what would you gave charged?

budpln

budpln

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So I detailed a very large SUV has 100k on it has all the options leather interior very nice vehicle. This truck was a mess inside had melted chocolate in the console very dusty all over but carpets weren't in horrible shape cuz of rubber floor mats. Exterior had no wax or any kind of protective coating. I washed, clayed, cleaned wheels and dress tires, dried, polished with megiars up (didn't go crazy just gave it a quick polish) then followed that up with jet seal Then I cleaned in l the interior deep washed all surfaces with apc vacuum all nooks and crannys, brushed the floor mats with my d/a with brush attachment put leather conditioner on all the seats.. Cleaned all windows.. This thing looked really great took me 61/2 hours with my gf helping me with the interior so my question is what would you have charged?? This was my first full detail so far. I noticed the windshield had some steaks on it and the customer noticed so it may not be absolutely perfect but I worked my tail off and the end result was nice I will reveal what I charged but wasn't too see what some others would have charged for this level of service!!Feed back please
 
If its just a clay/wax/1 stage polish on the outside and a good deep clean on the inside but no shampooing or anything like that.. give or take a little bit depending on condition, roughly 250
 
Charge what you think you are worth and market demographics. Inspect car during drop off appointment, asses customer needs and wants, go over what the problems are, explain your process for each specific problem, offer solution for each problem and be realistic about expectations. Give price quote based on how much you want to earn per hour, and knowing how long the whole process will require will depending on your skills, knowledge, experience and expertise.


20/hrx6 1/2=130
30/hrx6 1/2=195
40/hrx6 1/2=260


I believe you get the point now.
 
Yep. All depends on your location and demographic. As well as condition of the vehicle.
 
Dont forget that since your gf was helping, there was more than 6.5 man hours involved. If she helped you for 3 hours, that's really 9.5 man hours. That will make a difference when you need to do a job alone and need to charge accordingly
 
Im in the $20-$25 / hr range most times. I do this out of my garage for fun not to make a living. Take that in to consideration.
 
MDX Detailing said:
Dont forget that since your gf was helping, there was more than 6.5 man hours involved. If she helped you for 3 hours, that's really 9.5 man hours. That will make a difference when you need to do a job alone and need to charge accordingly
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yes I thought about that but I felt for a guy i work with $280 might have scared him off lol He has a saleen mustang that he wanted me to do but was nervous because i just started doing it for people I know instead of just myself. plus I am happy with $150 and he seems to be happy because hes already texting me about doing the saleen!!

OTSDetail said:
Yep. All depends on your location and demographic. As well as condition of the vehicle.
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it was in decent shape the carpets werent caked with soda or anything like that just really dirty. we make pretty decent money so as far as demographic I would say he upper middle class.

dcjredline said:
Im in the $20-$25 / hr range most times. I do this out of my garage for fun not to make a living. Take that in to consideration.
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I really am not looking to make money as far as a living if i can put some money in my pocket and have a little left over to buy more detailing tools i will be happy haha

thank you guys for the feedback I really appreciate it if anybody else would like to chime in please do!:props:
 
I wouldn't have done a vehicle that size for less than $200. But if you are happy, and the client is happy, that's all that really matters. Everybody wins :xyxthumbs:
 
I like cablemon's answer but with your gf's hours also added in. For me it's an hourly rate then simply X # of hours. Easy math and every customer pays the same hourly rate. The varying prices i charge is determined by the work they request.

I ghost call different detailers around my area about once a year and inquire about prices for various levels of service. That little exercise helps me determine what the local market is paying. For me, i have to have a feel of what the local market will yield. Bear in mind though, it's tough to compare NE Mass with Tampa FL or any other answers you may get here from different areas of the country or world for that matter!
 
Puckman said:
I like cablemon's answer but with your gf's hours also added in. For me it's an hourly rate then simply X # of hours. Easy math and every customer pays the same hourly rate. The varying prices i charge is determined by the work they request.

I ghost call different detailers around my area about once a year and inquire about prices for various levels of service. That little exercise helps me determine what the local market is paying. For me, i have to have a feel of what the local market will yield. Bear in mind though, it's tough to compare NE Mass with Tampa FL or any other answers you may get here from different areas of the country or world for that matter!
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I am actually curious about your rates if you're ok sharing that information? being that cost of living is somewhat similar in Tampa to Gainesville and the two cities are not that far away.
 
