I want to start a simple car wash service

[dixxy]

Hello,

I'm looking to earn some cash over the summer as i want to start a software development course in September and i feel providing a simple car wash service will help pay for it.

My idea is to offer a very cheap service because my aim is to try and earn £25 - £50 daily if possible. At first i was thinking about offering an exterior wash (the usual), and polish/clean out the interior for £5. So i more or less want to target 5-10 customers a day, spending upto an hour cleaning per car.

I know it's hard work for a little money but i'm willing to work as hard as i need to be able to pay for my college courses.

I'm here because i wondered if anyone can share some advice on the best way of doing this. I was thinking about creating leaflets and posting them around my local area, i would also be travelling to the customers house to provide the service as long as they live close.

I live in the southwest (Bristol) so if there is anyone on these forums who can give me any advice or point me in the right direction (maybe you have a car business and need a cheap cleaner? :|) then please shoot me a PM!

Thank you

 

[SusanP]

I have a son at college and he did something similar. I suggest you target companies with car parks as there are dozens of cars sitting there all day and it would be convenient for their owners to have their cars cleaned without any inconvenience to them at all.

A lot of companies have a charity that they support, so I suggest you increase your price by £1 and tell the company that you will give £1 a car washed to the company's favourite charity. The company will promote the service to its staff then, knowing the charity will benefit and staff may decide to have their car washed merely for the charity connection.

Best thing to do is to ask everyone you know (including your friends' mums and dads) whether they work in a company with a car park, does their company have a charity they favour and ask the name of the person you should contact. You can then go to the company saying 'So-and-so suggested I called you ....'; you'll have a much easier job than approaching people cold.

 

[sanjiv]

I think it's a good idea however £5 is a bit low. I know my parents pay £12 (in Leicester) to get their cars cleaned inside and out. Maybe try and undercut the people who run proper car wash's but not by that much.

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

If your goal is not to progress this further then why start it ? You can get £50 from a full time employment ?

 

[Jerry D]

Hello,

I'm looking to earn some cash over the summer as i want to start a software development course in September and i feel providing a simple car wash service will help pay for it.

My idea is to offer a very cheap service because my aim is to try and earn £25 - £50 daily if possible. At first i was thinking about offering an exterior wash (the usual), and polish/clean out the interior for £5. So i more or less want to target 5-10 customers a day, spending upto an hour cleaning per car.

I know it's hard work for a little money but i'm willing to work as hard as i need to be able to pay for my college courses.

I'm here because i wondered if anyone can share some advice on the best way of doing this. I was thinking about creating leaflets and posting them around my local area, i would also be travelling to the customers house to provide the service as long as they live close.

I live in the southwest (Bristol) so if there is anyone on these forums who can give me any advice or point me in the right direction (maybe you have a car business and need a cheap cleaner? :|) then please shoot me a PM!

Thank you

Hello I will first by saying a great way to make some extra cash. I set one up years ago I got contracts with taxi companys in the end I was running a car wash business with a daily turnover of £250. The only problem I think now is the polish etc They charge a low price and have 10 people working on one car so they do it cheaper and get the car washed faster for less.

 

[sanjiv]

For just the summer, it will be difficult for him to find a job and also the car wash can be run whenever he wants, maybe you can get some friends to do it with you too.

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

For just the summer, it will be difficult for him to find a job and also the car wash can be run whenever he wants, maybe you can get some friends to do it with you too.

Buying a pressure washer, steam cleaner and the lot of chemicals and solutions that are used is in my opinion not a summer business.

 

[SneakSMS]

Buying a pressure washer, steam cleaner and the lot of chemicals and solutions that are used is in my opinion not a summer business.

Don't need a pressure washer to wash cars

 

[sanjiv]

You need soap, hose pipe, sponge, bucket and one of those leather things to dry the car. You must have a hoover you can use and spray and cloth at home anyway but that doesn't cost much.

