01silvapathy Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 So in addition to working at Buffalo Wild Wings, I did what I did last summer and posted up an add for side work such as mowing lawns, painting, gardening, ect ect. I got a call back from a guy wanting to know if I was interested in working for a new company that they he and a friend were putting into motion doing mobile car washing. So of course I was like fskc yea im interested. Meet up with the owners that weekend they bought me a breakfast and we decided over that that I would be working for them. Its a pretty good deal, the company as well as I am insured, I personally make 10 dollars per car plus any tips as well, they pay for my gas, as well as lunches ect when I work long days. I started riding around with each of the owners one time each to get the idea of what was expected and how I had to do things. Its a pretty simple job, but its also pretty tiring. I ran my own trailer today and washed 7 cars by myself, 5 of which were the higher service which gets pretty much everything minus a coat of wax.....Powerwash/Handwash, Squeege and towel dry...spot free, Clean wheels and tire shine tires, Vaccum Interior, clean leather, wash inside and outside windows, clean all cup holders and crevasses, armor all dash and any other plastic interior and exterior, rainX on windshield, and a scent of your choice. That takes around an hour for a car....longer for bigger vehicles (first vehicle I washed today was an Expedition ) So far we have two trailers, and they are all pretty small. They are basically the size of foldable utility trailers. They have on them a pressure washer, generator, vaccum, 120 gal water tank, assorted hoses, and a chest with all the supplies. Its pretty nifty I must say, small enough to easily maneuver yet big enough to carry all the stuff we need. Trailer weighs in around 1900lbs fully loaded with water so its pretty easy for the pathy to pull and still be able to stop even with the bigger tires LOL. They even gave me a shirt that has my name embroidered on it, and two magnetic signs to put on my doors whenever im towing the trailer. At the moment we are only doing local residents since ALOT of people here live out of home and work out of home its very easy for them to get stuff done at home. We are still in the stages of building up the business and plan on moving up to doing work at schools, hospitals, dentists offices, daycares ect. We already have one school lined up for one day a week going and washing cars all day. A local day care also wants up to wash and vaccum their bus every other week. SO its growing quickly and im hoping it stays that way! Its pretty cool to see how they are working stuff out and a business model come into view, plus helping with feedback and giving input on stuff. But yeah thats what all I have been up to. Here is a pic of the trailer from today in case some were wondering what it looked like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 B.S.! The Pathy is WAY too clean. Plus, the magnetic sign would be WAY funnier (that is word, aint' it?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Not a bad idea at all. I had a friend that did mobile detailing over 20 years go and he always had work. Well, other than winter... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted May 6, 2011 Author Share Posted May 6, 2011 Yeah, sadly thats the only obligation I have to the owners. They made sure to engrain it into my mind that I CANNOT show up to a job with a dirty vehicle. We need to look professional and like we do a good job lol. But I still go out and have fun....just not anytime before I work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted May 6, 2011 Author Share Posted May 6, 2011 Not a bad idea at all. I had a friend that did mobile detailing over 20 years go and he always had work. Well, other than winter... B Yeah we are not quite into the detailing thing yet. It takes alot more time and money to do...plus you do a car once and you charge say 100 bucks, but you wont see them again for quite awhile VS Washing...we already have weekly customers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 They should expand to michigan ;) I can't find summer work, anyone who's hiring doesn't want to train for a month to have a 4 month employee....even temp summer employers (i.e. road commission)want people from april until november 1st...kinda stupid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandpath Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 How much do they charge for a full car wash? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismothunder Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 (edited) even temp summer employers (i.e. road commission)want people from april until november 1st...kinda stupid! Thats not temp, those guys get unemployment during the winter months.... Throw a plow on the old reliable and plow in the winter. Too the OP, that's a decent idea but doesnt the water tank kinda limit the range you have. Edited May 6, 2011 by nismothunder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headpeace Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 you only get $10 per car?! Thats sounds low to me, especially if your using your own vehicle (wear and tear). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismothunder Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 least hes not paying for his own gas. $10 sounds far too me, since he's just the labor. It also sounds like its a new company so maybe in the future he would get a company car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted May 6, 2011 Author Share Posted May 6, 2011 10 Dollars is fair, esp when you factor in that I get all the tips...even from the other two guys. For instance I washed a FX35 today....they did the top of the line wash which costs 35 dollars. I was working by myself and towed the trailer to her house....which was about a mile away. Took me an hour and fifteen minutes to complete the wash. She paid and gave me a ten dollar tip, when you look at it that way its pretty good money. Reguarding range with the water tank...max for the tank is 100 gallons. A typical car takes 5 gallons to rinse then rinse off the soap, 7 gallons for large SUV's and trucks. So we basically can almost never run out of water. I washed 7 vehicles yesterday and still had about 40 gallons left at the end of the day working from 9 to around 6. I guess if they were ALL large SUV's and Trucks you could technically run out but we would know before it happened. In terms of the washes we have 2 services, when compared to the services you get at most other drive up washes we do more for the same amount or less. $25 Gold- Complete hand wash and pressure wash, Powerwash and clean rims and tires, Squeege and towel dry, water repellant window treatment, complete interior vacuum, windows inside and outside washed, dash and trim wipedown with armorall and a fragrance. $35 Platinum- Complete hand wash and pressure wash, Powerwash and clean rims and tires (tire shined as well), Sqeege and towel dry, water repellant window treatment, complete interior vacuum, windows inside and outside washed, dash and trim wipedown with armorall, leather/upholstery cleaner, shampoo carpets, everything is cleaned IE inside every compartment and all the cupholders ect, and a fragrance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerranoNZ Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Sounds like you'll do ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Sounds alright, just out of curiosity, what products do you use? Should have the owners check out Griot's products if they don't already use them, it's the only thing I'll use on a vehicle I care about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Yes. I've heard that Griot's is awesome. Won't use it on the Pathy but will look into using it on the wifey's Prelude and my Miata. I'm going with mud (southern red clay) on the Nippo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Dank Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 (edited) That's a nice set up! Griot's is pretty good stuff but there are a lot of high end shampoos, waxes, sealants etc. But being that this is a mobile car washing service rather than a mobile detailing service, I'm sure that most of the stuff being used can be found off the shelf at any big box store. Been detailing cars for friends and family for the past 10 years. I personally use 1Z Einszett products. Their Polish and Glanz wax are amazing. Add some Sonax wheel cleaner, IronX and some clay bars and your car will look amazing. Edited for typo. Edited May 10, 2011 by DJ Dank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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