a good question, i think

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LazyGhost

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For the hobbiest (like myself) whose just getting into detailing and has no plans of ever doing this for a living, ordering the best talked about products and making a considerable investment...

Whats a fair price to charge my friends for detailing there vehicles. I really want to do some friends vehicles so i can gain experience. "Free" is just too cheap though. I dont have the kinds of friends who get there vehicles detailed. So there vehicles will need paint corrections. Which is exciting for me! I do at least want to recoop my expenses and throw a few dollars under thr mattress to eventually buy more products without having to dig in my wallet. Id like for this hobby to at minimum pay for itself.
 
I charge my friends a nice dinner or I'll detail their cars if they watch our dog and cat while we're away. I also charged my older neighbor, she made us an apple pie for christmas if I cleaned her interior....:) she makes the best cakes and pies!

If like me, you want your hobby here to pay for itself, do a few wash and waxes every now and then. Sometimes I'll put an ad on cragslist and charge people like $75 to wash, clay, seal or wax, clean the interior. Takes me only a few hours. It's not a bad price(where I live in pasadena) and get to meet nice people see some cool cars, etc..
 
For the hobby to pay for itself you'd need to calculate the expenses on all your products, factor in what you think your time is worth, and run with that as a basis for your price. However seeing as it's only a hobby and you won't be doing 5+ cars a week, that means by your requirements the price would actually be relatively high.

I'm a generous person myself and I would never detail my friends car for free, but assuming I was going to wash, decontaminate, 1-step polish, and seal/wax, dress tires and trim and clean glass, my rough initial figure would probably be ~$100. Factoring in all skill levels, whatever yours may be, estimate 2-3 hours for wash & decon, 1-2 hours for the 1-step, 1-2 hours to dress & protect. Anywhere from 5 to 10 hours, pending your skills, tools and the condition of the vehicle. Once again I'm a generous person, and I'd already be willing to do it just on the basis of having my friends drive around in a car cleaner than most. However I enjoy washing cars, and compared to some jobs (kennel management @ ~11 hour, lifeguarding @ ~8 hour) I'd put washing cars somewhere around $9-10/hr, just for the labor aspect, factor in that they're my friends, and however much product I'm using, whether or not the vehicle is a Miata or a Tahoe, etc...

There's not a concrete answer to this in my opinion, but I figured I'd try and share some insight and things that I myself would consider.
 
Dinner or some form of trade. For instance, if you have a buddy who is an electrician then maybe he can upgrade your service for 1-2 years worth of detailing; or some smaller jobs.

In terms of charging real $$$, it would depend on which friend and which vehicle. Some of my family and friends take care of their cars, others do not.... so variable pricing based on the intensity of the labor and duration. All told, anywhere from $75 to $150 if I were to charge. It covers my costs and a little bit more for the next AGO order. ;-)
 
cleanmycorolla said:
I charge my friends a nice dinner or I'll detail their cars if they watch our dog and cat while we're away. I also charged my older neighbor, she made us an apple pie for christmas if I cleaned her interior....:) she makes the best cakes and pies!

If like me, you want your hobby here to pay for itself, do a few wash and waxes every now and then. Sometimes I'll put an ad on cragslist and charge people
like $75 to wash, clay, seal or wax, clean the interior.
Takes me only a few hours. It's not a bad price(where I live in pasadena) and get to meet nice people see some cool cars, etc..
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That is beautiful man!:props:
 
If they are truly your friends then simply ask them to make you an offer... And accept whatever they offer.

More importantly, make sure and confirm with them what they expect the results to be. Not everyone is interested in having (or maintaining) mirror finish. Nothing insults my time, effort and energy more than to see someone washing their car with a damned house mop after I just spent 5 hours the week before making it look "good" in exchange for lunch...

Nothing is more insulting, except maybe the way they look up at you, smile and say "see, I'm keeping it clean!! It's not that hard."

This was my mother, BTW
 
mwoolfso said:
Dinner or some form of trade. For instance, if you have a buddy who is an electrician then maybe he can upgrade your service for 1-2 years worth of detailing; or some smaller jobs.

In terms of charging real $$$, it would depend on which friend and which vehicle. Some of my family and friends take care of their cars, others do not.... so variable pricing based on the intensity of the labor and duration. All told, anywhere from $75 to $150 if I were to charge. It covers my costs and a little bit more for the next AGO order. ;-)
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+1
 
id probably do it for the cost of materials and a case of beer...but ill do almost anything for beer...lol

cash wish, 100 bucks though is very fair for a wash/polish/wax to a very close friend...

dot forget, your friends may have a talent they wish to reciprocate one day (moving, painting, drywall). always better to pay it forward, because Karma's a #####.
 
Same situation for myself, I help friends get their vehicles clean. Most don't realize the work it takes until they see what effort is put into it.
I usually get restraunt gift cards, or home made dinners. One friend offered to make a website if I wanted to advertise, not ready for that yet.
I can always ask for a favor or help when needed.
Paying forward is what it's about.
 
Fishincricket said:
If they are truly your friends then simply ask them to make you an offer... And accept whatever they offer.

More importantly, make sure and confirm with them what they expect the results to be. Not everyone is interested in having (or maintaining) mirror finish. Nothing insults my time, effort and energy more than to see someone washing their car with a damned house mop after I just spent 5 hours the week before making it look "good" in exchange for lunch...

Nothing is more insulting, except maybe the way they look up at you, smile and say "see, I'm keeping it clean!! It's not that hard."

This was my mother, BTW
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OUCH! This is why I haven't done my mother-in-law's car yet. Uggggh.
 
primo spaghetti said:
id probably do it for the cost of materials and a case of beer...but ill do almost anything for beer...lol

cash wish, 100 bucks though is very fair for a wash/polish/wax to a very close friend...

dot forget, your friends may have a talent they wish to reciprocate one day (moving, painting, drywall). always better to pay it forward, because Karma's a #####.
Click to expand...

You and I think alike...For friends, I'll Buff for Beer!

Bill
 
As said before if they are real friends they wont be offended by any honest number you come up with. For my very close friends I will not charge and instead ask for a return favor one day and for acquaintances I will charge at a discount. All depends on who your around I suppose.
 
Pay it forward.
Or the figure said above 75-150
Every car is different so keep that in mind. And I like it when they hang out have some beers while going through it I'm about to do a buddy's black cts that is in insanely bad shape. He asked me to do it and show him what it's going to take what I'm doing and explain why I'm doing it I told him straight forward that I wasn't trying to jeopardize friendship with my price but reassured him he will not find a better deal going any place else $200 it's the most expensive friend car I'm going to have done to date but we are looking at a 2 stage polish and I'm going to opticoat the car for him and fill some rock chips. All in all I think we will be looking at 18ish hours. For me that averages less than ten an hour after deducting materials (iron x opticoat and I'm giving him a carpro MIT and dirt guard so he can properly maintain) it gives me a rewarding chance to see what I am capible of doing-with black pearl paint and I feel good about setting a friend up to properly take care of his paint
 
I dunno, if you charge a friend money for doing something for them, are they really a "friend"? Does that mean they are paying you to be their friend?
 
Years ago i tried to actually quantify product cost per job. I then factored in a prorated amount for water, electricity etc. And came up with a materials cost per job to at least cover. If you do that you can either charge that or go ahead and then add in a modest labor rate per hour and then add that in for the hours it takes to complete whatever they expect the final product to look like.

Your labor rate should be what you think it's worth. There are pro's getting maybe $50-$60 an hour ( and maybe more) but if you are new and don't have an advanced skill level, may 5, 7, 10 bucks an hour might be reasonable.

I don't do anything for free (except family) but i have done jobs and only covered the cost of materials.
 
I think so when you are saving a friend potentially a few hundred bucks and even more so if your giving them the know how for upkeep witch over a life time is invaluable give a man a fish he eats for a day give him a pole and he eats for life right?
 
Just met a guy through a mutual friend that's an electronic autogeek, going to detail his car in exchange for a viper autostart with install on my car, if all goes well, will detail his wife's car for an install on my wife's car. All I do is buy the system.
Talking it over we decided it's a fair deal for both of us, he used to install for Best Buy, now installs for cash or exchange like Barter Kings. Has a great reputation for clean installs too.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I dunno, if you charge a friend money for doing something for them, are they really a "friend"? Does that mean they are paying you to be their friend?
Click to expand...
I look at it as you are providing a service for your friend that not many people can do. Call me an ass, but I'm not going to bust my butt for 5+ hours on someone's neglected car for nothing in return. Sure, I'll help a buddy change the oil on their car or something that takes under an hour or so.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I dunno, if you charge a friend money for doing something for them, are they really a "friend"? Does that mean they are paying you to be their friend?
Click to expand...

I agree. Do it for free. Then they will offer you something. What I would do for a simple wash and wax is tell them to order you something inexpensive from AG - like a $25 gallon of CG car wash you have been wanting to try, but wouldnt buy because it's so similar to one you have. Don't take the money - have them order it. Write it down with your address. Have them buy it and ship it to you. I couldn't take cash from a friend.

But I detail very slowly and am very picky. Anyone that has asked me to do their cars I always tell them it may take 3 or 4 days. As, if I'm going to do it for a friend - I'm going to do it right: wash, remove wheels - polish and coat, tape off panels, decon, clay, compound, polish, seal, wax, correct head & tail lights; clean the interior of every speck of dust and coat everything with UIG+. I would want them to be amazed.

Only thing is, nobody ever bites because they don't want to be without their car for that long.
 
I agree killa. My friends realize i have acquired skills they don't have. That's worth something in return, even from a friend. And, yes, i have helped friends do things. Put up a fence, change oil, etc. But they helped. i was just help and for free cus i like spending time with good friends. If i detail their vehicle they most likely won't help...not sure i want them to cus of extremely high standards. Ok, maybe help dry it off after the wash but that's about it.

Now whether they want to pay me back with beer, a dinner or cash is up to me and them but i did something for them...not as much with them.
 
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