Car valet. Will this business work?

businessdit

Sitting last night having a few drinks with a friend and he has this idea that he is planning - Let us know what you think!

My friend has a yard in a fairly working class area of dublin.
The yard with a portacabin with has fairly good road frontage next to a small but busy shopping centre.

-He wants to clean cars and vehicles doing waterless valets for about €60 a car to start
- Also possibly offer a few other services like alloy wheel refurbishing / shultz antirust underbody spraying (not sure if there is a market for that) (any other basis ideas - he is open to sugestions)
- He wants to open a small shop selling automotive and car cleaning products in the portacabin
- He will also have a van and travel to people if need be.

What do you guys think?
Is there a business here?


Does he even need a shopfront on the street, or is this industry solely mobile now? Thats the question we are really asking ourselves!

Does he even need a shopfront on the street, or is this industry solely mobile now? Thats the question we are really asking ourselves!

mahoganygas

Tell him to go into the carpark in Clarehall shopping centre and take a look.
There is a crowd offering a range of cleaning services. Anything from an outside clean to a full valet.

The car park is covered so they don't need to worry about rain, which would be a necessity if you ask me.

They walk up and down the rows of cars asking people as they park up. You don't even need to drive it over to a yard.
You just leave the car open, go do your shopping and pay when you get back.

Their prices are very reasonable.

Axwell

First off please only post the thread once, you already posted this same question this morning. No need for posting the exact same thing in another thread a few hours later.

The questions you are asking - have you looked at whats out there, what others are doing, who your competition is, how much they charge?

businessdit

Axwell wrote: »

First off please only post the thread once, you already posted this same question this morning. No need for posting the exact same thing in another thread a few hours later.

The questions you are asking - have you looked at whats out there, what others are doing, who your competition is, how much they charge?

Hi Axwell,

Not sure if u noticed but there appears to be a problem with boards over the past few days. I posted twice because my last thread dissapeard last night and then when I clicked on it this morning it gave me a 404 error.

Apologies for any inconvenience.
This is the only reason for a potential duplicate posts.

Axwell

No problem, few gremlins seem to be in the system. Have deleted the other one so lets keep this one as the main one.

goz83

There is definitely a business in it. Im currently building a website for a valeting company in north dublin and they are out the door with business. Makes it a real pain to contact the owner for information. We are also in talks with another car valeting company with a few locations in dublin who want a website. So i would say go for it. Materials, signage and some elbow grease will get things going.

I don't like the idea of leaving my car open in clarehall shopping centre. I have let the lads clean the car a few times, but only the exterior. They don't exactly wait by the car until you return, so there is potential for theft.

businessdit

goz83 wrote: »

There is definitely a business in it. Im currently building a website for a valeting company in north dublin and they are out the door with business. Makes it a real pain to contact the owner for information. We are also in talks with another car valeting company with a few locations in dublin who want a website. So i would say go for it. Materials, signage and some elbow grease will get things going.

I don't like the idea of leaving my car open in clarehall shopping centre. I have let the lads clean the car a few times, but only the exterior. They don't exactly wait by the car until you return, so there is potential for theft.

Thanks for the info - Do they drive to people and offer a mobile service, or do they have a premises that people drop their car to?

Thanks

goz83

businessdit wrote: »

Thanks for the info - Do they drive to people and offer a mobile service, or do they have a premises that people drop their car to?

Thanks

They have a premises people drop their car to, but they also offer mobile power washing services. They also collect cars, but that requires an insurance policy.

_Brian

Mini Valet is very popular here.
€20 you get a good wash, shine, windows cleaned inside, good thorough hoover and dash shine.
It's a big part of their business.

magic_murph

The Majority of car washing services I have been to they are always out the door with people queuing up. Usually taking over unused garage forecourts.

If you have the space already available thats a big starting block. I say jump at the chance as the initial start up costs will be fairly small and you will be in a position to make money day one.

antoinolachtnai

Planning and compliance are big issues. You need special drainage arrangements for a car wash to ensure the groundwater is not polluted. You may also require planning permission. You should investigate this with the local authority before proceeding.

Location is also important. Some locations are naturally going to be better than others for attracting business. You need to be sure the location is good enough.

businessdit

OK thanks folks - if anyone has any more advice please do let us know!