# RE:Guide/Info On Starting Up A Mobile Valeting Business thread.



## RS ROB (Jan 21, 2008)

*RE:Guide/Info On Starting Up A Mobile Valeting Business thread.*

As anyone started out as a mobile car valeter since the above thread was started?If so how have you got on?what where, are your experiances?


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## RS ROB (Jan 21, 2008)

No one?


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## Wozza86 (Jan 10, 2010)

I'm trying to get started. I'm doing friends and family's cars, and will do more as I go hopefully until I start to get people asking me.


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## walker1967 (Sep 12, 2010)

Are you mobile (van, power,water etc....) if so get your van signwritten so that it stands out but make sure people know what exactly it is that you do, you could also take out a free listing on yell.com. You can also build yourself a free .co.uk website using  Getting British Businesses Online but your best form of advertising and source of work will be word of mouth :thumb:


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## srod (Dec 31, 2010)

Yes I started just over a year ago and made an entry in that thread at an early stage of my valeting endeavours.

walker1967's advice is absolutely spot on; I get quite a lot of business by simply being out and about in my sign-written van. Have some business cards stashed away in your van ready to hand out. Seriously, almost every time I nip down to Tesco's I get asked for a card!

Yell.com is also a must, though it works best when linked to your own website. I paid for a 6-line advert and, whilst quite expensive, it has paid for itself many times over now. I have a simple website set-up (fortunately I have set many websites up over the years) which allows for online queries and/or bookings etc.

After a year or so of trading, it is only now that I am seeing some trade work. The majority of my bookings are still 'private' or company cars, but most of these are now 'full valets' as opposed to the quick wash and brush-up which was my bread-and-butter for that first year. I now often find myself actually refusing anything less than £30 half-valets since, well, I can afford to, and _lesser valets_ are really quite un-economical really, especially considering the price of fuel etc. The truth is that I actually find myself giving a car almost a full-valet even when charging just £15 for a 1/4 valet! I just can't help myself and is why I do sometimes turn away such custom now, or at least suggest a more thorough valet at a higher price.

I have also moved into machine polishing (straight in at the deep end with a rotary buffer!) and whilst I need more experience, I am getting more confident; taking on just small jobs to begin with. I might see if I can secure some specialised training here just to hone my skills and to give me more confidence when I stand before some £60000 Merc with my buffer in hand!

As walker1967 says, do not underestimate the power of word of mouth. I think it is obvious that anyone considering using a mobile service would be looking for a far better valet than is generally available at one of these £5 mop and bucket services. For a full valet I am charging upwards of £60-£70 and for that people would be expecting their pride and joy to look like something which just fell off the production line! So really, I think you do have to be a bit of a perfectionist in this line of work. Take your time, do a great job and you will not only get repeat business, but word will spread as it certainly has in my case. I have even picked up a trade contract because of a job I did some months ago for a private customer. And all I did was shampoos her seats in order to remove some water marks!


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## type-r-gaz (Apr 12, 2012)

As a mobile valeter how do you get on with waste water and the environment? i'm also looking to set up a business but am concerned that i may come across this issue and need to be prepared, so it would be nice to hear how people actually in the trade would deal with this question being asked?

Thanks in advance for any help.


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## Guest (Apr 29, 2012)

As above... I used to be a professional detailer until I packed it in for a house.

Mouth of word was definitely the biggest and best way of free advertising. Have you sat down, written out a proper business plan to what your competition is/out goings/profit/loss/advantages of traditional/waterless etc etc.

After all these stages have been completed I then bit the bullet and went for it, year later won an award and had a good client base to thank after months of negative income. Demos make you big. As the saying goes.. You gotta lose to gain.

I would say the following are MUSTS of starting any business, mainly valeting. Everyone has there own way though remember...

Get your van sign written. (big, bold, colourful)
Make sure you spend loads of time researching your market. I done waterless as there was massive competition here.
Business cards. Moo.com are great quality and fab service.
Good old leaflets to slam through doors.
Facebook business page a must in my eyes. 
Put Facebook like/url on everything

Hope this helps. Every valeter/detailer is different remember so people always do things your way. If your competition is high, make a twist why your better than the competition.


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## Nika (Feb 19, 2012)

Hello, i'm intrested in starting this tipe of buisniss maybe in a few months, i saw a few vans for sale at 3.000 pounds with water tank, generator, presure washer and a few more things, is it cheaper to buy a ford transit van for 1500 pounds and buy what equipment you want? where do you get youre water from? how many cars do you wash with 300 liters of water?how many clients do you have every day?

What prices should i ask for for a prewash+2bm wash?
what prices should i ask for a machine polishing in 2-3 steps?
what price should i ask for for a interior?


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

^^^^ is it really so hard to do some research on pricing?...


