Studdabaker

Thans CountryClub! This forum has great camaraderie!

Thanks Mike, Mike, & Jim! I appreciate your thoughts!

I live in a place with really hard water. Does anyone use one of those portable RV water softeners? Would they work? Thanks!

Thanks so much everyone for your input! Great comments, concerns, and ideas. As Doc said - it generates a lot of chatter and opinions both for and against which is great for marketing. If people see this vehicle in their neighbor's driveway, they are going to ask them about it and then see how nice their car looks. Roger- Great idea! We could have "Who ya gonna call? Swirl-Busters!!" We could do a replica of the ghost buster's car and would eliminate any creepiness. I would not have anything on top...may be little too tacky. I don't know if Adam would want his sticker on it?? Thanks again everyone! Checkout this website...you can get hearses under $5k, armored limos, and a $1.3M Mercedes etc http://www.adesa.org/1972_Cadillac_Awesome%20Ghostbusters%20Hearse_Atlanta_GA_251746825.veh

Hey Guys, I am starting up a mobile detailing business and I had a thought about type of vehicle to use. My father was involved in the cemetery/funeral business his whole life and I have been around hearses quite often. They seem to be designed perfectly for a mobile detail with a bed containing rollers under a platform for easy assess to equipment such as a generator etc. Now I am not immune to dumb ideas - in fact I run about 10-1 ratio of bad to good. Obviously no one wants a hearse parked next to their house. If I were to customize it so that there was no doubt it is being used for detailing vs. funeral? Highly functional at a reasonable price - seriously, used they are not very expensive with the very narrow market. What do you guys think? Would it be tacky or a great attention getter? My 16 yr old son would be the one using so it would not be as potentially creepy than if an adult was using it or would it undermine credibility? Keep in mine our niche market is commuter/family cars. Thanks everyone!

Thanks Frank for the welcome!

Thanks, Eric!

I tried Memorial15 for the Cyclo but said invalid, so must not apply for equipment? Would the 10% apply to equipment?

Robert & Thorsager, Thanks so much for your recommendations and experiences. Living in Minnesota, the land of the 6 month winter, people seem to just want their cars to look clean but not necessarily protected. People drive a lot of Japanese and American vehicles that are mainly SUV/Vans/Trucks - not so much the european cars. They tend to look at their cars as purely functional and in all honesty this point in my life with kids college and saving for retirement I am the same. I was think of approaching golf courses and large companies to see if they would be interested in a "Detail Tuesday" and offer a discount for golfers/employees and we go to them and clean their vehicles...convenient. We have a premier golf course 1 block from our house. What do you think? Thanks for everyone's input. How do I get the 10% discount? Is it on everything? Jerry

Hello Doc, Eric, Robert, & Chris, Thanks for the warm welcome and advice!! I am completely in agreement about setting customer expectations. We are currently having our basement finished and the guy we hired his business name is "Built to perfection", yet when we identify sloppy work he says "That is industry standard or code". He has said it so often I am tempted to say he should change his name to "Built good enough"! With "production' detail in mind my core customer will be a one step finish of a sealant with the occasional minor swirl/scratch correction. I was a little too giddy and bought a DeWalt rotary buffer. Through my research i have learned that a DA seems to be the best choice for those learning to buff for the first time? The Dewalt has a slow start feature along with variable speeds but should i buy a DA also? For the vacuum I can get my hands on a used Metro Vac n Blo full sized 4 HP for $130, would that be the way to go? Is a steam cleaner like a a McCulloch that heats water to 200 degrees good enough or would it be junk? Pressure washer, any suggestions? Any other mechanical must have equipment? The master Blaster sounds great but in my situation is it worth it for what it does? My goal is to buy equipment that will make the detail process more efficient but yet within a startup budget in case it does not work out. I like equipment that will not need to be replaced in the near future i.e. 'buy quality, buy once vs buy cheap, buy often' For the pads, products, and tools I will most likely buy a kit from Adam. Afore thank you for any input or guidance Jerry

Hello, I put myself through college by detailing cars back in the early 90's. I found it to be an excellent match for any young man as it is lucrative and instantly gratifying, with the occasional drive in an expensive sports car. My son is now 16 yrs old and i would like to have him start a Detailing business along with a friend. My niche market is the "production" detail for cars that are used in commuting and everyday life. I have done a small sample sized market survey and found that most of the people that fall into this category have never had their vehicles professionally machine buffed and cleaned. There seems to be three main drivers; 1) Don't recognize benefits, low priority 2) convenience 3) High cost I believe there is an unmet need lurking in that data. My idea is to offer a mobile detailing service in a small geographical area that would be done in their driveway to counter the inconvenience factor and lower overhead costs would enable me to undercut the brick and mortar shops on price. Now the biggest hurdle is getting people to understand the benefits. That part I am still working on. I would like to hear from anyone with an opinion on any ideas or hurdles to overcome with a mobile detailing service. Thank you! Jerry