Time to talk about pricing...

[Niko Molina]

I'm thinking about having two packages.

-One would be a maintenance/production/basic package for essentially a daily driver. Would be for customers just looking for that 'shine' that simply clay barring can offer (lol). The clean interior, nice looking engine bay and the wheels/rims all shined up, windows looking good and the paint done with an AIO.

-Second would be the premium/showroom package for guys willing to spend the $$$ to get their BMW, Audi, Mercdes, etc. looking the best it possibly can. Also show cars and Garage Queens should be done. It's where I would hit the car with everything I have to offer to make it look it's best.


Maintenance/Production/Basic Package
Car - 90$
Truck - 100$
SUV - 110$


1. Engine Bay - clean & dress
2. Rims - decontaminate w/Iron X, then clean & wax (specified wax for what the rims are made of)
3. Tires - clean & dress
4. Decontaminate paint w/ Iron-X
5. Foam Gun
6. Rinse & Dry
7. Clay bar
8. 2-Bucket-Method wash & dry (I prefer to wash again after clay bar)
9. AIO
10. Windows - clean & add Aquapel & wipe wiper blades
11. Interior & Trunk - LGM, leather conditioners, plastic cleaners, dressings, etc.
12. Add custom scent to interior


NOTE:
The steps in MediumTurquoise are what have been 'ADDED' to the 'Maintenance/Production/Basic Package' to construct the 'Premium/Showroom Package.'

Premium/Showroom Package
Car - $150
Truck - $175
SUV - $200
*Window Polishing Service +$$$????

1. Engine Bay - clean & dress
2. Underbody - rinse down
3. Wheel-wells
4. Rims - decontaminate w/Iron-X, clean & wax (specified wax for what the rims are made of)
5. Tires - clean & dress
6. Decontaminate paint w/Iron-X
7. Foam Gun
8. Rinse & dry
9. Clay Bar
10. 2-Bucket-Method wash & dry
11. Compound - Rupe's Bigfoot Polisher + M105
12. Polish - Rupe's Bigfoot Polisher + M205
13. Seal - UNDECIDED ON SEALANT
14. Wax - either Carnuaba or NXT2.0 (customers choice)
15. Windows - clean & add Aquapel & wipe wiper blades
15.5 - Customer ADD ON - can polish the windows for extra $$ (yet to be determined... suggestions? btw have you guys seen this done? theres a few videos on Youtube of it.)
16. Interior & Trunk - LGM, leather conditioners, plastic cleaners, dressings, etc.
17. Add custom scent to interior


Any suggestions?

 

[thebamboo23]

How long do you think you'll take on the basic/premium service? How much are you trying to make an hour?

1. Engine Bay - clean & dress This can be as an add on service.
2. Rims - decontaminate w/Iron X, then clean & wax (specified wax for what the rims are made of) wax can be an add on
3. Tires - clean & dress
4. Decontaminate paint w/ Iron-X add on.. i doubt they'll care for this
5. Foam Gun def dont care.. and this is production, so i wouldn't do it
6. Rinse & Dry
7. Clay bar After rinse, I would clay, then dry
8. 2-Bucket-Method wash & dry (I prefer to wash again after clay bar) this is production work. no need for this.. and your also not going for perfect. ONR :xyxthumbs:
9. AIO
10. Windows - clean & add Aquapel & wipe wiper blades Aquapel-add on.. why wouldn't you clean the wiper blades?
11. Interior & Trunk - LGM, leather conditioners, plastic cleaners, dressings, etc. [COLOR="red"is this a full interior cleaning?[/COLOR]
12. Add custom scent to interior [COLOR="red"]add on.. and not many people like/want/care for this [/COLOR]

 

[Just02896]

Prices seem way too low for services included! Earlier today I finished a 2 step correction with CQUK coating on an ecoboost crew cab f-150 and charged $650. Took just about 16 hours to complete.

 

[Niko Molina]

How long do you think you'll take on the basic/premium service? How much are you trying to make an hour?

Basic: 1.5-2.5hours
Premium: 3-6hours.

Not concerned about how much I make an hour honestly. I have a good job Mon-Fri and only doing this on Saturday/Sundays as a hobby because I enjoy doing it... just going to charge a bit because it's only fair lol

Engine Bay Add On - I agree.

Rims - Wax Add On - I agree.

Decontaminate - I disagree.
--Doubt I could sell it. I'll include it anyways. Only takes like 5 minutes. If they ask 'What the hells that purple/red stuff seeping out of my car?' I can educate them on it and it might 'open their eyes' like 'Damn this guy does all the little things...I doubt the other detailers have this, or at least if they do, charge extra for it."

Foam Gun - I disagree.
--Another 'eye popper/head turner' essentially . Even though the foam gun is NOT necessary, it only takes 5-10 minutes and if the client sees me spraying the #### (pardon my french aha) out of his car, he may have never seen it done by any other detailer and in-turn give me an 'edge'. The perspective essentially as I have something to offer that the other detailers in my area don't.