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## avit88 (Mar 19, 2012)

Nika said:


> Hello, i'm intrested in starting this tipe of buisniss maybe in a few months, i saw a few vans for sale at 3.000 pounds with water tank, generator, presure washer and a few more things, is it cheaper to buy a ford transit van for 1500 pounds and buy what equipment you want? where do you get youre water from? how many cars do you wash with 300 liters of water?how many clients do you have every day?
> 
> What prices should i ask for for a prewash+2bm wash?
> what prices should i ask for a machine polishing in 2-3 steps?
> what price should i ask for for a interior?


mate u have lots to do.....
research ur competitors for prices...
as for a van it depends ur circumstances etc (age)
clients depend on area (hence market research) and how much work ur prepared to source them
how much water?? well work it out! 2 buckets are about 10l each...

imo u dont need to spend alot on a van, just keep it presentable.

good luck


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## julio2906 (Oct 25, 2009)

*Insurance costs for mobile valeting*

Hi can anyone give me some idea of how much on average an insurance policy is for mobile valeting and maybe point me in the direction of a good company for a quote.

Cheers


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

CoverSure on here - they have a forum section 
as for price, how longs a piece of string?.. lol


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## craigblues (Jul 24, 2011)

julio2906 said:


> Hi can anyone give me some idea of how much on average an insurance policy is for mobile valeting and maybe point me in the direction of a good company for a quote.
> 
> Cheers


Anything between £70 - £400 depending on what cover you need/want.


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## julio2906 (Oct 25, 2009)

craigblues said:


> Anything between £70 - £400 depending on what cover you need/want.


Cheers :thumb:


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## Guest (May 17, 2012)

I stuck to a very tight £2000 for everything when I done detailing as a business. I got the van, serviced/cleaned it up, got a company to decal it, bought all my products, bought all needed insurances, 5000 leaflets and advertising space online, everything all legally set up and ready to go in 4 weeks at just under £2000. I was waterless though but it goes to show you don't need to spend a fortune on start-up. Most people on here start somewhere and have worked up to get all the goodies they need. I wouldn't be spending more than a few thousand to start-up with for sure. 

As for prices - as mentioned by a few people, the skys the limit on how experienced you are at different aspects of detailing (machine polishing, carpet cleaning and so forth). All depends on what your actually offering too as well as what products you use and advertise. 

Good luck on your adventure and research, research, research


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## JasonPD (Jan 8, 2010)

aaronfife said:


> I stuck to a very tight £2000 for everything when I done detailing as a business. I got the van, serviced/cleaned it up, got a company to decal it, bought all my products, bought all needed insurances, 5000 leaflets and advertising space online, everything all legally set up and ready to go in 4 weeks at just under £2000. I was waterless though but it goes to show you don't need to spend a fortune on start-up. Most people on here start somewhere and have worked up to get all the goodies they need. I wouldn't be spending more than a few thousand to start-up with for sure.
> 
> As for prices - as mentioned by a few people, the skys the limit on how experienced you are at different aspects of detailing (machine polishing, carpet cleaning and so forth). All depends on what your actually offering too as well as what products you use and advertise.
> 
> Good luck on your adventure and research, research, research


Wow that was a tight budget, my insurance alone costs that!


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## avit88 (Mar 19, 2012)

aaronfife said:


> I stuck to a very tight £2000 for everything when I done detailing as a business. I got the van, serviced/cleaned it up, got a company to decal it, bought all my products, bought all needed insurances, 5000 leaflets and advertising space online, everything all legally set up and ready to go in 4 weeks at just under £2000. I was waterless though but it goes to show you don't need to spend a fortune on start-up. Most people on here start somewhere and have worked up to get all the goodies they need. I wouldn't be spending more than a few thousand to start-up with for sure.
> 
> As for prices - as mentioned by a few people, the skys the limit on how experienced you are at different aspects of detailing (machine polishing, carpet cleaning and so forth). All depends on what your actually offering too as well as what products you use and advertise.
> 
> Good luck on your adventure and research, research, research


where did u get ur van from? was it ex fleet?


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## Guest (May 17, 2012)

Ex gas van, ran not the best but I bought it because the bodywork was flawless and therefore looked very presentable. Loads of cheap vans that look the part, dpends on what your after really I suppose!


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## Nath (Jun 20, 2010)

I've been running my detailing business for 3 years now. In that time i must have seen 10 'mobile valeters' come and go... even a couple of well established businesses have packed up. My advice, which worked for me, would be to look at the competition, find a niche that people want and turn it all into positives for people to use you. I like to think of myself as an environmentally positive detailer, sourcing natural based products and solutions to use less water, and harvest and filter my own rainwater. But as has been said, word of mouth is best - along with a sign written van and business cards / leaflets.

Also, being polite and well turned out - clean shaven, tidy hair, smart clean workwear and a clean van - it also helps if your van is in good condition and tidy in the back if passing member of the public can see into it.

Oh and i have a 2010 Citroen Nemo van. It may be small, but i can get everything into it - i just wanted the newest van with the best mechanicals/bodywork i could afford - £5000 for a nearly new, immaculate, low mileage van!


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