[leapstallbuildings]

Vans worth £6k at a push

eh??

15000 miles ? 2007

where you buying vans as ill have one at that price ??!!

That's what I thought too.  Mine (2.9tonne Trafic) was a bit under three years old but with higher mileage (37,000).  I paid 8k.  This was about right too I think as the only cheaper ones I saw at the time never mentioned mileage in the ad - a sure sign that it's high.  My Trafic is 100bhp though and is SWB.  I imagine that comparing it to what I bought that van could be 9k+.  However, there wasn't any noticeable economic problems when I bought mine.  That can make a difference as it's possible to sell cheaply just to get some money in.
Mind you, 17.5k sounds a bit over the top for the whole bit.

[david watts]

lads done the same thing here; bought a system 5 k a van 5 k gearbox faild in van
and hes not got a lot of custys takes time.

[Londoner]

Its a sad story but he's not alone. Obviously somebody who has blown his redundancy money on a new venture that hasn't worked out.

But why hasn't it worked out? I have always said that the beauty of window cleaning is that it can't fail, every house has windows and the country is full of houses.

I have been very vocal in the past in my criticism of franchises. I know this is not a franchise but its the next best thing. Not just in window cleaning but all over, they appeal to the wrong sort of people and too many of the companies are all too willing to take their money.

I have seen them come and go around here. There were two about some time back and they have both gone again now. I've heard stories of people being quoted £35 to clean a three bed semi.

All too often it seems to me the plans of these people doesn't include the two words "hard work".

There was a franchise scheme that was being strongly advertised a couple of years back, interestingly I haven't seen it advertised for a while so I hope it has folded. It was a nasty little scheme that couldn't possibly have ever worked.
The idea was you bought one of these shiny new vans, canvassed up a load of commercial work (how?) then employed a couple of mugs to do the work while you sat back and watched the readies roll in.

A similar sort of scheme seemed to be running with wheelie bin cleaning. Those trucks have disappeared as well.

With hard work and effort you can't fail in window cleaning but you don't need a £28 van.

[ccmids]

you are right ,,With hard work and effort you can't fail in window cleaning but you don't need a £28 van
i think  the new van thing is show ,but it can go the othe way some people dont like to see you do well and tend to go for the underdog,

[Mike_G]

Vans worth £6k at a push

eh??

15000 miles ? 2007

where you buying vans as ill have one at that price ??!!

Me too please.

On a more serious note I have noticed an awful lot of kit for sale recently like this when I guess people get made redundant and think oh window cleanings easy I will do that, and to be honest they may well look at sites like this where people are saying they earn well over £20.00 an hour etc etc and compared to a £7 per hour factory job it sounds great but if the money is so good (and yes I know some do earn damn good money) why are there so many pleas on here for second hand roof racks, used poles and even used pumps if the money was as good as it supposed to be why not buy new?  Mind you 28k what a rip off, that is taking the p big time

[lee09]

Morning,
I think the vans worth, maybe as Dave means it is; To a dealer it's worth 6k so they can sell to you and I for 8k.
Lee

[Mike_G]

Morning,
I think the vans worth, maybe as Dave means it is; To a dealer it's worth 6k so they can sell to you and I for 8k.
Lee

Thats why I wouldn't but one from a dealer but its worth over 6k all day long

[matt]

who is to blame with these slick sales teams

i have seen the sales van ( a old local guy phoned me up and asked if i would come along with him as i was using a WFP system ) he was a older guy who was going to buy a system to save climbing ladders for the next 8 years ( then he was going to retire )

some of the sales pitch was just out of this world, people really are sold if they buy the system ( which they are proud to say is the most expensive, thus must be the best ) work will stream in, not just any work, take a average window cleaner they earn 10 quid a house, well when people see the van pull up, they will know the system is the best and they will pay much more than a normal window cleaner  :
oh and the council will phone you up and ask you to do work for them, that 1 made me laugh at the guy

people do fall for the sales patter

its normally people in the mid to late 20's who just love the idea of having the most expensive system you can buy, they are prime to have a slick salesman ( who has practice in selling a system ) take the 10 years redundancy money money away OR and this is the more likely scenario, they sign them upto 200 - 250 a month payments ( afterall this also pays the sales team some money ) and they tell them to keep the redundancy to fall back on whilst they are building up the business

what the sales team forget to mention, you do need houses to clean, yes sometimes it will come in fast, sometimes it will be slow, but whilst your van is parked outside your house, its not earning and your eating into what money you have saved and every month your paying out that 200 - 250

a little research goes along way

[daz1977]

there seems to be a lot of failed business around over the last 8 years, i think it is becasue we have this so called skills shortage in this country compnays are poping up all over the place training people ie plumbers, electrions plasters, tilers,   charging them 5 grand selling them expensive materials, and then saying sit at home and the work will flow in,  they do it for 6 months then go back to geting a job

a lot of the problem is the trainers, i had an apprentise plumbing working with me a few years ago,  he got told by his trainer in college, he will be on a 1000 a week, and can charge 500 just to swap a bathroom over (no tiling)  these then go out start quoting all the jobs they can  really high, dont get any of it then when other people get the work, say they are being under cut


i think that is happening in wc, a lot buy the systems,  quote a price for a job, that they got told, they should charge, dont get it then moan that the bloke who got it must be a doley working for beer money if he is doing it cheaper