 

[dixxy]

I have a son at college and he did something similar. I suggest you target companies with car parks as there are dozens of cars sitting there all day and it would be convenient for their owners to have their cars cleaned without any inconvenience to them at all.

A lot of companies have a charity that they support, so I suggest you increase your price by £1 and tell the company that you will give £1 a car washed to the company's favourite charity. The company will promote the service to its staff then, knowing the charity will benefit and staff may decide to have their car washed merely for the charity connection.

Best thing to do is to ask everyone you know (including your friends' mums and dads) whether they work in a company with a car park, does their company have a charity they favour and ask the name of the person you should contact. You can then go to the company saying 'So-and-so suggested I called you ....'; you'll have a much easier job than approaching people cold.

Thank you so much for the good advice!

I think it's a good idea however £5 is a bit low. I know my parents pay £12 (in Leicester) to get their cars cleaned inside and out. Maybe try and undercut the people who run proper car wash's but not by that much.

£5 is a little low however i was thinking about offering the service to family and friends first to see how things go and then maybe higher the price when i have regular customers. Thanks

If your goal is not to progress this further then why start it ? You can get £50 from a full time employment ?

I never said i wouldn't progress with this further i said it will be used to pay for my college courses, of course if i'm earning a decent income from providing the service after summer there's no reason why i wouldn't carry on. Thank you.

Hello I will first by saying a great way to make some extra cash. I set one up years ago I got contracts with taxi companys in the end I was running a car wash business with a daily turnover of £250. The only problem I think now is the polish etc They charge a low price and have 10 people working on one car so they do it cheaper and get the car washed faster for less.

That's a good idea with the contracts thanks. Fortunately for me there aren't many well established car wash services around my area and the small ones there are are only ran by a couple of people who charge a lot more.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[Hodgson111]

Sounds like a good plan and i hope it goes well for you!
There are a few local car wash places near me which always seem to be busy even in winter!

 

[Gaskell]

Good Luck!


I have a mobile valeting business with fully self-sufficient vehicles carrying own water & electric supply. It is costly at first for all the equipment, but once you have it, it starts earning for you. I'm just finding my feet with it at the moment, I've spent a fair bit on advertising. You need to get your name out there & prices etc, quick

 

[ARCHWAY VALETING]

dont forget u should get insurance too my friend !

 

[stevon]

Good luck young man.

Just go around industrial estates - you'll soon earn £50!

We turn over hundreds a day, but we have a good few pressure washers, our own premises, a van on the road and all the rest of the equipment - chemicals, brushes, lances, etc. which is expensive to buy initially. Then the time you convert the disused garage, get the signs made up, advertise etc. you're talking about more money than you're probably wanting to shell out. A bucket and spounge job for a fiver is decent. I'd say invest in some decent alloy chemical - people only really care about there alloys for some mad reason! Autoglym stuff is nice and easy to pick up but its a bit expensive, but at least you don't have to buy a barrell of the stuff!

If you're wanting to make a good go of it, get yourself a petrol power washer (£200 out of Makro), a water tank (eBay) - at least 250ltrs and try and get a wee van on the road if possible. Total start up? Less than a grand if you play your cards right. Plus you can sell the lot when you've done with it.

I know a bloke that does it with this set up and does well out of it.

 

[brucedixon]

You also learn the startup costs of each, as well as the equipment needed, the administrative tasks involved in daily operations, the personnel needed to staff your business, and what it's like to run a car wash on a day-to-day basis. We also help you find innovative ways to promote your business so you've got a line of cars just waiting to get in, plus how to write a business plan to put you on the road to success.Their marketing is also clear, simple and cheap. They’ve had a couple of large posters made up and stuck them on the fence surrounding the car park which faces the main road. These posters carry the simple.However you won’t need much capital to start your own car wash. If you can manage to secure a cheap location or pay a per car or percentage of profits for it then you should be able to start out for less than £100, maybe even for free if you already own adequate car cleaning equipment. Given the low start-up costs, there’s potential to start and run several car washing businesses if you wish to grow the earnings.