How much should I charge for car clean ups?

Sorry, I should have picked better wording for multiple reasons.

B F Egypt is an old American phrase for "in the middle of no where", probably referring to being in the middle of the dessert without anything around.
 
Lets see some pictures!!!!!

I would say you are probably a little low. I would also be careful NOT to as you said price yourself out of business. Im sure you can find a common ground and FOR ME its about $15 an hour like most have said. I too am just doing this on the side, NOT TO EAT.
 
you should charge the most you can

you're an expert, you have a solution to their problem
 
I'm happy making $15 an hour. But I do this on the side not for a living. I probably should charge more but I do it for fun and to keep me busy.
 
raise your prices or get a job. stop doing charity work. nobody likes to work for free or in your case loose $ and wasting your time. good luck!
 
If you want to make $15/hr, consider charging them by the hour. Tell them "A normal detail takes me about 4 hours, and I charge $15/hr." If its going to be more than that, give them a cushion (i.e. 1 hr over, or 2 hours over).

When I do boats, I charge $65/hr for me and one of my employee's. Customers are happy to pay it because my work is top notch.

I base my prices on cars about the same. My "basic" detail, which includes everything you mentioned for the most part (minus steam clean...I prefer a tornador...steam cleaning is an upgrade package I have). A normal detail is $125-$150 and takes about 2-2.5 hours (myself and another employee).

You need to figure out what your overhead is and your cost of operation. What are you in college for? I recommend taking a Financial and Managerial accounting course (I am almost done with my Bachelors at a University down here in Florida and Managerial accounting really opened up my eyes to how I run my business and price myself).
 
I'm new to detailing also but what you do is low price, I really haven't done much cars, just my own, but I charge 60$ for a wash, vacuum, steam seats, spray on wax, window clean, rims and tires of course and some dressing.. took me 2 1/2 hours.. in my opinion that was easy work for $30/hr
 
I agree with everyone here that you are giving yourself away at $35.00 for the work you described. I think $125.00 should be the minimum and then go up from there, depending on the vehicle and the condition it's in.

Good Luck and have fun.
 
Is $35 or $45 worth 4 hours of your time?.... I certainly hope not! Charge more!..... Detailing should be a highend service, your not a public car wash, some of those alone are $20...
 
bossmustang16 said:
i'll try to keep this short. I offer a $35-45 package where I clean the whole car inside and out
Click to expand...

The high side of that $ amount will get you a drive through car wash and an interior vacuum and tire shine where I am. My thought is your time is worth much more. You do however have to worry about losing existing clientele raising the prices too quickly.

Pricing like yours is like a rush to the bottom though, sorry.
 
Detail your father's used cars. Do a good job. Charge $150. Everyone is happy. You start to make money.

Roger T
 
Are your prices low? Well consider this.......I live in THE most impoverished city in the USA. When I detailed for a living I charged $35-$75 for a simple car wash, interior vac, wipedown of dash & door sills, exterior glass, aerosol tire dressing, and spray wax. $35 would be for a Civic/Corolla, $75 for a Suburban/Navigator. One hour small car, two to two.five large. Extra services cost more.

Of course full polishing and other professional services were offered also and I stayed booked.
Word of mouth was my only advertising but I got in with a group of teachers, professors, and realtors. They needed top work done quickly and reasonably. I was never wanting for work.

Are you charging too little? YES, without question. Mind you people here do this same work for $10-$15......Mexico is just the other side of town! I had to cut my prices by 50% from when living in affluent Austin but still made a living. Charge more, get more efficient, and seek professional clientele. Work smart.
 
wow, I would wash and wax and vacuum for $50..and that's is a QUICK wax job
 
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