prices for basics?

[chiquae07]

i know this has been asked a bunch these days, but i actually have to ask myself now. lets just say one freebie for a friend turned my whole high school into wanting car detail jobs, which is a plus for me.

now, this is what i am able to do as of now:

interior carpet clean
leather treatment
scotchguard
wash
clay
paint cleaner
paint polish
paint wax
plastix
chrome
wheels and tires

just about anything, but paint correction. i dont have a g100 yet, and i would want at least a bit of experience before attacking someone elses car with one.

how do you price things? i know that you price it to pay off all the materials, and to make a profit, but its harder than you think. i know that it matters in your location and things, but i have no idea, as there may only be like 2 shops in my area that i know of, that do private work, and not dealership work.

how would you price jsut the interior?
-carpet cleaned
-leather conditioner
-scotchguarding
-windows
-all plastics and rubber

i was thinking maybe 30-40 for this?

how would you price the exterior with the following:
-wash
-clay
-paint cleaner
-paint polish
-wax caot 1
-wax coat 2
-window clean
-tires and rims
-chrome pieces
-wheel wells
-rubber and vynil treatment

i was thinking maybe 100?

thanks so much. and unfortunatly, i dont have a g100 yet, so that has to wait.

and im not doing any paint correction, maybe just minor paint correction, like minor scratches and things, but by the hour for that.

[BlueZero]

Re: prices for basics?

I am not to far north of you in Green Bay. The going rate for a full interior is $75, for a exterior is also $75. Those places don't do paint correction.

I would say go to your local shops and see what they charge. Don't under charge to take work away from the people who do it for a living. It sounds like you would be working for a different market group than they would so I wouldn't think it would be a problem.

Good luck and have fun!

[chiquae07]

Re: prices for basics?

well, i did a drive around within 10 miles of myself. and all the prices were crazy different.

it seems that one place i went to said you cant get rid of swirls, as its cut into the paint. im definetly not sending anyone there. a car just came out of the wax, it looked clean and all, but when i got close and used the sun to see missed spots, i saw crazy nasty swirls. i mean its like someone took a marker to mark the middle of the hood, and swirls went around it, all the way to the edge.

another place i went to said they can get rid of the swirls and things, but the guy that came to talk to me wasn't really informed about it. all he kept saying was we have different chemicals to remove swirls. he also diddnt know what brand of rotary buffer they used. i asked him about claying my car, would it be necessary, he said why would i clay 'my particular car'. its too new.....go figure. the place was covered in armor all stuff, and was told in prices, armor all tires - 6 bucks...and etc.

and those two places above, the inside was dirty, really dirty. the service was nice at one, and the other it was more like i was coming and attacking them with my 'smart questions'...go figure

but there was one place that knows what they are doing. but, they are about 1/2 hr away from me. they are really expensive though, 100 for int and 100 for ext for what i can do.

[oompaloompa]

Re: prices for basics?

You say you are in high school? thats a nice little business to have at that age! It seems to me (and im not a pro) that you would have to make the services you offer affordable to the clientel that you are catering to. unless you go to "pimp daddy high", most high school kids arent gonna want to shell out the monthly allowance to have their car detailed - so you have to strike a nice balance between affordability and working your butt off for nothing! i think twenty dollar increments are simple to work with, so maybe 40 for an interior and 60 for exterior. just throwing that out there - if you think you can get more without everyone thinking "yeah right, thats gonna cut into my party fund!" than go for it!!!

[chiquae07]

Re: prices for basics?

oompa, i do have another job too. this is just on the side for now. im pretty sure the neighbors are going to be asking me soon, as my car almost always looks better than dealership new.

well, i did a basic interior on the freebie's guy int three days ago. thats just scrubbing a couple places, using a apc deluted for the carpet and finishin with the usual quik int detail and stoner glass cleaner. apparently im the rave at the school now because of this job, that was 'low class' job according to my standards.

i think i'll end up chargin 30 for that, as most people are happy with just that done. no extracting of any kind, and this ususally takes about 2 hours tops if a car. and it looks almost like they just got it from the dealer a bunch said, minus the cig burns into the carpet and things like that.

well, i've been approached by the 'rich kids' that are the parents are loaded kinda kids. and they want everything done. i mean whole int whole ext. just want the final price. i think imma go with 120 for car, 130 for truck, and 140 for van/suv.