Detailing Prices and Packages?

[Marc08EX]

Originally posted by HotRodGuy
Misspoke myself, for that price, i'll spot check deeper scratches w/ 83. If the whole car needs 83, I do it for 225

Usually takes me 4-5 hours to do #80 #83 spot checking, claying, 2 coats of LSP

interior work

Lt1corvette: Is that how much time you spent on the 944? When I did the 944, it took me 10 hours.. hahaha!

Scott: That's still fast man!!! When I did #83, #82, #81 and 2 coats of NXT, it took me 10 hours!! hahaha! If I'm going to do this side business, I would be paid very cheaply by the hour... Damn... Now, I need to buy #80 so that I can combine #82 and #81 in one step.. lol! Props man!

[HotRodGuy]

I probably work fast, most the cars I work on are in pretty good shape to start, so it doesn''t take much.

[Rick]

Ok you guys are making me feel slllloooooowwww now. I had my first outside detail yesterday. The guy's car was a 95 BMW 740I with only 50,000 miles. He has some thing where he pays $300 a year and gets to have it washed at some carwash however much he wants. It had pretty significant swirls in the paint, and did I mention it was black?

So of course wanting to do a good job, and considering the fact that he was a BMW owner I ended up spending something like 11 hours on the car. I had to hit the paint with DACP twice in order to get the swirls out. He was however tickeled pink when he saw it so I figure I did a good job.

Anyways I got $200 for the full deal. Engine clean up, paint done up nice, and an interior touchup. The interior was almost perfect as it was.

[Superior Shine]

! THE HORROR!!!!

$200 for 11 hours of work!?!?!?

Once you subtract for expenses, you probably put $10-$12 an hour in your pocket if you're lucky

[HotRodGuy]

don't be worried about being slow, if that's what it takes to do the job right, that's what it takes


but $200 should worry you

[George Wax]

I would have charged him at least $250.00 for that BMW, I would have also spent about 6 hour's to do that job..I do not do engine's however..He got a pretty good deal..IMO..

[RedBird98]

Wow...did I short myself today! I did a full exterior detail for a co worker of my wife. I clayed it, DC #1 paint cleaner, #7 showcar glaze, a coat of NXT, wheels, tires and glass. All done by hand as I don't have a PC...charged her $25. It took about 4 hours.

I feel dumb now, I sholdn't even admit this. It was the first time I had been paid to do one. In fact, I got hit out of the blue this morning when she saw my wifes Jeep I did yesterday. "Can you make my car look like that? How much would it cost me?" GRRRRRR I should have checked the thread first!!!

I've been unemployed for about 6 months, so I was thinking of doing this to make some cash. At least I'm getting some ideas for pricing and what you guys do for the price.

[foris2]

Originally posted by RedBird98
Wow...did I short myself today! I did a full exterior detail for a co worker of my wife. I clayed it, DC #1 paint cleaner, #7 showcar glaze, a coat of NXT, wheels, tires and glass. All done by hand as I don't have a PC...charged her $25. It took about 4 hours.

I feel dumb now, I sholdn't even admit this. It was the first time I had been paid to do one. In fact, I got hit out of the blue this morning when she saw my wifes Jeep I did yesterday. "Can you make my car look like that? How much would it cost me?" GRRRRRR I should have checked the thread first!!!

I've been unemployed for about 6 months, so I was thinking of doing this to make some cash. At least I'm getting some ideas for pricing and what you guys do for the price.

Yep, you did short yourself, but take it as a learning experience. Just do a little homework Redbird and everything will work out for you. I was layed off from my job about 13 months ago, and believe me it was a blessing. I'm now my own boss and I haven't looked back. Good luck Redbird!

[mysticdetail]

Re: Detailing Prices and Packages?

Originally posted by Chris Nemlich
I have just started doing some detailing for money. So far I have only done friends cars so coming up with a price is easy. Now that I would like to do some more business, I am trying to figure out what packages and prices I should offer.

I currently have these ideas:
Quick Wash and Wax - $35
Full exterior detail including 2 coats of wax - $80
Interior Detail - $80
Full Detail - $125

I am really lost as far as better ideas. I want to offer different levels for exterior and interior. However, I'm not sure what each level should include.

I do not use a PC nor do I have a carpet cleaning machine.

I have been doing my own detailing business for about a year. It is really competitive in O.C., so you must charge a competitive rate.

Service Cars Trucks/SUVs/Vans
Wash 20 25
Wash+Wax 50 60+
Wash,Wax,Clay 75 90
Full Detail 125 150

Instead of two coats of wax, you should clay the car. The results are much better. Always push people for full details, instead of just interior or exterior. We have a PC and carpet extractor. I would recommend the PC, but you can get away without a C.E. Over 90% of the time we don't use the C.E., we use shampoo and a brush. Use these prices as a guideline, you can always add more for polishing, sealant, and other add-ons.

[buda]

May have posted this somewhere else on the forum but here goes again about How to Price.

