What do you clear hourly after expenses?

[Holden_Caulfield04]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

Generally, if they are not willing to pay for it, they won't appreciate it when it is done.

You need to be paid for every hour you work. No (very few) exceptions! If the client is only willing to pay for a single step or a wash & wax, don't give them a full correction. They won't know the difference. Just to give you an idea, my rate for 38 hours of work would be in the four figures.

That being said, for every hour you are being paid, you need to work quickly in order to get the job complete within a reasonable amount of time.

[Holden_Caulfield04]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

I think smart customer service may get you more referrals than a swirl-free finish. A finish like that will keep you in business, but customer service is extremely important and sometimes more important than the quality of work.

[bookeem]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

just to add, sunday i have a 2006 mazda 3 to detail, exterior, interior and engine bay, cost to my client 175..time for me, 5 hours tops..

what will be done..

Exterior wash and one step with d151 or the like m66 color x etc, wheels and wells cleaned and dressed, exhaust tip polished, headlight/tailights polished..

interior complete vacuum, seats rugs etc, complete wipe down and dressing of interior, windows and air freshner..

engine bay degresed and dressed...lke i said i cant knock that out with great results in less then 5 hours, at 175 bucks..

i do a lot of quick wash and waxes on cars in good condition, starting at 50 bucks, takes me less than 2 hours..so at the end of the day, i like to make no less than 25 an hour, and can knock out 5 of those in a 8 hour day and pocket 200..

im no pro , do all my work with a UDM ,i dont do it as a living, but im working towards that day coming for me..

[InfiniteDetail]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

Generally, if they are not willing to pay for it, they won't appreciate it when it is done.

You need to be paid for every hour you work. No (very few) exceptions! If the client is only willing to pay for a single step or a wash & wax, don't give them a full correction. They won't know the difference. Just to give you an idea, my rate for 38 hours of work would be in the four figures.

That being said, for every hour you are being paid, you need to work quickly in order to get the job complete within a reasonable amount of time.

Thanks, those are all good points.

[kzyman13]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

Same here, I'm a newb and I try to clear no less than $15 an hour. I try to get $25 per hour which covers my product and I put 10% of everything I take in to my car wash biz for overhead. So ideally I make $20/hr and like I said usually worse case is $15.

I try to work as fast and smart as possible. By shooting for the 25 though I never end up with less than 15 even if I totally misjudge the time it will take me to do a job.

I haven't done a ton of jobs, but I'm just getting started and I'm fortunately in the position to take the biz as it comes. I've found sometimes it's better to lose a customer to price than to do it for too cheap. It takes me a long time to do minivans, so I give them my max price. If they go somewhere else for less, oh well. There are some guys around me that dont charge extra for minivans. They can be the ones makin $10/hour scrubbing dog puke and jello off a van floor, not me. I'd rather hold out for the better paying work AND I know I do a better job than the cheap guys. I do my best to give my customers what they pay for. Honestly if a job takes me much less than I thought, I'll cut back the price. They've always paid me the original price anyways, and they're ecstatic. I just try to be as honest and good to my customers as I would have them do to me I was their customer. Hopefully my attitude and my quality will bring me biz even if I'm higher priced than the mass detail guys.

[Jokeman]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

For that price, I'd sell all my equipment and just have you guys do my truck! Honestly, Id either charge more or not shoot for perfection.

[InfiniteDetail]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

Same here, I'm a newb and I try to clear no less than $15 an hour. I try to get $25 per hour which covers my product and I put 10% of everything I take in to my car wash biz for overhead. So ideally I make $20/hr and like I said usually worse case is $15.

I try to work as fast and smart as possible. By shooting for the 25 though I never end up with less than 15 even if I totally misjudge the time it will take me to do a job.

I haven't done a ton of jobs, but I'm just getting started and I'm fortunately in the position to take the biz as it comes. I've found sometimes it's better to lose a customer to price than to do it for too cheap. It takes me a long time to do minivans, so I give them my max price. If they go somewhere else for less, oh well. There are some guys around me that dont charge extra for minivans. They can be the ones makin $10/hour scrubbing dog puke and jello off a van floor, not me. I'd rather hold out for the better paying work AND I know I do a better job than the cheap guys. I do my best to give my customers what they pay for. Honestly if a job takes me much less than I thought, I'll cut back the price. They've always paid me the original price anyways, and they're ecstatic. I just try to be as honest and good to my customers as I would have them do to me I was their customer. Hopefully my attitude and my quality will bring me biz even if I'm higher priced than the mass detail guys.

Thanks for your perspective, it makes alot of sense.

