Cost per truck to wash

L

Layman's P/W

Guest
I was wondering what the actual cost is after all expenses for you guys(Per truck).This would be after all fuel,soap,everything...I am talking about a FedEx type delivery truck.

Daren

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Dan S

New Member
that's a big question. and one only you can answer.
you have alot of variable's here....how much is YOUR soap? what are YOU paying for fuel? and the list goes on-on-on-on...etc...
i will share just about everything about how to wash a trk. what soap..what machine...so on.
but i made it a practice to never say prices...
and i really think you should do the same...... just a thought......sorry

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ISN'T LIFE GREAT WHEN YOU HAVE THE LORD !!!!!!
 

Scott Stone

New Member
I agree with Dan, but, here are some things to consider.
1. How many trucks do you figure you can wash an hour?
2. What is the dilution of your soap?
3. Are you using DI water for rinse, wash or both?
4. How fast do you go through brushes?
5. What is the volume of your machine?
6. How much does your hired help cost you and what are you worth?
7. What is your insurance going to cost you, especially garage keepers, if you are going to have to move the trucks?
8. What is the service and replacement schedule on your equipment?
9. What is the cost of all of the above, soap, insurance, help, brushes, other chemicals and supplies?
10. How much volume do you do, Costs go down with volume of business you generate?
11. How long does it take you to travel to the job site?
12. DO you have to recapture?
13. Do you have to pay to dispose of waste water?
14. What are your mileage expenses?
15. How over analytical do you want to be on figuring your price?

My suggestion is that you figure your operating costs per hour based on past experience, and how much you need to make to want to go do the job and then divide that amount by the number of trucks that you hope to do in an hour.



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Any statement that I make about equipment, processes or your hair color is my own personal opinion. I usually base it on personal experience. If you disagree with me you are free to reply on both the BBS and by e-mail. If I am totally off base please explain why on the BBS so that we may all know why;)
Bus. Phone 480-834-3434
Cell Phone 602-509-9741
 
L

Layman's P/W

Guest
Dan,Scott

I have figured what my cost is per truck, I just wanted to compare my results with some other fleet washers.

Daren

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J

Jim&Shirley

Guest
<FONT COLOR="Blue">Text</FONT c>
Daren,

We don't have a problem with posting it if it will help. We don't do delivery vans but we do wash 18 wheelers. It cost us about $6.00 per truck. Takes us about 20 min. 2 people 2 machines and washing frames and motors. We don't brush in the winter time anymore. We 2-step but we are still picky, sometimes more than the driver. This is no employees, we both own the company. This doesn't include water, ours if furnished along with a wash pad.

Dan S and Scott,

What's the big deal about posting your cost? What you get for the job is one thing, was just curious. No offence.

Jim & Shirley



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Scott Stone

New Member
There are a couple of things.
First, it gives up a competitve advantage.
second, I don't particularly want my customers to have a way of finding out what my rates and what my profit on their account is.
Third, Everyone has to figure it out differently. You might be higher than me because you don't include soft costs in your figure, such as telephone, insurance etc.

But mostly, it is the first one.


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Any statement that I make about equipment, processes or your hair color is my own personal opinion. I usually base it on personal experience. If you disagree with me you are free to reply on both the BBS and by e-mail. If I am totally off base please explain why on the BBS so that we may all know why;)
Bus. Phone 480-834-3434
Cell Phone 602-509-9741
 

Dan S

New Member
well said Scott. ......

what's the big deal???????????
well i guess if ya read SCOTT'S post again it makes alot of since....

just the other day a trk. driver from one of my fleet's said hey Dan you should check out the bbs on the internet they have all kinds of questions and answer's about p/washing..
and this guy was just surfing. so if he is surfing and if my "BOSS " is surfing..........you figure it out..

ps; no offence takin just being wise.....

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ISN'T LIFE GREAT WHEN YOU HAVE THE LORD !!!!!!
 
