My prices

At those prices you won't be in business long. You can take a look at my prices to get an idea. I know it depends on where you live but those are way to low.
 
tknott1984 said:
Well is there anything I can base my priced off of or view to get a better idea of what I should set them at.
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I base my prices at $75/hrs. Vinyl wrapping is $130/hrs. In my opinion hourly rate is the best way to protect yourself and treat your customers fairly.

I also recommend you set up a maintenance program too.

As fair as mobile how do you intend to wash? Waterless, water tank, customer hose? How about power? Vehicle and gas? Vehicle insurance?

It's better to figure out what your costs are before what your prices are.
 
I understand the hourly rate, Its hard to believe someone would be ok with a $75 a hour rate.
 
So what about saying $60 a hour and doing a rewrite on my packages.
 
The price gap to just wax a small car is huge! 20 to wash then add 40 bucks just to wax? Hell I would just bring you 3 cars to wash instead of just getting one waxed!
 
tknott1984 said:
I understand the hourly rate, Its hard to believe someone would be ok with a $75 a hour rate.
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Well Autoobsessed is 15 mins away from me. Their detail is $100+/hr. They get away with huge quotes. Typical interior and wash there is $1500. Two step and interior? $5000 before they clear bra it. How do they get these prices? The owner is an excellent sales person (I will admit this even tho he and I are not on the bet of terms) and convinces the customer why their services cost what they do. I will comment that these prices ($5k for two step) is unsustainable. Charging 5-15% of the value of the car to clean and polish will not yield a returning customer.

Anyways I apply this style to my business, gauging the market and setting prices is all about selling to the customer what they are paying for. I live in lunch bucket Edmonton! People here are CHEAP! But I still get a lot of work and returning customers. If someone says another place does it cheaper, I reply "well I run my business by myself, it is a very intimate and caring process to make sure everything is perfect. I simply do not do high volume like them". Sell yourself, your skill, your product knowledge to the customer. Most importantly, do not run down ANYONE! Simple explain what you do, your process, even learn some chemistry and that customer will be married to you.

As you gain more experience, you will become much faster and stream lined. For me to do a decon wash (wash, wheels, ironX, de-tar, clay, glass) takes a little under an hour on average. Add half hour for wax, I charge 2 hours. At the end of the day. I charged the customer fairly and I didn't loose money.

Best of luck! :)
 
$5K two step detail....wonder if they use that brick of pure nuba that you apply to the car using your hands, or maybe its that Gold Wax, LOL!

I'd love to just see a place like and walk around, wait, what does that cost!

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
 
I have a hard time with coming up with prices because if I am going to detail a customers vehicle, I want to do it all. I have a hard time just doing a basic wash and not detailing the door sills or going that extra mile. I also have a hard time detailing an interior without spot clean/extracting carpets etc. This is why I havent gone into business for myself yet. I need to work on providing what I have sold and not more than that, because I would be taking a loss almost always.
 
Klasse Act said:
$5K two step detail....wonder if they use that brick of pure nuba that you apply to the car using your hands, or maybe its that Gold Wax, LOL!

I'd love to just see a place like and walk around, wait, what does that cost!

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
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Lol no! Crystal Rock is an extra $100.

I know what their costs and bills are, it's unprofessional to disclose that to the public, but I will say it's a doozy!
 
Andr3wilson said:
Well Autoobsessed is 15 mins away from me. Their detail is $100+/hr. They get away with huge quotes. Typical interior and wash there is $1500. Two step and interior? $5000 before they clear bra it. How do they get these prices? The owner is an excellent sales person (I will admit this even tho he and I are not on the bet of terms) and convinces the customer why their services cost what they do. I will comment that these prices ($5k for two step) is unsustainable. Charging 5-15% of the value of the car to clean and polish will not yield a returning customer.
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I knew Auto Obsessed was expensive but I did not realize it was that expensive.
 
OK after doing some research and checking out other local businesses, I'm thinking $50 a hour and offer both exterior and interior in the same packages. I'm typing up something now and I'll posy for further input.
 
Ah yes the pricing dilemma. If you've read Renny's book, you'll know to charge AT LEAST $40 per hour. Here's the rub, when you're starting out you aren't as fast and efficient as possible. What I do is I detail the vehicle and time myself on everything. For example, I recently did an exterior and interior on a severely trashed out truck. I was expecting it to take around 3.5 to 4 hours, but it took me 4.5 hours AND I had to go back the next day for some touch ups that took 5 mins. I knew the job could have been done quicker, so I will bill for a 4 hour job. It can be tough to price your services at the right amount, but don't sell yourself short. Be confident in your skills, assess the vehicles you work on, and be very honest with your customers about what they need. If I'm too expensive, I totally understand, and they are more than welcome to get a $3 car wash and vacuum it themselves. Our services, or at least mine, aren't for everyone.
 
I honestly think $40 an hour is way to much for beginning phase without professional training or years of experience. I think anywhere from $25-35 is fair and honest.

again, my .02
 
Almost every detailer that has their own site here charges around $40 per hour or more. I wish I came up with that price myself, but I didn't. I got it all from Renny's book, and I trusted his opinion because of his extensive experience. Now you've got me doubting myself though. =P
 
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