Prices to charge

05BlackS197 · 04-03-07, 10:11

Hi all,

A freind of mine knows some people who are interested in having their cars detailed. They are willing to pay a fair price for a good job.

Now I'm kind of stuck on what to charge. I'm not a pro detailer so I can't charge like $250, but I will be doing this work by hand so, being this is time consuming and tiresome, I don't want to charge to little.

I was thinking of offering them two options:

A "Silver Package" wash, wax, tires, glass, for like 40 or 50 and a "Gold Package" wash, wax, polish, tires, glass, interior around 90 or 100 or so.

I can also do some light scratch removal, upon request.

What do you think? Are these prices too high or about the right range?

Thanks for any input,

05BlackS197

irishluder · 04-03-07, 10:47

I would say $100 is a fair price for a full detail. I would also add that if you plan on doing more than 2 cars it would pay off if you got a porter cable or some rotary polisher to make a quicker job but also create some heat to get the swirls all the way out.

Goodluck

StumpyDetailing · 04-03-07, 11:10

Keeping in mind, you can't actually "polish" by hand...

Polishing requires at MINIMUM a PorterCable polisher, but Rotary skill is a must to be a professional.

$100 is a good price for a full cleaning detail with a coat of wax :thumbup:

DieselMDX · 04-03-07, 11:11

I am just starting out and i am charging 100 for a full detail. this includes all areas of the car except motor, this includes polishing.

Johnnie27 · 04-03-07, 11:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by StumpyDetailing

Keeping in mind, you can't actually "polish" by hand...

Polishing requires at MINIMUM a PorterCable polisher, but Rotary skill is a must to be a professional.

What do you mean by this? I polished my wife's car last weekend and my arm was about to fall of. Do you mean you can't accomplish the same results by hand as you would a PC?

I.A.S. · 04-04-07, 04:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnnie27

What do you mean by this? I polished my wife's car last weekend and my arm was about to fall of. Do you mean you can't accomplish the same results by hand as you would a PC?

pretty much!.....there is no way you will get the same results by hand that you can get with some sort of PC/polisher...it just isnt possible. Your arm/hands/shoulders cant spin/move fast enough to create the heat needed to break down the polish....

anyway...your price seems to be pretty on track with what you are doing...i charge a bit more but my target market is a lil different clientel than what you are doing i think

mirrorfinishman · 04-04-07, 05:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by 05BlackS197

I'm not a pro detailer so I can't charge like $250, but I will be doing this work by hand so, being this is time consuming and tiresome, I don't want to charge to little.

Actually, contrary to popular belief, doing the work by hand adds a measure of value in the minds of some consumers.

Believe it or not their are actually many of us professionals who would never think of putting a machine to our customers cars. And there are plenty of customers out there who only want their car polished and waxed by hand.

Aim your detailing services at those people who value what it is you can do for them and you will be able to charge a reasonable price. You will know when you have got the price just right for the value added services you are performing.

05BlackS197 · 04-04-07, 02:08

Thanks for the input guys! Price sounds about right huh? That's good. I may start doing this one the side for people after I finish this group of people. It's a pain in the *** sometimes, but I really do like detailing cars.

I feel your pain Johnnie. I tried scratch Xing some of the scratches on my car, then two days later polished it. Not fun,but fun at the same time and worth it....we hope.

StumpyDetailing · 04-04-07, 03:52

Remember. Spending $250 on a PorterCable, with all the pads, will be made back within 2 full details.

And then you have about another 100-150 full details that are just making you money.

You can charge $200+/car easily when you're polishing the paint back to brand new

And it takes under 5 hours to completely detail a car.

05BlackS197 · 04-04-07, 08:44

You make valid points my freind,

First I need to learn how to properly use one. And since I know of no one who uses any or of any classes in my area I'm stuck.

irishluder · 04-04-07, 10:33

practice makes perfect 05Black!

I use a makita rotary which is a little more difficult to use than a PC from what I hear and I learned with in 2 buffing experiments. Its all about the pad and the polishes/waxes you are using and letting the machine do the work. Once you find a good speed that works the polish and takes off the contaminents and swirling then its easy!

Goodluck!

05BlackS197 · 04-09-07, 10:00

Hi guys! Thanks again for your help. I have another one for ya. I have a customer today who wants me to do his car, but not a full detail.

The car is an older Dodge Ram Van. It's a decent size, but not enormus. He wants wants wash, wax, and interior detail. What do you guys think would be a good price for this service? It's time consuming, but not really painful like polish/scratchX. All work will be done by hand.

I'm thinking like 40 or 50 bucks. He is a freind of the family and my first cusomter so I don't wanna go nuts with cost, but what are your opinions?

Thanks alot guys!!!!!