Are people really this cheap?

A2D Signature

A2D Signature

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I did my friends headlights yesterday. Wet sanded, compounded, polished, and coated.

I did it for free because we've been friends for about 26 years now.

He went home and posted about it on Facebook saying I do it for a good price and these are some of the responses

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And they kikely believe wd40 removes scratches within seconds :)
 
Yes people are this cheap. I advertise on several groups on facebook once a week and eveytime I get responses like this. The most common one I get is the toothpaste one. People just don't understand.
 
People are very cheap, but you get what you pay for. I remember people coming into the body shop I used to work at asking how much a repaint would cost, and throwing a fit because Maaco, etc. only quoted them a few hundred while our estimates were well into the thousands. Their $8 bug spray or toothpaste solution will wear away in a few washes, your headlight restoration will hold up for a long time to come, just like quality paintwork versus a cheap scuff-and-shoot.

This just gave me an idea- has anyone done a side-by-side longevity comparison of an OTC or homebrew headlight fix versus a true headlight restoration yet? Something like this could be a good marketing tool for a professional detailer.
 
SRConcepts said:
People are very cheap, but you get what you pay for. I remember people coming into the body shop I used to work at asking how much a repaint would cost, and throwing a fit because Maaco, etc. only quoted them a few hundred while our estimates were well into the thousands. Their $8 bug spray or toothpaste solution will wear away in a few washes, your headlight restoration will hold up for a long time to come, just like quality paintwork versus a cheap scuff-and-shoot.

This just gave me an idea- has anyone done a side-by-side longevity comparison of an OTC or homebrew headlight fix versus a true headlight restoration yet? Something like this could be a good marketing tool for a professional detailer.
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Yeah, most people that have been suggested the toothpaste or bug spray solution call me a few weeks later to do their headlight because it didn't hold or just didn't work at all.
I explain to them that the abrasive in toothpaste is made for teeth, not plastic.

The side by side comparison is a great idea.
 
The last nice headlight resto I posted on face book was the same.

Random Guy, "Yeah, bug spray will do the same thing. Lol."

Uh, no. No it won't give you crystal clear headlights that make it look like you just bought brand new replacements.
 
A2D Signature said:
I did my friends headlights yesterday. Wet sanded, compounded, polished, and coated.

I did it for free because we've been friends for about 26 years now.

He went home and posted about it on Facebook saying I do it for a good price and these are some of the responses
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It's not really a matter of being cheap IMO. It's some combination of this distrust of the "establishment" which in this context is car detailers, the folksy home remedy trend inspired by social media and the internet, and that must people treat their car like an applicance.



SRConcepts said:
This just gave me an idea- has anyone done a side-by-side longevity comparison of an OTC or homebrew headlight fix versus a true headlight restoration yet? Something like this could be a good marketing tool for a professional detailer.
Click to expand...

As I alluded to above, people who think like those who posted the above comments aren't going to be customers no matter how convincing your side-by-side is, IMO.
 
RangerDetails said:
I explain to them that the abrasive in toothpaste is made for teeth, not plastic.
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Toothpaste was a common "rouge" for polishing acrylic plastics (which today's headlights are not); this goes back 50 years or more, so it's not like that idea is out of left field.
 
Man, if I only knew bug spray worked, then I wouldn't have had to buy sandpaper, a Flex, and some compound!!!!! This ruins my day! Steaming mad!!!
 
expdetailing said:
Man, if I only knew bug spray worked, then I wouldn't have had to buy sandpaper, a Flex, and some compound!!!!! This ruins my day! Steaming mad!!!
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Haha! That is what I tell my clients. "If toothpaste and bug spray was working so well, I wouldn't have spent so much on all my equippement". Pointing at all my stuff.
 
Ask someone to post their success with bug spray so you can see. LOL
 
I've used toothpaste. It works. Ish. But it doesn't last unless you clear them or diligently coat them afterward, and even the initial results are nothing like what was achieved here. On a nice car I'd just pony up for wet sanding, polishing, and clearing. It still isn't all that expensive.
 
I never really thought about it, but it's true. Most people treat their vehicles as an appliance. We all treat our vehicles like members of our family and are offended by comments like those posted on FB:)
 
IMO:
The concept of investing wisely, prudently,
or even fairly...in the care of their vehicles...
is somewhat alien to many people.


Bob
 
People such as these look upon us (people who really care for their cars) as eccentric or just plain crazy. The analogy of looking at your car as an appliance is a good one. I've gotten to the point where I just don't care to try to "educate" folks like this, but I also don't do detailing for a living. I really take my hat off to those of you who do, because you are faced with attitudes like this on a daily basis.To me it's simple: You will end up paying $30,000 to $40,000 for a vehicle on the low end of the price scale when you factor in maintenance and insurance. Why wouldn't you take good care of it so that you can really get your money's worth out of it? I guess it's all a matter of perspective.
 
Cheap or dumb because they don't know better. A gypsy tried to sell me on scuffing & spraying a cheap clear coat on mine years ago. I told him to go kick rocks. I do know someone that fell victim to,that. It looked good for a year or so and then started to peel & yellow. Looks like crap now. Get what you pay for!!
 
I think it's just a matter of value. Misinformation circulating says that bug spray and toothpaste is all you need. So obviously when they see a price of say 60-100$ to fix headlights, they think we are gonna use some toothpaste, rub for 2 mins and charge them 100$ for it. When someone talks to me about bug spray and toothpaste I explain to them the issues with those 2 methods and then explain how I do it (3 step sanding, 2 step polishing, coating for UV protection). If they don't want to pay and want to bring the car to their dentist or hunter, fine ;) Either way they understand that those methods are completely different.
 
The key is to seal the headlights good after polishing and reconditioning them. The monkeys that are saying they use toothpaste or camel piss or whatever are more than likely not doing that. There is no 10 minute job when detailing if done correctly. I have never had a customer balk on my prices. People know me in the area and know the kind of work I do though. I get business all by word of mouth. No advertising. Anyone who would complain about prices I would not want them as a customer and would kindly tell them to go elsewhere.
 
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