I Bought the Volume Business - Help Refine My Process/Products

A

ahheck01

New member
First of all, a huge thank you to all who have lent your wisdom and advice on considering the purchase of my competitor's detailing business/equipment/dealer accounts. He ended up accepting a remarkably reasonable offer I made, and I'll be starting at 60 cars a month between my brother and I, with room to ramp up just with existing accounts if we can handle the volume.



That said, I don't care to continue spraying grease all over the interiors, and leaving bare paint after a quick buff with a rotary. The dealers are satisfied, but if I can at least take a step closer to doing it "right" without significantly impacting margins, I'm going to do it.



And I need your help. The volume business is fairly unfamiliar territory.



I'll sketch out the process and products here in the first post, and edit as I receive recommendations and suggestions. The idea is to do each job as fast as possible, as cheaply as possible, with the best-looking end result possible, while not risking my company's reputation on shoddy work or shady practices.





The one-person-per-car Process:



Step 1: Wash & Dry Exterior 25-30min

- Cover Sensitive Electrical Stuff [Equipment: Plastic Sacks + Rubber Bands]

- Spray Degreaser on everything [Equipment: Spray Bottle + Degreaser]

- Pressure Wash from a distance [Equipment: Pressure Washer]

- Remove Sacks

- Shut Engine Bay

- Spray Wheel/Tire Cleaner [Equipment: Squirt Bottle + Wheel/Tire Cleaner]

- Spray Pre-Wash to strip LSPs [Equipment: Squirt Bottle? Foam Cannon? + Citrus Degreaser?]

- Agitate Wheels/Tires/Wheel Wells [Equipment: Wheel/Tire/Wheel Well Brushes]

- Power Wash Exterior [Equipment: Pressure Washer]

- Quick One-Bucket Hand Wash [Equipment: Lambswool Mitt + Wash Bucket + Grit Guard + Wash Soap]

- Pressure Wash Exterior to Rinse [Equipment: Pressure Washer]

- Open Doors, Trunk, Gas Cap and Power Wash Door Jambs [Equipment: Pressure Washer]

- Squeegee water off exterior [Equipment: California Water Blade]

- Wipe down Jambs & Around Gas Cap [Equipment: Soft Cotton Towel]

- Blow out remaining water in Engine Compartment [Equipment: Air Compressor + Blower Attachment]

- Blow out remaining water from paint and trim and dab dry [Equipment: Air Compressor + blower attachment + WWMF towel]



Step 2: Tackle the Interior 45-60min

- Remove Any Loose Objects from Interior (including floor mats)

- Adjust Seats to highest position

- Quickly Vacuum the big/obvious Stuff [Equipment: Wet/Dry Vac]

- If needed, Clean Headliner [Equipment: Air Compressor + Tornador + Cleaner?]

- Blow Out Sand/Dirt/etc from Cracks, crevices, vents, under seats, etc. [Equipment: Air Compressor + blower attachment]

- Thoroughly Vacuum carpets, seats, etc. [Equipment: Wet/Dry Vac]

- Extract or Steam Carpets & Floor Mats(as necessary) [Equipment: Steamer or Extractor + Extension Cord + MF Towel + Carpet Shampoo]

- Clean gunk/grime off everything [Equipment: All Purpose Cleaner (diluted) + Spray Bottle + Microfiber Towel + Steamer (as needed) + Magic Eraser (as needed)]

- (If needed) Set Car outside with Ozone Machine [Equipment: Ozone Machine + Extension Cord]

- Clean Interior Glass [Equipment: Glass Cleaner + Spray Bottle + Lint-Free Towel]

- Dress Interior [Equipment: Interior Dressing + Spray Bottle + MF Towel]



Step 3: Paint Correction (if needed/requested) 0-60min

- Clay Bar (or faster alternative?) [Equipment: Spray Bottle + Clay Lube + Clay + MF Towel]

- Compound (as necessary) [Equipment: Rotary + Backing Plate + Cutting Pad + Compound + Compound Dispenser + Extension Cord + MF Towel]

- Blow off Dust [Equipment: Air Compressor + Blower Attachment + MF Towel]

- Polish/Seal [Equipment: DA + Backing Plate + Polishing Pad + AIO Polish + Polish Dispenser + Extension Cord + MF Towel]



Step 4: Finishing Details 15-20min

- Dress Engine Bay [Equipment: Spray Bottle + Engine Bay Dressing + MF Towel]

- Dress Tires & Trim [Equipment: Spray Bottle + Tire/Trim Dressing + MF Towel]

- Dress Rubber on Door Seals and in Door Jambs [Equipment: Rubber Dressing + Spray Bottle + MF Towel]

- Clean Exterior Glass [Equipment: Glass Cleaner + Spray Bottle + Lint-Free Towel]



Step 5: Final Inspection 5min

- Drive Out Into Sun or Light Bay (if Cloudy)

- Inspect Windows & Mirrors inside and out

- Inspect In Between & Under Seats

- Inspect in inside doors, glove compartment, pouches on back of seats, center console, etc. (open everything)

- Inspect for dripping water (especially side mirrors & trunk)