[InfiniteDetail]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

For that price, I'd sell all my equipment and just have you guys do my truck! Honestly, Id either charge more or not shoot for perfection.

Lol, I think we're done doing the bagain jobs. We'll be charging more from here on out.

[Sal329]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

I think maybe our problem may be that we're taking on cars that need "Extreme Makeovers" and are charging for basic service only. We love doing it so we usually end up going "above and beyond" just because we are perfectionists. I guess that's fine as long as this is a part-time side gig. If we ever get really serious, we'll have to just do the work that they paid for I guess.

It is hard sometimes to do only what you get paid to do when you like to have the car leave perfect. I get it as close to perfect as I can for what the customer is willing to pay, on a lot of cars though I do give a lil extra, I have used a polish to get rid of swirls a 1 stepper wouldn't get rid of, so my one step becomes a 2 step, sometimes I just can not help it. I do this for a paying hobby but it takes away a few hours from the family so I try to make it worth while, my fiance doesn't complain when she can get a new pair of shoes because I spent 6 hours detailing lol.

[seth1066]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

It is hard sometimes to do only what you get paid to do when you like to have the car leave perfect. I get it as close to perfect as I can for what the customer is willing to pay, on a lot of cars though I do give a lil extra, I have used a polish to get rid of swirls a 1 stepper wouldn't get rid of, so my one step becomes a 2 step, sometimes I just can not help it. I do this for a paying hobby but it takes away a few hours from the family so I try to make it worth while, my fiance doesn't complain when she can get a new pair of shoes because I spent 6 hours detailing lol.

Agree, there is a danger there! I've rebuffed entire cars because I didn't quite like the way it came out. It's sometimes hard to remember that we are our own worst critics. I guess it's because it's going out with our name on it.

[Stevens Detailing]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

It's really just a decision your guys need to make.

1. Are you going to just do cars "on the side"?
2. Do you want to start a detailing buisness?

If you are going to just do cars on the side then it really doesn't matter what we tell you to charge. As long as you have fun and it's worth it to you, go for it!

Now if you are going to start a detailing buisness you will need to find out what your costs are per day and figure out how much you need to make an hour. Research your local market and see what is being charged in your area for detailing. Evaluate where your skill level is at compared to competitors and charge accordingly. If you under charge you hurt the entire market in your area. If you are expensive than you better have a real good reason why they should pay you more to do your vehicle then the "other" guy. Which if you're using Meguiar's then hey, there's a good reason right there!

I will say this, if you do start a buisness then 38hrs. on a Suburban better be your pay check for the week!

Have fun guys!

[InfiniteDetail]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

It's really just a decision your guys need to make.

1. Are you going to just do cars "on the side"?
2. Do you want to start a detailing buisness?

If you are going to just do cars on the side then it really doesn't matter what we tell you to charge. As long as you have fun and it's worth it to you, go for it!

Now if you are going to start a detailing buisness you will need to find out what your costs are per day and figure out how much you need to make an hour. Research your local market and see what is being charged in your area for detailing. Evaluate where your skill level is at compared to competitors and charge accordingly. If you under charge you hurt the entire market in your area. If you are expensive than you better have a real good reason why they should pay you more to do your vehicle then the "other" guy. Which if you're using Meguiar's then hey, there's a good reason right there!

I will say this, if you do start a buisness then 38hrs. on a Suburban better be your pay check for the week!

Have fun guys!

You nailed it, that's exactly where we are at right now. Haven't decided between 1 and 2 yet. Thanks for your input

[jmakado]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

It all boils down to this. If you are detailing for dollars then don't treat it like a hobby. Give the customer what they pay for. No more no less. If you are shooting for perfection then you are treating it too much like a hobby unless you are being compensated for it. The more I polish paint the more I get an eye for how long something will take to correct. Which makes bidding out a price much easier. When I moved back to Colorado I fell into the trap of shooting for perfection regardless of what people where paying for. I enjoy polishing paint to be defect free. Unfortunately, very few people here want that. As soon as I started offering a one step exterior with a light interior service I got a ton more work. Once my name started going around I got more full correction jobs..which I prefer. In Southern California it was easy to get more mid range 2 step polish jobs and full corrections. Here I have found that I am either doing full correction of a quickie one step.

My one step goes like this: Wheels, tires, Wash. D151 or M66. Vacuum and APC+ carpets, QID on everything else. One step cleaner conditioner on leather and finally glass. 3-4 hours. I also offer adding clay for $25 and commit 30 minutes to it.

My midrange is essentially the same but I go with either 105/80 before #21 or 83/80 before #21. I spend a little more time on the interior and spend twice as long on the wash degreasing and claying to remove all bonded contaminants. Takes me 6-8 hours. Full correction is a multi-day deal and I charge a flat rate per day.

