Dealership Rate Question...How much to charge?

[myaeger18]

So, there is a local dealership asking me for wholesaler rates for detailing used inventory upon arrival here and there. The cars aren't anything special. Not like Bentley's or anything really high-end like that. Does anyone have experience with doing this for a dealer and how do you structure your rates? What do you charge and how do you determine them? Should it be hourly or based off of the vehicle? Or the condition?

Any info/feedback would be awesome.

Thanks!

[myaeger18]

Re: Dealership Rate Question...How much to charge?

Bump. Little help? Someone? Please.

[mswerb]

Re: Dealership Rate Question...How much to charge?

I used to work at dealerships working on the used car inventory, and I will tell you this: They don't pay much, and don't care how much time you put into it, as long as it gets done fast. The last dealership I worked at sent out cars to at least 3 different shops for details. The most they would pay for a full detail was around $85.
If you don't mind me asking, which dealership are you in contact with? I used to work in Mentor.

[myaeger18]

Re: Dealership Rate Question...How much to charge?

Ok. Thanks for the info. Its a small import dealer in Mentor, Dynamic Motorcars. I think for the occasional detail a little extra cash never hurt. I'm going to explore it and see what they offer.

[mswerb]

Re: Dealership Rate Question...How much to charge?

If you get your foot in the door and impress them, it could lead to steady work for you. Hope it works out.

[Cosmin]

Re: Dealership Rate Question...How much to charge?

before you get into trouble , make sure you agree on what needs to be done to each car, you can list what the dealer gets for each car and the price , reduced if he generate x cars a month , a price if are y cars a month etc...
depends a lot of you , if you work alone , what skill level are you , how much /h you wanna made.
with dealer is not easy , but can be rewarding too if planed right. i would say don`t rush into it before you know all the details....
you can offer discount if they give your card out
Cosmin

[David Fermani]

Re: Dealership Rate Question...How much to charge?

Going rate AFAIK is between $80-120 per vehicle. You should charge extra for overspray, heavy tar, additional polishing steps (include 1) heavy dog hair and soiling removal. Like Cosmin mentioned, determine what they need, what they want and how you'll be delievering it to them so there's no gray area.Good luck. You can make alot of money detailing dealer cars.

[mswerb]

Re: Dealership Rate Question...How much to charge?

All of these are great points, but with my past experience a dealer is going to pay miminum price, and wants a flat rate for EVERY car. If you are like me and take your time and want to get it right, a dealer is the wrong place to look for work. A dealer will not care how much work is needed to get it right, they want cars on the lot FAST.

[myaeger18]

Re: Dealership Rate Question...How much to charge?

Thank you everyone for the replies. Seems like I have a lot to think about. My time is worth something and if they don't want to pay enough, it's probably not worth it. I like to take my time also. I take pride in my work. We'll see how this plays out. Thanks again!

[David Fermani]

Re: Dealership Rate Question...How much to charge?

Another thing is that you'll set yourself up for failure if you take your time doing dealer detailing. Speed is everything and you need to learn how to work efficiently to reduce your touch time on each unit. And once you're able to work under these fast paced conditions to effectively learn how to control a detail I feel it will greatly help you in everything else detail related moving forward. I've seen many people look down on those who have experience doing dealer detailing, but I think it's a great aide in being well rounded in this industry.

All of these are great points, but with my past experience a dealer is going to pay miminum price, and wants a flat rate for EVERY car. If you are like me and take your time and want to get it right, a dealer is the wrong place to look for work. A dealer will not care how much work is needed to get it right, they want cars on the lot FAST.

So you're telling me dealers expect you to treat a car in need of severe extra work just like all the others? I've never heard of one not open to paying a little more ($10-50) for something excessive. Imagine doing a black conversion van with dog hair, heavy surface marring, overspray & tar for as much as a silver Civic that just got cleaned at the auction. Yes, dealers love having their pricing simplified, but you're being taken advantage of if this kind of thing is happening without giving them some pushback.

Thank you everyone for the replies. Seems like I have a lot to think about. My time is worth something and if they don't want to pay enough, it's probably not worth it. I like to take my time also. I take pride in my work. We'll see how this plays out. Thanks again!

Don't look at how much they are paying you for each car. Figure out how much total dollar business income you'll be generating from them monthly. I'd do cars for $70 if they could produce $10,000 per month in business income.