- Inspect for any compound/polish/AIO residue

- Inspect evenness of dressing on tires, trim, and interior

- Inspect for any smells remaining

- Put Floor mats in Trunk

- Place protective paper in wheel wells [Equipment: Those big paper things]



Total Time: 1.5-3hrs





Equipment Needed (in order of appearance) (Need recommendations for product and source):

Plastic Sacks: From Hy-Vee

Rubber Bands: Generic from Office Supply Store

Spray Bottles:

Engine Bay Degreaser

Pressure Washer: Currently Own One (Need to get specs)

Wheel/Tire Cleaner:

Foam Cannon:

Citrus Degreaser (for car prewash)

Wheel/Tire/Wheel Well Brushes

Lambswool Mitt

Wash Bucket

Grit Guard

Wash Soap

Water Blade

Cotton Towel

Air Compressor: Currently Own Craftsman 25 gal 2stg Oil-Free 1.6hp

Blower Attachment: Own one

WWMF Towel

Wet/Dry Vac: Currently Own Craftsman 6.5hp, 20gal

Tornador: Currently Own one (Need to find out which)

Tordador Cleaner

Steamer

Extractor: Currently Own Thermax DV-12

Extension Cord

MF Towel

Carpet Shampoo

APC

Magic Eraser

Ozone Machine: Currently Own One (Need to find out which)

Glass Cleaner

Lint Free Towel

Interior Dressing

Clay Lube

Clay

Rotary: Currently Own Dewalt DW849

Rotary Backing Plate

Rotary Cuttting Pad

Compound

Compound Dispenser

DA

DA Backing Plate

DA Polishing Pad

AIO Polish

Engine Bay Dressing

Tire/Trim Dressing

Rubber Dressing

Paper Things: Currently own a box of a couple hundred
 
Give Beth a call at 800-543-7156, ask her to send you a set of the laminated wall charts

One is for General Detailing, the other for new car prep.

These may not be as per your process, however they are a proven process, step by step.

If you don't wish to use them, no big deal, but they will provide a water proof, big chart for walking an employee through a used vehicle reconditioning.

You got nothing to lose.
 
Ron Ketcham said:
Give Beth a call at 800-543-7156, ask her to send you a set of the laminated wall charts

One is for General Detailing, the other for new car prep.

These may not be as per your process, however they are a proven process, step by step.

If you don't wish to use them, no big deal, but they will provide a water proof, big chart for walking an employee through a used vehicle reconditioning.

You got nothing to lose.
Click to expand...



Ron, any Idea how much the charts are? I may be interested as well...
 
Don't know, will be retired for 5 years come the end of Aug.

I know that when I was still there, the charts were free to "operating detailers", not to individual enthusist. They are expensive to produce.

Call her on the toll free and ask her.

The worse thing that can happen is she says no.
 
I don't have much time right now to read through your entire post but I have one thing that may help tons. If you have multiple people working on the cars together, or if you are working on them with someone else, get a routine down as quickly as possible for these types of details. When I was doing dealer work, I would do alot of the cars with my helper and it got to the point where we didn't even have to say anything to each other, we pretty much moved around each car the same, knew exactly when to move out each others way without saying a word, etc. If one of us finished our part of the detail before the other did, we didn't have to ask where the other was at with their part, we just knew form doing so many together and jumped in to help finish that part of the detail. This alone knocked a huge amount of time off each detail and we were just cranking them out. Hope that helps some. Good luck with it!
 
There are many others here more familiar with the volume business than me, even though in my detailing infancy I worked for a dealership for a couple of years.



I would just like to point out that a steamer, extractor, and tornador will be your best friend. The key for you will be doing interior well and FAST, which all 3 of these tools will help with. Get a set regular process (which is seems you have down) and stick to it no matter if the vehicle is in good shape or trashed. It will help you build the habits you need to getting the same results with vehicles in completely different shapes.
 
toyotaguy said:
thats 3-6 man hours...hope you are charging more than $100 for that process
Click to expand...



Unfortunately at this point, charging more isn't an option. What would you suggest we tweak to increase efficiency?



I appreciate the feedback!
 
If you just bought the business you would have seen the financials. I assume the guy you bought the business from was making money. Enough money to convince you to buy. Just keep doing what he was.
 
Basically what Richard pointed out is the best advice for being efficient aside from leaning tips and tricks to solving problems quicker without sacrificing quality.



I run a dealer detail shop where we clean anywhere from 600-800 cars a month on average. This included's new car delivery prep, cleaning dirty cars for our lot i.e., something that has been detailed or maybe just a brand new Silverado that needs a wash and vacuum from sitting or tons of test drives, then customer details we do, then our own used inventory detailing we do and lastly all of our master shield paint, fab, leather protection applications we do to new and returning customers(reapplying product).



