6 hours of interior detailing...did I lose money?

[Lustrous Detail]

I did a full leather reconditioning for a 2005 Escalade this past friday. Interior was beige. 3 row seating. I used a combination of steam and the gray cyclo brush on my PC. Spent close to 6 hours on interior alone. Here are some before and after pics. Ended up charging customer $200. Included a wash and spray wax for exterior.

 

[trashmanssd]

I would guess you didn't lose money, but may left some on the table. If you have a shop you rent I would say its a little low and also your location Hawaii has a very high cost of living. 200$ there is a lot different then 200$ in Texas.

 

[dcjredline]

Well, IMO you got about $50 worth of experience and at least $50 worth of before and after shots! Those seats turned out great!!!

 

[4u2nvinmtl]

I did a full leather reconditioning for a 2005 Escalade this past friday. Interior was beige. 3 row seating. I used a combination of steam and the gray cyclo brush on my PC. Spent close to 6 hours on interior alone. Here are some before and after pics. Ended up charging customer $200. Included a wash and spray wax for exterior.

I would be a happy customer @ $200! Hope you came out ahead, very nice work considering the condition of the leather.

 

[OTSDetail]

I'd be okay at $200. You could have charged a little more given the fact that you were doing an exterior wash as well, but I would be happy at 200 for that for the most part.

I did a full interior on a jeep that had a sunroof leak. Had their clothy-canvas type seats which are nearly impossible to clean with shampoo or a steamer. basically hand shampooing the seats, tornador the headliner, and shampoo the carpet. I charged them $120 and it took me about 12 hours. I got my butt kicked but it turned out so much better and I really wanted the job to prove to myself what I could do. I did, however, underestimate the amount of work involved (due to me thinking I could just use the shampooer like normal on the seats and carpet.)

Interior never looked 100% but it was probably as good as it was gonna get. Drivers seat still a tad bit wet so it still looks a little bit dirty in the pics.

 

[conman1395]

Is that all you did on the interior? Just the leather and nothing else? Then maybe you didn't charge too low. I wouldn't have done the exterior though either.

 

[Lustrous Detail]

Is that all you did on the interior? Just the leather and nothing else? Then maybe you didn't charge too low. I wouldn't have done the exterior though either.

I did thorough vacuuming, door jambs, trunk area, conditioned door panels and dashboard. No shampooing.

 

[98LowRanger]

So you had roughly $50 worth a product/supplies (on the high side) for 9 hours of TOTAL work on the Escalade? I'm no pro, but I would be pretty happy with $17 a hour. Most professionals with their own shops (overhead costs) will say you have to make at least $20-$25 a hour on most details. If your working at home or even mobile, I think $17 is pretty good. In the end it's all how you feel about it.

GREAT work by the way! Those before and after shots are impressive. The owner had to be pleased with the results.

 

[conman1395]

I did thorough vacuuming, door jambs, trunk area, conditioned door panels and dashboard. No shampooing.

Well at our shop our rate is $100 an hour.

Don't you think you could have made more money doing six hours worth of work on something else? If so, you lost OC (opportunity cost) money.

 

[4u2nvinmtl]

So you had roughly $50 worth a product/supplies (on the high side) for 9 hours of TOTAL work on the Escalade? I'm no pro, but I would be pretty happy with $17 a hour. Most professionals with their own shops (overhead costs) will say you have to make at least $20-$25 a hour on most details. If your working at home or even mobile, I think $17 is pretty good. In the end it's all how you feel about it.

GREAT work by the way! Those before and after shots are impressive. The owner had to be pleased with the results.

I would assume that most detailers would try to make around $40 per hour before expenses... I guess it all depends where and what car.

 

[conman1395]

I would assume that most detailers would try to make around $40 per hour before expenses... I guess it all depends where and what car.

When I do stuff on the side I charge about $40-$50 an hour. Although the other day I made $100 in 50 minutes and I didn't complain about that lol.

Remember that as detailers we can make a lot of money on working on the exteriors. The interiors usually are harder on our bodies and therefore we shouldn't be charging less.

When I say I charge by the hour, I estimated when I made my price chart how long things should take. An interior on a BMW 3 series will start at $275 because I think it should take me three hours to make the interior perfect again. If it takes longer, then I explain to the customer WHEN I SEE THE VEHICLE - not after I start - why it will take longer.

I'd rather be able to sit upright and polish the side of a car than use my half asian side and bring out my inner contortionist to clean the inside of a car.

 

[Lustrous Detail]

I'd be okay at $200. You could have charged a little more given the fact that you were doing an exterior wash as well, but I would be happy at 200 for that for the most part.

I did a full interior on a jeep that had a sunroof leak. Had their clothy-canvas type seats which are nearly impossible to clean with shampoo or a steamer. basically hand shampooing the seats, tornador the headliner, and shampoo the carpet. I charged them $120 and it took me about 12 hours. I got my butt kicked but it turned out so much better and I really wanted the job to prove to myself what I could do. I did, however, underestimate the amount of work involved (due to me thinking I could just use the shampooer like normal on the seats and carpet.)

Interior never looked 100% but it was probably as good as it was gonna get. Drivers seat still a tad bit wet so it still looks a little bit dirty in the pics.

12 hours?! Looks good though. I could imagine how your body felt the next day. Lol

 

[Lustrous Detail]

Well, IMO you got about $50 worth of experience and at least $50 worth of before and after shots! Those seats turned out great!!!

Thanks! My photos aren't worth $50 though. I need to get a better camera. All taken on my Note 3.

 

[Lustrous Detail]

Well at our shop our rate is $100 an hour.

Don't you think you could have made more money doing six hours worth of work on something else? If so, you lost OC (opportunity cost) money.

I see what you're saying. Yeah, I could've made more money doing something else for less time. My problem was giving the quote over the phone and not checking out what I was dealing with first! Never again.

 

[98LowRanger]

...not checking out what I was dealing with first! Never again.

I think we have all had one of those moments. Learning experience!

 

[Kamakaz1961]

If it was interior only I think you did OK. Additionally, the seats turned out great!! Beautiful work!! However, that being said...the exterior wash might have made it a slight loss or possibly break-even. But, overall, you will gain in the long run as you have a satisfied customer and IMO he will come back and possibly bring you more business.

IMO gaining a happy customer in the long run is fine.

So again, overall a win!

 

[Lustrous Detail]

If it was interior only I think you did OK. Additionally, the seats turned out great!! Beautiful work!! However, that being said...the exterior wash might have made it a slight loss or possibly break-even. But, overall, you will gain in the long run as you have a satisfied customer and IMO he will come back and possibly bring you more business.

IMO gaining a happy customer in the long run is fine.

So again, overall a win!

Thanks! Exterior was in bad shape. Needed a full decontamination and polish. I explained to the customer and hopefully she'll be back.

 

[LRC3]

You didn't lose!!

You've gained a customer... How can they NOT come back!!

 

[OTSDetail]

12 hours?! Looks good though. I could imagine how your body felt the next day. Lol

Appreciate it. Definitely one of the worst jobs I've ever had to deal with. I actually split it up over 2 days since I didn't get to start until the afternoon and I wasn't working late so it wasnt too bad. Wish the camera would have captured the horrendous look of the interior. Pictures don't do it justice.

As for OP again, I try to keep my stuff near $35/hr. At least, that's what it has all equated to when I've done the math, it's not written in stone. But, it all depends on what I'm doing and the amount of work involved though. Although I'm not gonna complain about $100 for an hour of my time.

 

[Scott@IncrediblyDetailed]

When quoting over the phone I give a starting out price and when they arrive we look over the vehicle together and I ask lots of questions. Often people will expect years of neglect and filth to be cleaned by that entry price when in reality I explain it's for vehicles that have been detailed recently (a year or so with a thorough steam cleaning, shampoo, etc) and are in non-trashed shape. There is a reason they are calling you and it's not because the job is easy.

If the rest of the SUV was in that condition it would easily be a $350-500 interior job with door jams, windows, carpets, etc. Usually with that amount of neglect I run an o-zone machine to neutralize any odors and make sure everything is up to par.

You lost money if you didn't complete the detail under your needed hourly figure to operate the business and pay yourself for your time. Early on it's reasonable to go over time because you're still learning and learning how to quote, which I still struggle with sometimes. With really neglected vehicles I always quote a range often leaving me 1-2 hours of padding incase I run into something I didn't see or some information was left out.