J

Jim&Shirley

Guest
IF someone whats to know what you are chargeing for anything usually don't they get a estimate?
who do you think they were useing before you?
you can-not hope your customers are stupid, you can only be fair and make money,you have to educate them.
tell them the truth, yes they can get-it done cheaper,
BUT do they have the experance in this type of work, if not they can do alot of damage,
ARE they lic, insured, do they have refferences?
WE HAVE ALL THIS and so does most people on this board.
you have to be competive in any Business,
IF ANYONE WANTS TO KNOW YOUR PRICES ITS EASY!!!!!!
Say you are washing some trucks,we do and this happens all the time,someone come up and says what would you charge to wash my wash trucks????? or you are washing a house and the neighbor down the street wants to know what you charge, your cleaning a parking lot ECT.
HECK THIS IS WHERE ALOT OF OUR BUSINESS COMES FROM.!!!!
YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOU ARE TALKING TOO,???? It can alway be someone else in the business or just starting out wanting to find out what you are charging. We don't worry about this. We do the absolute best job we can on whatever we clean, if they can do it better and lower than us (and we are not lowballers by any means) they can have the job. Our customers know how we clean and if by chance they do try someone else, as a couple have, they always come back to us and say that they got what they paid for. Let's face it there is enough business out there for all of us.
If another pw company wants to know what you use to clean all they have to do is sit back and watch. If you have been in this business long you can tell. It is much easier to find out in person what the guy in your area is charging than it would be on the internet. You may have to read hundreds of post on a bb before you got lucky enough to find someone in your area and pricing does vary from location to location.

If someone really wants a job cheaper they can always go out and buy or rent a machine then they find out that they have to pay someone to use it and train that person plus buy the chemicals and gas/diesel. Then sit back and hope they don't tear up the machine or what they are cleaning because they don't have the experance need to do it saftly or the insurance to fix what they break. Everyone has options and we usually let our customers know about this option.
Jim & Shirley


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[This message has been edited by Jim&Shirley (edited January 29, 2001).]
 

Dan S

New Member
well here we are in a mist of a argument ,,

that is just great-super-wow-farout-unbelievable.
big deal ....ya know jim^shirley that is just swell you feel that way but let me say this
i dont know about you but when someone comes up to me and ask what do i charge to wash there trk. and they only have one ,the price is dif. than fleet. not to mention if they ask what im charging to do fleets i say thats none of your business.
and i dont think it has any thing to do with your coustmer being stupid.of course they are not stupid they are letting you wash there trks.just be wise and i do agree with ya be fair
i do agree also you never know who you are talking to you could be talkin to a brother/sister of some guy in this business and you stand there shoot the poop with him/her and they go teel there in-laws about all the $$$ you are making or they tell 'em the price of your fleets the next thing ya know things get tough in the trucking co. like they are now and they want to cut corners and hire someone cheeper and oooo-baby ooo guess what you are down the road because you gave your competor an edge .
sure you may be back it may be in 6 mts. may be in 6 years.simply put why take that chance.
now lets say someone comes in and dont know your prices and low-balls ya anyways you cant prevent that but you can prevent shooting off you tounge. no pun intended.
our customers also know we do the best job around and we are proud to say it, but i will never say a price on my fleets and if someone ask me while im cleaning and they want there private rig done., it is by far the same price i have when i got 70 of them lined up to do.
Jim ^ Shirley my thoughts and your thoughts difer. and there is nothing wrong with that. if you want to give out your price that is fine but please dont pop a vein in your forehead and yell at me because i dont.
ps:: what do you charge to wash a truck?
what do you charge to wash a trailer?
how about a deck,house ,
you can tell me i wont say nothing to nobody..
HONEST.

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ISN'T LIFE GREAT WHEN YOU HAVE THE LORD !!!!!!
 
J

Jim&Shirley

Guest
We were not trying to start an argument or pop a vein yelling at someone over this board. We are not here for that. We are here for education, of ourself and anyone we may possibly be able to help.

We offer discounted volumn rates also on all our work.

We do not do decks. We do houses price depending on what needs to be done and size.

Trucks here the going rate is 30.00 for a single truck
Trailer 25.00 for a single trailer
these are not the volumn discounted rates. We are not afraid of posting this because we are in range of the going rate in this area. We have done our homework and found out the going rate before we started and continue to check every few months for rate increases. Which this is part of our ongoing education.

Posting this on the board is ok with me since you asked. Maybe some trucker will find it and give us a call.

We do not mean to offend or anger anyone on this board. I thought it was just a place to have discussions and state your experiences for everyone's benefit. Everyone has to give a little of themselves for someone to learn. If anything I say can help one person or at least make someone think about something then I feel we have done the right thing.

Jim & Shirley


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Dan S

New Member
i dont totally disagree with ya but mostly i do.
and as far as the bbs and competers finding out .just think of this &lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt; for some of us we have our mug shoot on here im sure it would be easy to find us...
and it dont matter what the going rate is
its my rate that i maintain

hey 2 dudes why were you being sarcastic?

jim^shirley you are right about comming here to learn and to teach.....just ask the 2 dudes they are teaching me about sarcasm.....


besides arent we a lil off the subject ?? i thought the question was how much profit per trk.and we really confused the new guy .shame on us!!!!------------------
ISN'T LIFE GREAT WHEN YOU HAVE THE LORD !!!!!!
 

