Anyone here get and read industry mags? To keep it short, you should.
The January issue isn`t on the web page yet, so I will just type out some of the more interesting points.
These are the abridged results of a national survey of the detailing/car wash industry from Auto Laundry News:
Percentage Of Detail Business Done By Season By Region
Pacific
18% Winter
26% Spring
36% Summer
20% Fall
Mountain
17% Winter
29% Spring
28% Summer
26% Fall
Midwest
15% Winter
25% Spring
34% Summer
26% Fall
Central
13% Winter
32% Spring
34% Summer
21% Fall
South Central
20% Winter
32% Spring
31% Summer
17% Fall
Southeast
26% Winter
24% Spring
30% Summer
20% Fall
Mid-Atlantic
14% Winter
28% Spring
33% Summer
25% Fall
New England
08% Winter
45% Spring
27% Summer
20% Fall
* * * * *
Operator Profile
57% Freestanding Detail Shop
09% Mobile Detailing
18% Full-Service Conveyor Car Wash
10% Exterior-Only Car Wash
08% Self-Serve Car Wash
01% In-Bay Automatic
04% Oil Change
01% Gas Station
01% C-Store
02% Auto Dealership
* * * * *
Income Compared to Last Year
48% 2007 Income more than in 2006
35% Income the same
17% Income less
* * * * *
Average Time Required to Complete Standard Detail Package
4.8 Hours - Freestanding
3.9 Hours - Car Wash Combo
4.3 Hours - Mobile Service
5.5 Hours - Other Combo (look under Operator Profile)
* * * * *
(I found this the most interesting given the often discussed in this forum)
Detail Service Prices
Charge from a fixed-price menu
- 51%
Charge according to per-car estimate
- 49%
* * * * *
Average Number of Cars Detailed Annually
Freestanding 1,070
Car Wash Combo 2,118
Mobile Service 418
* * * * *
Customer Profile
74% Retail
23% Auto Dealers
1% Taxi/Limo
2% Other (fleets, wholesale, etc.)
Retail Vehicle Profile
19% - New (under 1 yr. old)
32% - 1 to 2 years old
33% - 3 to 5 years old
18% - 5+ years old
* * * * *
For those looking to start your detail business... READ THIS!
OPERATING COSTS AS PERCENTAGE OF REVENUE
11.0% - Rent
4.7% - Equipment/supplies/maintenance
4.3% - Chemicals
38.8% - LABOR
4.3% - Utilities
3.4% - Advertising & Promotion
3.9% - Insurance
1.0% - Customer Claims
* * * * *
Average Monthly Gross Income
$12,080 Freestanding
$13,013 Car Wash Combo
$8,000 Mobile Service
Average Wage Per Hour Per Employee
6% Minimum wage
24% Min to $8.00
32% $8.00 to 10.00
38% Over $10.00
* * * * *
Average Package Prices
Retail
Complete Interior/Exterior Detail
$185.86 Freestanding
$175.06 Car Wash Combo
$209.14 Mobile Service
Exterior Detail Only
$115.73 Freestanding
$087.81 Car Wash Combo
$116.43 Mobile Service
Wholesale
Complete Interior/Exterior Detail
$129.60 Freestanding
$125.50 Car Wash Combo
*Not Avail*
Exterior Detail Only
$88.82 Freestanding
$64.17 Car Wash Combo
*Not Avail*
Mobile detailers do not do wholesale work? :nixweiss
* * * * *
A LA CARTE SERVICES (Average Price)
Hand Wax $68.29
Machine Wax $113.32
Carpet Shampoo $49.32
Upholstery Cleaning $52.39
Dress Interior $34.17
Dress Exterior $18.16
Deodorizing $64.83
Paint Touch-up $44.60
PDR $98.33
Windshield Repair $54.29
Upholstery Prot. $50.33
Paint Sealant $127.90
Rustproofing $193.00
Engine Cleaning $47.89
Window Tinting $174.33
Pinstriping $74.00
Lots of great info in here. I already used to set my 2008 goals. I guess the question on a lot of this is... are you average or below average? Sure, I have some curiosities how they came upon some numbers and stats and how accurate they are to each region. I just figured this would be useful to ALL THOSE posts we get in the Professional forum about "Starting Up A Detail Business... HELP!" This took a really long time to type.
- T :work:
