How to make a $200 detail look quality with only 2-3 hours?

J.TL said:
2 1/2 Hours sounds extremely hard. I dont detail for my permanent income but i am as close to a professional part time detailer as it gets. I work all summer after work and every weekend unless i have it booked off for myself.

Also Like rusty truck mentioned, the "bang for the buck" detail is what gets you customers in the door. Think of it like this the car wash giants will do it faster and cheaper, no matter what. If you do the same services but at a slightly higher price, and take a bit more time, and treat your customers like there bringing in there ferrari no matter what they drive, they will see the quality. They will notice trust me, "holy this guy charges $20 bucks more "The Wash and Go" but everything is flawless this is great no streaky windows, no missed corners, dont see streaks on the gauges" etc.

Also, from that you will get customer who ask for much higher end work, assuming you can perform higher end work. My little side business went form me asking family to do free jobs, to charging my friends material cost, to charging my friends friends full price, to getting randoms calling me, and now i do only mid to high class vehicles, usually only 1 a day on the weekend and i now charge 4-500 more then the shops in my area. The customers take on my work in that, "hes my custom detailer, he deals with me one on one, and i'm not a number, thats why i go there"

I have even recently starts to doing some "sevice calls" lol, i had a customer with a late 90's ferrari call me out to remove bird droppings from his car and give it an onr, dress the wheels, for a couple hundred bucks.

Slowly if you have the right mind everything will come around. If you want to target in and out customers or you want to make clientele its two totally different procedures.

Good luck, sorry for my long story, dont post much, but when i do i go crazy. Hope some of this info helps, i was in your spots, just a few short years ago.
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This is exactly my mindset. Thanks for the advice! This is exactly what I was thinking. :dblthumb2:
 
Bill1234 said:
Maybe even do like a lottery gift card type thing where if you just recently had your car detailed, you will be entered into a drawing to win a 50 percent off card on your next detail
just a thought
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That's a good idea! I'll remember that, that has a great chance of repeat customers. Thanks!
 
UltimateDetail said:
So I would like to get these cars done in 2 - 2 1/2 hours, and my question is how to make sure it's good enough that the client doesn't questions the quality of the detail.
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Only cater to Smart Car owners? :dunno:
 
J.TL said:
2 1/2 Hours sounds extremely hard. I dont detail for my permanent income but i am as close to a professional part time detailer as it gets. I work all summer after work and every weekend unless i have it booked off for myself.

Also Like rusty truck mentioned, the "bang for the buck" detail is what gets you customers in the door. Think of it like this the car wash giants will do it faster and cheaper, no matter what. If you do the same services but at a slightly higher price, and take a bit more time, and treat your customers like there bringing in there ferrari no matter what they drive, they will see the quality. They will notice trust me, "holy this guy charges $20 bucks more "The Wash and Go" but everything is flawless this is great no streaky windows, no missed corners, dont see streaks on the gauges" etc.

Also, from that you will get customer who ask for much higher end work, assuming you can perform higher end work. My little side business went form me asking family to do free jobs, to charging my friends material cost, to charging my friends friends full price, to getting randoms calling me, and now i do only mid to high class vehicles, usually only 1 a day on the weekend and i now charge 4-500 more then the shops in my area. The customers take on my work in that, "hes my custom detailer, he deals with me one on one, and i'm not a number, thats why i go there"

I have even recently starts to doing some "sevice calls" lol, i had a customer with a late 90's ferrari call me out to remove bird droppings from his car and give it an onr, dress the wheels, for a couple hundred bucks.

Slowly if you have the right mind everything will come around. If you want to target in and out customers or you want to make clientele its two totally different procedures.

Good luck, sorry for my long story, dont post much, but when i do i go crazy. Hope some of this info helps, i was in your spots, just a few short years ago.
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Also the thing is, to make it work, I got to know I'll always have someone ready to have their car detailed, I suppose I have to get my name to a LOT of people. Just so that, "hey did you hear about this guy? he does detailing" kind of thing is always getting tossed around. I want to always have someone interested to give me a try.
 
ShineTimeDetail said:
Every time I buy a new product or piece of equipment my first thought is 'man I'm going to save a ton of time with this!'. That has never been the case....never. I just get better results. I don't care what you buy, what chemicals you use you will still need a certain amount of time to get the job done correct.

You need to do a fn phenomenal job on every car you do...then people will talk, then you get more business, then you hirer a guy, then you higher more, then you sit in an office collecting money....I'm still at 'getting more business & at hiring someone'. Not far from sitting behind a desk...lol maybe 10 more years Haha!
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Lol yeah I have already done that lol. I bought a few tools and i can honestly say, the only real time saver, is yourself. Only you can work faster. And even then there's a limit.

But, the problem is, you can only charge so much for a full correction, and they take a day or more, and at the end of the week, I wouldn't make enough money. And hiring people, is a huge risk to me. I suppose i have a lot of thinking left to do lol. But I don't want to be building up a clientele for the full corrections for years on end lol I want to be in the office in two years after starting the business lol But hey, that's the struggle with any business.
 
