# General > Business >  Mobile Auto Valeting

## ducati

Hi,


I have decided to see if I can go it alone with my take on keeping Caithness's cars clean and shiny.

I've been a petrol head for going on 40 years and I am fanatical about the appearance of cars. For many years I have prepped and shown classic cars in concourse competion and won many trophies for presentation of paintwork and engine bays and interiors.

The area I will concentrate on to start off with is valeting.

A valet will include; cleaning the interior dash, door cards, plastic trims vacuuming the carpets and seats, cleaning the door shuts, interior and exterior of the glass.

The exterior will be the wheels and tyres cleaned, paintwork shampooed with a quality wash and wax product. bugs removed, Tar removed, exterior trim treated with a protector. Particular attention will be payed to the under wheel arch area. 

Prices will be:
£45 for a saloon car or coupe
£60 for a van, pickup, people carrier or 4x4

These prices are for the Thurso Wick area. Further a field will attract a reasonable surcharge to cover travel time and mileage

Additional services will include:

Wax protection
Carpet shampoo or local stain removal
Leather interior clean and condition

The above prices are for one off work, regular monthly valets, contracts etc. by negotiation.

Small Print  :: 

I reserve the right to refuse any job that I feel I cannot do justice to.

Please make sure to remove personal effects and child seats/booster cushions and any debris such as drink cans bottles etc. from the car prior to me starting work.

Thanks for looking.

To book a valet please PM me or contact details:

Ian

01955 600431 Please leave a message and I will call you back.

email: ijmakeadifference@yahoo.co.uk

Oh, a couple of other things;

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish Roy at Ecosseautodetailing all the very best in his new life as a potter  :: 

If you need your car valeting this side of Xmas please, please let me know ASAP as it is bananas at the moment.

And don't forget my unique motorcycle valeting service!

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## upolian

Good luck with it buddy! I see somebody else has also decided to start up around here aswell so some nice fresh competition for you :P 

Cheers for the comment 'potter' ::  :: 

If your needing any equipment you know where theres a full kit forsale or bits separate  :Wink:

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## ducati

> Good luck with it buddy! I see somebody else has also decided to start up around here aswell so some nice fresh competition for you :P 
> 
> Cheers for the comment 'potter'
> 
> If your needing any equipment you know where theres a full kit forsale or bits separate


Cheers dude, I'll give you a shout.

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## ducati

Ahh! strategic business planning (I'm an expert don't you know). :: 

In view of the current weather conditions I will be working right up to and including Christmas Eve, so if you need a valet once the weather has cleared (and I believe it is forcast to last for 2 weeks)  :: , let me know and I will fit as many in as I can. :Grin:

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## ducati

I'm looking to discuss ideas with fellow business people and potential customers in Caithness on the best tools/methods to use.

Obviously caithness.org is a highly popular medium and one that is kindly provided to us. 

I'm not a fan of websites for when your business is very local. No point in paying to promote your business in China is there?

I like the idea of direct marketing via leaflet drops and posters, anyone have experience of the effectivness of this?  :Grin:

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## upolian

> I'm looking to discuss ideas with fellow business people and potential customers in Caithness on the best tools/methods to use.
> 
> Obviously caithness.org is a highly popular medium and one that is kindly provided to us. 
> 
> I'm not a fan of websites for when your business is very local. No point in paying to promote your business in China is there?
> 
> I like the idea of direct marketing via leaflet drops and posters, anyone have experience of the effectivness of this?


Build up a firm list of clients,they will speak more than flyers etc,recommendations will take you alot further than an advert,speaking from experience an advert just makes people aware of you not how good you are  :Smile:

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## ducati

> Build up a firm list of clients,they will speak more than flyers etc,recommendations will take you alot further than an advert,speaking from experience an advert just makes people aware of you not how good you are


True enough, word of mouth is the best advert, to promote yourself widely and quickly though, you need a method to persuade new customers to contact you.

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## upolian

> True enough, word of mouth is the best advert, to promote yourself widely and quickly though, you need a method to persuade new customers to contact you.


My advantage was having a website to show off my work,i can't see any other way around it if im honest,people could go to my site to see what i did,contact details and photos of my work,some if not alot of people on here may not want their car valeted,there is a wider market up here for it,the majority not registered on here im afraid.

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## lindsaymcc

Will deffo be in contact in the new year for you to do my Zafira!

Only want the inside done though if thats an option!

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## fordfocus66

Richards garage in thurso do a very good Valet service

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## upolian

> Richards garage in thurso do a very good Valet service


Speaking from experience?

