New to car detailing

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RojoCarDetailin

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Hi everyone! I am new to this forum and pretty new to detailing. I have been looking online to see how people run their detailing businesses from pricing to products. I have been washing a few cars for some money but I want to get more into it being able to offer a wider selection of detailing options. I have come up with a rough draft of pricing. Like I said I am new to this but I would like to hear your input.

Bronze: $30
· Hand wash and dry
· Rim cleaning
· Interior and exterior glass detail
· Interior vacuuming
· Door and dashboard wipe down
Silver: $60
· Hand wash and dry
· Finishing spray wax
· Rim and tire detail
· Tire dressing
· Interior and exterior glass detail
· Interior vacuuming
· Full door and dashboard detail
· Leather/ upholstery wipe down
· Carpet clean
· New car scent
Gold: $90
· Hand wash and dry
· Door jamb detail
· Full clay bar detail
· Finishing spray wax
· Rim and tire detail
· Tire dressing
· Interior and exterior glass detail
· Interior vacuum
· Full door and dashboard detail
· Light leather/upholstery detail
· Carpet detail
· Scotch guard carpet
· New car scent
Platinum: $120
· Hand wash and dry
· Door jamb detail
· Full clay bar
· Paint correction, cleaning, and sealing with buffer
· Trim and chrome detailing
· Headlight restoration
· Rim and tire clean
· Tire dressing
· Interior and exterior glass detail
· Interior vacuum
· Full door and dashboard detail
· Deep leather/leather upholstery detail
· Carpet clean
· Scotch guard carpet
· New car scent
Miscellaneous:
· Pet hair removal $10
· Full engine detail $10
· Headlight restoration $15 (included in Platinum package)
· Windshield scrapping and polishing $15




 
First welcome to AGO.

Are you saying your giving a full paint correction and interior cleaning all for $120.00?

Of so your cutting yourself really short.
Is it a 1 or 2 step?
Don't want to get all in your business but I must tell you that your under charging if I read your post correctly.
 
Welcome to AGO :). I agree with HateSwirls your prices are way to low.
 
hi, welcome to AGO

Your price seem really low to me.

full engine detail for only 10 dollars is really low. you have to consider taxes, insurance, fees, supplies cost, overhead into all your prices.

just to give you a example of my market I charge 40/hour and 50/hour
for paint correction.

I would look into Detailing Book Combo, auto detailing business plan, car detailing books, renny doyle book

I would read both of those first and then do your prices. what are your competitors charging?
 
Pet hair removal and engine detailing for $10 each, now that's a bargain. I spent well over an hour removing pet hair from a Pontiac Vibe yesterday. No way I would do all that for $10 personally.
 
before you get to far you want to attract people that want your services
 
sounds and looks like a high-volume, low-quality operation.

here are some questions you'd want to ask yourself:
volume or high-end work?
mobile or home-based or shop?
is your ultimate goal full time or side gig for money?
do you wanna work on high end cars or anyone who pays?
do you want to work or manage?

since you are new to detailing, do you have the necessary products and tools to perform the work you are offering in your rough draft?

have you looked into getting a website, business cards, and company shirts? gotta look professional!

do you understand your local market? is there a need for a high-volume detail shop? or are there a bunch of high-end cars with no true professional detailer in your area?

how are your competitors pricing themselves? and how far are they from you, what do they specialize/offer, do they have a good/bad rep, and how long have they been in business?

who is your target audience and how will you market to them?


etc..
 
Pureshine said:
RojoCarDetailin said:
You should never under sell your self! Detailing is hard work and you should get paid what your worth.
Click to expand...

I completely agree but the pros should be getting paid the big bucks. Being that I am 22 years old I feel that the majority of people do not want to fork over a lot of money. If I can wash 2-3 cars a week I figure that money would cover the cost of materials and leave some money in my pocket. Tis is not my main source of income just something to do for fun and learn the art of detailing.
Click to expand...
 
Ok aside from your prices, some practical advice.

Reduce your services, a lot.

I only offer two total packages, not counting interior only/exterior only. Paint correction is not a package as it is by estimate only.

You, being a less experienced detailer should have even less options, and these options should match your skill level.

Do you have an extractor/steamer/tornador, or the experience to completely overhaul a vehicles interior? If the answer is no... then don't offer it. It is better to excel at simple services to start off than to offer complicated services and not be able to provide excellent results.

Let me know if you are interested in talking about some different ideas for your packages. Don't really feel like writing a book if you are not on board. :)
 
VP Mark said:
Ok aside from your prices, some practical advice.

Reduce your services, a lot.

I only offer two total packages, not counting interior only/exterior only. Paint correction is not a package as it is by estimate only.

You, being a less experienced detailer should have even less options, and these options should match your skill level.

Do you have an extractor/steamer/tornador, or the experience to completely overhaul a vehicles interior? If the answer is no... then don't offer it. It is better to excel at simple services to start off than to offer complicated services and not be able to provide excellent results.

Let me know if you are interested in talking about some different ideas for your packages. Don't really feel like writing a book if you are not on board. :)
Click to expand...

^^^this
 
VP Mark said:
Ok aside from your prices, some practical advice.

Thanks a ton. I have been watching a ton of videos online. I only know how to vacuum and use carpet spray. That seems to do the job removing dirt and strains. I do know how to use interior dressing so I am confident in putting that in the packages. What I have done in the past is wash, spray wax, degrease tires and rims, full vacuum, full interior detail, interior and exterior windows, and shine up the trim on the outside of the car for $60. But after reading some articles they suggest giving a ride range of options for the customers. I plan on buying a Porter Cable and practicing on my parent's cars which I am sure will not be to difficult. I know how to use leather cleaner and conditioner as well. So my confidence level is there.
Click to expand...
 
I understand that your confidence is high, but there is a real difference between knowing how to basically clean a car and selling services to people for money.

You are going to get ONE shot with each customer to do an excellent job. You will be either known as that guy details down the street that does amazing work or that guy down the street that does a OK job but they wouldn't recommend.

When you are doing this for money you are going to run into a LOT of different stuff, most of which you can only learn how to deal with by experience. This is why its so important to keep your menu simple when starting out.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online
 
side job or not, doesn't mean get paid less.

Adding to what Mark said.. keeping it basic is best (ex. you say deep leather cleaning, that is a far cry from an OTC leather cleaner) If I was sold deep leather cleaning, I'd expect deep leather cleaning and wouldn't pay unless that is what I received, I don't care if it takes you 5 hours to do it. Not trying to be hard on you, but some customers will be very picky and don't promise something you can't complete.
 
VP Mark said:
I understand that your confidence is high, but there is a real difference between knowing how to basically clean a car and selling services to people for money.

You are going to get ONE shot with each customer to do an excellent job. You will be either known as that guy details down the street that does amazing work or that guy down the street that does a OK job but they wouldn't recommend.

When you are doing this for money you are going to run into a LOT of different stuff, most of which you can only learn how to deal with by experience. This is why its so important to keep your menu simple when starting out.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for the info. I get what you are saying. Get really good at a basic clean that way customers love it and come back for more. So I will practice using a buffer and I will offer that when the time is right.
 
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