Am I on the right track?

bigbadbp7

bigbadbp7

New member
Joined
Aug 16, 2011
Messages
259
Reaction score
0
I have been doing this for about 3 years now and I usually just tell someone $200 or $250 for cleaning their cars. Well now I have a opportunity to get some publicity on a local car site and the guy who runs the Facebook page wanted me to come up with a price list so you can run it on the page to get me some more work. Most of these cars on the site are on the high end side. I do live in Boise Idaho just to lay it out there and I know my price points will not be as high, but I do need some help because I do not want to miss a chance to work on some sweet cars (vipers, lotus, GTR's, Porches, Lambo's) ect. I a focusing on the high end guys.
Here is what I have so far. Feel free to tell me what you think. The Site coordinator says make it so its a "introductory price"

Stage l correction. (Exterior) $200 (7-9 Hours)
Wash/dry
Clean and polish Rims
Dress tires
Clean/dress inner fenders
bug/tar removal
Exhaust tips clean/polished
Clay paint
1 step polish (takes out light scratches and swirls)
Wax
Windows
All exterior trim dressed

Stage ll Correction. (Exterior) $350 (12-15 hours)
Wash/dry
Clean and polish Rims
Dress tires
Clean/dress inner fenders
bug/tar removal
Exhaust tips clean/polished
Clay paint
2 step compound/polish (takes out most scratches and swirls)
Wax
Windows
All exterior trim dressed

Add on interior $75
Vacuum
Leather cleaned/dressed
Dash/door panels cleaned and dressed
Vents cleaned with swabs
interior glass
Door jams
All plastic cleaned/dressed



I do not mind making changes to prices I just need to have a good base of what I really should be going for. I do not want to scare people away because of the prices but I do not want to lose me butt on it either. Feed back please
 
I'm not going to comment on your pricing denominations but people pay for perceived value.

There are a certain amount of people that do not care about how good your quality is, they just want the best price. There are a certain amount of people who want the best quality and price is irrelevant.

Who do you want to work for? Who will generate your more income? What jobs will you enjoy more? Does your market and local economy support it?

Ask yourself those types of questions when thinking about your pricing. You could have 3 different exterior and interior packages and price according.

I think you are definitely in the right track.

Also, you might want to add stain removal for interiors? Could you offer shampooing of carpets as well? Bissell makes a pretty good non-industiral "extractor" for ~$100.
 
Scott@IncrediblyDetailed said:
I'm not going to comment on your pricing denominations but people pay for perceived value.

There are a certain amount of people that do not care about how good your quality is, they just want the best price. There are a certain amount of people who want the best quality and price is irrelevant.

Who do you want to work for? Who will generate your more income? What jobs will you enjoy more? Does your market and local economy support it?

Ask yourself those types of questions when thinking about your pricing. You could have 3 different exterior and interior packages and price according.

I think you are definitely in the right track.

Also, you might want to add stain removal for interiors? Could you offer shampooing of carpets as well? Bissell makes a pretty good non-industiral "extractor" for ~$100.
Click to expand...

This pricing is going for the people who want good quality. I do have a Bissell but I can never seem to get stains out with it. I get ALOT of gunk out, but nothing amazing. I use folex and I just do not get great results. So thats why I did not put any stain removal on the pricing, I am not confident in that area at all.
 
Stain removal is an art. I am not a master by any means but if you want to get good at it you will need to study.

In essence, you need to understand what the stain is. A protein stain is not treated the same way as a grease stain and that is not treated the same way as a sugar stain. So in stain removal, you need to know what you are doing because there is no 1 solution cures all. Do some research on youtube or on the net and you might learn a few interesting things that you will be able to try next time you are faced with a stain ;)
 
I will have to look into that also tax time I want to get a good carpet extractor. Does anyone have a any more insight on the pricing?
 
You might consider the rim polishing a separate package (add-on). I have an "off-the-car" rim service which includes sonax FE, clay, polish, and seal. Plus tires get the tuf shine cleaning with that to thoroughly remove old dressings/silicones. I do this at $10 per wheel...I price it per wheel in case they have a full size spare with matching rim. Otherwise, the exterior detail whether one or two step, just gets APC cleaning on the rims/tires and the tires get dressed.

You might want to add a higher price for SUV's or minivans also. I have 4 categories of car, small suv, standard suv, and XL suv/minivan.

Consider higher prices for SUV's for interior also. I did a sedan that took me 5 hours compared to Suburban that took me 9 hours. I price the carpet extraction as well as the leather conditioner/UV protection as add-ons to the basic interior package.

For carpet extraction, you might give CG Fabric Clean a shot. It has taken nearly everything out that I have ever tried it on. Dilute it in a spray bottle, spray stains, and agitate with an upholstery brush. Use only hot tap water in the bissel to rinse/extract the CGFC. Has worked great for me so far.
 
wdmaccord said:
You might consider the rim polishing a separate package (add-on). I have an "off-the-car" rim service which includes sonax FE, clay, polish, and seal. Plus tires get the tuf shine cleaning with that to thoroughly remove old dressings/silicones. I do this at $10 per wheel...I price it per wheel in case they have a full size spare with matching rim. Otherwise, the exterior detail whether one or two step, just gets APC cleaning on the rims/tires and the tires get dressed.

You might want to add a higher price for SUV's or minivans also. I have 4 categories of car, small suv, standard suv, and XL suv/minivan.

Consider higher prices for SUV's for interior also. I did a sedan that took me 5 hours compared to Suburban that took me 9 hours. I price the carpet extraction as well as the leather conditioner/UV protection as add-ons to the basic interior package.

For carpet extraction, you might give CG Fabric Clean a shot. It has taken nearly everything out that I have ever tried it on. Dilute it in a spray bottle, spray stains, and agitate with an upholstery brush. Use only hot tap water in the bissel to rinse/extract the CGFC. Has worked great for me so far.
Click to expand...

How long does it take you to do 1 Wheel from start to finish? I offer Wheel polishing separatelly too and I calculated it would take me about 30 minutes per Wheel to do all that... maybe I am slow, I don't know LOL I charge 20$ per Wheel. So either I am completelly off on the time it takes or you are very inexpensive ;)
 
You're prices are exactly like mine, I think it's fair for both parties.
I charge $400.00 for large SUV's and vans.

Good luck to you
 
bigbadbp7 said:
I have been doing this for about 3 years now and I usually just tell someone $200 or $250 for cleaning their cars. Well now I have a opportunity to get some publicity on a local car site and the guy who runs the Facebook page wanted me to come up with a price list so you can run it on the page to get me some more work. Most of these cars on the site are on the high end side. I do live in Boise Idaho just to lay it out there and I know my price points will not be as high, but I do need some help because I do not want to miss a chance to work on some sweet cars (vipers, lotus, GTR's, Porches, Lambo's) ect. I a focusing on the high end guys.
Here is what I have so far. Feel free to tell me what you think. The Site coordinator says make it so its a "introductory price"

Stage l correction. (Exterior) $200 (7-9 Hours)
Wash/dry
Clean and polish Rims
Dress tires
Clean/dress inner fenders
bug/tar removal
Exhaust tips clean/polished
Clay paint
1 step polish (takes out light scratches and swirls)
Wax
Windows
All exterior trim dressed

Stage ll Correction. (Exterior) $350 (12-15 hours)
Wash/dry
Clean and polish Rims
Dress tires
Clean/dress inner fenders
bug/tar removal
Exhaust tips clean/polished
Clay paint
2 step compound/polish (takes out most scratches and swirls)
Wax
Windows
All exterior trim dressed

Add on interior $75
Vacuum
Leather cleaned/dressed
Dash/door panels cleaned and dressed
Vents cleaned with swabs
interior glass
Door jams
All plastic cleaned/dressed



I do not mind making changes to prices I just need to have a good base of what I really should be going for. I do not want to scare people away because of the prices but I do not want to lose me butt on it either. Feed back please
Click to expand...

if youre going towards the high-end customers than i dont think price will "scare" them away. especially if they have vipers, lotus, GTR's, Porches, Lambo's, etc.. im not saying they throw money for free, but they don't mind spending more for quality.