Pricing must be based on the following:

What monthly salary you want from the business
What benefits you want - health insurance; retirement, vacation time; sick leave
Profit - usually at least 10% to 15% of gross sales

Fixed expenses
Variable Expenes

Take the total and divide by the number of sellable hours you have per month and you have your hourly rate.

This rate x your estimated time to do the work is the ONLY way to price detail services.

You can charge more if the market or customer will bear more, but NEVER less.

Regards
Bud Abraham
DETAIL PLUS SYSTEMS

[mirrorfinishman]

Bud has posted some very good advice.

Simply figure out how much you 'need' to make per hour in order to break even. This figure should be based on the monthly salary you want from the business, benefits and expenses. Then add what you 'want' to make as profit on top of that figure. The total of both will give you your hourly rate.

Based on industry standards, many pro detailers have an average hourly rate of about $50 per hour. So when you estimate a job you may want to consider the price you charge based on the amount of time you think it will take to complete. For example, if two different detailing jobs take about the same time to complete, then they should both be priced about the same.

In summary, you should always consider pricing your services based on how much time you think it will take to complete the job. And you should always try to aim at earning your established hourly rate.

[Dragpakmach]

There are many variables in detailing but my general rule is $150 for clay #80 wax on small cars.Ex.Cavalier.Scratches of anykind price goes up.You have to educate customers and let them know that a wash and wax is not enough to keep the vehicle looking its best.Educate your customers and they will understand why you charge more.

[Jbirk]

I always figure the best thing to do is create standard prices and post them like a professional business, but then make package deals... and charge extra for special services.

For instance:

Wash, Dry, Includes Wheels and tires wash: $30 to $40
Bugs and Tar: $20 to $40
Window Cleaning with Microfiber: $15
Rain-X Treatment : $10

If you need glass polished, add about $40 or $20 and another $10 for each window.

Tire Dressing: $20

Clay if needed: $30-$50 (has to be rinsed and dryed again. Also uses a lot of QD and Clay is Expensive)

#80 Cleaner/Polish: $40 to $50 (you have to be good to Polish properly, so charge for your skill)
If bad scratches and other products needed for example ScratchX or #83, add another $20

Wax: $30-$40 (If you wax the wheels add more)

From here, you put together clever packages and make different packages for different vehicle conditions. Then when the costomer comes in you tell them

For instance a perfect vehicle which only needs Wash and Deep Crystal then wax might be about $135 or so.

A vehicle which needs clay and multiple polsihing and 2 coats of wax and wants rainX and tire dressings is going to spend say $250 or so.

[buda]

The only way to price is to know your costs of doing business. If you do not know what it costs you to operate your business you will be working for wages far less than you should for the hours you put in, or worse yet, you will "sell" yourself into bankruptcy.

There are no variables in business. You either know what it costs you to operate or you do not. If you do not know what it costs you to operate you are guessing when you price.

How can you price if you have not seen the car?

Do most of you give prices over the phone? Yes, why? No, why not?

It is all about an hourly rate times the hours to do the job.

Ask any accountant about how to price your services, one that knows his/her business will tell you hourly rate x hours to do the work.

Regards
Bud Abraham

[Kevin Brown]

I'm way slower than all of you!
In my early detailing days I could knock out two full details per day (inside, outside, and engine). It was a pretty high-end detail. Then, as I got more involved in paint refurbishing via rotary buffer, I'd spend a day and a morning to get one car done. Now? I'll spend 25-45 hours per car, and that's typical. I hate to admit that I spend so much time to do ONE car, but it is a fact. I don't do detailing all the time now, but I'm confident that if I wanted to, I could get the work, and eventually be booked a month in advance after a year or so. Is it better money than doing shorter jobs? Not necessarily!

It all comes down to the type of job you want to do (from an enjoyment standpoint). If I was a beginner, I would shoot for the shorter wax jobs, and follow-up with weekly washings. My wax job would be outlined as:

1. Wash... Including a thorough cleaning of fenderwells and all jamb areas. Super-cherry job on rims, tires, wiper cowl, and lower body (tar and paint remnants). Deionized water would be a MUST. Hand scrub all trim with diluted all purpose cleaner.

2. Paint... Clay, and either ColorX or M66 Quick Detailer with G100. Charge extra for heavy swirl removal. It's a separate step and should be charged as such.

3. Exterior... Hyper Dressing on all exterior trim (1:1 dilution), fenderwells, and jambs (3:1 dilution on both). Wipe down as you remove wax in that area.

4. Windows... Done perfectly inside and out. If you don't get the windows right, do them until you do. They are that important.

5. Interior... Meticulous dust and vac of interior. Floormats and spot clean? Do it cheap, but charge a little extra! Like, 10 or 12 bucks!

Where's the real money? Interiors!
Detailing an interior is low on cost of product, but can take lots of time. A thrashed interior can take the better part of a day but bring you 150-250 bucks. Most customers are afraid they'll ruin the interior. You're the professional, therefore you can reap the reward!
A good two person team... Putting in a ten hour day (use the sun while it's up!)... And some strategic scheduling... Could knock down some SERIOUS coin!