Hey guys, I've been cleaning carpets for about 13 years now, since Junior High. And I've used a number of different portables and truck mounts. I've been on my own part time for four years now. And this past year, I officially went out on my own full-time. My wife and I have a bit of personal school debt that has us a little financially strapped right now. So I can't afford much. But I found a deal where I can get a 2003 Ford E-250 with 97,000 miles on it, and a brand new Boxxer 318 for just $330/month. I know the Boxxer 318 isn't anything close to alot of the bigger machines. But I'm just looking for a cheap truckmount in that monthly payment range to let me grow my business over the next couple of years. And I feel like it would be better to do that than to keep lugging my portable around for two more years until I can afford a bigger machine. Any thoughts?
Sounds good to me .. just make sure and have the van checked out very good last break job on my van was 750.00 some trans prob was 800.00 and the heater core went out no heat was 650.00 tires about 100.00 each If you jump to fast it could hurt at the repair shop .. If the van and boxer check out then looks great Do you know how to check out the boxer or any TM ? How do they both start ? Oil leaks ? with the van up hill Can it do more than 20 ? drive it hard and see how it will run ? TM will it hold heat and hows the vac ? Lots of other guys on here can help out as well .. I like the low payment in times like this its smart .. I closed out the 401 and drained all my savings to keep my payment low .. Can you post some pics ?
The dealership selling the van says that they run all of their vehicles through a thorough inspection. Plus, I can have my own mechanic look at it. The Boxxer machine is actually brand new. There is a convention tomorrow here in Denver where a number of companies are bringing their machines to do hour long demonstrations per company. They are offering $200 of chemicals, a $100 gas card, free oil changes for a year, a $2300 portable, a 2 year parts and labor warranty, and $1000 cash back all for free as an incentive to purchase a Boxxer truckmount. Then, they will also be offering some other discounts tomorrow that I don't even know about yet. I have been doing alot of referral-based marketing. And I've got some insurance agencies and other places that are willing to use me and to refer me out to others as soon as I get a truckmount. So it would be an opportunity to expand my business into places that I simply cannot get into right now. With a 10-15% down payment on both the van and the machine, I can get the payments down to $330/month. And that payment is all that I can afford right now. The dealership has a number of vans that fit this description. Here is a link to one of them. http://www.familytrucksandvans.com/display.cfm?page=vehicle&vehicleID=271986 Thanks for the advice.
Van looks good and can't do better than new as far as the TM .. Every one I know of likes the Boxer .. Its made here So Good luck and let us know what you end up doing ?
good luck with your decision rick. stick to your guns with your payment. if that is what you feel comfortable with stay with it. the boxxer is a great investment and the van can last you several years. the van will more than likely go before the tm but you can always swap vans.
Thanks guys, I went ahead and put the deposit down. I also asked them to throw in Howard Partridge's marketing module. So they are letting me have my choice of one of the modules. I'm debating between getting the referral module, the marketing and advertising module, or the pricing module. My payments are going to be just a little bit more than what I told you guys earlier because I added a dri-master upholstery tool and some extra hoses. I'm pretty excited to see it all come together. Thanks again.
Great Investment. Stay focused and talk to evreyone. Get creative in your advertising. You have the experience now reap the harvest. I beleive you made a smart choice.
$333.00 per month... great low payments, I ran portables for 23 years, they are good and get the job done very well, however, I would not trade my truck mount for a full time portable now. I have boosted production through efficiency Ie; More heat, pressure, vacuum also not having to lug buckets of water, or find a water source and no more popped breakers or blown fuses, my life is easier on the job taking all the stress from above mentioned I can concentrate on pre - inspections with the customer more and also have more time to clean baseboards edges and so forth and also know the carpets and upholstery are going to dry fast too. The Boxxer 318 is all the truck mount you need to get the job done, and done very well. Good luck to you.peace
$90 per week is a great investment. You already have work lined up and you will be more productive on the work you already have. Good decision to buy what you need without going deep into debt to look good. That van looks very profesional to boot. I would buy some full cover hubcaps for it. The kind that ford made late 90s. They are available everywhere aftermarket. They look great. I buffed out my van, bought new hubcaps and I've been asked a lot if I bought a new van, and my van is a 97.
Spray the back of that van with rino liner befor you put in the truck mount you'll be happy you did later on
I just did my own on monday: Honda Accord=45 mins 2005 E-250=6.5 hours What a pita, drivers side took me 5 hours the other side 1.5... I haven't done a break job that had bearings in at least ten years... Parts alone were 280.00! At the time I thought I should have taken it in but now happy I did it. LOL I pulled all the tools out for that job.
Keith I just did my Sprinter's brakes not to long ago, 600 bucks in parts!!! I got the Bosch brake pads though because that is what it came with.
Great idea. I just stole a 2008 chevy express cargo van and that is one of the first things I am doing before installing my boxer.
My tech does quite well with our Boxxer 421 mod. The first 4 months we worked the heck out of it. Now it's completely paid off. Since we ripped it to shredds and stripped every useless part we could and added kero for heat source; it does the trick for our restaurant chain contract. :bigsmiley: Congrats dude; work hard and save every penny anyway you can!!!
Great investment it seems like a good deal and plus that drimaster will make cleaning upholstery a breeze. Good luck.:AddEmoticons0423:
When I originally started this thread, I posted the link to the van that I was going to buy. But then when I called to set up the appointment that afternoon, the van had just sold. So I took the next month or so to save up and pay for this van in cash. It's a Ford E-350 with 114,000 miles on it. I bought it for $3200. And they installed new rotors and brake pads yesterday. Plus, my mechanic neighbor is willing to do any other needed work on it for free in exchange for free carpet cleaning.
I'm cleaning out the back today, and putting Herculiner in it based on recommendations from some of the guys on TMF.
