Dr Dealerships and production! ?

[J4o2el7]

So today a good friend of mine that works at a dealership suggested looking detailing cars for her dealership and so forth. So I started asking questions, how much do they pay, how many cars do the people do a day that they use now, pretty basic questions.

So she said that the guy that comes in charges 150 flat rate, and that's interior and exterior, she wasn't sure as in specifics, and I asked how many vehicles they get done in a day, it was 2-4 per day then find out there would be at least 2 people working.

My question is , are any of you guys working at dealerships? What's your production rate? I would imagine they are using rotary, I have never used them before and really do t want to. So would this be an application for the Meguiars Paint Reconditioning Cream? Would this be fast enough, are they claying? Or are they cheating and using a glaze to fill everything so they don't have to work as much and do it right.

Right now using the MF system I am at about 6 hours for , interior, engine bay, wash, clay, correction, wax, and all tires and trim. I do tend to pay attention to detail and want to do the best I can or I feel guilty.

And ideas or suggestions would be fantastic. I come here because you guys know product and how it works and what would be the best in a day to day life scenario. And yes I know all paints are and can be different. Thanks for any suggestions or ideas .

Joel

[JGdetailing]

To be honest 150.00 isn't good. Specially if it is a flat rate and your doing both inside and exterior. Also if your doing 2-4 vehicles a day. Wonder why they priced it that low.

[gclark26]

I am not detailing for a deslership. But I have used D151. D151 has good cut and leaves a good finish. I normally use a white LC polish pad. This pad doesnt seem to leave any marring behind. D151 will save you from doing tbe wax step.
Based on what I have read on detailing forums, dealerships arent interested in your best effort. Just make it shine and be fast. Working in this fashion may not match your desire to be perfect.

[exploreco]

Re: Dr
Dealerships and production! ?

To be honest 150.00 isn't good. Specially if it is a flat rate and your doing both inside and exterior. Also if your doing 2-4 vehicles a day. Wonder why they priced it that low.

I bet it is because the dealer didn't want to pay anymore so the really wanted the deal and they landed on that. And I also bet these cars aren't done very well. No way they can be. Wonder if that is $150 per car or per day?

[J4o2el7]

Yeah I was think 200 at least. The d151 would be impo the only way possible, unless using a glaze only. Not 150 a day, it's 150 per car. Just blows my mind they are doing up to 4 a day. I would imagine that's got to be 4 hours per car. Well I appreciate the feed back.

Also she told me they outsource the details because if they used one of their guys it would be at a rate of 105 per hour.

[Jarhead0754]

I gurantee they aren't doing the level of work ur thinking. It's prob a quick vacuum, windows, and wipe down. Nothing fancy. And the exterior is just a basic wash and highly doubt there's any wax other than if its in the soap. Followed by a tire dressing.

I would lay it out as a few packages for her to choose. That basic quickt the other guy does and u know its not much if its 2 guys for $150 a car. Or add 2 other packages the customer there can upgrade to with full on correction being top dog. And the middle I would do the 151.

[J4o2el7]

I would lay it out as a few packages for her to choose. That basic quickt the other guy does and u know its not much if its 2 guys for $150 a car. Or add 2 other packages the customer there can upgrade to with full on correction being top dog. And the middle I would do the 151.

I think this might be right approach! And I agree there just is no way they are doing much!

[ycdriveclean]

Re: DrDealerships and production! ?

$150 is very good for dealership work.

If you disagree, then i doubt youve done any work for dealers. Over here in CA, i can get around $100 per car doing a wholesale detail. If you expect to make $50/hr doing a dealership wholesale detail, look elsewhere. But you can easily make $25/hr. I can get cars done in 3 hours and suvs in 4

Heres how i do it

10 mins Dry brush interior, air purge, vacuum
10 mins Prespray engine bay, agitate, rinse, air purge dry
10 mins prespray door jambs, gas door trunk jamb, wheel wells, tires, agitate, rinse, spray wheel brightener, agitate, rinse
15 mins Prespray bugs, tar, agitate, rinse, wash car, rinse, water blade dry hood windows roof and trunk
20 mins prespray carpet, agitate, spray rinse water, vac, wipe remaining dirt and water
20 mins prespray seats, agitate, spray rinse water, vac, wipe remaining dirt and water. If leather, spray seats and agitate with da brush, wipe
25 mins clean headliner, clean all panels with apc/dressing mixture scrub with brush as necessary
15 mins clean door jamb gaskets with apc/dressing mix, clean all inside glass
60 mins glaze/polish/wax with aio polish and rotary or da, polish headlights too, spray tire and wheelwell dressing, clean outside glass, final touchups, final vac

