$250 for a wash, dry and interior wipe down?

[MOFU]

a friend of mine goes to a detailer company out in the Rockland are (about 20 mins east of ottawa, ontario, canada), she goes there once every 2 and half months to get her dodge grand caravan cleaned and one of the "basic" package is the exterior hand wash, dried, interior vacuume and wipe down for 250, that make sense? i know it's different in all cities/state/province etc. but dang, there are only about 4 major detailing company out here in the ottawa region and all goes for that price?
I'm currantly price shopping so that I have an idea but didn't think it was that much...

[Detailing by M]

Re: $250 for a wash, dry and interior wipe down?

Wow. $250 for a wash? I'd love to get that. I'd charge $55-$75 for that service and the local car wash would do it for $20 bucks.My full details are $160-$260.She's getting riped off.

[Shawn T.]

I would charge and could only get msybe about 50 to 70 bucks.

I would love 250 though :-)

[MOFU]

Re: $250 for a wash, dry and interior wipe down?

she wrote down the prices for me so bare with me
gold pkg includes basic hand wash, gem coat paint protection, interior vacuum, total interior shampoo, interior detailing ?? fabric protection/leather treatment, odor eliminator and engine shampoo goes for 460 plus tax.

the silver doesn't include the odor eliminator and engine shampoo and that goes for 325 plus tax

[Detailing by M]

^^^^ wow! Are you kidding me?
Tell her to stay away from these shysters.

[MOFU]

Re: $250 for a wash, dry and interior wipe down?

while looking over the net for prices around ottawa, canada, this is pretty much the going rate...I'm thinking of going "part time" till I can get more work for full time but I thought these prices were crazy no?

[Selectchoice]

Re: $250 for a wash, dry and interior wipe down?

while looking over the net for prices around ottawa, canada, this is pretty much the going rate...I'm thinking of going "part time" till I can get more work for full time but I thought these prices were crazy no?

From a purely business perspective, no the prices aren't crazy. Well, not if people enough people are prepared to pay to cover their business costs and generate a sufficient income.

The perceived worth of any given good or service is truly in the mind of the intended purchaser. As much as these prices may seem high to the majority of us, if they can charge a premium rate and generate enough income, all power to them.

[sunday joe]

Re: $250 for a wash, dry and interior wipe down?

I guess P.T. Barnum had it right.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: $250 for a wash, dry and interior wipe down?

From a purely business perspective, no the prices aren't crazy. Well, not if people enough people are prepared to pay to cover their business costs and generate a sufficient income.

The perceived worth of any given good or service is truly in the mind of the intended purchaser. As much as these prices may seem high to the majority of us, if they can charge a premium rate and generate enough income, all power to them.

Well said.

If those prices are fairly common in the area, then that's obviously the price the market will bare in that area. What we don't know about this shop is how it's presented - is there a very comfortable waiting area with large, overstuffed leather chairs, free Wi-Fi, free coffee and pastries, etc? It's possible that the place could be as much about the experience as it is the cleaning. There's a shop in the Agoura Hills area of suburban LA that's like this. It's absolutely gorgeous inside and out and they get top dollar for their services. Obviously this sort of thing doesn't appeal to everyone, but for some it's quite important.

Hey, if people heavy into this hobby are willing to spend $100 on 8 oz of wax (or $200, or $500 - and many of them do), then charging $250 for a full interior/exterior cleaning may not be that crazy. Heck, we know guys who upcharge that much to put on a coat of the latest generation of durable paint coatings.

[mileojule]

Re: $250 for a wash, dry and interior wipe down?

Tell her to stay away from these shysters.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: $250 for a wash, dry and interior wipe down?

If the facility is doing good work, and if people are happy to pay the price, and this seems to be the going rate for these type of facilities in the area, how can you call it unfair, call the shop shysters, etc? Wouldn't a shyster be one of those "pro detailers" who charge $xxx.xx and leave the car full of rotary swirls, wax residue around all the trim and emblems, and then say the only way to fix the problem is to repaint the car? We've certainly seen and heard plenty of those stories and it drives us crazy to hear them. On the flip side, we know guys who charge well over $1000.00 (or even double that) for a major correction/full detail on high end cars. Are they shysters/scammers/con artists too? If the car owner is happy to pay the price - after doing their own due diligence, of course - what's the problem?

[Detailing by M]

Re: $250 for a wash, dry and interior wipe down?

"basic" package is the exterior hand wash, dried, interior vacuume and wipe down for 250

wash for 250, that's unfair.

[Selectchoice]

Re: $250 for a wash, dry and interior wipe down?

wash for 250, that's unfair.

It's not unfair in any way.

People can do one of three things. 1. Pay the price if they are happy to do so; or 2. Walk away and choose not to spend their money there; or 3. Perform the service themselves.

Life is full of choices. Unless people are being physically forced into paying the prices these shops ask, then there is no problem or issue here.

Also, no one here can know for sure their fixed costs. These businesses could well be asking a price that isn't allowing a huge profit, but barely breaking even or worse. Some areas are hugely popular to business and rent/wages/etc can be a huge burden to a business in these places.

Making an analysis based solely on what others are able to charge is just too simplistic.

[Tuck91]

Re: $250 for a wash, dry and interior wipe down?

While $250 is a bit excessive for a wash & vac. Any local mobile guy not running a big shop or even a small shop with little overhead would undercut them in a second. I see this everyday; Someting is missing here. Maybe they are doing heavy fleet washes, RVs, etc.

I am not one to say something is a rip off or comment on another business model & how they run it but I think something may be missing here. Like the above poster said, they may have to charge that rate to make just a small profit.

Generally from reading the forums & running a small detail business myself, heres what the common price point is for auto detail service work around here where I live. Theres businesses around here at all different levels of price point. Note that these are not my prices but the general price range advertised by local competitors.

Basic wash & tire shine $15 to $25.
Wash, vac, tire shine, glass cleaning & air freshener $25 to $55.
Wash & Wax $45 to $120.
Wholesale Detailing $75 to $120.
Full Exterior/Interior Detail $120 to $300

[DrdetailNashville]

Re: $250 for a wash, dry and interior wipe down?

I can't charge that much for those services, but if they can then more power to them. Also this is in Canada correct? I imagine its really cold there I could definitely see an upcharge if all the work has to be done indoors. Lots more overhead to have a heated shop with floor drains to wash a car.