[ccmids]

i do think certain towns vilages and so on have a price difrance on what you can charge to clean the windows , so with that in mind when buying such a kit as this one care should be taken.
ionics and that wont say that they just want the sale , one day a new company will bring something out and cheaper and knock ionics/ brodex off the map because they are so expensive .

[Window Washers]

i do think certain towns vilages and so on have a price difrance on what you can charge to clean the windows , so with that in mind when buying such a kit as this one care should be taken.
ionics and that wont say that they just want the sale , one day a new company will bring something out and cheaper and knock ionics/ brodex off the map because they are so expensive .

One thing that Ionics do better is there marketing, hence why they are the most expensive and make the most money, if someone riveled that they do at a cheaper price they would be knocked of the nice perch they sit on at the moment.

[ccmids]

yes i know what you mean , at the end of the day most systems do the same thing , i dont think ionics are any better than brodex , it is marketing.

[Window Washers]

yes i know what you mean , at the end of the day most systems do the same thing , i dont think ionics are any better than brodex , it is marketing.

The crash test and marketing are there top 2 things, but have to give them credit also for selling resin in the fancy tubes to all there customers, now that is very clever repeat business for what is just resin inside that is more than likely available elsewhere cheaper (anyone know whzat there resin is ?), goes to show fancy packages sell for more money.

Well done Ionics for doing it I say,

if you have the money why not get one.

As with anything don't believe everything your told as the truth can be very flexible

[ftp]

As has been said before, if you buy one of these big shiny all dancing all singing jobs and take out a finance deal on it you are going to be stuffed when you get a bad winter like this one - not enough work in the first place and no work at all when the snow came will ruin many dreamers who get sucked in by the hype.
I had a look at another company - close to £30,000 for their top of the range set up, they do tend to lead you on a bit giving you sheets of paper with potential earnings and proof of someone who actually turns it over.
Don't know if it's the sellers fault or the buyer being so naive to be honest.

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

As has been said before, if you buy one of these big shiny all dancing all singing jobs and take out a finance deal on it you are going to be stuffed when you get a bad winter like this one - not enough work in the first place and no work at all when the snow came will ruin many dreamers who get sucked in by the hype.
I had a look at another company - close to £30,000 for their top of the range set up, they do tend to lead you on a bit giving you sheets of paper with potential earnings and proof of someone who actually turns it over.
Don't know if it's the sellers fault or the buyer being so naive to be honest.

It tends to happen on here too. It's the easiest thing in the world to spend someone else's money!
It's easier to listen to what you WANT to hear rather than what you NEED to know.

Knowing all the cons as well as the pros will be more beneficial, although you may not be popular for pointing them out!!

[R W C™]

well those who earn big dollor they probs prefer to spend it on a all singing all dancing system every 3 years as it beats paying the tax man the money instead. 

[Mike_G]

well those who earn big dollor they probs prefer to spend it on a all singing all dancing system every 3 years as it beats paying the tax man the money instead. 

Thats my plan but I dont think i will be knocking on the door of ionics

[JSMC]

why dot soeone email the guy ge thim on here and give hiom some real advice. guy must be gutted

[stephen s]

yes i know what you mean , at the end of the day most systems do the same thing , i dont think ionics are any better than brodex , it is marketing.

The crash test and marketing are there top 2 things, but have to give them credit also for selling resin in the fancy tubes to all there customers, now that is very clever repeat business for what is just resin inside that is more than likely available elsewhere cheaper (anyone know whzat there resin is ?), goes to show fancy packages sell for more money.

Well done Ionics for doing it I say,

if you have the money why not get one.

As with anything don't believe everything your told as the truth can be very flexible

yeah I buy fancy Ionics resin in those tubes things, cost about £80   but then again the 1st one lasted from Aug 06 to Jan 09 when I decided to change it although I didn't really need to with tds showing 000    just thought I would change it and the present one is now 1 year old and still 000 tds


how much do you spend on resin over a year ?

[jonnyald]

could be any reason why hes selling it , illness perhaps, or sick of windows, maybe 2 weeks ago won the lottery so out with this old working for a living lark.