The infamous question: "How much do you charge for a detail?"

This is the first year I am actively seeking business outside of family, friends etc.... I leave business cards on cars I want to do, and only strike up conversations with people who have enthusiast cars that will pay for what I do. For me, an average Nanoskin,compound,polish seal takes 4-10 hours depending on car size, paint condition, color etc.. I don't want to do minivans, Corollas or the average appliance vehicle. I give the interior a once over(they are usually clean anyway), clean wheels, dress the tires and clean wheel wells/door jambs. Then I correct/polis/seal the paint. That is all I do. I am happy doing 1-3 cars a week, as I have a full time job. I always quote based on time at $50 per hour. Some people think its expensive, and then the couple that brought me a black CTS coupe for an estimate yesterday were very happy with my quote. I quoted 8 hrs. The paint has light swirls and not much else. And yes if I finish in more time, I eat it. And I have never finished in less. There is always something....
 
I do hate the fact that people will pay thousands for contracting, home repair, furniture builds, etc, yet, we do a most usually 300 dollars worth of work and its a no. I always feel that you should put out what you know, be thorough and explain each step then explain pricing. I understand that females might go for interior, then men would go for near everything. However, some of the females need to learn that interior is not the only thing on a car. I think people are more idealists instead of pragmatics unfortunately. People read way too much into myths, ie wax makes paint shine alot, compounding and polishing are the same thing, etc,etc. I just try to make things better in their own terms so they are more apt to purchase and not feel forced.
 
Billy Baldone, I'm in the exact same boat as you...

I think I've come to realize that people who call up and ask how much for a "full detail" are doing nothing more than price shopping. They're going to go with the lowest quote no matter how much you try and tell them why you're better. So I will usually tell them something along the lines of "I start full details on cars your size at $150 and that includes a wash and wax of the exterior, plus wheels/tires/trim, and a vacuum and basic wipedown of the interior." Most people will say the other guy does it cheaper, I tell them I don't price match because I do better work and use better products, they say thank you, and I never hear from them again. Again, I do this as a side thing and my time is more valuable than what they want to pay me so I don't let it get to me that they walk.


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people can pick an choose what they want cleaned in an industry like this, however, we need to get the word out what is good and what is not
 
FinishingTouchA said:
Sorry I would like to reply to everyone but I put in 15 hours today and Kona, your comment is the easiest to respond to.


$20 an hour? Yeah if I think back 3 years that's exactly where I was. Now I look back and feel like that's an absurd number. Of course my overhead is a lot higher now and it is my full time job plus I'm a lot quicker now than I was then. When I quote I aim for $50 an hour.
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I agree that $20 hour is too low. I'm a new detailer in my area and looking to build up a client base and show my detailing abilities. I do plan on raising my prices some next year but no way could I get $50 hour in my area.

Not sure what region you're in but my area one could not get $50 dollars hour for detailing a vehicle. $30 hr max and more like $25 hour for my area. Granted auto mechanics in my area charge $80-100 hour but there is one huge difference.

Getting their car detailed is not a necessity. One doesn't need a shinny clean car. Many need a vehicle for work purposes and its a must have. If their car is broke, they need it working correctly so they are forced to pay the $100 hr

People are not forced to drive shinny cars with super clean interiors. I would love to get $50 hour but I won't work for less than $20 hour.
 
When I figure my rates I factor in the cost if I were to hire an employee to do the labor. Minimum wage here is 10 an hour so after insurance, taxes, and workers comp we're looking at 15 or more. Then I figure in my overhead of the shop, utilities, chemicals, marketing, tool/equipment life, etc. At 50 an hour I'm not taking home a whole lot. When I was mobile and it was a money making hobby/business 20 was fine. But to actually be a profitable business there's lots you have to figure in.
 
Guys, the reason most people balk at higher income detailing prices is because many can't tell the difference between a $75 "full detail" and a $450 "full detail" from a pro.

That being said, sell your services in tiers so people know exactly what they are getting AND not getting.

I frankly cringe whenever people ask me about a "full" detail, because they are more than likely calling around price shopping(which means they care more about price than quality), and at the same time expect a "full" detail, which translates to you everything should be perfect.

