My question of the day.

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oneill24

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So my question of the day is about why detailers charge more to detail a more expensive car. Heres the situation a white honda civic come in to your shop and then a white ferrari pulls in. Both are equally dirty. They ask for a full exterior detail which would include ironx, claying, polishing until absolutely perfect, and a wax. As i said before they would both require the exact same amount of work. As a detailer do you charge more for a the Ferrari and if yes what exactly are you charging more for if it is the same amount of work. I'm not saying its not fair as I would charge more to do a Ferrari. Is it just because you assume the client has more money or is it that it takes more trust to hand over the keys to a Ferrari so the client feels that he needs to pay more.
 
I charge the same rate per hour no matter what kinda car it is. I've never felt is was fair to penalize someone because they have more money

Ppl will tell you they charge more because there is greater risk :rolleyes:
 
I'm with Flash on sticking to the same rate no matter what the car is.
 
I will say this....I somewhat agree with Flash BUT( and there is always a but) I try to treat ALL my customers the same no matter what they are driving.But the Ferrari driver will look over you if you are charging the same as a Honda driver, this is my experiance and opinon.

Is it right? Nope!

If I can achieve the best results on both vehicals in the same amount of time then i will charge the same.

The Ferarri owner expects to pay hundreds and the honda owner only wants to pay $50.

If both vehicals were brought to me with the same paint conditions and so on......say the Honda took 6 hours......the ferrari is going to take me 10 Just because its a ferarri and I'm going to spend that much time taking pics and drooling! LOL

In the end I'm going to charge the same allthough the Ferrari owner is going to think he is paying more even in reality he is not.
 
some good points of view, ive always thought about this question. I agree with both sides but like dad07 says if you say 150 to the ferrari owner i feel like he would have a tough time believing that you would do a quality job for such a small amount of money compared to his 200K car.
 
oneill24 said:
some good points of view, ive always thought about this question. I agree with both sides but like dad07 says if you say 150 to the ferrari owner i feel like he would have a tough time believing that you would do a quality job for such a small amount of money compared to his 200K car.
Click to expand...

Whoever said anything about charging $150?
 
Its easy to come on here and say you would charge equal for both cars. And IMO this should be this case. Charge hourly or your normal rate for a 2 door car.

As Flash and Jon said, charge hourly and there is no issue.

Tim brings up a great point about the Ferrari owner moving on to the next guy if the price given is too low. Honda owner may expect a price that will match the expectations for his/her Honda, while this same expected price is not the same for the Ferrari owner.

The best way to avoid this is to charge with you feel appropriate (within reason) regardless of what you will be working on. If a full detail on a 2 door is $350,then the 2 door Civic is $350 and so is the Ferrari, Aston Martin, etc.
 
To be honest with you, I find more ppl here that drive nice pickup trucks that are more willing to "pay the price" to have me "do my thing" then I do "some" of the exotic crowd

Example

Last year I had a guy contact me with a Bentley Continental. The thing was a mess on the outside (swirled to hell) from him using a $20 car wash guy. I did this car mobile (at his home) and after I did my 3 hour wash/clay etc, I had him come out and look at what a mess his car was. He agreed it was a mess and asked if I could fix it. after we agreed on a price (which was like pulling teeth) I "did my thing". After an 11hr 100+ plus day he was amazed and said "I was the best he's ever seen, and thats he's from Cali...yada yada yada :rolleyes:

Two weeks passes, he calls and ask "Are you the $20 car wash guy", I reply, no, I'm the one that fixed that mess. Thinking to myself, he's going to reply "think God, I didn't lose you number" much to demise, he said oh,........well will you rewash my car for $20 :doh:
 
^^^^ good point I just don't understand how people with all that money don't take proper care of they're things.
 
oneill24 said:
^^^^ good point I just don't understand how people with all that money don't take proper care of they're things.
Click to expand...

Easier to explain then understand. Let me try to help you :)


I'm going to use the $100,000.00 car owner for an example:

You have 4 differennt class of owners that fit this category...

