nick01

I live in an apartment complex and i was thinking a good way to make some money may be to offer car washes (I'm 17). But I'm not sure how much i should charge, what services i should offer etc...

All advice is appreciated

PaPaHoFF

iTrader: (19)

Seems like a good idea if you can prove to your potential customers why they should choose you over the local car wash.

I would make flyers and offer 2 packages.

- hand wash

and

- hand wash
- clay
- wax

Unless you want to get into polishing which is a whole other story..


Basically try to sell the point that car washes damage the paint and introduce micro scratches and swirls.

I would read up on proper techniques as well before doing this.

(2 bucket method), various soaps, claybars and waxes, etc..

I charge typically $30 for wash and $50 for wash, wax.

You have to do some local research on your market and compare prices etc.


Good luck on your business venture.

raytseng

If you're just doing a car wash, you better beat the prices that the local car wash place offers and somehow be more convenient.
If you're doing car detailing, then hit up autopia forums to learn everything you wanted and more.

Maybe post on CraigsList. List what products you use, have some links to pictures of your work as "testimonials" to what you do.

nick01

Well I would do the car wahing at the apartment complex in an area were theres constant shade. I do have the convience factor of them not having to leave the apartment complex, all they would have to do is drop the car off in the back and i could park it when im done or something along those lines. I wash my own car using 2 buckets etc.. and have read up quite a bit on detailing. I have a clay kit waxes etc... and may buy a PC and offer polishing after perfecting the touch on my own car and friends first.

I was thinking something along the lines of $20 for a basic wash, $25 including interior, $45 for wash and wax, $50 wash/wax and interior.

I dont know what to charge for polishing when i get to that cause that can be very time consuming

nick01

Also I would make a flyer so i could attach it to doors at the complex.

PaPaHoFF

iTrader: (19)

$5 for an interior? what is involved? thats way to low to be honest. have a set price for interior details and just give a discounted price for the combo as opposed to +$5. Basically charge what your time is worth. I just did 1 car and an suv yesterday and made over $50 per hour. Granted it took me forever and I was exhausted but nothing can take your mind off of being tired than wow'ing customers and gettin paid!!

nick01

Ya i see what you mean. I was thinking for the interior I'd vaccum do the leather and all the dash etc... and now that i think about it 5$ is to cheap for that. I'm gonna try to make a flyer tomorrow with what sounds good and then I'll post it for your opions.

Thanks for the help I really appreciate it

djyoshi626

iTrader: (5)

Ways to attract people to your services are:
1) You have to be competitive to those "actual" car wash places in terms of pricing, service, quality
2) Do not low ball yourself, doing a good quality work takes time, and time = money
3) Most places in Cali charge about 100 for a wash, wax and interior, and even then the work is half a$sed
4) Again, quality and value

Also take into account that since you're in a apartment complex, a hose might not be as easily accessible, and if you use your own water, conserve so you don't have too much expenses as quality products to wash the car aren't exactly cheap and can stack up fast!

good luck on your business venture, you will go far in life

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

Make sure you talk to the apartment manager to make sure he/she is ok with you using the property for your business.

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

Is this a large apartment complex? Upscale apartment complex?

I can't take credit for this idea because my friend dreamt it up while we were hanging out in his backyard just talking about wacky business ideas.

That being said, how about offering a garbage service for your apartment complex?

One of the things that people don't like to do is walk the trash out to the dumpster. If you offered a service to take down garbage bags each week, i suspect people in the apartment complex would be willing to pay 4 bucks a week for you to run the trash down from their apartment door to the dumpster.

Think about it. let's say you have an apartment complex with 400 residents and conservatively we'll say 25% sign up. With 100 people signed up and splitting that across 5 days you'd average taking out the trash for 20 people each day and make $400 a week doing it. Not a bad way to earn an extra $1,600 a month.

If I lived in an apartment, I personally would sign up because I'd rather pay $20 a month to have my trash taken from my door vs always running it down to the dumpster when it's hot/cold out. Girls living by themselves would almost certainly sign up for this service due to the safety aspect.

1) Ask apartment manager if it's ok to offer this service.

2) Leave small fliers on doors and let them know that there is a set day for each wing of the apartment so you can pace yourself on only taking out as many as you can realistically handle. Make sure you tell them that the trash is limited to one big trash bag or 4 plastic grocery bags, you don't want to open yourself up to taking out 2-3 big bags per apartment because then it'll get WAAAAAAAAY too busy.

3) Go around and collect funds and have a chart to see who's paying and which day you'll be offering the service to them... Collecting on a monthly basis would be best since weekly would be too time consuming.

SC400MAN

iTrader: (1)

Also check with the manager since you would be using their water. One car may not be a problem but if you did 20-30 a month, that might end your business right there!

Woogie

I don't think people are willing to pay 50 dollars for a wash and wax right now. Given the state of the economy, many families are having to nickel and dime all of their expenses just to skate on by and make ends meet. When I think of an apartment complex, I think of residents who can't or are not yet ready to purchase a house. This probably means that they most likely don't have the money to throw down 50 for a wash and wax or even 20 for a wash when the local car wash can do the same in less time for 7-13.

Lose their car for an hour or two and pay someone 20-50 dollars? Or go through the local car wash for five minutes and pay 7-13 bucks? The end result is the same to most people - meaning a cleaner car with less dirt/debris/grime.

Sorry, I just don't see there being a lucrative market here given the demographics you're willing to serve. On the other hand, I don't know what your area is like and what kind of money is in your area. I could be wrong. Nothing ventured... nothing gained, I guess.