First customer
- Thread starter Bodezafa
- Start date
LuxuryMobile
New member
- Feb 12, 2009
- 1,532
- 0
Congrats. Post pictures for us and try to sell them on a monthly plan to keep the car looking fresh.
coreymg51
New member
- Dec 4, 2008
- 165
- 0
congrats on the first detail. As far as your price gos its all up to you on what your time is worth and how much your wanting to make and your location.personaly 100$ would only have me washing and waxing the car without a claybar prior to wax. and my full interior details run anywhere from 140 to 180 depending on the condition. But as for your first detail i guess the price is fair
Flash Gordon
Well-known member
- Feb 6, 2010
- 11,445
- 457
Keep this up and you'll be as rich as me :bolt:
FUNX650
New member
- Dec 1, 2010
- 21,057
- 1
Wait until your first customer tells their friends of your "fair pricing"....you'll be swamped with requests and then the negotiations for a more "fairer pricing" will probably begin.
IMO...Your starting too low. Why did you undervalue your time and expertise?
But as you state: Got to start somewhere.
I must remember, though: Each area of the country, and the people who live there, have their own limits/idea of the costs for detailing. You know your area better than I.
Anyway...Good Luck in your endeavors.
Bob
WRAPT C5Z06
New member
- Nov 12, 2009
- 12,615
- 0
Very good point.
Also, what color is the car? If it's a light color and you're not polishing, clay before you wax.
james_death
New member
- May 15, 2011
- 236
- 0
Good luck with that and a good proce gets your foot in the door as you need that word of mouth better to have work coming in and great comments, than price high and get no one...:xyxthumbs:
Wills.WindowsAndWheels
New member
- Oct 31, 2009
- 1,682
- 0
I think I can speak pretty fairly on this from all sides.
I started doing wash/wax and basic interior (vacuum,wipe down,dress) for $30 a car (this is years ago)...the plus side, you build up a good reputation (IF you do good work) and a clientele...
The BAD part...yes you will have people expecting you to do it for that price if word of mouth spreads. For me...now i go for $150ish for a car and it includes a clay bar and extracting/steaming interior (full interior) and closer to $180-200 for bigger SUV's.
Starting at $100 is NOT a bad price if it isn't too far below your other competitors in your area, which is why research is so important. Check out other guys websites in your area and price accordingly.
Main advice I'd give is MAKE SURE you tell this guy this price is for HIM only and that you would really appreciate recommendations, but you have to give individual quotes, that it isn't a "one size fits all" type of deal. I've only had that happen once, and it was actually someone who read a write up i did on an RV (my first one), and i bid it about $100 under...I went to bid the guy who saw my write up and i quoted him at about $8/ft for a wash and wax and he said 'oh you're not going to give me the $5/ft you gave the other guy?"
I asked him how he heard about that...he told me he read it on MOL lol...lucky thing is, he was JUST JOKING. He knew the price i gave was fair...and was impressed with our work he saw on the write up...so we got the job.
So that being said...$100 for your first job is better that $0 for no job...its a start and congrats. Do good work and ask for recommendations and you will keep work coming in....also what others said about SEEING the car first is very important...you'll save yourself headaches by doing that.
Good luck man!:dblthumb2:
I started doing wash/wax and basic interior (vacuum,wipe down,dress) for $30 a car (this is years ago)...the plus side, you build up a good reputation (IF you do good work) and a clientele...
The BAD part...yes you will have people expecting you to do it for that price if word of mouth spreads. For me...now i go for $150ish for a car and it includes a clay bar and extracting/steaming interior (full interior) and closer to $180-200 for bigger SUV's.
Starting at $100 is NOT a bad price if it isn't too far below your other competitors in your area, which is why research is so important. Check out other guys websites in your area and price accordingly.
Main advice I'd give is MAKE SURE you tell this guy this price is for HIM only and that you would really appreciate recommendations, but you have to give individual quotes, that it isn't a "one size fits all" type of deal. I've only had that happen once, and it was actually someone who read a write up i did on an RV (my first one), and i bid it about $100 under...I went to bid the guy who saw my write up and i quoted him at about $8/ft for a wash and wax and he said 'oh you're not going to give me the $5/ft you gave the other guy?"
I asked him how he heard about that...he told me he read it on MOL lol...lucky thing is, he was JUST JOKING. He knew the price i gave was fair...and was impressed with our work he saw on the write up...so we got the job.
So that being said...$100 for your first job is better that $0 for no job...its a start and congrats. Do good work and ask for recommendations and you will keep work coming in....also what others said about SEEING the car first is very important...you'll save yourself headaches by doing that.
Good luck man!:dblthumb2:
Wills.WindowsAndWheels
New member
- Oct 31, 2009
- 1,682
- 0
One last thing, I also agree claying before you wax is a good thing...AT LEAST do the horizontal surfaces if you aren't going to do the whole thing. It's a pain to apply and remove wax from a gritty surface (trust me i know cause I did my fair share before i learned about claying lol)...so the little extra time you put in at the beginning by claying will pay off in the end when you don't have to drag and fight your MF cloth across the surface to take off the wax...it'll just wipe right off like butter...and plus..it makes your job look and feel better when you're done
master detailer
New member
- Nov 9, 2010
- 548
- 0
100 to wash and wax plus inside is far these days. just up sell the extras
Wills.WindowsAndWheels
New member
- Oct 31, 2009
- 1,682
- 0
Ya not a bad idea..ive heard of this thing called 'Angies List' as well...i dont know if its just in Az or if it is country wide but check it out. Also if you get into some retirement communities it can be consistent business cause old folks like to talk lol...the thing ive learned is news of good work spreads fast...news of BAD work spreads faster...so make sure you do your best work :dblthumb2:
ThirdgenTa
New member
- Nov 3, 2010
- 225
- 0
Ive been doing cars for $100 and SUVs for $125. That includes wash, clay, wax, dressing and full interior shampoo, dash doors and dressing. The cars that I get are ones that have never been detailed before and most of them have kids and dogs. Even at my price I have people trying to bargain with me and they still think I am expensive. Forget paint correction, nobody around here wants to pay for it, they want it included in the price I listed. Some of the detail shops do get around $200-$300 for what I do, but what I think is hurting my prices is that people think they can just go to the local Turtle Wax and get a "detail" for $50. They don't really know what goes into a detail. They just know that their car looks shiney when it comes out..... Until it washes off in a few days.
Wills.WindowsAndWheels
New member
- Oct 31, 2009
- 1,682
- 0
Personally I try explaining that to my customers...why what I DO is so different than what a cheap corner wash does. Just play 'common sense' talk with them...i like to tell them look you paid 10's of 1000's of dollars for this car...do you really thing a place that charges $3-15 is really going to do something worth while? It works for me, and its TRUE, not like you're playing a game...and if they still don't want it...well then thats a job i'd rather not have anyway.