About to get myself int a garage but have questions.

[Cvisinho]

Ok I will be renting the garage space at a local well reputable auto body/collision place.At first when i saw the ad i didnt knwo what it was then i explained to him what i would be doing in the space and he was more than happy. They have been sending all there cars out to get detailed and they dont like the time and travel involved with that so pretty much i would be getting there business and he also said that the used car dealership and another shop send there cars out to te same guy and feel the same way about the travel etc.

Now the questions.



What do you dealership/autobody detailers charge them??? Flat rates/discounted etc?



Has or Does it effect your current clientel?



Are they more demanding as far as turnaround time?



What is the typical work they ask to get done?



What products do you use?, Different that normal people clientel?



I think thats about it for now. Please chime in if you have any further info.

I currently just detail on weekends and have ben doing so for around 4 years so i think it might be a good time to jump into a garage and do this full time. I figured the cars i get from the shop/small dealership will be a good constant and all of my other customers and potential customers wont have to wait for a weekend opening when im not booked anymore. I have also had to pass on some good multiple car accounts in the past because i only do weekends.

Thanks for any info in advance. :xyxthumbs

[Cvisinho]

wow, 22 views and nothing :nono

[Kanchou]

i lurk `professional` but i aint no pro or in my own business.



i`m sure there`s many like me in here adding to the view count.

[3Dog]

List "EVERY" expense you have...ie. products, equipment, rent, utilities, liability insurance, workmans comp, business tax, time you work on everything i.e. detailing, bookkeeping etc. Based on monthly.

Now, what kind of pay do you want?

Divide all expenses by 30 ( 30 days a month of work) There you have what you need to make a day.

If you do 2 cars a day for 120.00, my guess would be you will go backwards fast.

[Cvisinho]

Well the rent includes utilities and is a pretty reasonable price. Supplys will probably run me $75-100 a month, I already have alot of stuff and buffers, my main cost is going to be a commercial grade extractor and maybe some flourecent lighting.

I am still mainly concerned with the cost i should be charging the collision company and the dealership. Also the area, it isnt really near a neighborhood, its kind of on the line of 2 cities where there is a mall closeby and some small businesses and the appts that are in the area arent that nice(low cost). But as far as customers word of mouth and business car distributing has worked fine for me. Obviously I will be able to advertise more now Though.

[doged]

“They have been sending all there cars out to get detailed and they dont like the time and travel involved�.



Time & Travel equals money, that’s what they don’t like it.



“What do you dealership/autobody detailers charge them�??? “Flat rates/discounted etc�?

Generalizing about dealerships, maybe 60% less then what you would receive normally.



“Has or Does it effect your current clientele�?

I don’t service dealerships so it doesn’t effect my clientele. It would effect my business if I worked twice as hard and made half the profit.



“Are they more demanding as far as turnaround time�?

Picky, and most want to be billed. That means you will be back in 30 days asking for your money.

Please remember I am “generalizing about the wholesale market�. There are good paying dealerships, you just have to find them. If you really want to have some fun politely ask, what there monthly budget is for detailing and how many vehicles? They do know!!! If they tell you, ask if it would be fair to add those numbers to a contract. Also state payment information in the contract, when and how they pay?

[Spilchy]

I`m no pro, but from what I`ve read here, most, if not all, stay away from this type of business - body shop / dealership. They`re not fun to work with and expect the moon for pennies on the dollar. They want cheap, cheap, cheap and fast.



If you`re setup to bang out multiple, quick, 1 step cleaner wax jobs on a daily basis for significantly less money per car, then you`ll be happy.



3Dog is correct, you have to add up all your monthly expenses - startup equipment expense, rent, accountant, possible legal fees, liability insurance, workers comp insurance, taxes, employee salaries, materials, advertising, miscellaneous expenses, etc... and multiply that by 12 and then divide by 52 to find your weekly cost. You`ll have to NET that each week to break even and anything left is your salary unless you factor how much you want to earn per year and add that into your weekly expenses.



If you want to gross $50k a year for yourself, you`ll have to bill $961.53 a week in addition to billing enough to cover all the other expenses mentioned.



Doged is correct - you can wait net 30 days to be paid. Get everyhting in writing and try to get paid on a weekly basis or better yet, due upon receipt payments.



