Cost of product per car

dsg03gt

dsg03gt

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I was just wondering what you guys would say is the amount of money spent per car on product for a traditional detail. I know the price will vary with products used, but lets say just a wash, clay, one step polish, lsp, tire and trim dressing, and a interior clean up.
 
I would think that:
Wash - about 5$
Clay - ( depends if that car is really soiled ), 4$
One step Polish - with buffing pads, cleaners, machine and power... could cost about 8-10$
Last step should cost almost the same as one step.
if you are thinking on a wax also then wax ( if buying in bulk, Like fuzion ) it could only cost about 3$ - 4$ ( including the pad ).
tire dressing... is pretty low...
trim dressing is also low... but may vary, could be 1$ could be more
Interior clean up, with power and tools, and a basic all purpose interior cleaner, I would say another few bucks.

But there are so many things that could change the amount of money.
1. Different products can cost a lot more or less,
2. there are products that "Saves" you from using too much, and there are other that you would use the entire box for 1 car.
3. Buying in Bulk, when buying a 16oz bottle you could pad 30$ but when buying a 128Oz bottle you will pay 70$, you pay a bit more then double, and get 8 times more product.

Hope I helped.
 
I never figured it out but if I had to guess I would say less than $10 and probably closer to $5. I am only part time but I did not go thru a whole gallon of anything last year. That was a few cars most weeks from mid March thru first week of Dec. That included a few motorhomes.
 
If you are not using a tremendous amount of boutique products, I think .... conservatively speaking .... you will run $20 +/- 40%. That's pad, product, water supply (assuming you provide it), wear and tear, wash/dry of towels, etc....
 
I would say my cost are between 5-15 a car. it depends on car size.
 
Depends on which package I sell.

Basic $2-4

Premium $4-7

Executive $6-9

I buy bulk, use minimum product, but use quality products. Good products go longer!
 
^That seems about right.

Also keep in mind that for tools the cost gets lower the more clients you have since you don't need to replace them nearly as often as you do actual chemicals.
 
It's more about how you buy than what you buy. Then about how many you do over how little you do.

For instance, I was talking last week with my daughter about my running cost(s) on my trucks when I was operating my towing business from 85 till 2003. I had it down in the end to 52.7¢ per mile. Now that was with EVERYTHING, my cell bill, pager bill, tires, brakes, oil, fuel, insurance, bank fees, cleaning and washing, (both the truck and my clothes), even the 'gifts' I gave my accounts a few times a year, like when I'd show up with donuts or hams and food during the holidays.

That was also figuring in by then I wasn't driving NEAR as many miles per year as I did when I started in 85. For the first 5~6 years I averaged about 75,000 miles a year. The cost per mile there was much less, but then again my first rollback wasn't but $22,500 and my last one was $80,000. (And to buy one outfitted the same these days it'd be easily $125,000.

The thing is, guys are always out there wanting to undercut your towing rates (let's say for dealer transfers) and quote $1.00 a mile (back then). Keep in mind you only get paid ONE WAY. So what they didn't understand was that they were PAYING THE DEALERSHIP for the honor of towing their cars for them. I wouldn't touch anything for under $1.75 plus a loading fee, because I learned that I didn't need to go in the hole with the truck moving when I could sit still and do that. :laughing:

So yeah.... buying in bulk hurts up front, but it'll save you a ton down the road. Just need to have enough business to pay for the 'down the road' part. ;)
 
cardaddy said:
It's more about how you buy than what you buy. Then about how many you do over how little you do.

For instance, I was talking last week with my daughter about my running cost(s) on my trucks when I was operating my towing business from 85 till 2003. I had it down in the end to 52.7¢ per mile. Now that was with EVERYTHING, my cell bill, pager bill, tires, brakes, oil, fuel, insurance, bank fees, cleaning and washing, (both the truck and my clothes), even the 'gifts' I gave my accounts a few times a year, like when I'd show up with donuts or hams and food during the holidays.

That was also figuring in by then I wasn't driving NEAR as many miles per year as I did when I started in 85. For the first 5~6 years I averaged about 75,000 miles a year. The cost per mile there was much less, but then again my first rollback wasn't but $22,500 and my last one was $80,000. (And to buy one outfitted the same these days it'd be easily $125,000.

