Surcharge for Suv

[jankerson]

Another thing I like to tell difficult haggler types....

Fast
Cheap
Good

Now pick two.

What I tell them is to look someplace else..... My prices are what they are....

I refuse to deal with them at all.... I cut them off right away as soon as they start their crap...

Saves me headaches later....

 

[jankerson]

Well, I informed the used car dealer of my prices for minivans, medium and small Suvs, etc and he told me we have to part ways. He told me that the price for $135.00 should be for all of his cars no matter the size.

I told him that larger vehicles require more time and product. His reply was the last guy who did a Duelie only charged $100.00. I thanked him for the work he sent and we parted ways.

Unbelieveable. Cheap Ba.

Sure, wash it off quick and a spray wax for $100..... And that's just the paint and windows with the spray wax.... Nothing else other than the paint gets touched or dressed for that.... I don't even have a package that low.......

Any more than that it will be more....

I won't hook up my polisher for less than $250...... Period..... And that's an AIO......

They can go someplace else for a hack job.......

 

[jankerson]

Large Trucks and large SUVS are a pain to do and they take a lot of time on a ladder etc due to the large area of paint and how high they are.

So the cost will reflect that....

 

[Coach Steve]

Hey guys, we've got to remember that not every market is the same in terms of disposable income. You guys that are getting 5 bills for an SUV, van, etc., consider yourself lucky or blessed... or both. There isn't a shop in Phoenix that could get that much cheese for a bumper-to-bumper, int. ext. job. Well.... with the exception of Wills Windows and Wheels, of course!
And for those who won't even plug in their polisher for less than $250... again, that's awesome for you and yes, if you must know, it makes me jealous as Hell! But it is what it is, and with the economy just starting to show signs of stability + just coming out of the holidays, people are reluctant to pay top dollar for something they consider to be a luxury, non-essential item,.
I realize I'm getting off the actual subject which is what to charge dealers for big, high profile units but I wanted to make those points. The other thing to consider, and perhaps I should have led with this.... it's possible the OP's client list isn't very big and he needs every job he can get to make ends meet. I don't know, just sayin'

Now, one of the things I've done over the past 4 years is quote a new customer what my normal price would be then give them viable, real reasons why I'm willing to do it for $X.XX. That keeps my credibility in tact and relays to the customer that I'm reasonable and willing to do what it takes to earn their business. 3 or 4 jobs through my garage in a week that leave $$ on their way out is far, far better than none and nothing. Hell, it wasn't that many months ago I was lucky to 2 cars per month!
I guess what I'm saying OP is find the balance between giving yourself away and being able to wash a load of MF's.

 

[jankerson]

Hey guys, we've got to remember that not every market is the same in terms of disposable income. You guys that are getting 5 bills for an SUV, van, etc., consider yourself lucky or blessed... or both. There isn't a shop in Phoenix that could get that much cheese for a bumper-to-bumper, int. ext. job. Well.... with the exception of Wills Windows and Wheels, of course!
And for those who won't even plug in their polisher for less than $250... again, that's awesome for you and yes, if you must know, it makes me jealous as Hell! But it is what it is, and with the economy just starting to show signs of stability + just coming out of the holidays, people are reluctant to pay top dollar for something they consider to be a luxury, non-essential item,.
I realize I'm getting off the actual subject which is what to charge dealers for big, high profile units but I wanted to make those points. The other thing to consider, and perhaps I should have led with this.... it's possible the OP's client list isn't very big and he needs every job he can get to make ends meet. I don't know, just sayin'

Now, one of the things I've done over the past 4 years is quote a new customer what my normal price would be then give them viable, real reasons why I'm willing to do it for .XX. That keeps my credibility in tact and relays to the customer that I'm reasonable and willing to do what it takes to earn their business. 3 or 4 jobs through my garage in a week that leave $$ on their way out is far, far better than none and nothing. Hell, it wasn't that many months ago I was lucky to 2 cars per month!
I guess what I'm saying OP is find the balance between giving yourself away and being able to wash a load of MF's.

It's more about what customer base one wants to target I think.

I don't have any packages that are under $200 and that just for exterior work only.

Interior work is extra beyond a quick wipe down and vacuum and I don't do garbage. If the car has junk in it I won't touch the interior, I am not a janitor.....

I have a regular job so I can be picky about who I will detail for and what I make doing it. And it's been that way for decades now off and on. So in effect if I don't have any jobs for a few weeks it doesn't matter... I try and keep it down to one or 2 a week max... And that's all I want as it's just jelly on top of the peanut butter. And I can enjoy what I am doing more so that I am not relying on it as my primary income.

And I am not mobile, I work out of the garage so that takes care of a lot of issues that I don't have to put up with that others do.

Others can do all the full detail $100 and under jobs they want and make nothing per hour...

I have seen what others charge per hour and they could make that working at a fast food place, or they are making less than that.

But that's just how I have always been and the way I always have done it.

One has to price themselves above the hacks that are out there and put some value on what they are doing IMO.

