Hand car washes. How do they make money.
Discussion
powerstroke said:
Local Jet wash £1 for five mins perfect to get the worst off and wheels /arches sills , then home for a by hand without the mess to clean up afterwards .. perfect!!!
Local jetwash is currently frozen again. Boo!Car wash machine is £2.50, cheapest way at this time of year when I don't want to freeze my arse off every couple of weeks.
There's a guy in my town who runs 2 of the Tesco washes, full set up. He owns a house down the road from me where he houses the staff (Romanian) He has a minimum of 50 cars a day through the one in town, the next town is bigger and there is always a long queue. They charge minimum £15 but the top washes are £70, they do a bloody good job too. 2 wash, 2 hoover and one waxes.
sutts said:
I'm surprised by the number of posters who are happy to support (or at least ignore the fact) organised crime groups because they're having their car washed cheaply and they do a 'great job'.
Do you have proof they are organised crime groups or are you just berating someone making a decent living?sutts said:
I'm surprised by the number of posters who are happy to support (or at least ignore the fact) organised crime groups because they're having their car washed cheaply and they do a 'great job'.
No doubt you've purchased goods or services from some of our more creative accounting minuscule tax paying bigger companies ?Or do you have the time to assess every business you spend money at ?
God help us all.
I often wonder why people are so concerned with having a clean car so regularly anyway.
I can understand waiting until we have better weather etc, but I see regulars sitting in line, rain or shine, two or three times a week at a place local to work.
Why would you queue up in the rain?! Pay your money and ten mins later, it looks just like it did due to filthy wet roads. Strange.
I just wipe the plates and the lights if they are getting bad at this time of year and give the cars a clean now and then through the Summer.
I used to quite enjoy washing cars, but it seems like such an utter waste of time these days.
It didn't help having one properly detailed and being utterly blown away with the results.
You suddenly realise that your regular wash, no matter how far you take it and how long you spend on it with polish and wax, is pretty rubbish when the sun comes out. All you end up with on most cars are shiny cobwebs.
I have probably convinced myself life is too short to make so much effort just for my black car to look amazing for 15 minutes before the dust covers it all.
I can understand waiting until we have better weather etc, but I see regulars sitting in line, rain or shine, two or three times a week at a place local to work.
Why would you queue up in the rain?! Pay your money and ten mins later, it looks just like it did due to filthy wet roads. Strange.
I just wipe the plates and the lights if they are getting bad at this time of year and give the cars a clean now and then through the Summer.
I used to quite enjoy washing cars, but it seems like such an utter waste of time these days.
It didn't help having one properly detailed and being utterly blown away with the results.
You suddenly realise that your regular wash, no matter how far you take it and how long you spend on it with polish and wax, is pretty rubbish when the sun comes out. All you end up with on most cars are shiny cobwebs.
I have probably convinced myself life is too short to make so much effort just for my black car to look amazing for 15 minutes before the dust covers it all.
T5R+ said:
J4CKO said:
The one near my parents is a pain,
Waggon & Horses? If so, he has been in business for many years (and charges more than anyone else because of the catchment area. He is legit.
Know a few of the owners within the M60 and guess that 20% are "kosher".
Used to be a petrol station that one, like a lot of them, the other petrol station further down is a car sales pitch, the one in Handforth (Don Autopoint) went and that when we were kids was awesome as at 13 they had no interest in video certificates being 15 or 18, toddle up there on our bikes and get some s
t B movie with loads of boobs and maybe even a glimpse of pubic hair ! the one in Heald Green went and is now a Co Op, very few left around, our local one near the kings Arms in Wilmslow went and is now just empty ground.Digby said:
I have probably convinced myself life is too short to make so much effort just for my black car to look amazing for 15 minutes before the dust covers it all.
There is no doubt a feel good factor to having a clean car, as well as prolonging the life of the paintwork but agree it can become a monotonous obsession.I limit my car to the washes when they look a bit grubby and get it waxed twice a year but no longer join the fortnightly car wash queue any more - waste of time, money and unrealistic expectations.
Back on topic - I use a Romanian/Albanian outfit which I think is legit and he doesn't seem to treat his staff like cr8p (but what do I know). They do a good job and use decent cleaning products. I wouldn't use them if I suspected they were criminal but I think most of Joe Public won't care to think about it as long as they can get there car cleaned for a fiver. PM me if you can recommend a good one near Wimbledon ..
Edited by fido on Sunday 22 January 15:16
HustleRussell said:
5th gear did a rather unscientific test years ago and found that a good automatic car wash will actually leave significantly fewer scratches than the hand car wash (which involved one of those horrible aeroblade things to dry the panels). Hence I would sooner bung my car through the washing machine than use a hand car wash.
I remember that test, the hand car wash won, all they said was that if it wasnt for the blade and chance of getting something caught on it and scratching the car the hand car was was pretty good. There are dozens of these around near me, but the one I use is ALWAYS busy. The owner lives not too far from me and has pretty nice supercharged RRS on his drive. Surprisingly it's always filthy!
I also know the guy who owns a pressure washer/chemical manufacture company that seems to supply the majority of these places within I'd say a 15 mile radius and he is making a fortune out of them too, so business must be good. He actually rents the kit to them and is much cheaper than the likes of Karcher etc.
I also know the guy who owns a pressure washer/chemical manufacture company that seems to supply the majority of these places within I'd say a 15 mile radius and he is making a fortune out of them too, so business must be good. He actually rents the kit to them and is much cheaper than the likes of Karcher etc.
icepop said:
Amazes me more, that people can't take 5 mins out to do the job themselves !!!!! We have 3 in about 500 metres of each other, and the number of lazy beepers, paying £5, min, going through, then heading off, at this time of year, down the, usually soaking, salt and muck riddled roads, what a waste of time 
It takes me about an hour to do it myself.At least half of that is fighting with the children trying to stop them picking up dropped sponges and adding yet more of their own swirls.
It was close to zero all weekend - not conducive to wet hands and a friendly hose fight.
Sure, the car gets dirty again but that's life. At least the rear plates and lights are visible again!
I agree (with walm).
If it's mucking about on the driveway in the summer sun having water fights and getting the car cleaned at the same time, I'm happy to clean the car myself (with my kids' "help").
When it's freezing cold and the hosepipe is stored for the winter, etc, it just becomes a real chore and I'd rather pay someone else to do it. Same as me having a cleaner rather than scrub the bathrooms myself.
If it's mucking about on the driveway in the summer sun having water fights and getting the car cleaned at the same time, I'm happy to clean the car myself (with my kids' "help").
When it's freezing cold and the hosepipe is stored for the winter, etc, it just becomes a real chore and I'd rather pay someone else to do it. Same as me having a cleaner rather than scrub the bathrooms myself.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff