First ferrari

kdubski

kdubski

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I've reached a milestone where after 3 years of detailing, I have finally received interest from a person who owns a

First things first, I am detailing his well kept BMW 535i (jet black). It's getting the standard 1 step with collonite and interior for 300.

He hasn't asked about the Ferrari F430 Spyder yet, but based off my 1 step rate, what would be a fair price given it is well kept (as all exotics are)? I ask this because I notice many detailers charge a premium for exotic cars.
 
All depends on the damage installed in the paint. Just because its an exotic doesnt mean its in good condition however.

You have to tell your client its going to take more time because you have to be extra careful because of the value of the car.

Its like working in construction on a building it goes the size work materials labor and how much the building is worth.

I have a client and i did his 928 porsche 944 porsche and his aston martin last week he had me do his 911 convertible it was black and some of the most hideous swirls you will ever see.

I asked for more money and he wasnt to happy i explained how every car is different and unique however he was upset

I told him i will honor the price of the aston martin.

So i knocked out the porsche and made him so happy with my work he still gave me my intial price at the end.

If you charged 300 to do a interior and a one step it really all depends on the damage of the ferrari thats the only way you can price.


Also the ferrari can have more concave and curved areas that may require hand polishing so again it all depends on how bad it is.

If its not bad and you can get away with a light polish nothing wrong with making 350-400 hope i helped
 
Much like NxtLevelDtail states, Ferrari is a hand made car. It's not a production line, built by robot, assembly-line typical car. You have to look at your costs of doing business, both time, materials and expenses. This car will take longer, will require research, and will require more gentle approach to things. If you factor in all those things + your insurance costs, then you can calculate what your time is worth.

I've never touched a Ferrari, and if asked, I wouldn't for all the reasons stated here..
Hand made car imported from Italy
Leather - not you're run-o-the mill synthetic leather found in production cars (Honda, Ford, BMW, Toyota...) You'll need to research that.
Wood Grains - same thing, probably needs some research
Paint - Not applied by robots on an assembly line, some areas may be thinner than others

And because of all of the above, it's not like a Honda or Ford, GM, if you scratch our damage something you can't just run it to your buddy who runs a body shop down the street.

Probably most importantly, are you INSURED to be able to work on this car? If something happens, he's going to want it fixed... Again, you can't just take this to the same place that patches up Ford Focus's. (no offense to Focus's, I actually like the new ST models).

My opinion, maybe a wash, cleaner/wax, dress the tires, clean the glass, wipe the inside down with pinnacle leather cleaner/conditioner.... I wouldn't do anything aggressive such as paint correcting or anything aggressive on the interior. Honestly, he'll probably be happy with just that... Personally, I wouldn't touch the car, because I'm not insured up to that value of vehicle.
 
I've done a handful of cars worth more than my house and as far as detailing goes, a car is a car. Paint is paint. Carpet is carpet. Etc... It doesn't matter what the emblem on the hood is, the customer is paying for the work you are doing, not the car itself. If you don't know how to work on a car safely then you don't have any business working on cars to begin with.

That being said, the best advice I got when I broke into a higher end market with wealthier clients is that these people are wealthy for a reason, they know the value of a dollar and they know that quality costs money. If you come in with too low a price, they might balk at it thinking the quality of work will be subpar. I actually raised my prices at that point and it was a good decision.


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So to answer your actual question, my opinion is that 300 is a fair price for a one step on the Ferrari.


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ekennett said:
I've done a handful of cars worth more than my house and as far as detailing goes, a car is a car. Paint is paint. Carpet is carpet. Etc... It doesn't matter what the emblem on the hood is, the customer is paying for the work you are doing, not the car itself. If you don't know how to work on a car safely then you don't have any business working on cars to begin with.

That being said, the best advice I got when I broke into a higher end market with wealthier clients is that these people are wealthy for a reason, they know the value of a dollar and they know that quality costs money. If you come in with too low a price, they might balk at it thinking the quality of work will be subpar. I actually raised my prices at that point and it was a good decision.

100% true. A car is a car. Newer paints are basically idiot proof. If not using a rotary there's little to no risk of harm or injury to a paint system...And luckily the interior products made today cover almost anything you'll come in contact with. And with this forum you can get all the research you need in about 15 minutes. Sure a Ferrari has more bells and whistles but at the end of the day it's like doing a Honda or any other vehicle for that matter.

Also the high end Italian cars paints are so thick most of the time that it gives you a big smile when you take a reading.
Click to expand...
 
ekennett said:
I've done a handful of cars worth more than my house and as far as detailing goes, a car is a car. Paint is paint. Carpet is carpet. Etc... It doesn't matter what the emblem on the hood is, the customer is paying for the work you are doing, not the car itself. If you don't know how to work on a car safely then you don't have any business working on cars to begin with.

That being said, the best advice I got when I broke into a higher end market with wealthier clients is that these people are wealthy for a reason, they know the value of a dollar and they know that quality costs money. If you come in with too low a price, they might balk at it thinking the quality of work will be subpar. I actually raised my prices at that point and it was a good decision.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...



My point is, every car is unique, and the higher the value, the more unique it is. At least that's how I look at cars.
There is always something...

The F-150 King Ranch I just worked on has special leather that requires special care. In this case, the truck was different.

My point was, do your homework, take the job, factor the risks, time, materials, business expenses and charge adequately. Working on exotics costs more because of the business overhead. Common sense isn't it?
 
You already set your price at $300 based on what you charged for his other vehicle

Try to charge him $550 and let us know how that works for you
 
Looks So New mentions "Insured"...

Pleas enlighten us... What would your insurance actually cover if you damaged a car while detailing it?
 
AGOatemywallet said:
Looks So New mentions "Insured"...

Pleas enlighten us... What would your insurance actually cover if you damaged a car while detailing it?
Click to expand...

I have a policy that has liability up to a specific value which also includes business assets (as required by the bank I have my business accounts with). It's mainly called a Garage Keepers Policy.

https://www.progressivecommercial.com/coverages/garage-keepers-liability/
Insurance for Auto Detailing and Mobile Auto Detailing Businesses - Detail King

Search the forum, there are many posts regarding insurance. Detailing is no different than any other business. You are handling someone else property, the vehicle is in your care while you are working on it. YOU are responsible for any damage done. The business will also have thousands of dollars in business assets.

It's no different than when you hire a contractor to work on your house and he states "insured" on his business filing.... I personally will not hire a contractor if he cannot provide his insurance. Most contractors gladly provide the policy.
 
Most insurance will not cover you if you do something like burn through the edge of a panel while compounding a car. They consider is negligence on your part. Be insured all you want, you still need to know what you're doing.


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Wow, this has taken in interesting turn. A Ferrari is no different than a Prius. I do at least one Ferrari a month, and they are no different than any other car.
If you have to worry about burning paint, or causing damage, I would have a serous concern about skills to do any car. Here is a shot of my shop on a typical Saturday. We did not get here by accident or fear of working on high end cars. We got here because we spent time understanding what it takes to make ALL paint look good regardless of the car.
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wMTHSq_Kb2ZKttO22Eb7CKq5drRUQ-RrH2Uo3lB7TGnm=s403-no

showfile.html
 
Guys,

Thanks for the great feedback. After closer inspection of the same model Ferrari, it is obvious there are MANY spots that cannot be buffed with a regular 5" pad and will require a lot of switching between different sizes. Also, there is a TON of curves on the car.

With this said, I can see why there is a "premium" on these types of cars. I am estimating this as a 2 day job and will throw a price that is double what the first detail will cost.

I am very pumped to do this thing.
 
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