if i looked at your prices at an hourly rate, youd be charging anywhere from $22 an hour to $29 an hour.

several guys around my local area that dont even work on "high end cars" charge $50 an hour (depends on where you live too)

you also have to factor that those types of vehicles have harder clear coat which will take more time.. especially if you're not use to working on them.. and oddly enough (from the various blogs/threads ive seen) those cars finish are in trasshhhedddd condition

do you have insurance? imagine burning through some of this paint.. thatll be a pretty penny to repaint

working on a daily driver vs high end is a total different ball game
 
Dont limit your earning potential with a concrete package price. Say "starting at" to leave room for yourself
 
One thing about me is that I don't detail for a living , the money I make is used to buy more products for more testing, plus I just love doing it so making top dollar isn't most important to me, it's the love of detailing that drives me.
 
I agree with Scott here, don't limit yourself. You said these guys are high end, right? You need to make a decision on whether you want to try to raise your prices on them after the fact, or get more just going in.

Develop a strategy on what 'well heeled' owners will endure and stick to it. I would say first that your interior pricing should be a stand alone price. Don't do it as an 'add on' to a $300 job, do it as another $150 (or more) job.

Another thing that has been mentioned is the idea that you don't put your prices as absolutes, rather that they are starting points. (Starting at $250 - for instance.) Then go on to describe services along the lines of after inspection an appropriate package will be suggested and an agreed upon price will be supplied, or something to that effect.

But yeah, I agree that there are groups of people to whom this entire idea of a clean, well detailed car means vastly different things.

1: They will drive the newest vehicles, want to keep them clean, but don't care to spend more than the local car wash charges.

*_*_* My local jewelry store / gun store owner is one like that. He drives big badass GMC Denali trucks, plural. One 2500, the other a crew cab 3500 dually. I told him I'd keep them up for him with what I call MY basic wash that includes claying/nanoskin treatment and some sort of polymer sealant, but on his trucks to do inside and out it'd run $145~$175 each and it'd take 4~5 hours. His reply... "You are way to high!"

2: They drive whatever they can afford and don't care one way or another how it looks. Other than say your drive-thru car wash and pumping coins into whatever machine is closest to their home. This doesn't mean they all drive junkers, oh no...... Just that they don't CARE to keep up whatever they have beyond the minimum they can get away with.

*_*_*_ I have a old school buddy that thinks like this. I've spoken of him often, even did a thread about it back in the spring, my friend "Mike" he is. He buys new cars every few years and just doesn't see ANY VALUE AT ALL in paying someone to maintain the finish on any of them, Lexus included. :dunno:

3: Those that ONLY drive what they can get and don't give a rats arse one way or another.

*_*_*_ These people we don't want ANYWHERE NEAR our operation. Waste of time and money.

4: High-line owners that will spend 6 figures on a vehicle in a heartbeat. They also don't have the time, knowhow, or in most instances the energy to keep them up, what with all the gym memberships, squash and handball games, hanging out at the tennis courts, sky diving, mountain climbing and such. :laughing: BUT, they do want to keep them up, especially as they have so much invested in them.

*_*_*_ These are the people we all wish were our ONLY client base. Price isn't even considered, whereas performance is tantamount and is literally ALL THAT COUNTS. :)
 
Thank you guys for the kind words! Using the "starting at" is a great idea. I do not like the idea of having a concrete list but people want something to look at to give them a idea. I am not insured, I am not even a "legit" business, I will however look into getting insured because I would hate to have a issue with one of those cars. I am a college student and have been detailing for about 4 years. It's like a professional hobby to me while I work at O'Reilly auto parts on the weekend. I would eventually want to quit that job and do about 2 cars a week and maintenance washes , that is the goal, it will pay the bills a lot better and I am working for myself.
 
bigbadbp7 said:
Thank you guys..... I would eventually want to quit that job and do about 2 cars a week and maintenance washes
Click to expand...

Sounds like an excellent plan! Once it turns into a "daily grind" the fun flows out of it in a hurry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top