The thing is, guys are always out there wanting to undercut your towing rates (let's say for dealer transfers) and quote $1.00 a mile (back then). Keep in mind you only get paid ONE WAY. So what they didn't understand was that they were PAYING THE DEALERSHIP for the honor of towing their cars for them. I wouldn't touch anything for under $1.75 plus a loading fee, because I learned that I didn't need to go in the hole with the truck moving when I could sit still and do that. :laughing:

So yeah.... buying in bulk hurts up front, but it'll save you a ton down the road. Just need to have enough business to pay for the 'down the road' part. ;)
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Good analysis, well put! I agree with buying in bulk with basically anything as long as it makes up for itself in the the long run.
 
My goal with every detail is to keep my consumable product cost around 10% of total billed. Key word is consumables; polish, shampoo, water, wax, etc. That is if I charge $300 then my product cost should be around $30. This is not hard to do if you buy in bulk and your technique and process is good.

A favorite saying of mine is that many business are penny wise and dollar foolish. Buying in 16-ounce bottles is penny wise but dollar foolish. I buy in 5-gallon increments and then buy the 16-ounce bottles for that product to fill up. It saves me a bundle and the up side is that if I break a bottle or sprayer I have extras at little cost and a large tank to fill from. Plus when I buy extra bottles I can sell those bottles filled from my bulk containers to my clients, increasing my revenue

Think in dollars, not in pennies.
 
dipolley said:
My goal with every detail is to keep my consumable product cost around 10% of total billed. Key word is consumables; polish, shampoo, water, wax, etc. That is if I charge $300 then my product cost should be around $30. This is not hard to do if you buy in bulk and your technique and process is good.

A favorite saying of mine is that many business are penny wise and dollar foolish. Buying in 16-ounce bottles is penny wise but dollar foolish. I buy in 5-gallon increments and then buy the 16-ounce bottles for that product to fill up. It saves me a bundle and the up side is that if I break a bottle or sprayer I have extras at little cost and a large tank to fill from. Plus when I buy extra bottles I can sell those bottles filled from my bulk containers to my clients, increasing my revenue

Think in dollars, not in pennies.
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Good advice. I really like the idea of buying in bulk and selling to clients in smaller quantities (if they are looking to buy good product)
 
Infiltrator said:
Good advice. I really like the idea of buying in bulk and selling to clients in smaller quantities (if they are looking to buy good product)
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I thought of this several times and I would like to do it. Like a small 2 or 3 oz spray bottle with some QD in it.. but I don't know where u can get little bottles or containers at for a good price

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Search Google. I'm sure there are tons of places that have them cheap

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2
 
If whoever you buy from in bulk sells in smaller quantities (4oz, 16 oz), they will sell you the bottles. Sometimes they just give them to you. ;-)

I try not to sell some items like sealant or wax. (Because I want them to pay me to put it on for them). But simple things like detail sprays, glass cleaners, and towels are a no brainer. If it is a good client, I just give them 4 oz bottles of detail spray as a thank you.
 
T0RCH3D said:
Good analysis, well put! I agree with buying in bulk with basically anything as long as it makes up for itself in the the long run.
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And in my analysis I was still buying all my consumables (fuel, oil, tires, insurance, cell phones, invoices, internet, etc. ) at the same level later that I was buying earlier. Just that in the early years I was driving 75,000 miles a year PER TRUCK, where after the first 6~7 years or so I got smart and not only started charging more but moved my business towards higher paying accounts.

The downside of course was the cost per mile went up, BUT.... the trucks were bigger, badder, ;) cost a ton more, and lasted much much MUCH longer. (IE I went from 350's, to Super Duty's to GMC 6500's with CAT power.) :) The reality was later on I realized spec'ing out a really heavy duty truck (more so than anyone I knew at the time actually, when they were running 185hp I ran 215, they'd do 18,000 rear springs & I'd run 26,000, 15,000 lb rear axle & I'd run 19,800 springs for instance) and having it work under its limits all day (rather than on or over it's limits) made me a LOT more money.

