How much would this be worth??

[indianaryan]

This thread has 3 stories, and nobody seems happy. Personally, I refuse to believe some of these stories without pics. Here my take/advice on the situation. I attempted an objective approach, however no-one can be without their opinion.

OP:
You did a good job and the results show a desire to do great. The results you show do speak for themselves. Next time I would recommend not adding pads and what not as add-ons for the price. Just give an estimate with all that figured in. If you want to charge an amount, just stick to your guns and tell the customer that is what you will have to make for the work and consumables required. $200 is cheap for the overall turnaround in that car. Next time make sure to finish up the little bits (if this is true).

Owner:
That job for the correction alone is worth more than $200. If your regular detailer gives you better results for less, he's cheap (not necessarily a bad thing). However I can understand being disappointed with the little things you mentioned. This would be where the "detailing" come in for detailing.
The OP most likely did not damage the paint with M105 and an orange pad using a PC. The only way he did damage is if your paint was already near failure, in which case you'd have problems sooner or later. I've seen wool pads used on a rotary on a single-stage paint that is more valuable than the car itself. Oh, and take care of your car instead of expecting miracles from a detailer twice a year; especially if you want to show it. This could include taking your car to your regular detailer for a regular monthly maintenance.

B6S4:
I'm sorry, but if you can do pull of that kind of a turn-around on single stage paint with one pad you either have a pad cleaner or you are doing something that is not recommended. However, through the parts of the thread that I read you were relatively professional, which takes some control. Kudos. Like I already said if you can produce those same results (or better) and charge $1xx. . .Dude, you aren't charging enough! Although given only what I've read here I simply have to wonder if you are doing something that would be considered sketch in the detailing world (not accusing, it just raises flags). As I have not seen any of your work/process I obviously have little knowledge on this matter.

In my experience, disqualifying another party with a limited knowledge of the situation (basically without actually being there or seeing the results) is simply unprofessional.

Very well put.

 

[MrHandWash]

thebest: Just out of general curiosity, was that puke stain on the car? What exactly was that? As far as the engine detail goes, yeah the engine will have a gloss residue on it. You got a heckk of a deal for the price you paid on this. Even if he did leave trace marks of wax on edges, or didn't do the best job on the door jambs... the services alone here are worth almost double what you paid.

BS64: if you do a single 2-stage recondition and produce those results with 1 pad... please refer me to your supplier, I'll buy for life :xyxthumbs: To be honest though I am not sure that 1 pad was used when you cleaned it (unless you used a pad cleaner). Also, as others have said... if you do that much for under $200, you are selling yourself short (no offense). however everything was worked out, which is good.

 

[ANeat]

Well the car looks great, but Im a TDI fan so Im a little biased. Im a little suprised at how "bad" of shape it was in to begin with.
$200.00 seems like a bargain to me just judging from the photos.

The stain could have been a fuel spill. Its in the area of the fuel filter and it can be tricky to change being full of fuel.

 

[B6S4]

Not sure where this whole 1 pad thing comes from . I do have a pad cleaner which does help, but generally I use multiple pads during a full paint correction job. I do not however, use 6-7 pads during 1 stage of polishing a small sedan.

Its obvious to me that I work for cheap and could raise my prices, however, I do what pleases my customers. Generally, my clients are quite surprised at my rates and sometimes provide a generous tip. Like I said, I price my jobs based on how much work is involved for me, I generally don't charge a flat rate type of deal like most other detailers do and I don't try to upsell services which arent necessary. I feel by pricing my work this way, my clients can appreciate the value they get which leads to repeat business.

Glad everything worked out in the end for the OP and Client. It looks as though I will be prepping this vehicle tommorow afternoon for a show on Saturday.:buffing:

 

[Fiji blue si guy715]

Rarely Chime in here. But I totally agree that correction alone is worth more than $200. Did the owner actually even know what the true condition of the paint was before it was detailed probably not since the car was chalk pink. This guy didn't burn through your finish if he used 105 with a rotary and a wool pad it yeah I would say he maybe did, but he used a da with a orange pad not even a yellow one. To burn through paint with that would be close to impossible unless you stayed in the same spot for hours. So what exactly is the owners view of what actually is a professional detail, one of those guys at the swirl and shine with wiping done a car with dirty rags. You don't take car of your cars finishing 7 months between washes is entirely too long, let alone the claying, polishing and waxing that was needed in between those 7 months. I would not touch that car and the level of correction that was needed for less the 500 bucks. I can understand being disappointed with the little things you mentioned but they detail that the owner wanted would be way over 200 bucks require masking and would be quadruple the amount. the paint I'm guessing is original and 19 years old and was already near failure, in which case you'd have problems sooner or later. If he took alot of paint off you would have no pinstrip or nicks in it which i see none. 19 year old paint that is out in the sun like that is not going to be anything but thin. BTW single stage paint is not rocket science and i think that it is actually easier to work with then a clearcoated one.

Don't be expecting miracles next time from a detailer when the car gets washed only twice a year. This guy did a great job for the amount of money and even with all the "problems" you got one hell of a deal and it has increased your cars value. My suggestion is if you can do a better job do it yourself and see how much work is involved in keeping your car at the level you expect.

 

[aerogt01]

Not sure where this whole 1 pad thing comes from . I do have a pad cleaner

This was my and possibly other people's issue. We thought you were using a dirty pad, but that makes more sense now. Thanks!

 

[buddhadog]

I dont actually think it worked out in the end at all when a customers says they will never use that person again .

Sure he got paid but at what price?

Reputation is far more valuable than 200.00

I think the outcome of this situation is a very bad one . Especially since it all on a public forum .

 

[RaskyR1]

Interesting thread. Nice to see it's remained rather civil too.

OP, the car looks very good, especially for only $200.

A few things I'd like to comment on.

• Price should always be agreed upon prior to starting the correction
• Paint is paint. Yes single stage tends to be a little softer and easier to correct. It also tends to clog up pads faster and will typically require you to use more pads.
• The stain on the fender appears to be from degreaser (ACP) being sprayed on the engine that dripped down onto the panel. Single stage paints are very prone to staining from most APC's, especially when they are this oxidized
• Anytime you discover damage on a panel you should document it with pics prior to doing any correction and inform the owner.
• 8hrs seem like an awful long time to detail a motor....maybe check out some of the engine detail threads for tips to improve the amount of time you spend.
  
• Seeing the condition of the paint I'm not surprised M105 was needed in some areas.

 

[thebesth2o]

MrHandWash: The puke stain on the car was just what RaskyR1 said. It was simple green, only on there 60 seconds or less and that's what happened.

Fiji blue si guy715: I know I let my car get bad. I got the car in bad shape and worked my ass off to get it looking nice. I washed the car at least once a week and would quick detail in between. But my life got turned up side down because of the economy and the car had to take a back seat. I do not have to tools or time to get the oxidized paint clean hence the use of a detailer.

ANeat: The car is a IDI non turbo, no tdi turbo fun just an old school smoke bomb.

 

[ANeat]

ANeat: The car is a IDI non turbo, no tdi turbo fun just an old school smoke bomb.

Yea I kind of throw the "tdi" around with the VW diesels.

Forgot about the Fuelly badge, Ill add mine

 

[PlatinumRefl.]

MrHandWash: The puke stain on the car was just what RaskyR1 said. It was simple green, only on there 60 seconds or less and that's what happened.

I was wondering what the hell that was. figured it was some kind of cleaner.

the engine took forever because I started doing it in sections at first because I was using Meg's super degreaser and it was working pretty well, but not cutting through the ton of gunk build up around the block and stuff so I had to run out and buy some dedicated engine cleaner and let it soak a few times. I then proceeded with a daytona speed brush, a plastic brush, and some other assorted tools to go over as much as I could contort my hands to get to. I also counted the few hours it took to remove some seam sealer, and the other 45 mins or so I spent doing this:

after gentle cleaning with dawn dish soap and a very soft sponge.

after using a soft bristle brush and small circular motions and some more dawn dish soap and water:

Not too shabby. lol

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Hmm, amazing how that engine decal got so dirty in the one year since the last detailer worked on the car. I guess those diesels really throw out the soot.