We are currently pushing for around 200 used cars in and out of our dealer ship per month, which means we sell 200 and clean 200. This month we are going to hit 150 most likely closer to 180. 200 is the goal 175/180 is the average. My point is we do this with 4 detailers including my self, 2 teams of 2, 1 per shift, 5 days a week, no overtime. We have most details down to an average of 3 hours per car without cutting corners or sacrificing quality. No greasy vinyl dressings and exteriors or done case by case but every car is stripped checked and gets waxed, most at least a 1 step. Some cars take 1.5-2 hours, then there are a few maybe 20 of the whole bunch that are 4-6 hours trashed POS :(



Back to Richards advice though, out of all 4 of us detailers we can all work together in 2 man teams or even all together and detail a car from start to finish with no communication and each man knows where his partner is and what he is working on and if i complete what im working on before my partner finishes i would either help finish say vinyl or if he just has a little remaining then jump ahead and begin the wash/ prep process on the next detail. Getting in a routine with your "detail buddy" and sticking to it will not only make you faster but ensure quality and consistency!
 
*No need to cover anything up under the engine compartment and don't totally dry it either. Just make sure all the critical components are blown out prior to starting. Dress it and close it until the end of the detail where you will wipe things down after it's all plated out.



*Don't dry the exterior. Waste of time. It's getting polished.

*Invest in an inexpensive wheel acid.

*Don't wax the vehicle. Use an AIO with some protection and that's all you need.

*Do the windows at the end.

*Dress the tires & wheel wells before polishing the outside.

*Invest in a leaf blower for the engine and interior
 
David Fermani said:
*No need to cover anything up under the engine compartment and don't totally dry it either. Just make sure all the critical components are blown out prior to starting. Dress it and close it until the end of the detail where you will wipe things down after it's all plated out.



*Don't dry the exterior. Waste of time. It's getting polished.

*Invest in an inexpensive wheel acid.

*Don't wax the vehicle. Use an AIO with some protection and that's all you need.

*Do the windows at the end.

*Dress the tires & wheel wells before polishing the outside.

*Invest in a leaf blower for the engine and interior
Click to expand...





Boom, these are all things I had to learn myself with my dealer work. After you start doing each action, they'll make a ton of sense "WHY" you do them.
 
David Fermani said:
*No need to cover anything up under the engine compartment and don't totally dry it either. Just make sure all the critical components are blown out prior to starting. Dress it and close it until the end of the detail where you will wipe things down after it's all plated out.



*Don't dry the exterior. Waste of time. It's getting polished.

*Invest in an inexpensive wheel acid.

*Don't wax the vehicle. Use an AIO with some protection and that's all you need.

*Do the windows at the end.

*Dress the tires & wheel wells before polishing the outside.

*Invest in a leaf blower for the engine and interior
Click to expand...



This is dead on good advice. Many years ago I worked for a dealership and did some if not all of these things one every detail. I hardly EVER waxed vehicles unless specifically requested. Mostly just a finish polish. The vehicles beaded for weeks just by being polished.



Also, use compressed air liberally on the interior. Everything you can blast out of a nook or cranny is less you have to go over with the vacuum later. If used correctly you can totally negate the need for a crevice tool.
 
I'm going to say it...errr...maybe not.





Ok, I'll say it. Unless the vehicle appears to have excellent paint, just brush wash it with a good quality brush rather than hand washing.



Also, I would invest a few dollars in one of those 2 gallon pump sprayers that you can fill up with degreaser. It will save you a lot of time degreasing the wheels, wheel arches, and lower panels of a vehicle.



For polishing I would go around the vehicle and spot polish more significant defects and then hit the whole vehicle with an AIO. I hear Speed is good but haven't tried it. I use Megs D151 for my AIO because it has a good amount of cut and reasonable protection if topped with a spray wax like Aquawax.
 
Get those charts from ValuGard- Auto INT. They are in my detail training binder from the class I took. It's perfect for what you are doing. My suggestion- broken spray bottles are going to slow you down. PDS- Professional Dispensing Systems. They are 3 gallon pressurized tanks with spray nozzles. This will also reduce fatigue.
 
Sit back and just look at all the things that don't need to be done. Where you can save time and product. If it isn't going to make the car look better then don't do it. If someone isn't ever going to notice it, then don't do it. People spend more time on the interiors so make sure they are spotless. Also, do a complete walk around as if you were the customer and is there anything that sticks out? Tar, scuffs, stains...etc.
 
I have. Last week was the first week, and we did 13 cars (our goal was 10). So far this week we've done 16.5, and we're on track for 22 (our goal was 20). Still, we're all working quite a bit longer than we should be on these cars. Organization is a big issue, one that I'm going to be tackling in full force this weekend. Everyone will have their own cart next week, with their own spray bottles of each chemical, etc. The good news is that we can still get more cars than we're doing, so demand for our effort is still larger than supply. Good for opportunity, but bad because we're missing out on more revenue as we turn down cars.



We're in a temporary space until Monday, so we haven't hung any air hose reels or anything, so we're still all over the place. I think organization will make 4hrs a car average doable with our current process and level of effort, and by tweaking and improving the process and other tools (steamer, second extractor, bigger air compressor with multiple hoses), 3hr/car should be no problem in a couple weeks.



Still, I'm open to any and all advice. I hugely appreciate all that was offered so far!
 
Sounds like you're learning as you go which is a great way to master the almighty touch time. And it also looks like things are going better than expected. Well done.
 
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