely love how their car looks, they don't have to pay me. I know this could back fire and they get a free detailing. But up until now I've never had a person complain, so knock on wood it's worked well for me. And I will say a lot of them are blown away because they are so hesitant. I have a lot of repeat customers.

I don't know what products you can get in AUS, but if you want a waterless+wax in 1, Chemical Guy's Ecosmart is excellent. 1:16 concentrate, which is pretty damn good for a waterless that has Carnuba in it.
 
kevincwelch said:
I don't know what the mentality of the average Australian is, but even for $51 US, the vast majority of the American public would flatly refuse to pay $51 for a full "wash and wax" and forget a waterless/rinseless wash, which the public probably doesn't even understand. "How can you wash my car without water? This sounds like a scam!"

Have you considered approaching car dealerships with the same goals in mind?
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$51 is the price of a case of beer there. $48 for a fifth of alcohol when it's on sale. Pack of cigarettes over $19. The average price of a new car is about $50k. The single level townhouse next to the one I lived in was a two bed room, about 1100 sq ft with a one car garage that didn't even have access from inside the townhouse sold at AUCTION for $675k. The average price to rent a ROOM in someone's house is about $300 a week. Getting the picture???
 
Also, i think dealerships are the worst place to approach for this kind of work. I've done quite a bit of marketing in the past approaching all types of businesses, and won't even bother with any dealerships anymore. They can hire guys specifically to do that kind of work for near minimum wage, and what they would be willing to pay is a waste of your time. It doesn't even matter how good of a job you do. They don't really care about that. They just need the dirt and dust off them, and they just get dirty again in a very short period from sitting outside.
 
AuroraDetailing said:
$51 is the price of a case of beer there. $48 for a fifth of alcohol when it's on sale. Pack of cigarettes over $19. The average price of a new car is about $50k. The single level townhouse next to the one I lived in was a two bed room, about 1100 sq ft with a one car garage that didn't even have access from inside the townhouse sold at AUCTION for $675k. The average price to rent a ROOM in someone's house is about $300 a week. Getting the picture???
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^ this. What state did you live in? Those prices are quite indicative of Sydney alone.

I would not dare approach a dealership for the exact reasons you've stated.
 
I lived right outside Sydney in Botany for about 2 years. Left in 2013 when the AUS dollar was more than US. The government there really loves extorting money from the public haha. I was seriously thinking of ways to anonymously destroy speed cameras. And they can #### off with their $100 parking tickets! I happen to do chewing tobacco and obviously had to quit since they don't sell it there, but some mates of my ex wife said they order it from Norway. So I ordered 10 cans which average about $4 a can in the US and paid $40 including shipping which was an awesome deal. Got a letter from customs a little while later saying i have to pay $84 customs duty for 5 cans. I thought it was weird they mentioned only 5 cans, but got another letter the next day for the other 5. Those bastards wanted me to pay $170 for $40 worth of tobacco. I just took it as a loss and let them keep it.
 
AuroraDetailing said:
I lived right outside Sydney in Botany for about 2 years. Left in 2013 when the AUS dollar was more than US. The government there really loves extorting money from the public haha. I was seriously thinking of ways to anonymously destroy speed cameras. And they can #### off with their $100 parking tickets! I happen to do chewing tobacco and obviously had to quit since they don't sell it there, but some mates of my ex wife said they order it from Norway. So I ordered 10 cans which average about $4 a can in the US and paid $40 including shipping which was an awesome deal. Got a letter from customs a little while later saying i have to pay $84 customs duty for 5 cans. I thought it was weird they mentioned only 5 cans, but got another letter the next day for the other 5. Those bastards wanted me to pay $170 for $40 worth of tobacco. I just took it as a loss and let them keep it.
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What do you think the odds are that the person who ended up with your cans didn't pay the duty on it.

Oh, and I don't know why people on a national (or international) forum talk prices. Unless you live in the area of the poster, you have little idea of what pricing is like there. The dynamics of costs in just the state of California make it hard to relate to someone in the next county (or city) over. And it's not just how prices are relative to housing or other things. It's just a whole different scenario.
 
ducksfan said:
What do you think the odds are that the person who ended up with your cans didn't pay the duty on it.
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Haha, I'm sure nobody was going to pay postage to send them back to Norway. I actually got one can because the company threw in a free can because i bought 10, and it shipped separately and somehow made it through customs. So i paid $40 for one can of dip haha.
 
ducksfan said:
Oh, and I don't know why people on a national (or international) forum talk prices. Unless you live in the area of the poster, you have little idea of what pricing is like there. The dynamics of costs in just the state of California make it hard to relate to someone in the next county (or city) over. And it's not just how prices are relative to housing or other things. It's just a whole different scenario.
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I didn't mention price in my OP for the same reasons, only when asked I relented and made sure to state that I'm talking Australian dollars. I understand that the cost of living is different everywhere.
 
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