Clay Bar - I agree. I could use a Quick Detailer to add extra lubrication hence most of the soap will be rinsed off.

2BM - Hmm... but how do I know the foam gun got everything off?

Windows - I agree with Aquapel add on. The wiper blades, I use to always forget them when I detailed my car and my family's cars for free so any chance I get to 'remind' myself to do them, I write it down lmao.

Interior - Yes. Theres no difference between the Basic & Premium interior cleaning. Unless you could offer some differences I could use?

Scent - Perhaps a signature. There were some damn good scents on a bodybuilding forum's topic about detailing (which is where I came from and how I found AutoGeek) that some of the guys were talking about and recommending. Essentially claiming they themselves as well as their customers really enjoyed them.

Prices seem way too low for services included! Earlier today I finished a 2 step correction with CQUK coating on an ecoboost crew cab f-150 and charged $650. Took just about 16 hours to complete.

Coatings are a bit more difficult to apply than a sealant and wax though aren't they? Lol I don't offer that service... yet. It's just because I've never done it.

 

[Niko Molina]

Also, I have created my business card... I'm just having trouble between which 'back side' I want to use.

Front

Back Side #1 (No Dark-Blue Top&Bottoms)
-Note the text and everything else in the card (even the front) are in the most basic, simple color 'BLUE' there is. In side #2 the top & bottoms are a darker blue.

Back Side #2 (Dark-Blue Top&Bottoms)
-Note the text and everything else in the card (even the front) are in the most basic, simple color 'BLUE' there is. In side #2 the top & bottoms are a darker blue.

 

[tommythecat]

Coatings are a bit more difficult to apply than a sealant and wax though aren't they? Lol I don't offer that service... yet. It's just because I've never done it.

Not necessarily...I have used the DP Paint Coating on a couple of friends cars INSTEAD of a wax or sealant because it takes less time to coat it than it does to wax/seal it. Also, the price point on the DP Paint coating makes it an easy choice.

 

[Niko Molina]

Not necessarily...I have used the DP Paint Coating on a couple of friends cars INSTEAD of a wax or sealant because it takes less time to coat it than it does to wax/seal it. Also, the price point on the DP Paint coating makes it an easy choice.

Benefits of coating vs sealant+wax?

Haven't researched much into it. I was under the impression that you had to let the coating 'sit' for 24 hours or something along those lines?

 

[Firehouse Mike]

My .02 here is to not sell yourself short. You WILL spend 6-8 hours to do a good detail. Add another 4-6 for a typical 3-step paint correction. Get some experience working on friends and families cars to get a feel for how long it will really take. Don't try to keep it under a certain time frame - your quality will suffer if you speed through it. Your market area may set prices as well. I can't even come close to getting whats the going rate in So Cal and the like. Know the area and what others are able to charge. Price accordingly and remember, you are new to the game - It'll take awhile to get where you want to be at an hourly rate. Take a look at my packages and what's included on my site. Prices and approximate times are listed too. Just for reference, i'm south of Seattle.

 

[Niko Molina]

My .02 here is to not sell yourself short. You WILL spend 6-8 hours to do a good detail. Add another 4-6 for a typical 3-step paint correction. Get some experience working on friends and families cars to get a feel for how long it will really take. Don't try to keep it under a certain time frame - your quality will suffer if you speed through it. Your market area may set prices as well. I can't even come close to getting whats the going rate in So Cal and the like. Know the area and what others are able to charge. Price accordingly and remember, you are new to the game - It'll take awhile to get where you want to be at an hourly rate. Take a look at my packages and what's included on my site. Prices and approximate times are listed too. Just for reference, i'm south of Seattle.

'Good' detail as in the premium package? I assume it would take very long.


I've got some practice cars lined up...
'93 Nissan 240SX Convertible (Premium Detail)
'94 Nissan 240SX Convertible (Premium Detail)
'10 Honda CR-V (Basic Detail)
'03 Chevy Cavalier (Basic Detail)
'10 Honda Accord (Premium Detail)
'12 Ford Fusion (Basic Detail)

 

[tommythecat]

Benefits of coating vs sealant+wax?

Haven't researched much into it. I was under the impression that you had to let the coating 'sit' for 24 hours or something along those lines?

Coatings last longer than sealants/wax and they will not come off if your customer runs it through an automatic car wash.

I don't know enough about the cure times of different coatings to comment on that. I think the cure time is mostly for when it is ok for it to get wet.

 

[kjn]

I honestly think your prices are way too low. Your basic package should be at-least $200+ from just looking at all the things thats listed.

 

[Joseph Rogers]

I'm with the rest of them. Your prices are WAY too low. You're looking at 30-45 an hour, given the pricing and time, and then you've got to take into account insurance (you WILL have a liability policy and custody/care/control, right?), materials, marketing, and so on...