But, if you can get that steady work along with your own private clients (that you can charge more for) than you can do well for yourself. I guess the one good thing about dealership / body shop work is that it can be steady, especially if business is slow from your private client group.



Thinking out loud - You can try to setup a retainer fee with the body shop and dealership. A set fee each month regardless of the number of cars. You can either be bombarded and lose money or have just a few cars and make a nice bundle. Definately think out your options and payment schedules.



Good luck.

[Super]

hmmm get a good tax accountant, get a hold of the Small Business Administration in your area they can help you and its free, that and the Chamber of Commerce They can help you on counseling, business training, startup kit

There is a link to Small Business Administration http://www.sba.gov/ Good luck have fun

[Flexin]

To find out how picky they are just ask what they expect. I do some dealer work and some are good and some are ok. One that we have give us cars off and on. Only about 30% of them are really bad. The rest don`t need a whole lot of work. Plus he gives us time to do it. The truck we had the other day he gave us a couple of days on it. Now some dealers want it back before you leave. They can be a pain in the butt. I would rather have all retail but for now thats not possible. I`ll take all I can get at the moment. Also I only have one dealer that likes to pay at the end of each month. The rest pay up pretty quick. Talk to them about price. Don`t go cheaper then you are willing to go. If they want it too cheap then walk. I had one guy call me asking me to clean a car but he wanted it cheaper for this one. I said I would look at it if I had time. I told him the rock bottom price I would do it for that day. He wanted it lower then that. He didn`t get a call from me. I don`t have time to play games. They will want it cheaper then your retail but don`t go to cheap. You will regret it in the end.



James

[Cvisinho]

Well i went down to the facility today and talked to the gentleman, he was pretty cool. He said the guy that was there before was absolutely horrible at cleaning cars and thats when they started sending the cars out and thats the reason thew guy left. He also mentioned the 4 other body shops/dealerships that used to send there business over there most likely will do it again if they have someone who knows what there doing cleaning the cars. He also guaranteed me 5-10 cars a week of his and he mentioned the other places used to send over about 4-8 cars a week. There is also an auto auction lot across the street that wants someone to detail there cars before a sale. So im my eyes that is a pretty decent base of business. And he said I can charge him what is neccesarry for the work but he would like a break because of the volume he would be giving me. The garage is a double deep and it has all hook ups and outlets needed as well as plenty of flourecent lighting on the walls and ceiling and a heated indoor wash bay outside. The only thing he reccomended is i learn how to do some light sanding with one of his guys, just incase its needed. Hence an added cost. I think it seems like a good deal I just need insurance.

[Super]

insurance

Joseph D. Walters Insurance Agency, Inc.

Phone: 1-800-878-3808

http://www.dcs1.com/jwalters

[MorBid]

well I have worked for a few contractors in my day (and I`m no pro detailer) but from what they told me when I asked "how do you know how much to charge" they always said to charge twice your cost.



They said if they start at that and get worked down, they will at least make what it cost them to do the job.



You also need to know what the market price is for your type of buisneed in your area.



You know who you could ask Anthony O, I think he runs his own business

[Cvisinho]

Thanks Guys, Im actually going over there today or tomorrow to detail one of his customers cars. All he kept mentioning was that the last guy was terrible etc etc, so i told him to let me do one and ill prove to you im not terrible because he doesent know me from the bum down the road so for all he knows I could be terrible like the last guy.

[Cvisinho]

What have you guys been using as far as swirl removal. Something quick and easy to apply and remove. I was thinking of just using Optimum, it seems pretty flexible with aggresiveness.

[MichaelM]

List "EVERY" expense you have...ie. products, equipment, rent, utilities, liability insurance, workmans comp, business tax, time you work on everything i.e. detailing, bookkeeping etc. Based on monthly.

Now, what kind of pay do you want?

Divide all expenses by 30 ( 30 days a month of work) There you have what you need to make a day.

If you do 2 cars a day for 120.00, my guess would be you will go backwards fast.

That is good stuff but to be more cautious I would use a number smaller then 30. You won`t ever work 30 days in a month and if you do you`ll soon be looking for ways out. I use 24 working days per month in my calculations.