Awesome advice fellas I am taking it all in and while I'm only doing it for a little extra cash and more tools!! I don't want to work for free!!
 
budpln said:
Awesome advice fellas I am taking it all in and while I'm only doing it for a little extra cash and more tools!! I don't want to work for free!!
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And it's a great way to make some $$$ while all the while you are perfecting your skills. You're doing just fine. Keep it up.
 
For someone staring out get what the customer is willing to pay. $150 is a good price. You can't build a customer base if you can't get customers to start out. Try this one on the customer. "I'll charge you $175.00 because you are a new customer and would love referrals from in the future. i normally charge $225 to $250 for a detail like this." Now when he talks to his friends he feels like he got a really good deal and will tell his friends that it is normally $225 to $250. That way the referal is ready to pay the $225 to $250.
I did a lot of really cheap details in the beginning just to build a customer base.
 
It really depends on your demographic. If you feel like you are making money then that's all that counts.

Just a comparison I quoted a Dodge ram MegaCab for a exterior compound/polish wax for 300-350. I try to be in the 50$HR range. Especially for machine polishing. I let the customer know that the price can fluctuate depending on condition upon arrival.
 
Full size monster SUV with and interior would be somewhere close to $300 and I live in a POOR place. If you priced this at $150 I'm sorry but you worked for peanuts on that job. But market pays what it can. I just worry he is going to want that Mustang done for $50 since the SUV was so big and a mess. be careful.
 
fergnation said:
For someone staring out get what the customer is willing to pay. $150 is a good price. You can't build a customer base if you can't get customers to start out. Try this one on the customer. "I'll charge you $175.00 because you are a new customer and would love referrals from in the future. i normally charge $225 to $250 for a detail like this." Now when he talks to his friends he feels like he got a really good deal and will tell his friends that it is normally $225 to $250. That way the referal is ready to pay the $225 to $250.
I did a lot of really cheap details in the beginning just to build a customer base.
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I did a LARGE Ford F150 Crew Cab for my neighbor: Wash, tires C&D, compound & Seal the paint for a lawnmower (which I needed) and $100. He knows that the "real" price for doing the truck was $450 due to size & level of work involved and that's what he tells people. My other neighbor wants her Camry done and I plan on charging her $100 (rubout, polish?, seal, tires glass and vacuum) and letting her know that the "normal" price is $250 for a medium sized car. This way you can still give close friends and family a "break" but let them know what it otherwise would have cost them-as long as they cooperate and tell others what I told them to say I charged. ;)
 
parttimer said:
Full size monster SUV with and interior would be somewhere close to $300 and I live in a POOR place. If you priced this at $150 I'm sorry but you worked for peanuts on that job. But market pays what it can. I just worry he is going to want that Mustang done for $50 since the SUV was so big and a mess. be careful.
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yes I deff think I did it at a cheap rate but my hope is that he sees the quality of my work and tells others how great his car looked I already explained that the mustang is going to be a considerable amount of work and I think he knows that it isn’t going to be cheap!!! He didn’t want me to do the mustang interior before but after he saw how good his wife's truck looked when I was done, now he wants me to do the interior so he must have been very happy with the truck!! This means good customer referrals!


fergnation said:
For someone staring out get what the customer is willing to pay. $150 is a good price. You can't build a customer base if you can't get customers to start out. Try this one on the customer. "I'll charge you $175.00 because you are a new customer and would love referrals from in the future. i normally charge $225 to $250 for a detail like this." Now when he talks to his friends he feels like he got a really good deal and will tell his friends that it is normally $225 to $250. That way the referal is ready to pay the $225 to $250.
I did a lot of really cheap details in the beginning just to build a customer base.
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I am deffinatly going to be saying this in the future it was hard to talk like this because we work different shifts he is leaving when im coming in so it wasent like i went to his house looked at the vehicle and quoted him, he didn't even ask me the price so I most deff dropped the ball on explaining what exactly I was going to do which actually worked out cuz when I told him to what extent I went to clean the vehicle he was a little surprised I had gone into such detail but in a good way his words when he saw the vehicle was "damn it feels so smooth like glass" haha!

custmsprty said:
And it's a great way to make some $$$ while all the while you are perfecting your skills. You're doing just fine. Keep it up.
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yes I actually leaned a lot while doing it like that I don't have to get the paint 100% for it to be a good detail and make it look nice all the while making a customer very happy!! was a good learning experience.


This is all great info guys I appreciate you taking time out of your day to give me tips and advice.:dblthumb2:
 
$275 with a hand wax to the exterior.

$325 with a machine sealant.

This service would be with a complete interior from the headliner down.
 
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