That's sort of the same thing as buying in bulk actually. Cost per mile for much of the operation was generally the same as a much smaller truck (especially after it was paid for). But what made the cost less and the PROFIT greater overall, was you could put a L-O-T more miles on a bigger truck chassis, engine, brakes, you name it (and a LOT safer to drive). ;)

Bottom line is you need to offer yourself the best opportunity to make a profit that YOU are both capable of and comfortable with at the time. If someone had told me when as a kid in his late 20's I bought my first rollback for $22,500 that not even 11 years later I'd be not only buying one for $75,000 but was HAPPY to pay that for it.... I'd told them they were stoned outta' their gourds! :laughing:

Early on that was what seemed the most profitable at the time. Later on, the barometer of profitability shifted considerably. ;) If you are using your time wisely that will be your biggest profit center early on. Step up on your methods, study what you do right, what you do wrong and how to make not SOME things, but EVERY-THING better. Once you get a handle on your procedure(s) then your products can really start to pay for themselves. (Like you can step up to higher costing products, bigger quantity, etc.)

Show me a man that says he's doing everything right and wonders why things are going wrong and I'll show you a man that DOESN'T KNOW right from wrong. :rolleyes:
 
:iagree: You sir, talk from experience! Makes me rethink everything I do when I am detailing wise, and come to think of it I just changed up my next supply order I will be making the end of this month. :xyxthumbs:
 
Putting what Cardaddy said back into a detailing perspective. I started off doing my detailing with a Porter Cable 7424. A very capable machine, an excellent price for around $130, and I love it. But, it shakes a lot and takes time to get the effect you want. The first issue was more for my personnal well being because I don't like not being able to pick up a pencil after hours of using that machine on a full paint correction. So what is one to do? Just as cardaddy did, I upgraded to a Flex 3401. It was three times more expensive, and on a shoe string budget dropping $350 is a big decision. But like cardaddy's vehicles, it is an investment in yourself and your time. I can get the same job done in 1/3 the time using the same amount of product. So my product cost stayed the same but my time was cut by a third. I charged more by the hour to make up the loss in labor because now my time is worth more. My proceedure didn't change, i could just do it better and faster. I still carry my PC everywhere because it is a great machine for low-power applications like waxing and applying sealant. So now as I buy in bulk, my clients can buy my serves in bulk per se. :-)
 
dipolley said:
Putting what Cardaddy said back into a detailing perspective. I started off doing my detailing with a Porter Cable 7424. A very capable machine, an excellent price for around $130, and I love it. But, it shakes a lot and takes time to get the effect you want. The first issue was more for my personnal well being because I don't like not being able to pick up a pencil after hours of using that machine on a full paint correction. So what is one to do? Just as cardaddy did, I upgraded to a Flex 3401. It was three times more expensive, and on a shoe string budget dropping $350 is a big decision. But like cardaddy's vehicles, it is an investment in yourself and your time. I can get the same job done in 1/3 the time using the same amount of product. So my product cost stayed the same but my time was cut by a third. I charged more by the hour to make up the loss in labor because now my time is worth more. My proceedure didn't change, i could just do it better and faster. I still carry my PC everywhere because it is a great machine for low-power applications like waxing and applying sealant. So now as I buy in bulk, my clients can buy my serves in bulk per se. :-)
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Exactly! ;)
You actually didn't need to change your hourly rate. Just charge for the *job*. As most detailing jobs are "packages" and that package sells an entire host of procedures you do within the package.

If you are now able to complete all the procedures within a given *package* thus fullfilling your obligation to the customer in less time than it took with a different "tool" that is to your benefit. :)

It is of no consequence to the customer whether it took you 2 hours or 20.... just that they got the *package* that they paid for.

Playing devils advocate for a moment here..... if a customer was paying you a flat hourly rate and now, suddenly, you have jacked up that hourly rate.... we'll you might see where that could be problematic for the customer?!?! I know if you were to try and tell them that you've now got a machine that lets you go faster so you need to charge more I can see that being a problem.

They don't know, nor do they CARE if you have a PC, GG, Rupes or FLEX. Just that they are getting what they are paying for. Nothing more - nothing less. ;)

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