 

[SoCalAutoSpa]

Here's the thing - you can't get a steak from McDonald's Dollar Menu.



I think $200 for what you did is a steal, but you can kindly tell your customer, "You want to play, you got to pay. You feel me homie?" Just my two cents. rops:

Funny!

 

[DaVinciAutoSpa]

I would've run from a customer that wasn't willing to pay more than 200 for a full detail on a car in that condition. It is not worth the time or overhead for you. Personally I never even pull out the polisher for less than 150 unless for a quick coat of sealant on already near perfect paint. 2 stage polishing needs to be in the 300 range with interior included.

You may want to advise cheap customers in the future of a local carwash that can give them an "express" detail for 50 bucks. That is what they want.

However, nice work on the car, it looks great.

This. ^^^^

These clients are typically the hardest to deal with, give you the most headaches, and in the end they are better to just use the local car wash.

If his buddy did such a great job for $120, why didn't he use him again? Exactly.

Because his buddy is a moron who obviously didn't know what the h*ll he was doing and it probably still took him a few hours for the $120. It wasn't even worth it to his buddy.

Once I began educating my clients about the difference between a car wash and a PROFESSIONAL DETAIL I stopped having to use Excedrin for Migraines.

Great job by the way. Use these photos to obtain other business.

 

[Crazy Amos]

Ok so I am coming in on the tail end of this discussion and have read and read and read.

I have to say you did a great friggin job man! To keep working on a vehicle into the 14 th hour and realize you have under quoted sucks. But to keep at it and continue to extract the best possible results all while keeping the well being of the car in mind is nothing less than PROFESSIONAL. Many would have halfa**** it after the 10th hour!

So you didn use the most expensive products....who friggin cares. The end result is amazing. You handled the comments and jabs professionally and respectfully. It's hard to attend college, work, and do what you love.

The process in which you did this is fine. You do what works-I have no reason to believe you are lying when you say the paint was thin. It's 20 year old car, come on! It's probably not first time it was buffed and it's red! Once that oxidizes it blows off in the wind.

Anyway, great job! Hope you guys are still buds and for what it's worth if i didnt detail inwould gladly allow to do mine.

Oh yeah, glad to hear you are charging more lol! Your work warrants it.

 

[WJave]

Here come a rookies view...... Just getting into detailing myself, not as job but for fun and keeping up with our cars. I think the biggest problem I see with this whole situation is a lack of good communication all the way around. The detailer needs to be clear to the customer with respect to what results can be achieved and any problems he sees with the car. The customer need to be sure to let the detailer know his concerns as far as what he expects and concerns he has with the cars paint. Basically to me it was just poor communication on everyone’s behalf. That being said it is so nice to see this whole discussion stay as civil as it has. Good job, to all!

 

[Mobile detail]

Wow, that was an interesting read...got to love the internet.

 

[Rei86]

A+ thread would read again

 

[Kristopher1129]

Just read this whole thread. I have so much to say...but I don't think it matters at this point, haha.

I can say...this would have been a $400 for the interior, exterior, and engine. No question about it. This was a HUGE communication failure in my opinion. ALWAYS let a customer know what they're paying ahead of time.

If you think the price is going to climb...just give them a call and let them know about the change in rate before you continue. Assuming a customer is going to be cool with adding $50-$70 more because you used more pads and towels than you thought...is ridiculous.

 

[V3AutoDetailing]

WOW! What a read. I wouldnt of touched the outside for less than 300. Then atleast another 100 for the inside. I would bu curios to what the regular detailer's work looked like.