Quoting a Kentworth semi truck???

brondondolon

brondondolon

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Just got a call from a guy who has a kentworth semi truck. He wants just the exterior washed no wax and tires dressed. Just the truck not the trailer. I have no idea what to quote him sight unseen and how long it will even take as ive never encountered a customer like this yet. I have ladders and extendable poles with brushes and all the necessary tools to reach high spots. But if any one has done one of these could you help me out and advise me on what i should even quote him for this or how long it will probably take? Thanks guys i told him id call him back in the next 20 min.
 
Charge by the foot the same as you would an RV. I think the RV going rate for wash and wax is about $12/foot. Make sure to add a little because of the extra nooks and crannies an RV does not have and add a little since you will be dealing with a greasy hitch area. As always, add a surcharge for how dirty it is (bugs, caked on dirt etc...)

Let the customer lead the inspection and make sure to charge based on his goals
 
I called the guy. I quoted $190 to wash, spray wax, chrome polished, and tires dressed. I left him a voice mail so we will see if he calls back.

I live in an area with a high volume of semi trucks and I was very surprised to find that there is only one truck wash out here. I was trying to find out what other people are charging.
 
Don't know if you are doing the inside but here is my experience. I did the interior of a volvo, with a sleeper. Guy wanted it cleaned out real good. Driver had his jack russell in there and the owner wanted it cleaned out the best I could do for the new driver. I spent over 7 hrs on it. Went thru 64 oz of APC and a bottle of deep plastic clean. Dog hair was everywhere. It was a lot more work than I thought but I gave him a high price to begin with. The drivers of these trucks spend a lot of time in them and this truck was nasty.
 
I just did a Volvo Semi few weeks ago, interior and exterior. It was a truck with NO sleeper so it was a little smaller. It was really neglected after 760,000 miles on the ODO. I charged my standard clean up rate of $120, then $40 an hour until i finished. I was able to knock it all out in 5 hours.

Interior was dirty but some good scrubbing and products worked well.

Exterior i used my pressure washer, and foam cannon. It helped a lot.
 
Depending on what model "kenworth" not kentworth there could be a lot of chrome on that thing. Just watch out for that because truckers love their chrome! Good luck and keep us posted.
 
I think he got sticker shock when i told him $190 because i havent heard back from him.
 
You did mention that the $190 is an estimate price right? You can probably knock that truck out in less time, therefore charging him less.
 
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Well if he had sticker shock from that price I wouldn't want him as a customer. That's a really reasonable quote considering you havnt seen it.
 
Lol exactly. His number was from canada so i can only assume hes just drove from there. That being said, im sure the rig was covered in bugs and wasnt going to be capable of soaking with a foam cannon and pressure washing it down then calling it a day. I will admit it was a little difficult to figure out a quote for me but i starting thinking about how much product id use how long it would probably take me and whats it worth for me to load up my truck and do the job.

I called a family friend whos a truck driver to find out what truckers typically pay at one of those drive through truck washes. I told him im trying to quote a customer. He then tells me that he used to be a mobile detailer as well and he would quote the job for $35. He also thought id be doing the interior as well... I thought to my self "no wonder why you said you USED to be a mobile detailer" I told him "im sorry but i dont know if id do this job for $35 even if it was a smart car lol.
 
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