Has The Economy Taken a Toll on You?

[maxrezn]

I plan on beginning to detail cars as a summer job soon. I've never detailed a car but have extensive business background. I'm 17 and have ran 2 very successful businesses in the past. What I would like to know is has anyone's business or "gig" been severely affected by the economy?

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Has The Economy Taken a Toll on You?

Mine has. I can't get a darn day off now

People are having to keep their old junk 2 year old Lexus now instead of trading it in for the brand new model. They have to suffer and with the old junk and get it cleaned

[Megafast13]

Re: Has The Economy Taken a Toll on You?

Mine has. I can't get a darn day off now

People are having to keep their old junk 2 year old Lexus now instead of trading it in for the brand new model. They have to suffer and with the old junk and get it cleaned

Nice, I am doing quite well, despite the economy. The customer base for most detailers is Upper Middle/Upper Class anyway who have the money and actually care for their cars...

[Tuck91]

Re: Has The Economy Taken a Toll on You?

i detail cars on the side every now and then for some extra money but its gotten to the point where i do a car once every two or three months

[Carfire]

Re: Has The Economy Taken a Toll on You?

Since I am just starting my business, I am not flooded like Nick C is, but I had a detail this past weekend, and with school, it is easier to do cars on breaks. I have 2 Daily drivers at least, and 3 work trucks to do a complete detail on with polishing over spring break!! Another Day Another Dollar!!

[dnoraker]

Re: Has The Economy Taken a Toll on You?

I was scrolling through some old posts and saw this one and needed to comment. The last three details I did where people that couldn't afford much of a car, but valued appearance and were willing to pay the price to have it buffed out. Two of them were $1500 cars and the other was probably about an $8000 Suburban.

True, the wealthy that are prepared for hard times may be the most loyal customers, but I bet people will see more folks that love a shiny new car but can't get a loan.

I put ads on Craigslist once in awhile that say "don't buy a new car, buff out your old one for much less!" That's where I got the three high mileage cars!

[H.E.D]

Re: Has The Economy Taken a Toll on You?

I have seen some people driving 750 bmw's ,s500's, Porsche,etc. and some are in really bad shape and just because they have the money to buy this type of vehicles doesn't mean that they want to get it detailed most of the one that i have approached are just fine with the express wash at the gas station go figure.

[dnoraker]

Re: Has The Economy Taken a Toll on You?

I'm not saying everyone with a hot car keeps it nice. Nor do I think that the wealthy always have hot cars. (Read The Millionaire Next Door - it will change your life). I think people with "status" often drive hot cars, but it doesn't mean they're wealthy. They're often the most upside down. They're often leasing them and treat them like **** because they don't have to keep it long term.

Anyway, it would seem to me that people who are truly wealthy and can weather a financial meltdown would more likely be your best repeat customers. They might be driving Buicks and just want to keep it clean. My wife's uncle's dad is a perfect example: he is a retired 3M executive and is loaded, but only drives Buicks. He just sold his last Buick a few years ago with over 100k and 10 years on it and bought....another Buick! Most truly wealthy are pretty frugal, but generally take care of their stuff because they earned it and it's usually paid for.

[Sal329]

Re: Has The Economy Taken a Toll on You?

The economy effected me. I was laid off in Dec and have not found work. So I turned my fun Hobby into my business. Been very slow but the last 3 weeks I have had some work. I have talked with a few other detailers here and they say they have been pretty slow. I think it is this area. The $3 car wash is always packed but people are not willing to spend the extra to clean their car.

[dnoraker]

Re: Has The Economy Taken a Toll on You?

I hear ya. I was laid off Nov. 1, and the contract work my wife had dried up around Dec. 1. Unemployment money was too low due to some self-employment I have, so I had to scramble. I started buying and selling drums on Craigslist for profit, and once it got warm enough, started advertising detail services. It has helped a little bit, but I've still been re-investing back into the business, especially getting a nice carpet extractor.

I have gotten a few clients form advertising on Craigslist, but it's hard to stand out when you have idiots charging like $25 for an exterior detail. I also just try to notice when someone cares about how their car looks and ask if they're happy with it, or what would they like to improve. I find more people than I would have expected say that they wish it didn't have so many swirls.

I think the customers are out there, but not everyone knows what their car could really look like. I don't how many times I've had people say "I didn't think my car could look that good!" ESPECIALLY the ones who are selling it and just wanted it cleaned up for resale value. I had one that sat in his garage the next day looking at it and kicked himself for selling it!

[Garry Dean]

Re: Has The Economy Taken a Toll on You?

I've been slammed busy and I generally remain booked at least 2 weeks out.

[dnoraker]

Re: Has The Economy Taken a Toll on You?

Any marketing strategies to get to that point? Any tips you can give to the less employed?

[Nappers]

Re: Has The Economy Taken a Toll on You?

Our economy is shot up here in No. California.....

We may lose some Correctional Deputies.....

I'm up high on the food chain, so I'm safe (15 year vet)

But, some of my buddies and our new part timers who are good kids will more than likely lose their jobs which stinks, they are good kids and hard workers and can work circles around most of the vets (except me have to get up early in the afternoon to get one on me)

We will find out beggining of June what our status is and what we are going to lose. Hopefully the grants we wrote will come through and we don't lose anyone. We have a jail to run and can't lose anyone! Also, all overtime will be stressed for us to gain comp time rather than overtime pay.....