I just applied an AIO and it took more than 3 hours, excluding wash and clay. Of course, In am not a pro who knows his ways very well.
 
arack said:
I would scale down your package. There is no way a full detail is going to take 2-3 hours by yourself. You sound like you are a business neophyte.

Do not listen to all of the OCD detailers who say that you have to spend 8 hours detailing a Ferrari to build your business. You need to investigate your competition, check out competitor prices, and figure out a way to charge a fair price for 2-3 hours of detailing in your area.

The average consumer just really doesn't care too much about a perfect car. You should be targeting this type of consumer for your start up business. Don't listen to these Ferrari worshipers on here who act like the high end detailing business is growing on trees in every community.
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Haha yeah , I am definitely a business neophyte.. But around here, 150-200 is a fair price for a better quality detail. Such as, "He got the corners of the window" kind of thing. There is a limited few, around here, that want high end detailing. The biggest problem is, there is a car wash around here that offers, $30 vacuum and shampoo(like the self service shampoo machines) with a drive thru car wash and glass, that they do it for you while you sit in a air conditioned observation room.. Anyway, I am confident enough to know there is a big enough customer base in between me and that giant that wouldn't rob me of my customers.
 
brawl said:
I just applied an AIO and it took more than 3 hours, excluding wash and clay. Of course, In am not a pro who knows his ways very well.
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Yeah, that's the biggest problem. But the AIO would be a big part of the value of my detail.
 
RTexasF said:
The amount of work you think you will get is ambitious to say the least especially considering you haven't even started yet. I hope you get the long hours six days a week but it may take you a year to get to that point. Will this be a registered full fledged business that is insured? Seems like more thought, MUCH more thought needs to go into this.
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I am very confident i'll be able to gather enough business. And yes, this will be a full fledged business with a commercial spot in a high traffic area. And yes, this is just the beginning, I will put another good year or two into planning before even getting going.
 
UltimateDetail said:
Hey AG, haven't posted in awhile, so here it goes...
I have been planning a detailing business and have come to the conclusion that the main focus would be the $200 details I offer. Now the problem is, I need to make money. And I only have 12 hours a day to work on cars. So I would like to get these cars done in 2 - 2 1/2 hours, and my question is how to make sure it's good enough that the client doesn't questions the quality of the detail. To add, I wash, clay, one step, seal, dress trim in/out, protect wheels, dress tires for exterior.. and interior, I clean the upholstery, clean and condition leather, extract carpets, clean glass, spray DP air freshener, dress the dash, doors, clean doorjambs, pretty much restore the interior. One of the main worries is the time it takes to do a one step, and also making sure i get all the cracks and crevices clean. Any input would be appreciated thanks!:buffing:
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Quoting Original OP's thread starter (and not reading any other responses) FOR THAT LITTLE TIME AND THAT MUCH MONEY, YOU MUST BE EITHER SUPER AMAZING, OR HAVE SUPER AMAZING CLIENTELE! There is no way in H^%L that myself and 2 others could come close to performing a DETAIL - and a vehicle in that short of time. MAYBE a maintenance wash - but no way a full detaill...... if you can pull 200 a detail in that short of time - you are definitely the man :dblthumb2:
 
B&B Tennessee said:
Quoting Original OP's thread starter (and not reading any other responses) FOR THAT LITTLE TIME AND THAT MUCH MONEY, YOU MUST BE EITHER SUPER AMAZING, OR HAVE SUPER AMAZING CLIENTELE! There is no way in H^%L that myself and 2 others could come close to performing a DETAIL - and a vehicle in that short of time. MAYBE a maintenance wash - but no way a full detaill...... if you can pull 200 a detail in that short of time - you are definitely the man :dblthumb2:
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lol I know I can't do a full detail in that short of time, but the detail would be closer to getting all the heavy dirt and grime off and applying a wax and dressing kind of thing. But I would like to include a aio or glaze, which really cuts my time to do other things. I already tried doing what I described would be in the detail, besides the AIO, in around an hour and forty five minutes. So I would only have an hour for the one step.
 
UltimateDetail said:
lol I know I can't do a full detail in that short of time, but the detail would be closer to getting all the heavy dirt and grime off and applying a wax and dressing kind of thing. But I would like to include a aio or glaze, which really cuts my time to do other things. I already tried doing what I described would be in the detail, besides the AIO, in around an hour and forty five minutes. So I would only have an hour for the one step.
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Is this hypothesis or put into action numbers?!?!??! I mean no offense at all here - but I can say that myself and my vice president (very experienced) PUSHED it and got a full interior/one step polish exterior done in 4 hours..... and that was pushing it! BUT - with that said..... we are also very unorthodox in our style...... SO, we are open to technology and /or advancements in detailing styles..... do you have some type of new way of detailing that many dont know of?!!??!
 
