north CA prices and packages

5150kon · 09-03-09, 08:32

im looking to start doing some side work out of my garage. ill be offering everything from wash up to paint corrections. problem is ive been researching different "detail" services and prices are all over the place. i have no idea what to charge at this point?!?!?! also wondering what kind of packages you would offer. im looking to work this up to a business, you know start small and hope to grow into something worth while. thanks in advance.

toyotaguy · 09-03-09, 10:34

whats your time and product worth?

5150kon · 09-03-09, 12:03

havent priced out the products ( have everything i need and got it all for free) but as for my time i dont know, that why im asking, i have no idea what to charge that isnt to much or short changing myself

toyotaguy · 09-03-09, 01:27

what do you want to make per hour, charge that!

I will tell you this, its better to be in the upper 50% rather than the lower 50% unless you are going for volume!

and I meant product worth as in -

are you using top shelf items?
budget dilution items?
time taking products?
volume work type products?

if you are using menzerna, p21s wheel gel and wolfgang fuzion paste wax, then you cant really turn too much of a profit doing $60 details when you use 4 hours of your time, spend $10-15 in overall product, etc...

5150kon · 09-03-09, 01:40

ok lets start with this, how much do you charge an hour? i have no clue what detail goes for an hour, ive seen 25 to 50.

toyotaguy · 09-03-09, 02:04

doesnt matter what I charge, or what other people charge...

its based on your skill level, the final product, the overhead you have, your demographics, your location, your competition for equivalent work, etc.

you can charge 100 with no overhead or charge 300 with overhead and still end up with 80 profit at the end of the day!

LoiG37 · 09-03-09, 07:30

maybe telling us what kind of products your using, how long have you been detailing, how long does it take you to complete a paint correction and such would help a lot

5150kon · 09-04-09, 08:38

mainly all 3m product, meg nxt wax (will be going down and pickin something better up), and i cant for the life of me remember what sealant i bought. been detailing for little over 5 years, was i-car certified when i was with the body shop i started detailing at.

sorry if im sounding ignorant or anything about this, but like i said in my first post when i looked at everyones prices around my area they were such a broad range. also who knows if these are kids with a bucket and imt callin themselves detailers or people who know what theyre doin. im just trying to get an idea of what a fair detail price is these days, and im asking you guys because from what ive seen, there are some legit people on this board.

LoiG37 · 09-04-09, 11:33

I think a $35/hr rate is fair.