Buying in Bulk

mrclean81

mrclean81

New member
This has been covered before, but since the change over and all of the new members, I figured I would get a fresh perspective on the topic. Here's my dilemma. Being entirely self employed and working 7 days a week, I go through chemicals faster than I can buy them. I've always purchased those types of products from Car Brite, Pro, Auto Magic, etc because they were easily accessible, available locally, very high dilution ratios, and most importantly they work well. In the past few months, my Auto Magic guy died and the Car Brite/Pro guy retired. The guy that took over the route isnt too bright when it comes to his products and I finally just stopped buying from him. Its nothing against Car Brite because I LOVE a lot of their chemicals. Its not too often you find products that dilute 30:1 or even 200:1. I'm now looking for a new line to try out, preferably 5 gallons at a time. Buying little 32oz spray bottles of something for $20 + doesn't cut it for me. I've looked at Megs Detailer line and Chemical Guys, both which look decent, but it looks like 1 gallon jugs is the biggest they sell. What I really need is a good wheel cleaner that's safe for all wheels, a good APC, an unscented interior cleaner, and a tire/whitewall cleaner that won't turn the tires brown like some degreasers or strong APCs will. I've been using Griots stuff, and while they are great products, the economy in them sucks. I'll go broke trying to use that stuff on every vehicle I do. Any suggestions?
 
Your Car Brite guy isn't too Brite. :rofl

Nathan I'm sort of confused as to why you stopped buying the products because he wasn't to brite. Most times the end user is more knowledgable about what really works and what doesn't compared to the guy selling it. I said "most times" not always....

So based on that why can't you continue to buy what you really liked? If its a personality conflict you have with the guy then just order direct from Car Brite.

We do a spring and fall cleaning of all of our apparatus where everything is stripped off the trucks and they are cleaned, tools color coded and waxed. We don't have a car Brite guy so we just order direct and have it delivered for the same reason as you, cost, verses OTC stuff. Want to talk about using product do 9 Engines, 1 100' Tower Truck, 9 cars, 1 pick up and 7 trailers. So double that for the year and then add in the normal cleaning though out the year. We have the same problem, order direct if you have to.
 
Ive thought about that. It really is a personality conflict more than anything. I really hate the thought of paying the shipping cost of 100+ lb of chemicals every time I need to re-up. The Car Brite distribution warehouse is about 75 miles from here, and Ive even thought about just going there to buy. I know their products well and really cant afford not to use them. I may just have to bite the bullet on this one.
Zoomzoom, Ive purchased wholesale from some online distributors, but I normally buy my stuff by the 1 gallon or 5 gallon jug.
 
If you like the products, why not contact the distribution center directly and speak to them about your concerns with the route guy. They may be losing sales from other users as well, but don't know the reason.
 
You can try Stoner products. They sell in bulk. I have used some of there stuff and liked what I used. I don't think there shipping cost are a lot either. I would try another way to get what you like first tho. Is the guy really that bad?
 
I may do that as well. The owner of the distribution warehouse and I have become friends over the years and Im pretty sure he trusts my opinion. The new guy is new..thats about all I can say. He knows very little about the products hes selling, and has no previous deetailing experience to speak of. Just an annoyance when trying to buy from him. Maybe he will eventually catch on
 
Have you looked into P&S? Thats where I get all my bulk stuff their Enviro clean APC delutes 50:1 and a 5 gallon is 48$ it works really well too. As for wheel cleaner there is one called brake busters that works great on all wheels and is 8$ a gallon, or Mag wheel plus(acid) I pay 12.50 a gallon and if I buy 55 i thinks its 8$ a gallon that will clean the nastiest wheel in no time flat and it dilutes 4:1 for most application. Their glass cleaner I Litterally bought a 5 gallon 3 years ago still have half of it dultion on it says 10:1 but works fine 1000:1(something like that)
 
Ive used Stoners aerosol dressing and their glass cleaner. Both worked well. I will look into them as well as P&S. That sounds like something worth trying :)
 
Poorboys is another good one, and I would do business with Steve any day of the week. I may drop him a line tonight and see what he can do for me.
 
I've seen Meguiar's products offered in 5-gallon jugs and 55-gallon drums - might be worth checking with Meguiar's if they have a rep or distributor in your area who offers their products in those sizes?
 
umi000 said:
I've seen Meguiar's products offered in 5-gallon jugs and 55-gallon drums - might be worth checking with Meguiar's if they have a rep or distributor in your area who offers their products in those sizes?
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I agree... I know that DetailingDOTcom carries and sells some of the Meg's detailer line in 5 & 55 gallon sizes. You may want to get in contact with Todd or Meg's directly to see what your options are.
 
mrclean81 said:
Ive thought about that. It really is a personality conflict more than anything. I really hate the thought of paying the shipping cost of 100+ lb of chemicals every time I need to re-up. The Car Brite distribution warehouse is about 75 miles from here, and Ive even thought about just going there to buy. I know their products well and really cant afford not to use them. I may just have to bite the bullet on this one.
Zoomzoom, Ive purchased wholesale from some online distributors, but I normally buy my stuff by the 1 gallon or 5 gallon jug.
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How often do you have to stock up?

Maybe the drive there might be worth it for you as long you stock up with the supplies needed to last for awhile. Maybe look into becoming a distributor yourself if the new guys don't know what they are doing and maybe making a living thru that. I feel your pain in this business trying to make and save money to live on.
 
Megs is one I've been seriously looking at, especially their APC. Zoomzoom, I can easily go through a gallon of APC, interior cleaner, and white wall cleaner every week or two at the rate I'm working right now. Polish and sealant is the same way. Ill go through a 16oz bottle of polish in 2 or 3 weeks tops. I try not to skimp on quality when it comes to polish, wax, sealant, etc because I feel like those areas are where high quality products really make the difference. However, those products start costing a small fortune when your burning through them that fast. When one starts looking at the gallon jugs of stuff like BFWD and realizing how long that will last, it just doesn't make sense.
 
Dont take this the wrong way as I know nothing about your prices or business, but maybe you need to raise your prices. If you are doing that many cars and the products are cutting into your bottom line that heavy, you may want to consider raising your prices.
 
classofshine said:
Dont take this the wrong way as I know nothing about your prices or business, but maybe you need to raise your prices. If you are doing that many cars and the products are cutting into your bottom line that heavy, you may want to consider raising your prices.
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What if the bottom line isn't being cut into? What if he's just trying to maximize profits by buying in bulk?

Just sayin'...
 
classofshine said:
Dont take this the wrong way as I know nothing about your prices or business, but maybe you need to raise your prices. If you are doing that many cars and the products are cutting into your bottom line that heavy, you may want to consider raising your prices.
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Its not that they are cutting into my profit to the point that I can't eat or pay the bills, but after a while it does add up. I'm not cheap by any means for the area I live in. In fact I'm probably the most expensive. I'm not one to worry or obsess over money and profit. That's just not me. My biggest bugger is constantly running out of the stuff I need.
 
Contact Meguiar's,they can put you in touch with a wholsale guy. They have 5gallon drums of the detailers line.that is what I use
Mike
 
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