Yes, Scored an account with the local BMW dealership!

jimmyjam

jimmyjam

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I received a called from the General Manager of a BMW dealership in regards to a detail account, but it's really cut throat. I wanted to show them my abilities on some of the return lease cars and so for i just did my first one today and they want to do three more tomorrow. The thing is that I charge $80 for a clay, carpet shampoo, and leather conditioner plus tire dressing /glass/interior etc... I normally charge almost double for a private customer, but the volume is there.... HELP! Whatcha think? Feed back please Plus they will refer customers to me as their detailer.
 
Congrats! Sounds like a great opp to get some future BMW owners as clients. Hopefully enough so that you don't have to do all that for bottom dollar for too long.
 
You may want to invest in a serious wheel cleaner. Not sure what your budget is so I would say:

P21S Gel
Sonax Full Effect
Duragloss All Wheel Cleaner

Now the P21S and Sonax are safe for everything and the Duragloss is a buffered acid based cleaner. It is highly effective and will save a lot of time vs. waiting for the others to dwell. You can use it on the initial detail and then after that switch to a non-acid based cleaner to maintain. Seeing how the DP line is on BOGO, this would be an excellent choice for maintaining the wheels. Don't get me wrong, DP wheel cleaner is effective. But you are on a production level with this contract so you are going to need something that cuts fast with minimum effort. With them, time is money. Best of luck to you!
 
Nice!!! Hey, $80 is $80 man. I tend to stay away from dealerships because they tend to not pay. I do work for a couple of them near me here and there. But, they pay me in full. Usually it's for paint correction.

The great thing about the accounts like you just got. Is that you can really show them what you can do. Then, one day...when you get too busy with full retail to do $80 jobs. They'll want to pay you in the future for those tough ones that they know you can do! Nice job! :props:
 
Wow, $80 for all that work, i'm glad that's not your normal rate otherwise your cheating yourself haha. I'm glad there's volume there but hopefully you won't burn yourself out. I was looking into doing some business with a dealership once i'm back home. One question though, are you contracted for any sort of 1-step "correction" work or just a wash/wax/interior kinda thing? Best of luck and hope you get some clients out of it.

PS: if you really wanna get nasty wheels done quick.. Meg's Wheel Brightener diluted 4:1, acidic- yes... safe on factory clearcoated wheels-yes... cost effective- yes, but for aftermarket wheels i'd choose something like P21s or Sonax like RWRIGHT mentioned.
 
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That is pretty great, those are the tier of referrals you want.

Like Kristopher said, $80 is $80 and with plenty of cars to do.

To be honest, since your price has to be low I would think for those cars you may want to your supplies from a local company that makes their own products.

You can usually get 5 gallons of dressing for around $30. I know that sounds horrible but maybe use those on the initial and the top shelf products to maintain at a higher price.

Just a thought and I will probably be blasted by everyone for mentioning it but it is an option.

Good luck!

Are they supplying the wash bay, electric and water?
 
Congrats Jimmy! At the very minimum you'll learn to buff and clean cars fast! Now's your chance to practice technique. :buffing:
 
Oh! Get in good with the parts manager and you can get some pretty great deals on tires, batteries, tools etc.

That was 1 part of working at dealership that I liked.
 
jimmyjam said:
I received a called from the General Manager of a BMW dealership in regards to a detail account, but it's really cut throat. I wanted to show them my abilities on some of the return lease cars and so for i just did my first one today and they want to do three more tomorrow. The thing is that I charge $80 for a clay, carpet shampoo, and leather conditioner plus tire dressing /glass/interior etc... I normally charge almost double for a private customer, but the volume is there.... HELP! Whatcha think? Feed back please Plus they will refer customers to me as their detailer.
Click to expand...

Hang with it as long as you can. be sure and slip a biz card or two in the Owners Manual. When ppl first buy their cars, they tend to glance through there. Hopefully they will see your card and call you for their future detailing needs

Its also nice to be able to tell future clients that you are "The Official" detailer for your local BMW dealer.

Good Luck :props:
 
If you can get the volume consistent everyday, this can be quite lucrative. A heated extractor and a Tornador will save you a lot of time on the interiors. `

I know a detailer that does $60 jobs for a Hertz Rental that also sells the cars off the lot. They can crank out 10-12 cars a day and while it isn't a premium quality detail with full paint correction, you can make a dramatic turn around on a lease return or trade in in a short amount of time once you get a system in place and have a good helper.
 
The business card in the owners Manual is a great tip Flash, I have never thought of doing that.
 
From a business standpoint I would be happy, if you plan it right with the products suggested you can get it done without to much materials cost.

Hopefully your both(dealership and you) aware that for that much money your not expecting concourse level work. It will look MUCH better than before you got to the car which will be what they want, and if they need one to be corrected and perfect that's a different price.

That will make it worthwhile for both of you because if your unhappy with the income vs the effort each one you do will make it worse until you just throw the towel in. LOL But if your going in with the right attitude it will make it much easier and will be a great opportunity for you.
 
Dwayne said:
If you can get the volume consistent everyday, this can be quite lucrative. A heated extractor and a Tornador will save you a lot of time on the interiors. `

I know a detailer that does $60 jobs for a Hertz Rental that also sells the cars off the lot. They can crank out 10-12 cars a day and while it isn't a premium quality detail with full paint correction, you can make a dramatic turn around on a lease return or trade in in a short amount of time once you get a system in place and have a good helper.
Click to expand...

Agreed. The Tornador especially will save you a ton of time. You can fly with that thing!!
 
Thanks youth guys mega info! What does the tornado do?
 
Congrats on the work! I worked for a used car dealership for a while and while it didn't pay to much for basic work at least there were plenty of cars!

There's a BMW dealership trying to find a detailer here, I'd loooove to apply, but I can't work full time because of school... :(
 
Well I took alot of your guy's advise, and I asked if I could place my business card in the owners manual of the vehicles I detailed and they said "fooshoo"!
First of all these freakin cars are clean from the get, and I've done six Beemers with a half of a clay bar with out hardly any contaminants. On Wednsday I was polishing a set of chrome rims on a 750Li, just to try out some of the Optimum chrome polish that was on BOGO. While I was polishing the wheels the GM and owner of the dealership walked up and complimented my work, and the told the GM that he did a good job by finding me. So the owner opens the door and looks inside the 750 and tells the GM that the owner kept the car so well maintained the leather still smeeled new, and with a big smile the GM said "no it's the leather condtioner Jimmy uses"! The owner said we struck gold with you Jimmy.
 
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