The key to getting the most out of a wholesale detail is to forget your detailer integrity and realize that youre doing dealer cars to make money. Instead of working to get the best results, be proud of efficient work. Learn to be efficient. Dont worry about drying every drop of water. Dont worry about getting the wheelwells spotless. The key is to not worry about the little things and to just let the overall makeover of car wow them.

This is all bad advice if youre doing higher end retail work, but is absolutely the truth when doing flat rate wholesale work: Use dressing to your advantage. Use glaze to your advantage. Use strong wheel and tire cleaners to your advantage. Use machines to your advantage, like das with carpet brushes. Use garden pump sprayers. Use a water blade. Use one bucket. Dont clay unless its real bad. Use a rotary when necessary. Dont lay down tons of water when shampooing if it isnt necessary. Focus more on the inside than out bc interiors need to be more than acceptable. So do headlights and front ends..

Regular people and especially dealers who only see money or lack of it, will not notice everything you notice. So putting in 3 hours of work should yield a solid makeover. And if you can get $150 for your highly efficient yet solid effort, youd make $50/hr.

[ycdriveclean]

Re: Dr
Dealerships and production! ?

Also, if possible, upcharge if its going to take way longer. Like if it has pet hair

[Michael Stoops]

Re: DrDealerships and production! ?

$150 is very good for dealership work.

If you disagree, then i doubt youve done any work for dealers. Over here in CA, i can get around $100 per car doing a wholesale detail. If you expect to make $50/hr doing a dealership wholesale detail, look elsewhere. But you can easily make $25/hr. I can get cars done in 3 hours and suvs in 4


etc etc etc

Excellent points and exactly what we were thinking. Thanks for even outlining your process for doing this sort of production work.

It is very important to keep in mind what the customer is looking for when doing any detailing project. In this case, the dealership is the customer, and if all they're looking for is a thorough cleaning inside and out, and they expect you to be able to do multiple cars a day, then that's what you shoot for. Making the customer happy. Not every detail needs to end with a show car shine. Not everyone is expecting that, and not everyone is willing to pay for that. There is a big difference between "production work", "high end detailing" and so called "hack" work. "Hack" is used far too often to describe anyone not doing really high end work, and that is both unfortunate and totally unfair.

What ycdriveclean described is quality, efficient production work. There is nothing at all "hack" about it. It meets or, more like, even exceeds the customer's expectations and he gets paid at a rate he's happy with for the time and work done. Everyone's happy.

The very best detailers we know understand this and use it to their advantage. Sure, the guys doing extreme high end work on exotics post the most drool worthy pictures of their work, but most of them are also cleaning up SUVs and mini vans on a regular basis. In fact, those are most likely their bread and butter. Yes, there are guys who only do extreme high end work, but in the overall scheme of things, they are few and far between. Remember, Lamborghini has only built about 30,000 cars in total since they started building cars 50 years ago. Dodge sells that many mini vans in 4 months.

[J4o2el7]

Ycdrivenclean, I really appreciate that and it does give me another look on how I should or would approach the dealerships. That detailing would be and is new to me. I agree it wouldn't be a hack job at all. And that's why I came here because I know I could get good quality answers on the expectations and what they look for. Just sounds like I need to get some more goodies in my arsenal before I approach said dealerships.

I appreciate everybody's response and helping guide me to what I can expect and what I can offer going in , instead have egg in my face. Thanks again everyone it helps a ton!

[Natron]

Re: DrDealerships and production! ?

Ycdriveclean and Mr. Stoops have solid info for you. In order to be profitable in this situation, you will need to be very organized and efficient. You will need competent help and good supplies. 10-20 cars per week will kill a man by himself. Many dealerships that outsource detailing are accustomed to free pickup and delivery that will require additional insurance. I am the recondition manager for a Toyota dealership. I have not been in your shoes exactly, but would try to help you if I can. I will say that the 2 products you mentioned D151 and MF Correction system are wise choices. Good luck, Nathan.