How much sould I charge?!

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mazda3 guy

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I've been enjoying my new hobby of detailing my 2 vehicles for the last year or so and a couple of neighbors have noticed what a nice job I do (Everything by hand) and have asked me to detail their cars. I have no idea what to charge. One has a leased Accord (White) and it is pretty filthy. There is dried on bird droppings all over it and really needs at least a claying and waxing. The other neighbor just wants me to wash and wax her car. Can I get some feed back from you guys/gals on what would be a fair price to charge them? I'd really appreciate the advice. Thanks all!
 
Depends on the range of products you have and your abilities. How will the car come out in the end. Are you going to use fillers, buffer, pure polish, etc.
 
mazda3 guy said:
I've been enjoying my new hobby of detailing my 2 vehicles for the last year or so and a couple of neighbors have noticed what a nice job I do (Everything by hand) and have asked me to detail their cars. I have no idea what to charge. One has a leased Accord (White) and it is pretty filthy. There is dried on bird droppings all over it and really needs at least a claying and waxing. The other neighbor just wants me to wash and wax her car. Can I get some feed back from you guys/gals on what would be a fair price to charge them? I'd really appreciate the advice. Thanks all!
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Detailing a neglected car by hand is like chopping down a tree with a pocket knife. Get a pc or udm, it will pay for itself in a short time even if you use it for your own cars.
 
You need to provide more info..do you have a UDM or rotary to correct paint? Do you have all the equipment necessary to detail in and out? Do you have a range of products to use in different situations? Just b/c you can make yours look nice does not necessarily mean you can do it on others..I'm not trying to discourage you..just ask yourself those questions..if the answer is yes..I charge $25/hr and give an estimate before hand. hope that helps
 
my first complete detail inside n out was 80$ (all by hand)
i slowly bumped it up as i got more skilled with my pc and my clientel started to seemingly be willing to pay what i charged
then after my wide array of products i range from 150 - 250

now that my products have been upgraded again with souvern, victoria wax and my clientel are exotic car owners..multiply those numbers by 2 or 3 and its still considered cheap to these millionaries =)

im really lineint...i kinda charge to my respective customers. if a cool college kid tha twas reffered my friend really seemed intersted in my work but didnt have much bread..i'll be able to give him what he wants without compensating too much price, but to where i still make a good junk a change

but its always good to test the market...maybe you can raise up a price by 25 - 30$ if one of ur customers is a BMW owner...and if they accept it...then maybe that price is reasonable for all BMW/benz owners or such

anyways...test the market...have fun with it...if ur not makin ur own business...then just do what u feel will get u money...put it this way. when i was younger 17 18 and i was detailing cars for pretty much dirt cheap...i still went up to my freinds who were the same age and siad "man loook, your workin at the mall makin 300$ every 2 weeks..i just worked on 2 cars and made that money" hahah and they get all upset =)
 
Thanks for the answers guys. I don't want to make it a career or anything like that. Just a couple of neighbors who want their cars looking better. They aren't even worried about the inside. I know I don't have the expertise you guys have. I wouldn't even attempt to do a car that needs real work. Basically just washing, claying and waxing. I haven't even tried polishing yet and would never experiment on someone elses car.
I'm no kid and don't really need to do this hard work (Sore the next 2 days), but I like to do it and it gives me some exercise.
I've been using P21S (Wax) on my vehicles and like the results. I guess I'll ask for $100 for a wash, clay and wax and clean the wheels and tires. Anything less I would rather do my own instead. Thanks again.
 
Mazda3, I just started doing this exact same thing, except for I also do correction with a Porter Cable. I have charged $100 each for the exterior of a Celica and Lexus SUV, but did a wash, clay, polish with the PC, and wax. I would say that without correction using a machine $100 might be a little high, but you can try it out. Where do you live?
 
Pauly6401...You have the PC and also gave them the polish. I live in B'klyn, NY. Maybe I'll come down to $75. Like I said though "It ain't like it's my job". So If I'm gonna bust my butt I might as well ask for at least $75 maybe $100. If they say no that will be fine with me. I'll keep you guys posted when I talk to them.
Just want to add that I tried Stoners Invisible Glass today for the 1st time. The Stoners with a Cobra micro glass towel gave me great results.
 
The polishing is what takes the longest - it usually adds 2-3 hours-ish to my total time, but also makes the biggest difference. It's not my job either, just a fun side gig, so I dont stress how much I charge either, but like you I don't want to bust my butt for free!

Good luck!
 
Just figure up how much time its going to take you, and how much you need per hour to make it worth your while.. Wash, clay, wax is like 2hrs... 3hrs max even if its filthy... $100 would be more than a good portion of 'professionals' get even with a quick vac..

But every market is different. Charge whatever you can get..
 
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