Working alone doing this on the side, advise please

[Stepinfetch]

Hello every one, I recently decided that I need some cash and that I have a LOT of detailing supplies in my garage. I decided to make a little flyer for work to have people get there car done. I have two problems however:
1. I dont know the price I should offer for what I do, and I do not know what I should offer.
2. When it comes to interior scrubbing, all I have is upholtry cleaner and rags. What should I buy instead of scrubbing all by hand that is cheaper? 500 dollars is way to much.

Here are my prices. How do they look and what should I add, take out?

Car Detailing

Dirty Car/Truck? Get your car fully detailed, cleaned, shined and protected for this summer. Give your car what it deserves! All detailing is done by hand, with high end products.

Whole 9 Yards
-Hand washing
-Clean Rims and Tires
-Tire Shine if wanted
-Hand Wax entire vehicle
-Fully sweep out the inside
-Clean and apply protection to dressing all dash areas
-Remove dust in areas of vents/nooks of the interior.
-Windows cleaned
-Air Freshener spray inside of vehicle
Car: $70.00 Truck/SUV/Van: $80.00-95.00

Whole 10 Yards
-Every thing listed above and in addition:
-Scrubbing/drying the interior/seats
-Clay Bar used on outside of the entire vehicle. This removes any micro contaminants and gives the
super smooth dirt free look/feel.
Car: $110 Truck/SUV/Van: $120-135.00
I also can change services around and can detail engine bays as well upon request. Thanks

[synacide]

what about swirl marks. i know that would be something lots of people would want removed other than contaminants with the clay and protectant with the wax.

i specialize in exteriors details only and charge $100 for wash, clay, glaze and seal. I never touch the inside.

[Stepinfetch]

Well I would love to be able to take out swirl marks perfectly but I do not have a buffer I do everything by hand. I have not learned to do this yet it will be a soon to be purchase.

[N.E.W.car]

You are way underpriced.

Your best bet is to call the established detailers in your particular area and see what their price schedule looks like.

Just think about it this way:

Say your $70 service takes 4 hours (average time for a small/medium sedan). Sure, $17.50 an hour sounds good - but once you subtract what you have spent on supplies, laundry, gas, ect...things aren't looking so good.

I am willing to bet that if you call around, other than shampoo-ing (sp?) carpets and seats, the detailers in your area are charging somewhere around $200-250 for what you are thinking is $70 worth of work. If you want to start talking about clay bar work and cleaning/polishing paint - those prices are going to skyrocket pretty quickly...

Detailers, as a whole, are underpaid. We are a truly skilled labor profession, and while I love what I do to put food on the table - it can be tough sometimes.

Hope this helps - and if you have any other questions, I am sure there are a lot of people on here who would love to help!

[Stepinfetch]

Thanks! I do have a problem however I put the flyer up and still no bites. Also note that every thing was 10 bucks cheeper there. I dont have any customers though. I need to start advertising where people actually want it done. I want a price that gets me customers unfortantly do you suggest upping these prices by about $20?

[inthedetails]

For a cheap start and a good arm workout, Scratch X will work wonders on swirls. Mike has posted numerous times about hand scratch removal:

Remvoing Scratches by Hand

Defects by Hand

So you can offer swirl removal without having a PC or G100.

I would recommend getting one as soon as your "capital" allows. It will reduce the time spent and give you awesome results.

Like these:

Washed and clayed here.



#80 and PC here.



I attached those photos to my customers bill, and his brother in law thought the second picture was a picture of the truck window.

It is hard to set flat prices for a detail. Vehicle size and condition will always come into play as far as how long it takes you. And ultimately, hours spent is what drives the prices....at least as far as you making any money.

I set my prices schedule and clearly state that prices will vary based on size and condition of the vehicle. I also offer scratch and defect removal separately, based on an evaluation of the defect and how long it will take to remove.

Word of mouth can and will be your best friend. I did two details this week (yes it is a side business for me, I am a Firefighter EMT the rest of my life) and got at least two more details out of it.

Your car is also a great way to advertise. (I fail at this, but I am trying. Like the Carpenter that never finshes his own house, mine are always last to get clean.)

I started by offering a "cheap" introductory package also. And maybe I took a bit of a beating, but in the end it got my name out there.

Good luck bro.

[Stepinfetch]

Ic, I do have scratch X, but I still am not a pro at it but im sure getting there its a great product. Another problem I have been wondering about is the flyer I have at work, I want ot raisethe prices but already like 15 people are "interested" and about 5 are "going to set something up soon." Do I simply tell them that next time the prices will be about $40 higher or something?

Also I was thinking about some buisness cars they are cheap and I can get a lot of them for the money to pass around. About your bill thing and the picture, I would love to do this as I saw it sugested in this forum, but what do you do? Is it a little 4x5 that you print out at walmart or something, I dont have a camera paper printer to do it cheaply.