Shrido

New Member
Hey all.... If its such a big deal why cant yall just tell them like ive heard on this board so many times......Just tell them you cant give a price till you see what you are gonna wash since there are so many variables!
I dont see the big deal ....when you start telling ball park figures and you see the jab and its worse than you thought the customer will say "But you told me it will be this much". I they try to pin me down onna price this way i tell them "A million outta do it " and then laugh well they get the idea and agree. no problem ...if its a competitor then still no worry cause he has nothin to wash! Im not a fraid to call a comepitor and talk to him like a man ....I ask straight up what he charges. not to under cut just to find out what its goin in a area....I belive in holding the standard price for the area.....hell it helps me to. oh well jsut the way i do things. we all do our own thing.
till then enjoy John

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L

Layman's P/W

Guest
Dan,

I don't think you are getting my question......the question was referring to actual cost per truck in fuel ,soap,wax anything you pay for to wash the truck. I didn't ask how much you charge to wash a truck or how much profit you make.
It cost me about 2.25 per truck that is my cost, not what I'm charging but my cost to wash the type truck I referred to earlier,this is a cosmetic wash done on a frequent schedule....now if someone can take this information and get a competitive edge on me they have really done something.
I think customers would be surprised by how much of the wash bill goes to expenses.

Daren

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Dan S

New Member
ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok !!!!! good gravy have a cow&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;
daren i know we got way off the subject i even said that a couple post back ....i really dont know how it happen but it did.................
every body has there opinion and i respect that .
but nomatter what they say i will never say prices
does that make me a lesser business man....NAAAA
if you guys want to say prices that's good .
as far as cost profit per trk. that is another issue that i avoided..my cost per trk.after all expenses is around&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;__$95.00___________________i know it's a lil steep but i love washing for nothing.

<FONT COLOR="Red">where are you at big-boy im being beat up
here...................hey scott help me .........throw me a rope..........</FONT c>

<FONT COLOR="Navy">it really doesnt matter does it.........i mean whats the big deal if i choose not to say.........i just dont get it.</FONT c>

<FONT COLOR="Orange">ooooooooooooo was i being sarcastic??????????........ hey im learning ^^^^^^</FONT c>

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ISN'T LIFE GREAT WHEN YOU HAVE THE LORD !!!!!!
 

Scott Stone

New Member
<FONT COLOR="Teal"><FONT size="4">Here Comes the rope, and I hope I don't hang myself!!!</FONT s></FONT c>

Two Guys, there are somethings that you have to remember about me and the way MY business operates.
1. I WASH just Fleets.
2. Fleets are not the only thing that I do.
3. My smallest account is over $2000 a week.

I am not the biggest, nor the truck washer around. I do have a pretty good understanding of how MY business operates. Because of that I know that my costs, with DI water are very competitive with the prices that others have quoted here.
What does this mean to you? Absolutely nothing. The reason is that my costs, profit margins, and business environment are totally different from the costs and profit margins of someone in a small town. I have actual competition with national companies that are trying to compete on my playing field. This means that I cannot get $25-$30 a tractor, or $20-$25 a trailer to wash something because the market will not bear the price.
In order to maintain my margins and profit level that I want, I have to cut costs. I do not want my competition ( I use the term loosely) to have an insight into what it costs me to operate. The only way I would feel some what justified in letting them in on my operating expenses is if they were to buy me out for cash. ($400,000 cash for the fleetwashing operation would about cover it.)
I also give my price in every bid, that is what a bid is done for, to get a price. I don't explain my expenses though. I try and give my customers value for their dollar, and have lost a couple because they thought they could get a better value somewhere else.
It is not something that I worry about though. I have a solid customer base and have contracts that I am sure will keep me in business for the next 5 years.
As for Laymans question of what does it cost you to wash a truck, I understood the question the first time. I don't divulge my costs, jsut as any major corporation does not divulge the actual hard costs that they pay to others, including competitors and customers.
What is more is that I do not give out prices on the phone. If someone calls me for a price, I ask them a few questions and then make an appoiuntment to give them a proposal. Same reason, I don't want to give competitors that are shopping me an insight on what I charge, I also do not give out references over the phone. In fact I have caller ID on my phone, so that I know who is calling, and if the call is blocked I am even more wary of the caller.
There are for me a few reasons that I do this. The major one is that I know of at least two companies that want and are trying to be major players in my market that have actually put a bounty on my accounts. Last I heard the salesmen were getting somewhere around 3 months gross on any of my accounts that they got, over and above any normal commission. They have gotten one account in the past four years, and that was my mistake.
So what it boils down to is that ido not discuss pricing, or my costs. I will tell you if I feel that a price is fair and justifiable, but that does not mean that is what I pay.