 

[Bill1234]

For an suv, meaning,explorer,hummer,tahoe, mdx, etc. I would start at 300 with no correction at all. So much work overall. I did a friends jeep for 100, but I would have definitive terms on what an suv actually is. Please create a written contract so clients cannot barter for lower prices

 

[jankerson]

For an suv, meaning,explorer,hummer,tahoe, mdx, etc. I would start at 300 with no correction at all. So much work overall. I did a friends jeep for 100, but I would have definitive terms on what an suv actually is. Please create a written contract so clients cannot barter for lower prices

Exactly, thank you. :xyxthumbs:

Number of hours it takes to do the work (Estimate) multiplied by the hourly rate.....

If people want to work for $5.00 - $10.00 and hour that's up to them... I call that fast food wages except they are working a lot harder than the people working fast food.

Personally I don't so....

I used to do it for $30 an hour or so, back in the 80's....... So if people aren't making at least that something is very wrong...

That's over 30 years ago.....

By government standards a Min of $19 an hour with a full benefit package dictates a good job so start thinking about what that would be all combined at an hourly rate.

 

[Bill1234]

Exactly, thank you. :xyxthumbs:

Number of hours it takes to do the work (Estimate) multiplied by the hourly rate.....

If people want to work for $5.00 - $10.00 and hour that's up to them... I call that fast food wages except they are working a lot harder than the people working fast food.

Personally I don't so....

I used to do it for $30 an hour or so, back in the 80's....... So if people aren't making at least that something is very wrong...

That's over 30 years ago.....

By government standards a Min of $19 an hour with a full benefit package dictates a good job so start thinking about what that would be all combined at an hourly rate.

My example is that a friend, I would do near nothing just to pay for supplies. However, Business is business. People are just eccentric to me thinking that it is next to nothing to detail an suv...

 

[jankerson]

My example is that a friend, I would do near nothing just to pay for supplies. However, Business is business. People are just eccentric to me thinking that it is next to nothing to detail an suv...

Oh I know.

I got the friend thing. :xyxthumbs:

I do things for friends too once in awhile, but they know they have to send me business and never tell people what I charged them. But that's a different situation than dealing with Joe Average....

 

[Bill1234]

Oh I know.

I got the friend thing. :xyxthumbs:

I do things for friends too once in awhile, but they know they have to send me business and never tell people what I charged them. But that's a different situation than dealing with Joe Average....

The average blue collar person is not bad to deal with. Its just that some people look at detailing and say, O I can cheapen that and that and that. Not exactly possible. I did my friends jeep in 4 hours for free. He still gave me 100 dollars. However, my point is that people need to think how much work goes into caring for an investment or piece of machinery

 

[jankerson]

The average blue collar person is not bad to deal with. Its just that some people look at detailing and say, O I can cheapen that and that and that. Not exactly possible. I did my friends jeep in 4 hours for free. He still gave me 100 dollars. However, my point is that people need to think how much work goes into caring for an investment or piece of machinery

Yep.

That's the point though isn't it?

A car is the 2nd biggest investment that a person will make next to a house....

So I make that clear to people when I talk to them and it does take some maintenance so it will last.

I also point out that it will be worth more as a trade in than if it wasn't maintained.

Some believe it, others don't.. Until they go to trade it in and get a lot less for it than they could have....

But then they blame the dealer for ripping them off when it was the persons fault for not maintaining it in the 1st place.

I used to work at a dealership and they can take a $1000 to $2000 hit or more on trade in...

 

[Bill1234]

Yep.

That's the point though isn't it?

A car is the 2nd biggest investment that a person will make next to a house....

So I make that clear to people when I talk to them and it does take some maintenance so it will last.

I also point out that it will be worth more as a trade in than if it wasn't maintained.

Some believe it, others don't.. Until they go to trade it in and get a lot less for it than they could have....

But then they blame the dealer for ripping them off when it was the persons fault for not maintaining it in the 1st place.

I would say this is true 90 percent of the time. Some dealers are shady. However, I have seen others not maintain their cars

 

[jankerson]

I would say this is true 90 percent of the time. Some dealers are shady. However, I have seen others not maintain their cars

There is always that...

That when one should do their homework before trading their car in.

That way they will get what they want, or close anyway being realistic.

I mean if they go and try to trade in a car with bad paint, bald tires, and dirty torn up interior and major mechanical issues they get what they get.

 

[Bill1234]

There is always that...

That when one should do their homework before trading their car in.

That way they will get what they want, or close anyway being realistic.

Dealerships are a bit wacko imo. Family picked up a leased car, they put a really bad coating on the car that lasted about 1 month. The tires looked okay, dressing was really slick and felt like silicon oil

 

[jankerson]

Dealerships are a bit wacko imo. Family picked up a leased car, they put a really bad coating on the car that lasted about 1 month. The tires looked okay, dressing was really slick and felt like silicon oil

Some will cut corners.....

But not all of them.

 

[jankerson]

I saw a demo once that a dealership employee had that was screwed up really bad. He had kids etc, it was really bad... Sad it was fully loaded too....

They couldn't sell it as a demo either because of the condition... After they detailed it....... That's how bad it was......

They really took a big hit on that one.....