40% Will NEVER have their car detailed even by a $75 hack, much less you or I. They just don't care. Its just a mode of transportation for them. The $20 valet on occasion will due just fine by them

30% Are overextended....its all show....their grippin hardier then you and I just to make ends meet. To them, they'll either go out on a Saturday morning and run a broom across it, or perhaps pay the yardboy $20 to wash it with a rake

28% This is the "Wash-n-Wax" crowd. They're the group who are willing to pay $150-$200 to have their cars "detailed" once or twice a year. There is money to be made here, but you gotta know when to stop. You can't spend more the 3 to 4 man hours before this will become "unprofitable". Its very hard for me personally to know when to quit......well, I know when to quit but something within me won't let me

2% This is the group that understands what they want, and are willling to pay the price. If you are good at your trade they will find you


Does this make sense to you?



Flash :hotrod2:
 
Regardless of what a person deems their status in life to be, an established/published Hourly Rate would seem the most honest approach, IMO. If they don't appreciate honesty, they have the privelege to move on down the line.

Just think, I read somewhere that there's probably in the neighborhood of 100,000 detailers in the USA to detail around 100,000 exotics/very-high-end luxury vehicles...not enough of those vehicles to go around for me to even consider, beyond an Hourly Rate, the extra:
"Detailing-the-Guzzler-Tax".

Like Flash alluded to....my personal choice would be to find a detailer that's had experience with, and a solid reputation of, detailing big ol' P/U trucks anyday of the week!

:)

Bob
 
Flash Gordon said:
Easier to explain then understand. Let me try to help you :)


I'm going to use the $100,000.00 car owner for an example:

You have 4 differennt class of owners that fit this category...

40% Will NEVER have their car detailed even by a $75 hack, much less you or I. They just don't care. Its just a mode of transportation for them. The $20 valet on occasion will due just fine by them

30% Are overextended....its all show....their grippin hardier then you and I just to make ends meet. To them, they'll either go out on a Saturday morning and run a broom across it, or perhaps pay the yardboy $20 to wash it with a rake

28% This is the "Wash-n-Wax" crowd. They're the group who are willing to pay $150-$200 to have their cars "detailed" once or twice a year. There is money to be made here, but you gotta know when to stop. You can't spend more the 3 to 4 man hours before this will become "unprofitable". Its very hard for me personally to know when to quit......well, I know when to quit but something within me won't let me

2% This is the group that understands what they want, and are willling to pay the price. If you are good at your trade they will find you


Does this make sense to you?



Flash :hotrod2:
Click to expand...

Nice Flash!! VERY well put :props:
 
Flash Gordon said:
Easier to explain then understand. Let me try to help you :)


I'm going to use the $100,000.00 car owner for an example:

You have 4 differennt class of owners that fit this category...

40% Will NEVER have their car detailed even by a $75 hack, much less you or I. They just don't care. Its just a mode of transportation for them. The $20 valet on occasion will due just fine by them

30% Are overextended....its all show....their grippin hardier then you and I just to make ends meet. To them, they'll either go out on a Saturday morning and run a broom across it, or perhaps pay the yardboy $20 to wash it with a rake

28% This is the "Wash-n-Wax" crowd. They're the group who are willing to pay $150-$200 to have their cars "detailed" once or twice a year. There is money to be made here, but you gotta know when to stop. You can't spend more the 3 to 4 man hours before this will become "unprofitable". Its very hard for me personally to know when to quit......well, I know when to quit but something within me won't let me

2% This is the group that understands what they want, and are willling to pay the price. If you are good at your trade they will find you


Does this make sense to you?



Flash :hotrod2:
Click to expand...

I think this pretty much sums it up!! :props:
 
Intersting assumption that 30% of 100K earners will get there cars professionally detailed at least yearly. IMHO and within my group of 100K+ earners its probably closer to, at best, to 1 out of 20 (5%). In addition, in the home ownerns association I live in (112 home) I know of no one that has gotten their cars detailed. In my experience, is far more common for someone to use a lawn service than an auto detailing service.

Bacon
 
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