How Should a Mobile Car Wash Price Car Lot Washing Contracts – Price Per Car Strategies

Okay so, you run a mobile car washing business and you want to increase your revenue generation by adding some car dealership lot washing contracts. That makes sense because the car dealerships have lots of cars, and they must be cleaned to sell; no one wants to buy a dirty car right? Sure, so your next question is what price point can you charge and still make money. Not long ago, I was asked about this by an already successful car washing entrepreneur;

“I noticed on one of your posts [articles] you suggested $.85 for twice a week. Wow, can it be done for that without have the contract for detailing as well?”

He was referring of course to the synergy gained by detailing for auto dealerships and also maintaining the washing contracts as a bundled service, which is the favored strategy for mobile auto detailers and mobile car washing companies. But what if you only had the lot washing contract and not the detailing contract; does it still make any sense?

Well, yes, in fact, we had many accounts which were only wash accounts at between.65 and $.85 per car, where we did not have the detailing contract yet, for the auto dealership. For instance at the Sacramento Auto Mall, all the car lots are set on the street that looks like a giant circle, and we would have the crews going different directions on that street, and we would never quit. By the time we got done with one side of the street, it was time to start over, they just watched every day all day long.

Some of the other dealerships wanted us to be off of the lot by 10 AM so they could sell cars, which makes it tough in the winter because of the ice formation when you put water on the cars in many areas.

The detailing contracts for auto dealerships are very good when the economy is good, but you must understand that auto dealerships are very slow to pay and you don’t want to become a bank where you are doing services for them and they are paying you for three months. That just costs you a lot of cash flow and all that labor until you get your money.

Remember in a service business “cash flow” is king, everything else is just talk. You’re better off to go find something else to wash rather than letting some company string you out on payments and receivables. And remember that God made dirt on the first day, and that gets all over everything so you should be able to find something to wash other than just car lots.

It appears the mobile car washing entrepreneur agrees and is thinking here too. We used to consider car lots as busy work, keeping our crews busy and thus making money, but it was hardly our best profit center. Please consider all this.