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## ducati

> My advantage was having a website to show off my work,i can't see any other way around it if im honest,people could go to my site to see what i did,contact details and photos of my work,some if not alot of people on here may not want their car valeted,there is a wider market up here for it,the majority not registered on here im afraid.


Yes, that's why I wanted to discuss local advertising media.  ::

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## upolian

Website is the way forward then  :Smile:

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## tonkatojo

> Website is the way forward then


For heavens sake give him a price for your's.  :Wink:

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## ducati

> Website is the way forward then


Yes, how do people know about the website? Does it come up if you search on Valeting in Caithness for instance?

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## upolian

Start of by advertising on here,get some work,hand out business cards(a way for people to have your contact details,not to to advertise,unless you have a website,then they can be used for advertising and contacting) for those people,word soon gets around  :Smile:  i asked about flyers and people said they would rather hear a recommendation from somebody,ink on paper means nothing therefore a waste of money in a business sense(business cards prove more effective)  :Smile:  depends on the your strategy and what way you think about this,i got a few tips from well established and popular valeters! Another thing to bare in mind is the image you paint yourself posting on a forum etc,i was a bit of a lets say idiot replying on here before i started the business so i lost a bit of work due to it,live n learn though i guess,i may aswell pass on what ive learnt over the years,no use to me around here anymore ::

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## ducati

[quote=upolian;792525]Another thing to bare in mind is the image you paint yourself posting on a forum etc/quote]

I think, for me,  that ship has sailed  ::  :: 

Thanks for the advice. And I've just registered on a couple of free directories which mean your business comes up on key word searches as if you have a web site.

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## tonkatojo

[QUOTE=ducati;792530][quote=upolian;792525]Another thing to bare in mind is the image you paint yourself posting on a forum etc/quote]

I think, for me,  that ship has sailed  ::  :: 


Now why would you be thinking that ?. Surely everyone loves a tory. :Wink:  You might even attract a few "socialists".

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## ducati

Err yes...looking for ideas on business optimization.

These free directories must work, I've just had Yahoo on the phone wanting to sell me space, after I registered about 8 minutes ago  ::

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## ducati

While working on various aspects of setting the marketing up I've decided on a name.

Makeadifference Mobile Valeting.

This will be on all marketing material websites etc. from now on.

Hope you like it  :Grin:

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## upolian

Catchy  :Smile:  but id remove the 'you reserve the right to refuse a job if you dont think you can do it justice' from your advert,defeats the purpose of the business name  :Smile:

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## ducati

> Catchy  but id remove the 'you reserve the right to refuse a job if you dont think you can do it justice' from your advert,defeats the purpose of the business name


Can't. Its too late to edit it.  :Frown:

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## upolian

> Can't. Its too late to edit it.


Pm a mod  :Wink:

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## espadartecars

Well if your as good as Upolian i will give you a try once the weather gets better.I have a 5 series BMW.
Upolian did our cars in the past and always made such a good job. :: 
Good luck with your new venture.

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## ducati

Excellent! Why not treat her to a leather clean and condition too. I have lots of experience with BMWs, Mercedes and Jaguars  ::

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## upolian

As explained previously,anybody who has worked with me...has purely worked with me,they have no relation to my company,reputation,or anything related to my work,im afraid people will have to form their own opinion of your work,i started at the bottom and worked up you will have to do the same  :Smile:  That's the way i see things in any new business  :Smile: 

Edit: This is just a note for people who relate me to somebody else.

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## ducati

Yes, I absolutely want people to judge me on my own work  ::

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## ducati

A quick update folks.

Still fighting the weather, we are fully booked up until Friday 17th Dec at the moment. Still have some slots for the following week up to Christmas eve and we're taking bookings for January.

Thanks

PM for bookings or email ijmakeadifference@yahoo.co.uk

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## ducati

Well folks, that's it for Xmas I think. 

I will be working again from Monday 3rd Jan (although I am booked up until the 5th, weather permitting). So I'm taking bookings for both Cars and Motorcycles, if you are desperate between Christmas and New Year for visiting family etc. then give me a PM or email ijmakeadifference@yahoo.co.uk and I will do my best to accommodate you.

So, all the very best for Christmas and New Year. I wish all Peace and Happiness.  :Grin:

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## ducati

Hi folks. Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year celebration.

The weather is allowing work to commence and we are getting nice and busy. 

Contacts here: Makeadifference Mobile Car & Motorcycle Valeting or just PM me for a booking.

Don't worry if you use your car all week, I'm quite happy to offer my valeting service for both cars and motorcycles at the weekend.

Cheers

Ian

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## ducati

Hi, I get a lot of PMs asking about pricing so I thought I would bump this thread. The pricing is on the opening post.

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