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Any statement that I make about equipment, processes or your hair color is my own personal opinion. I usually base it on personal experience. If you disagree with me you are free to reply on both the BBS and by e-mail. If I am totally off base please explain why on the BBS so that we may all know why;)
Bus. Phone 480-834-3434
Cell Phone 602-509-9741
 

Dan S

New Member
<FONT size="5">here here!!!!!!!!!!!!!</FONT s>
thanks for the rope i thought i wasnt normal.......

<FONT size="4">that's my final answer.........wehhhhhh now i can go to sleep @ night's</FONT s>

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ISN'T LIFE GREAT WHEN YOU HAVE THE LORD !!!!!!
 

Dan S

New Member
i can only speak for myself here 2 dudes.&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;
i for one didnt get mad or upset.
and just because we didnt give the answer you were hopeing for dosen't mean we need to creat all this hype. it could of been left alone and our answer respected, but instead you guys choose to keep it going. so as far as your replys you could of avoided it as well ,but you kept the fire going (if you will).
if you felt that you could give your prices than you should of gave it instead of knocking us down because we dont.
i just dont understand your concept.
you are the one who made a decission to keep saying what was on your mind....and i forwarded with a reply.

just for the record i dont get mad over what is being posted most of the time it makes me laugh.

so who is in the wrong here? i can take some of the blame......but here again i will not say a price about job's,how much per trk,etc. because of a few "guys" requested it..

so in short could all this have been avoided? YES it could of ...by everybody involved.....including you.

goodnight!!!!!!!!!!!

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ISN'T LIFE GREAT WHEN YOU HAVE THE LORD !!!!!!
 

Scott Stone

New Member
I am very forthcoming with technical tips, Marketing info and machine tips, in fact just about everything else about my business, except money.
When it comes to money it is my affair and that is all there is to it. If you think that I should post I would like to see all of your w-2's, 401k's, 1099's, as well as state and federal tax filings. The prices that I charge are between me and my customers, and the cost of my supplies is between me and my suppliers.
I hate to be rude, because I don't think that ismy hallmark, but it boils down to it is not any of your business.
The rest I share because I want to help in those ways. I even write articles on marketing and contact amnagement for the trade mag's, do you? I didn't think so. So don't come after me for not sharing information. I share as much as I want, and financials are not a part of the mix.
So Two guy's if you are content to work for $20 an hour and want to tell all, that is your perogative. If you will notice I never flamed you in that thread, because I don't care what you make. What everyone charges is their own business, and what their costs are is their own business. Since this is a public Forum and there are too many people that are willing to take all of the information on this and other boards and never share, I would say that I have the right to not talk about money, and I fully exercise that right.



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Any statement that I make about equipment, processes or your hair color is my own personal opinion. I usually base it on personal experience. If you disagree with me you are free to reply on both the BBS and by e-mail. If I am totally off base please explain why on the BBS so that we may all know why;)
Bus. Phone 480-834-3434
Cell Phone 602-509-9741
 

Ron Musgraves

Administrator
Staff member
Wow,


Even I can say you need common sense about your finances. Don’t tell anyone what you gross or charge for your accounts. Even I realize that’s dangerous. Ball parks can even be bad, I believe that if someone on this board asked me about prices and they where strangers I would decline. If Scott, Jon, Craig, Dan or someone I’ve known for a while asked me I probably would give the inf. via e-mail.

I can give numerous examples of why this is dangerous. But I wont///////////??????…&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;…&lt;&lt;&lt;,,&lt;&lt;&lt;, come on we all can use our imaginations.

I believe we need to be educated and we can learn from each other. However there are things that can cross the line. Discussing prices would have nothing to do with educating. Teaching a formula that someone could use to come up with what they should charge would be acceptable INF.


I could give prices right here and if I knew my customer or competitors where watching I could even manipulate them. This talking price stuff is no good. Sorry two guys I like your stand on education, but giving out pricing on a silver platter will not teach anyone. Both parities could possibly be making the largest mistake of their careers.

How would just giving someone a price educate them? They gonna call us next time they need a price?????????


over and out


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Ron Marshal Phoenix AZ
1-888-fleetwash

[This message has been edited by Ron Marshal (edited January 30, 2001).]
 

Craig Knight

New Member
Hey Dave,

Have to side with Scott, I think your out of line for bashing a guy for not revealing personal info to the public. If you've noticed, there are about 440 other members that have also decided not to reveal that information, i being one of the 440 would not feel comfy ever giving info about anything to do with the financial side of my personal or business affairs. And i beleive that if you stand back, take a look, you will agree, that this side of the coin is off limits, for public discussion, and anyone certainly shouldn't be critisized for not revealing that information.

Lets stay on track here.



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Craig Knight
www.powerwashunlimited.com
 

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