I know this is part time for you, man, but if you don't wind up making money...something you enjoy doing is going to become a PITA that makes you bitter.

 

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

Not trying to sound rude here, but have you ever done this before? I just don't see how you expect to wash and dry a car twice, decon, clay bar, AIO, full interior and do an engine bay in 1.5-2.5 hours. That would take me at least 6-8 hours to do properly. I think you are WAYYYYYYY undercharging, hobby or not.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Calendyr]

I read a few of your posts and you seems to be very very new to detailing. You don't seems to understand the basic concepts and your time evaluation is WAAAYYY off. Before you decide to start a business, you should do the following:

1. Read as much as you can about all aspects of detailing. Besides this forum I suggest you spend a lot of time on youtube. There are 2 book that are a must for detaillers: Renny Doyle's How to Start a Home-Based Car Detailing Business How to make money detailing cars and Mike Phillip's The Art of detailing.

2. Do a lot of freebees for friends and familiy to tune your process. This will allow you to learn how to work both your products and Equipment and it will give you a fee of the time needed to do everything.

Once you are completelly comfortable with every aspect of detailing, sit down and decide how much you want to make per hour. once you know that design your packages and apply the appropriate amount to them.

I like your enthousiams but you need to take a more diciplined approach to this if you don't want to crash and burn doing a 14 hours detail for 100$.

 

[BobbyG]

A basic detail which includes :

Interior

Vacuum
Clean all vinyl surfaces
Clean fabric seats and spot remove (steam)
Clean carpets and spot remove (steam)
Apply surface treatment
Wash mats
Apply trim treatment
Wash door jambs
Clean glass
Lubricate hinges and door latch


Tires & Wheels

Pressure wash wheel wells
Wash tires and rims (includes barrels)
Apply tire treatment
Apply wheels wax


Exterior

Wash
Dry
Clean and dry trunk and hood gutters
Apply spray wax
Apply trim treatment
Clean exterior glass


Time - 5 - 6 hours

Price - $150 - $200 (vehicle dependent)

Hourly Rate - $40.00

Problem areas are identified and priced accordingly.

 

[parttimer]

A basic detail which includes :

Interior

Vacuum
Clean all vinyl surfaces
Clean fabric seats and spot remove (steam)
Clean carpets and spot remove (steam)
Apply surface treatment
Wash mats
Apply trim treatment
Wash door jambs
Clean glass
Lubricate hinges and door latch


Tires & Wheels

Pressure wash wheel wells
Wash tires and rims (includes barrels)
Apply tire treatment
Apply wheels wax


Exterior

Wash
Dry
Clean and dry trunk and hood gutters
Apply spray wax
Apply trim treatment
Clean exterior glass


Time - 5 - 6 hours

Price - $150 - $200 (vehicle dependent)

Hourly Rate - $40.00

Problem areas are identified and priced accordingly.

I like your setup, however where I live I only get $150 for this and it's like pulling teeth. I also a one step instead of spray wax along with nano skin wipe. A two step is $250 for me and I have only had one person take me up on that.
Looking at what he wants to do, his times are waayyyy off. A decent wash with wheels is going to eat up that first hour.

 

[BobbyG]

I like your setup, however where I live I only get $150 for this and it's like pulling teeth. I also a one step instead of spray wax along with nano skin wipe. A two step is $250 for me and I have only had one person take me up on that.
Looking at what he wants to do, his times are waayyyy off. A decent wash with wheels is going to eat up that first hour.

You make a great point which I forgot to mention... Geographical location is an important component to the price you charge...rops:

I suspect the original poster is starting out and there's noting wrong under-charging a "wee bit" in the beginning in order to build his business and clientele but his times are certainly off.

People always push back on the cost of detailing. Some are much more understanding of the actual work and time involved and "your" results cannot be compared to the corner car wash. I'm polite and don't argue with people but I have on occasion "referred" someone to the local car wash..

Quality, thoroughness, and customer satisfaction is your goal...:dblthumb2:

 

[Joseph Rogers]

. I'm polite and don't argue with people but I have on occasion "referred" someone to the local car wash..:

YES! *laughing*

Dude, there have been a couple times I straight up told someone they'd probably be better renting a Rug Doctor, or sent them to a competitor.

So I got a question: I'm looking at the hourly rate here, and I'm a wee bit disappointed. Does it increase when you're doing things like paint correction and whatnot?

 

[catfish07]

Dude, if you can do all that and do a good job in 2.5 hours, PM me because I will hire you. You'd have to move to Tampa though LOL :xyxthumbs:

 

[mrclean]

$90 for a aio? do you know how expensive iron x is? definitely way too low of a price. i charge 85 for a 2bm onr and megs synthetic wax. simple vacuum, quick interior wipedown. i dont whip out the polisher unless its $200 and up.