One thing that has been popular is detailing with the owner. Lessons basically. I charge $50/hr, we use all my products and tools so they can learn to do it themselves and find what process and products work on their car to get the look they want. They also get the benefit of having their car detailed in the process of learning. Once they have the hang of the DA I go in front with the rotary and they finish with the DA. It's really fun for both of us and I have noticed they appreciate what goes into polishing paint more after they have worked the buffer for 6 or more hours. Not to mention that they had a hand in creating such a great shine!

Just taking some time to talk with and teach someone goes a long way towards building friendships, loyal clients, and referrals.

[PorscheGuy997]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

I really agree with Jason. I'd rather polish paint all day, but that's not what most of my customers are looking for.

On most of my details, the paint is clayed and then a two step process (usually M80 then NXT 2.0), wheels and tires are cleaned and tires dressed, exterior trim is dressed, metal and chrome is polished, headlights are polished, interior vacuum, all carpets are shampooed with APC+ and a PC brush, leather is treated with a three step process, interior pieces are cleaned and dressed. The usual price is $125, but people around here are cheap.

I find that people who want the normal detail package don't highly regard the exterior, but want a spotless interior. Also, the customer ALWAYS notices the headlights, so I make it a point to polish them out.

For my paint correction, I start by washing and claying the finish (mild or aggressive if needed), scratch removal (M105, M95, M86, M85, M84 depending on what is least aggressive and removes the defect), swirl removal (M83 or M80), refining the finish (M80 or M82), final polish (M03), and protectant (+$10 for M16).

The price for the paint correction depends on the customer. For a normal customer, the price is $250. For a friend, I've been known to charge $100. I always give discounts to friends because they're the ones that spread the word and give the free advertising.

In all, I consider my details a bargain. But, I enjoy detailing as a hobby, not a job. Plus, it's nice to make some money on a Saturday.

[mnaines]

Re: What do you clear hourly after expenses?

Here is some math I did because I want to start my own detailing business: My girlfriend said if me, her, her brother, and a fourth person get to work, we can average 2-4 hours per car depending on size. I chose $55/hour labor for that amount of time, as it amounts to $13/hour paycheck for each of the 4 employees, then I factored in shop fees (lease fees, insurance, disposal fees, and whatnot) of $75/car plus the cost of chemicals ($96 per customer covers half bottle of each chemical). The monthly expenses would be in the $9,000 range, so I would be charging each customer $500 to $900 depending on vehicle size and condition, which will give me a gross income in the $20,000 range and a net income in the $10,000 range. Taxes are included in the expenses.

$500 would get you a complete makeover - engine bay, interior, and exterior, and if four people work on one car at a time, the work can be done in about 4 hours for the larger vehicles or about 2-3 hours for the smaller ones; Alternately, for cars in dire need of an extreme makeover, my crew and I would average 4 hours on the smaller cars or 6-8 hours on the larger ones, so expect prices in the $500 to $900 per car range depending on size and condition. I do not know how competitive this pricing is, but this is enough to cover all expenses and net a $10,000/month profit.

Here's how this plan would work: Two people would take the exterior - one would wash and the second would follow with the paint cleaner/clay bar; one would do the interior and one would do the exterior. Once the washing and cleaning are done, then those two get to work with the polishing and waxing, again, following each other. It would be a teamwork-based op, where all members of the team work supporting each other in such a way that the company cannot function unless everyone works together. They work together but independently at the same time, and this structure is how.

Oh, and for my area (Kansas City), the cost of living requires an hourly income of $11.50/hour to afford a 1-bedroom apartment at fair market value, so $13/hour per employee is fair enough.

To answer your original question, though, it would be a profit of $60 to $100 per hour after expenses. That would give my business plenty of leeway to offer such things as discounts, price match guarantees, or other specials.

For "special" items, like aircraft, commercial vehicles, or even boats, toolboxes, and whatnot, the cost would vary depending on size and condition, but the cost will be competitive.

And, just for an added business boost, the amount I would charge per customer would cover any lessons that customer wants to take. I would let them help with the detailing, and they would be charged normally according to the pricing. The labor costs and other costs per hour would still be the same, but I would factor in extra time to teach the customer what to do. If the customer chose to help and learn, the price would still be within the $500 to $900 per customer range, because when I calculated how much to charge each customer, I made sure to compensate for any delays. Taking 6 hours to teach a customer how to detail his Civic, for example, would be exactly $500 after factoring in labor, shop fees, and whatnot.

Kerrinjeff, I hope this helps you understand how much to charge if you decide to start up a detailing business.