Would like a rough idea on what to charge.

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bcgreen

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I am about to do a few year old dd BMW 3 series. This is just a hobby with me. He just want a wash, wax and interior vacuum and seats treated.
People are attracted to how great my cars look.
Northern Idaho
Skill level comparable to the professionals
Doesn`t want a detailed job, so the interior would just need vacuum and treatment of the seats
I will have to do a AIO on the paint, obviously. Using my DA with M66.
I would like to get a rough idea, because I have never done a car where someone just wants a wash and wax.
Thanks
 
If he wants a wash and wax why are you planning to do an AIO polish? That would be a completely different service and price point.

As for pricing, research local retailers and see what they charge. Prices vary from market to market so what I would charge is different than the same service in southern California, etc so most estimates here would be all over the board and probably confuse you more than help.

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Who is this person? A neighbor, co worker, a friend?
A way to sort of simplify how much to charge is to figure how long it'll take you to complete the job.

Lets say 8hrs.. Then you can go anywhere from lets say $20 per hr. if it's 1 of your friends, to maybe $30 per hr. if it's a neighbor or whatever, then up to lets say $50 per hr. if it's anyone else.

But in the end it's up to you to decide what the price will be and of course you'll want it to be something both of you will be comfortable with, because if you're anything like me, the last thing you want to feel like is a prick when you hit them with a price that's shocking.. But at the same time you don't want to sell yourself short. Pricing can be difficult.
 
supercharged75 said:
If he wants a wash and wax why are you planning to do an AIO polish? That would be a completely different service and price point.

As for pricing, research local retailers and see what they charge. Prices vary from market to market so what I would charge is different than the same service in southern California, etc so most estimates here would be all over the board and probably confuse you more than help.

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I guess I was thinking AIO because it's hard for me to just put wax down when it would need claying and polishing. It's the perfectionist in me. If I am laying down wax with my DA, it wouldn't take me any longer to do it with my cleaner wax.
I have checked with the local detailer on a previous job and I thought the price was quite similar to LA.
 
Eldorado2k said:
Who is this person? A neighbor, co worker, a friend?
A way to sort of simplify how much to charge is to figure how long it'll take you to complete the job.

Lets say 8hrs.. Then you can go anywhere from lets say $20 per hr. if it's 1 of your friends, to maybe $30 per hr. if it's a neighbor or whatever, then up to lets say $50 per hr. if it's anyone else.

But in the end it's up to you to decide what the price will be and of course you'll want it to be something both of you will be comfortable with, because if you're anything like me, the last thing you want to feel like is a prick when you hit them with a price that's shocking.. But at the same time you don't want to sell yourself short. Pricing can be difficult.
Click to expand...

The person is a friend, I just finished detailing her car except the interior and that took me 12 hrs.
Thanks for your advice and information. Interesting I found the prices here to be quite similar to LA. I guess it probably due to the vast majority of people here are from Ca., primarily LA.
 
bcgreen said:
I am about to do a few year old dd BMW 3 series. This is just a hobby with me. He just want a wash, wax and interior vacuum and seats treated.
People are attracted to how great my cars look.
Northern Idaho
Skill level comparable to the professionals
Doesn`t want a detailed job, so the interior would just need vacuum and treatment of the seats
I will have to do a AIO on the paint, obviously. Using my DA with M66.
I would like to get a rough idea, because I have never done a car where someone just wants a wash and wax.
Thanks
Click to expand...
I say 4 hrs or 5 185.00.
 
bcgreen said:
Interesting I found the prices here to be quite similar to LA. I guess it probably due to the vast majority of people here are from Ca., primarily LA.
Click to expand...

There's LA, and then there's Hollywood.. And Hollywood prices are something else altogether and involve working on exotics which results in the prices becoming astronomical. Lol. J/k but not really :)

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Then charge more.I can knock that out in 4 hrs.185.00 seems reasonable. If this is gonna be 8 he deal then 320.00.
 
If you want to turn this into a side business you have to charge for your time and materials. Business is the key word. If you are just doing this as a one off then I understand.

Be sure you take before and after of the inside and out to highlight your skill. They are good to have for your portfolio if you do start a side business.

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Yes, this is a hobby with me not going to be a business. I am retired and when I was in SoBay, I always kept my cars looking as if I was going to a concourse event, but not a Cars and Coffee type thing in Orange County.
Just finished this guys girl friends Mini, and it took me about 12 hrs. This guy decided to go for the full monte, so I am charging him $40 more than his girl friend's car.
 
Do you see a pattern man? No one can tell you what you should charge. You have to decide by looking at prices in your area and take into consideration what your quality and time is worth. Not what someone on the internet says they get for a job (which may be completely false and they don't know the true condition of the particular car you will be working on)
 
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