ArmyofOne

So i think i know enough to get started. I started my seasonal business detailing cars yesterday (friday) and i have to say its turned out well.

Here are my prices:

Small Car (civic, Corolla, etc...)

Inside & Out package: $50
-Hand Wash, Hand Wax (flat surfases done with orbital) Tire Shine, Vaccum and Shampoo interior if needed, Glass cleaner, engine bay, Leather treatment (if applicable) and dash and trim shine.

Inside and out+Claybar: $100

Large Car (anything larger than a Camry/Taurus)

Inside and Out: $75
Inside and Out+Claybar: $125
(includes same as for small car.)

Trucks and SUV's:

Inside and out Package: $100
Inside and Out+Claybar: $150

Rubbing/Polishing compound + $20 to any package
Extreme Paint Restoration quoted on case by case basis

I WOULD LIKE IT TO BE KNOWN THAT I AM NOT SOLICITING BUSINESS FROM CL, im posting my prices to find out from detailing pros if these are reasonable or need adjusted.

So far, I have done a only a few cars as a "Semi Pro" but if business gets too good, i will have to get Insurance...just in case.

Some of the cars i have done include:

My 2006 Civic EX (duh)
2008 Hyundai Santa Fe (Slate Blue)
2008 Hyundai Santa Fe (Navy Blue)
1999 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer (White and Gold)
2005 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71 (Black)
1998 Buick Century
2000 Mitsubishi Mirage..I did it for free cause it was my buddy's Hoopdee and i wanted to see if i could restore it...i actually fared pretty well. Ill post a pic of it half and half.
2004 Jeep Liberty Renegade (black)

I only use meguairs products, with the exception of things like rubbing and polishing compounds and things like this, so to start i can get them at walmart, ill begin ordering them from a supplier in the spring of 09. I wont use anything else, I love Meguairs.

So CL, do you think my prices are reasonable? I did a Black tahoe today and that was the hardest detail i have ever done, i hate solid black cars...

ANy suggestions?

I will have pix up of the Jeep and the Mirage in the morning...very tired right now.

AutoCoutureSC

iTrader: (8)

i think you charge too little... you have to charge what you think you should get per hour.

For example... a civic should take you 2 hrs... so how much would you like to make for yourself minus all materials?

PaPaHoFF

iTrader: (19)

When you say polish is 20$ extra? what does this get you? just 1 quick pass over the car or actually removing the swirls / defects. 20$ for polishing is way to low..

One HoT

iTrader: (5)

I have to agree, your prices are very low...How much time do you spend on each car for $100?

Large SUVs and sedans take a very long time to do...Its better to charge by the hour or give yourself an estimate of how many hours so you can make sure you get paid for all your hard work...For me, black cars take 2 hours longer than any other color...Large SUV's will take up a lot of time as well (9 hours)...Easiest color is probably silver, but that also takes me about 5 hours for the exterior and 2 hours for the interior...

Most detailers take pride in their work, so they all charge top $...Their mentality is to do more quality over quantity...You might wanna consider if you are a quality guy or a quantity guy...For those prices, you really looking to do a considerable amount of cars...

radicalrev

iTrader: (2)

i think prices depends well on how much experience/customer you have...
the more customer loyalty you have, you could eventually increase the price...

Also price depends on the location...if you are working in an area like Beverly Hills where high priced car are mostly the victim, then prices will also be different then a detailer working in San Gabriel area...

About Meguiar's...good choice..just don't get the OTC meguiar's stuff for paint defect removal...get the Proffessional Line...

tuan92129

Thats how much i used to charge.
Now that i have more experience, i charge more ($200 for "full package") and i haven't gone pro yet...
The actual compound/polishing part should take anywhere from 4-6 hours for a whole car (defect removal). Engine bay 1 hour. Interior 2 hours (with carpet/mats shampooed)
Depends how much people will pay for your services though

If you are doing more of a maintenance package (vacum/wash/clay/wax), then $100 for a midsized car would be reasonable for me (exclude engine bay)

hihi410

post some before and after pictures of your work, this way it will give experience people better idea on how fair your prices are.

Taking away the cost of the polish/wax/cleaners/towels, it's mainly labor.

I would suggest establishing a photo album to show people your work and than set a price which you value yourself.

$50 for a small sedan is fairly cheap, at least in the states.

As someone mention before, you should charge by the hour and not by a set price. Cars have different conditions, where newer cars may take you 2-3 hours to finish, but older/black/under extreme weather cars may take you a full day.

All you need to do is time yourself and see how much time does different types of vehicle takes you to complete a job, than provide an estimate cost to your customers.

Blavatsky

Agreed, don't sell yourself short - I would say $15 an hour is fair, so a 6-7 hour job nets around 100 bucks. I have someone now asking me to detail a big Jeep for them but only wants to spend $100, but I've already warned them if I do it , they will only get about 50% of the work it would take to do it right.

You can always charge more as you get better, and it also depends on the cost of living in your part of the country

Kyle Harty

iTrader: (17)

Good luck with your business! I've been thinking about doing a little bit of that, if nothing else to help pay for the UDM and all the detailing supplies I just bought.

The Detail Dude

I agree! Experimenting is the best way to learn...but if you don't charge enough at first, people will start looking at you as a glorified wash and expect cheaper prices all the time.

You should also offer a package that includes a sealant. It is a good up-sell!

ArmyofOne

Most of the cars i do are regular Impala's and things like that, most military people i work with have families, so they dont have really expensive cars. occasioanlly i come across one, like my friend has a WR Blue 06 Subaru WRX STi. other than that, the nicest car i have done is that tahoe so far this year.

im still experimenting, i havent considered charging by the hour, thats a good idea. ill post some pix here in a bit

ArmyofOne

Ok here is the Mitsu Mirage, its a hoopdie, so i didnt charge anything, i just wanted to see if i could do it. Its the guy's run around the base car. he is out of town right now and he left the car with us. it runs good though, and has 229,000 miles without a problem.

I think you can tell the half that was done, this was after Meguiars Claybar, Scratch-X, and ColorX, but before any wax.



After Meguiar's Gold Class Liquid Wax:


and here is the 04 Jeep Liberty Renegade:









Not much to say about the jeep except that it looked like any other black paintjob that had not been taken care of for the last few years. It was pretty bad. I charged him $100, and yes, i had to clay, but he didnt want the inside done, so i had to adjust price accordingly.

tuan92129

Maybe you could invest in a rotary or a PC so that defect (swirls) removal is more efficient -> charge higher prices

ArmyofOne

I already got one , but the Jeep turned out to be a pain cause of the angles and the shape, to do with the Orbital, so i didnt use it.

PaPaHoFF

iTrader: (19)

How did you do the red car? with a rotary. I mean the left side looks really improved but with a rotary buffer and a good polish/compund I think it still has a lot of improvement to be made.