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

I think you are grossly under estimating your time requirements. In my world, 30 minute Car Washes and Paint Corrections in 0 - 60 minutes only happen in my dreams :hmph:



Good luck with your new business venture. It will be an expierence you will not soon forget :nod:
 
Jean-Claude said:
How many folks are working on those cars?
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One guy full time, one guy almost full time, one guy as-needed.



David Fermani said:
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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Thank you, sir! We've got a LOT of work to do in terms of organization, tools for every station (so we don't have to share and wait), and efficient quality control, but even as we struggle to iron those things out, we're on pace for a profitable first month!



Flash Gordon said:
I think you are grossly under estimating your time requirements. In my world, 30 minute Car Washes and Paint Corrections in 0 - 60 minutes only happen in my dreams :hmph:



Good luck with your new business venture. It will be an expierence you will not soon forget :nod:
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Thanks for the kind words. We're realizing in practice certain cars are well within those times, and some.... completely obliterate our average time per car for the day...
 
Flash Gordon said:
I think you are grossly under estimating your time requirements. In my world, 30 minute Car Washes and Paint Corrections in 0 - 60 minutes only happen in my dreams :hmph:



Good luck with your new business venture. It will be an expierence you will not soon forget :nod:
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Fortunately for the OP paint correction isn't necessary, and with the right chemicals and tools a car can be washed in 15 minutes! If the dealer doesn't care about perfect paint, why should he?
 
Flash Gordon said:
I think you are grossly under estimating your time requirements. In my world, 30 minute Car Washes and Paint Corrections in 0 - 60 minutes only happen in my dreams :hmph:



Good luck with your new business venture. It will be an expierence you will not soon forget :nod:
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We're talking dealer clean ups here Flash. Huge difference between those and what I'm sure you're doing. It's all about reducing time spent making sure the car is clean. You're not making this vehicles ready for a car show. I will say this; that once you learn how to do dealer work effeciently, it will improve many other relms of detailing too.
 
IronX wash instead of car soap - reduces a lot of need for claying since it will break down the tops which should be cut anyway with the orange/tangerine hydro pad and a AIO with a bit of compound in it (combining two products to make it cut more, but still finish out "well enough" - this is dealer "cheap work" after all!!)

DA with AIO/compound mix (thanks Barry)

wipe off



get interior clean as can be in 2 hours TOPS

exterior done in 1-1.5 hours



That would be my single man operation...two people, 1.5-2 hours or so!



key thing is the speed and not going over the same spot 4 times for wash, clay, polish, wax, qd, tarminator, etc. iron X acts like a APC, clay, tarminator all in one! Ive been doing it on all my cars lately and its working out like a charm, even on tracked cars with tire scuffs!



You should see more profit in this than retail based on the fact YOU are not actually working on the cars, but rather hiring it out! Do yourself a favor Evan, get into a managerial position instead of the full time position!
 
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
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I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I to have just begun doing dealer work. Starting my second year in a fixed location and for the first time, on a MB E320, one of the guys fried the electronic control modules located drivers side of engine compartment by not covering with baggies before pressure washing. Wouldn't come out of park and ABS, ESP errors. Fortunately, a great MB tech down the street cleaned up all the corrosion and saved me probably $2500.00! So now I'm really not sure about the precautions when pressure washing engines.



The two dealers I have, actually one is a wholesaler, (maybe 40 vehicles a month total) demand the engine look new, the door jambs spotless, the interior very clean and dressed, extracted, etc. They aren't asking for machine buffing; although after lurking this thread, I may give it a try just to see the time difference. Currently, we're doing an ONR wash - just got ONR&W and will be trying that but for now using the wax's I want off the shelf. ProtectAll, etc.



Finding it's taking one man about 4 hrs. Although we are tweaking our system and hope to reduce the time.



Was also wondering about Carpet Dye and if anyone knows of a reasonably priced paint touch-up system.



Oh, and we're not claying.
 
The Applied Colours paint touch up kit is pretty good and is priced at around $800 for the big kit. It's a little tricky to learn to mix the colors well, but it with a little practice you'll get it.
 
JPostal said:
The Applied Colours paint touch up kit is pretty good and is priced at around $800 for the big kit. It's a little tricky to learn to mix the colors well, but it with a little practice you'll get it.
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Been on there newsletter list for a while now. Just can't get the nerve up to pull the trigger for the $1295 :nervous:
 
LeMarque said:
Been on there newsletter list for a while now. Just can't get the nerve up to pull the trigger for the $1295 :nervous:
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Search this forum, I remember someone was selling their almost-new kit for a pretty good price on here.
 
I'm sure I paid $800 or $900 for the big kit but I worked them a little. PM me and I'll give you a little more info.
 
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