[MandarinaRacing]

Originally posted by Stepinfetch
Another problem I have been wondering about is the flyer I have at work, I want ot raisethe prices but already like 15 people are "interested" and about 5 are "going to set something up soon." Do I simply tell them that next time the prices will be about $40 higher or something?

What I've heard some people do is to tell your co-workers that they are gatting an ULTRA SPECIAL PRICE, and not to discuss it with anybody.
Your new customers WILL get the full price. That way your co-workers will feel even more special and that not only they're getting an excellent teatment with top-notch products, but also a GREAT DEAL! (even more free advertising)

How does that sound?

Alex

[Stepinfetch]

Sounds like a plan, but that means I will charge full price next time I suppose

Im undecided if I want to now inlcude carpet cleaning. I do not have the proper tools to do it fast. I do have a shop vac though which can **** up with water will that be good enough for the time/money spent?

[buda]

Your prices are outrageously low compared to what professional detailers need to charge because of their costs of doing business, as a professional.

Typically, any legitimate detail business should be charging $50 per hour for their services. That hourly rate times the hours to do the job is the price. If the market will pay more then by all means you can charge more.

However, to justify a $50 an hour rate you would have to be a true professional with all the knowledge; the equipment; tools; supplies and chemicals to do the job properly.

Do you have a business license to operate a detail business?
Do you have insurance to cover any damage you might cause to a vehicle?
Do you have a containment mat to contain the waste water from going on to the ground or into the storm drain?

These are all things legitimate detailer must do to operate their business.

If you need help in determining what you need to do to become a legitimate detail business I would be most happy to offer any suggestion or help I can.

Also have a number of good ideas how you can generate business.

Regards
Bud Abraham
DETAIL PLUS SYSTEMS

[Superior Shine]

Originally posted by buda
Your prices are outrageously low compared to what professional detailers need to charge because of their costs of doing business...........

Yep!

[N.E.W.car]

Originally posted by Superior Shine
Yep!

I absolutely third that statement.

I just started my business, and I will tell you I charge almost three times what you charge - and I have been working non-stop for the last two weeks.

Once you get started, I firmly believe if the work you do is superior you WILL have clients. There might be times of highs and lows, but that is true with 99% of businesses.

I also don't have set-in-stone pricing. I will ballpark a price for clients over the phone, but I tell them I will only give a definite price AFTER I inspect the car in person.

I also charge extra for dark colors, and for exceptionally dirty vehicles.

If you want to make good money, it's out there - but it's also HARD work. Enjoyable, but HARD...

[Lt1Corvette]

I would stay away from engine detailing. Liability is high and it is really messy in all aspects.
I usually charge around 150 a car for a clay and wax with light interior cleaning. When in comes to swirl removal all depends on the car and what needs to be done. Just figure out what you want to make per hour after expenses and thats how you figure out what to charge.
I would get some business cards made instead of flyer's, all around better.

[N.E.W.car]

Originally posted by Lt1Corvette
I would stay away from engine detailing. Liability is high and it is really messy in all aspects.
I usually charge around 150 a car for a clay and wax with light interior cleaning. When in comes to swirl removal all depends on the car and what needs to be done. Just figure out what you want to make per hour after expenses and thats how you figure out what to charge.
I would get some business cards made instead of flyer's, all around better.

I don't do engines either - and my baseline charge is $200. That includes interior detailing in addition to what LT1 posted.
Don't undercut yourself, even to start with.

One thing I am doing is a referral program. If a client refers me to a friend/family member who gets their vehicle done, I give the client who referred them 15% off of their next detail/service.
It's a great way to expand your client-base, so the 15% isn't much to give up. Especially because they have to get something else done to get the discount!

[Stepinfetch]

Thanks for all the great advise. Just to clear some things up, this is just a side buisness, I do not have a licence, no storm dranage supplies, and do not have a buffer, nor insurance. I just dont ahve the time to have something that scale. That being said what should the price range be? I took down the flyer at work and am going to put up another one, what should prices be? "Ball Park"

Car Detailing
By:
Dirty Car/Truck? Get your car fully detailed, cleaned, shined and protected for this summer. Give your car what it deserves! All detailing is done by hand, with high end products.

Whole 9 Yards
-Hand washing
-Clean Rims and Tires
-Tire Shine if wanted
-Hand Wax entire vehicle
-Fully sweep out the inside
-Clean and apply protection to dressing all dash area’s
-Remove dust in areas of vent’s/nooks of the interior.
-Windows cleaned
-Air Freshener spray inside of vehicle
Car: $100-$120
Midsize Car, some SUV/Trucks: $130-$150
Fullsize Truck/SUV/Vans: $160.00-$200.00

Extra Services:
Full Interior: Scrubbing/drying the interior/seats/floor.
+$30-$60
Clay Bar: Process done to the on outside of the entire vehicle. This removes any dirt contaminants and gives a
super smooth dirt free look/feel.
+$30-$60

Contact: Phone: ########


How does that seem when it comes to prices?