Sell your products to your market, not everyone that wants their car detailed is your market.
 
My business partner and I have discussed the same thing recently. It's about sales and education. I'll usually explain the word detail means different things to different people. I try to get an understanding of what they THINK they want. I say THINK because they don't really know the details of a detail. That's your job. I'll usually go over the AIO and if I sense they are cringing a little I'll give them the wash and wax price BUT I upsell them back to the AIO by educating them and explaining to them the advantages. For those cars I can tell are well cared for I'll just go with wax. I don't try to sell something they don't need but I do try to sell something they THINK they don't need but do.

A guy hasn't clayed his car in 3 years just wants a wax, no clay. I tell them they are wasting their money and if you find somebody willing to do it without claying they don't care about your car, just the green stuff in your wallet. It's somewhat of a takeaway sale but it works. People are willing to pay if they can justify what they are paying for and they can only justify what they are paying for if YOU educate them.

I might have gone off on a tangent. Lol
 
I have my services set up so that there's a 'base' package that starts at $45 for the inside, and $45 for the outside. (up to $60 for each in case of Suburbans, Excursions, etc.).

So first I ask if it's inside or outside.

If outside I let them know that my base package includes a hand wash and wax then I ask a couple questions and try to up-sell my add-ons, such as claying, doing the tires, etc. The questions would be things like if they have aftermarket wheels, a lot of bugs on the grill, or if they have something on their windshield they can't get off.

And for the inside it's somewhat different because I only have the base package, vacuum and wipe everything down with dressing, then an extra $20 for 'shampooing' the carpet, which in my case is actually a Tornador but nobody knows what that even means so..., then I've got the top package for the inside, which is almost everything you could do to an interior.

People usually want to have the 'shampooing' added because it's something they can relate to.
 
FinishingTouchA said:
When I figure my rates I factor in the cost if I were to hire an employee to do the labor. Minimum wage here is 10 an hour so after insurance, taxes, and workers comp we're looking at 15 or more. Then I figure in my overhead of the shop, utilities, chemicals, marketing, tool/equipment life, etc. At 50 an hour I'm not taking home a whole lot. When I was mobile and it was a money making hobby/business 20 was fine. But to actually be a profitable business there's lots you have to figure in.
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I certainly understand why you would charge $50 hour being you have a shop, electric, marketing, supplies, equipment, plus pay yourself something.

I do my detailing out of my house so I have no shop rent and shop electric. My overhead is almost nothing and had majority of my equipment before I started my side detailing business.

The few detailing shops around my area are actually car wash centers that just happen to offer detailing services past the basic car wash. They are the kind of car wash where someone sits in their car while the car moves on a conveyer belt.

I'm not sure if these car washes main money earned is from basic $ 7-15 dollar car washes or car's being detailed for $180.
 
Kengo123 said:
Great thread! I struggle with this too at times.

So here's some questions I ask to find out their expectations:

1. inside or outside?
2. Does the inside need "shampooing"? If so, this tells me it needs a complete interior detail and not a quick vacuum. Also, I find that customers can't really lie to me about the condition of their interior that much with this question. If its dirty , it needs "shampooing"
3. Do you want the outside to just be a little shinier (wax) or as new as possible (swirl removal), or somewhere in between (aio)?

Sometimes I find it helps to ask what their budget is. But with these questions and also knowing what the year , make, model of the I car is, I can give most people atleast a ballpark price
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Great post!


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Just been doing stuff on the side for friends and family, but I've quoted out $150 for a little compound and AIO on a Black SUV for a friend, which I think was a more than fair price. I had 9 hrs into it, probably would've been $250-300 for anyone else.


HMM, reading this thread maybe I should have charged more?!?!?
 
Not getting too far off the OP's original question let me return to the hourly rate i and many others use. Again, many great points put forth in deciding exactly what the customer wants or expects. Having determined that i then guesstimate how many hours that takes me and voila...there's the price. I see many websites that have "starting at $xxx" and that might be based on the minimum time to get the results of THAT package.

I have been served well with an hourly rate over the years. That hourly rate is based on a good feel for the local market. I know i am priced more than some and less than others. That's ok. Another thing is never underestimate what you think your hourly rate should be.
 
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