starting new valeting business??

roxierobbo

hi all new to this site,find it quite usefull so far.Im looking to start up a car wash and valeting company and need some advice.

I have been looking at some premisses around coolmine area in blanchardstown,there is no place doing what im going to for miles.There is a car wash few minutes away but very bad service and poor result.

I have been in contact with a couple of companies who supply car cleaning products and equipment.I have delt with them before so this end of things is secure ill be fully set up ready to go, i have been in the motor trade for the last 5 years and just got sick and tired of getting my cars washed/cleaned badly so decided to do something about it.

the area i need some help and advice in is..

-Regestering the business(name ect)
-Insurance (Car/Business)
-Do i need to register for VAT

Anything else anyone can think of would be great thanks in advance

Rex Manning

did you see the apprentice lastnight on BBC2 - might get some pointers from that

Son

That would be tough right now.....the way things are
I know what your saying about doing it right etc but its one of those things people don't spend money on during a recession.Who's gonna spend,100,200,300 euro on having their car valeted when they are trying to save money
I think your MAD

ironclaw

Valeting done well is something anyone would pay for, if they care about there motor. Sadly, most Irish peopel don't. You'd definitely want to be targeting the high end market such as the Exec Merc, M series BMW's and everything inbetween.

Dundrum TC has abiout 4 valet's in the car park area I think and sadly I report to say there very rarely busy.

niceirishfella

Bad idea in these times......sorry.

2qk4u

These are poping up all over the place, I know that the car wash in mulhuddart vilage and shelerin road are not great but its only €5.50 for a car and everyone knows these washes as they are there a while now.there is one in roselawn shopping centre and self service in clonsilla too so you will be surrounded by compitition.As for the valeting its not a good time for that as allready stated.

My opinion = wrong location wrong time.

Good luck if you go ahead with it.

ironclaw

Maybe go mobile or work around the IFSC or Airport.

enviro

First of all, Best of luck to you. Maybe a mobile unit operated from a van, keep costs down. Hard times at the moment. Why not offer other cleaning services too.... window cleaning ect

MrMatisse

Hey,
To register your business name log onto www.cro.ie and you can find out all about it there. Its really straight forward.

As regards insurance, i dont think you need any. Granted if you make a mess of someones care as your a sole trader if they sue you its all on you, but once your careful this is unlikely. There is no mandatory regulation that you have to have any type of insurance and it would be a big cost for a startup.

No need to register for vat until your turnover is over 40k or 70k i cant remember the exact number !:D (www.revenue.ie). When you do you have to file monthly returns, which is a pain.

niceirishfella

Really-Stressed wrote: »

No need to register for vat until your turnover is over 40k or 70k i cant remember the exact number !:D (www.revenue.ie). When you do you have to file monthly returns, which is a pain.

You can elect to do an annual vat return if thats any good to you.;)

Rex Manning

There's a car wash place down the road from me (they don't have a website or anything tho) and it's a drive thru car wash - it has about 6 lads with power hoses who wash the cars down (outside only) and on a saturday the place is heaving with cars queuing up to get in. they only charge about £6 (in edinburgh so probably pretty different to irish prices) but have a high turnover.

Not sure what they're like on week days but there'd be scope to do a deal with taxis i suppose to keep themselves ticking over.

I think something like this might be more viable than a valet service. if, like someone above said most poeple don't care an awful lot about their cars, a quick wash for a fiver to make it look presentable and clean might be more appealing than a super dooper valet that might not be fully noticed/appreciated

ironclaw

I agree with the above poster. Attitudes in the Uk are different to Ireland. Irish motorists very rarely care about their cars in terms of a full valet. Maybe target reps etc?

Rex Manning

Another reason why attitudes are different as well, and may be why taxis are good target market is that taxis can be put of the road for a number of reasons including being mucky (this is the case in edinburgh anyway).

Good point about targetting reps - could build on that and go for delivery vans too, clean vans would be good for their image, especially if they were delivering food and things like that

ironclaw

Rex Manning wrote: »

Another reason why attitudes are different as well, and may be why taxis are good target market is that taxis can be put of the road for a number of reasons including being mucky (this is the case in edinburgh anyway).

Doesn't apply here and some taxi's I've seen are a disgrace. Maybe a mobile business in after hours. Clean the Taxi's when they finish a nightshift or after a Saturday Night "mess"

stepbar

Using this diagram of Porter's 5 forces (http://www.strategy4u.com/assessment_tools/porters_five_forces/five_forces_popup.shtml) do an analysis of the market you are getting into. TBH a car wash / valet business would be utter madness at the moment. The problem is that (no more than driving a taxi) you don't need any particular skills or mad expensive resources to get into the business. In good times a plus, but in a contracting environment a no no.

itsonlyme

Illegal car wash and valet centres are a big problem at the moment and I believe there is going to be a big push in the very near future by the Legal car wash and valet centre owners to lobby the respective authorties to get the illegal businesses shut down as they are not compliant with the law.

keefg

Really-Stressed wrote: »

Hey,

As regards insurance, i dont think you need any.

Hmm...I'm no expert but if you're providing a service to the public then I think you would at least need basic Public Liability Insurance.

byrne0f56789

People who are selling their car and garages that sell used cars could be a target market. I'm sure outsourcing the valeting of used cars for sale would cost a garage less than employing someone in house. You should locate beside on of these showrooms/lots.

worksucks

Best of luck because of the recession I wont be buying a new car and getting my old banger valeted a bit more often so good luck