B&B Tennessee said:
Is this hypothesis or put into action numbers?!?!??! I mean no offense at all here - but I can say that myself and my vice president (very experienced) PUSHED it and got a full interior/one step polish exterior done in 4 hours..... and that was pushing it! BUT - with that said..... we are also very unorthodox in our style...... SO, we are open to technology and /or advancements in detailing styles..... do you have some type of new way of detailing that many dont know of?!!??!
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lol Don't worry, I don't take offense to anything, but to answer your question, like I said I have timed myself doing a basic "Wipe down". Which is: A wash, clay, quick once over with a hand glaze, then a synthetic wax for the exterior. Then a vacuum, quick shampoo, clean and condition leather, or if cloth seats use the tornado(sometimes extractor) and dry off with mf, then all surfaces are cleaned with APC+ and dressed appropriately for the material they are, then clean the glass, and lastly doorjambs. Then I do the wheels, I grab a bucket with APC+ and a car shampoo mixed and rigorously scrub the tire and wheels, then the wheel wells, then rinse, then dress the tires, then apply wheel glaze and wipe off. The thing that I have gotten good at is trying to make it less unorthodox as possible. And that takes working as quickly and efficiently as possible. But no lol, I don't have a secret. I just know a lot about what works and what doesn't for different aspects of cleaning. But for all that I do know, I probably don't know about three times as much as I do know based on experience. I'll tell you what though, I have been detailing for about two years now(mostly family cars) not as a pro but casual as a hobby and because there was no rush on these details I had a significant time to learn.
 
ShineTimeDetail said:
Every time I buy a new product or piece of equipment my first thought is 'man I'm going to save a ton of time with this!'. That has never been the case....never. I just get better results. I don't care what you buy, what chemicals you use you will still need a certain amount of time to get the job done correct.

You need to do a fn phenomenal job on every car you do...then people will talk, then you get more business, then you hirer a guy, then you higher more, then you sit in an office collecting money....I'm still at 'getting more business & at hiring someone'. Not far from sitting behind a desk...lol maybe 10 more years Haha!
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Dude. That is so funny because that is exactly what happens every time I invest in a new tool. I'm thinking how much faster I can get everything done but instead I use the tool to achieve even better results than I was getting before. The only tool I have that I think has actually started to save me time is the steamer. Grimy cup holders come clean in 10 seconds. It's great. OMG I can't even remember my life before steam now, lol.

And regarding the original thread topic: PLEASE TELL ME YOUR SECRETS!!! I spend upwards of 7-8 hours on a full detail (with 2 people) Heck, It takes me about 2 hours just to properly wash the outside, make the doorjambs spotless and detail the wheels and tires. That's not even starting on polishing/wax or anything on the interior. Maybe I'm just a slow poke.
 
Nicholas@Autowerx said:
And regarding the original thread topic: PLEASE TELL ME YOUR SECRETS!!! I spend upwards of 7-8 hours on a full detail (with 2 people) Heck, It takes me about 2 hours just to properly wash the outside, make the doorjambs spotless and detail the wheels and tires. That's not even starting on polishing/wax or anything on the interior. Maybe I'm just a slow poke.
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Lol I don't have any secrets. But refer to the post above for more info on what I do... I remember reading something Mike Phillips wrote on here that showed the paint magnified after a quick production detail vs a show car.. All the swirl marks were removed but still a lot of the other defects still remained up close, but it was acceptable, and that's what it comes down to.. what the customer will accept as a good job. Meeting their expectations of cleanliness. So that when they see their car after the detail, they can "check off" getting their car clean.
 
UltimateDetail said:
Yeah, that's the biggest problem. But the AIO would be a big part of the value of my detail.
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I am sure it will. It may take a while but once you master everything, you will save a lot of time. One of the posters is correct, determine first the best service that you can provide in 3 hours. It does not have to be perfect; a quality work will yield drastic results on neglected cars. Good luck on your endeavor. :xyxthumbs:
 
I'm getting the impression that the main driver here is cash flow.

Detailing is not unlike other work customers are willing to pay for. What they're looking for is quality. When quantity precedes quality your customer base will vanish and you'll be out of business....just be careful...
 
BobbyG said:
I'm getting the impression that the main driver here is cash flow.

Detailing is not unlike other work customers are willing to pay for. What they're looking for is quality. When quantity precedes quality your customer base will vanish and you'll be out of business....just be careful...
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Yeah, I just want to be able to make enough that I can support myself and be happy...

I agree, I don't want to cross that line of where quantity is more important than quality. But I want to be right on the edge of that line. One thing that confuses me, is how these car washes("while you wait"), always have customers coming in. I went there and go the "detail" for 60 bucks, and I was not happy.
 
brawl said:
I am sure it will. It may take a while but once you master everything, you will save a lot of time. One of the posters is correct, determine first the best service that you can provide in 3 hours. It does not have to be perfect; a quality work will yield drastic results on neglected cars. Good luck on your endeavor. :xyxthumbs:
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I suppose it's all mastering everything I do, to get quick... I agree, when you get a neglected car, it is amazing what products can do for it! Anyways, thanks and I hope I can get this down!:xyxthumbs:
 
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