RV Paint Correction Pricing??? - Page 2

brwill2005 · 05-06-08, 06:20

A good formula is to take the length in feet and divide by two. That number is approximately how many hours it will take to wash and polish/wax. If you are doing paint correction the formula may not apply. I have a guy right know that wants a 50 foot RV washed polished/waxed. I was thinking of using Poli-Seal and charging at least $1000, if not more like $1200-$1300.

Jean-Claude · 05-06-08, 07:41

Whatever you do, don't bid it and risk losing out making less than you should. Bid high if you have to and come off of your quote if you want to give a good deal.

Just my opinion. /shrug

Custom Detail · 05-07-08, 07:36

If you think your not charging enough YOUR NOT as said in a previous post the length divided by 2 times your hourly rate is the best way to go.

TH0001 · 05-07-08, 10:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Fermani

I'm sure this will job could take every bit of 40 hours for 1 person to complete. If that's the case, then charging someone $3000 (@ $75/hr) is excessive IMHO. Some jobs might be better suited for people focused on doing this type of work on a regular basis. A job that takes 1 person 40 hrs, could take a 2 person team 2 days. Most RVs aren't scratched up that bad (they never get washed) and correct really easy (soft paint). Most are grimey and faded.

Why would the price be excessive? I am sure there are pleny of "detailers" who could handle this for much less, but the owner wants somebody of Josh's caliber to work on the vehicle. If they want the best, then they should/will have to pay top dollar. Most of our show car details (such as the 7 cars we prepped for Cavallino) where between 3-4k a piece, because of the huge amount of time involved.

I don't think we should farm out work to lesser detailers because we want to make sure the client isn't paying too much. It is my niche (as well as many others) to offer the best service possible and charge accordingly, regardless of the vehicles we work on. 3000 dollars seems perfectly reasonable if they want somebody of Josh's talent to work on something that big.

JoshVette · 05-07-08, 05:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by TH0001

Why would the price be excessive? I am sure there are pleny of "detailers" who could handle this for much less, but the owner wants somebody of Josh's caliber to work on the vehicle. If they want the best, then they should/will have to pay top dollar. Most of our show car details (such as the 7 cars we prepped for Cavallino) where between 3-4k a piece, because of the huge amount of time involved.

I don't think we should farm out work to lesser detailers because we want to make sure the client isn't paying too much. It is my niche (as well as many others) to offer the best service possible and charge accordingly, regardless of the vehicles we work on. 3000 dollars seems perfectly reasonable if they want somebody of Josh's talent to work on something that big.

Todd is right. The reason he saught me out was specifically for paint correction purposes and he knows from his Ferrari friends of my abilities.

Also, it should be noted that the client himself told me a lot of the mess I'll be cleaning up is from detailers washing and hacking it up. I'm betting the detailers he's used are using brushes to wash it with and cutting it up at the same time.

I will do it by the hour and bring it to a point that I can be happy with. We've already agreed that I will do a test section for a half hour and see how much it will take to correct it and I will base my "general" estimate off of that with the understanding that the price can fluxuate.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Josh

brwill2005 · 05-07-08, 05:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoshVette

Todd is right. The reason he saught me out was specifically for paint correction purposes and he knows from his Ferrari friends of my abilities.

Also, it should be noted that the client himself told me a lot of the mess I'll be cleaning up is from detailers washing and hacking it up. I'm betting the detailers he's used are using brushes to wash it with and cutting it up at the same time.

I will do it by the hour and bring it to a point that I can be happy with. We've already agreed that I will do a test section for a half hour and see how much it will take to correct it and I will base my "general" estimate off of that with the understanding that the price can fluxuate.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Josh

Please do not take this the wrong way, but why would someone pay thousands of dollars for paint correction on something that, most likely, will get scratched up again. This of course assumes that you will not be maintaining it on a regular basis. The guys who wash RV's for a living are going to use brushes because washing using a sponge is not practical. A Ferrari is one thing, but an RV is another. Anyways, be sure to post some pictures. Thomas and I may be doing the 50 footer I mentioned above.

JoshVette · 05-07-08, 06:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by brwill2005

Please do not take this the wrong way, but why would someone pay thousands of dollars for paint correction on something that, most likely, will get scratched up again. This of course assumes that you will not be maintaining it on a regular basis. The guys who wash RV's for a living are going to use brushes because washing using a sponge is not practical. A Ferrari is one thing, but an RV is another. Anyways, be sure to post some pictures. Thomas and I may be doing the 50 footer I mentioned above.

Good point, that's why I try my best to teach my clients proper washing and drying techniques. I will convince him to find a detailer/washer who uses mitts or something other then brushes. I'm sure there's sticks you can attach mitts to right?

I think the damage is just getting to the point that he can't stand to see it anymore and wants it gone.

You say why spend $KKKK's for such correction just for it to get hacked again. Remember this thing costs over $850K new so it's a wise investment to have it corrected, as well as when he's on vacaction it is his home and he just wants his home to look it's best, I'm sure we can all relate to that.

Josh

David Fermani · 05-08-08, 08:17

Hey, what can I say? If you guys can get that kind of money for those types of specialty services, that great. More power to you. I guess I need to start charging alot more to stay competitive with the high end market? If your clients value your detailing abilities that much and can afford your services, you should expand out to cleaning their homes too while you're there cleaning their vehicles?

brwill2005 · 05-08-08, 08:36

Well, here is an update on the 50 foot RV. I gave the guy an estimate of $1200. That was for a wash and machine application of Poli-Seal. Well, he thought that was way too much. I told him how I arrived at that price (length in feet/2*hourly rate). I also told him that if it took us much less time than estimated he would not be charged the full estimated amount. He said he had two of the workers on his farm do it last time and it only took them 8 hours. He also stated, the first time I talked to him, that they did not do a good job. I explained that the quality of the work would be much better in this case. Oh well, some people just do not understand what goes into a quality detail, especially on a 50 foot long RV.

JoshVette · 05-08-08, 09:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by brwill2005

Well, here is an update on the 50 foot RV. I gave the guy an estimate of $1200. That was for a wash and machine application of Poli-Seal. Well, he thought that was way too much. I told him how I arrived at that price (length in feet/2*hourly rate). I also told him that if it took us much less time than estimated he would not be charged the full estimated amount. He said he had two of the workers on his farm do it last time and it only took them 8 hours. He also stated, the first time I talked to him, that they did not do a good job. I explained that the quality of the work would be much better in this case. Oh well, some people just do not understand what goes into a quality detail, especially on a 50 foot long RV.

Sorry to hear, it's funny how some people are like that. They want you to do the best work for the cheapest pay...... they are not the kind of clients you want.

Guess he'll just have the farm boys do it again.....

JoshVette · 05-08-08, 09:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Fermani

Hey, what can I say? If you guys can get that kind of money for those types of specialty services, that great. More power to you. I guess I need to start charging alot more to stay competitive with the high end market? If your clients value your detailing abilities that much and can afford your services, you should expand out to cleaning their homes too while you're there cleaning their vehicles?

No offense David, but this whole statement is kind of rediculous....and insulting.

You don't just start charging more to try to stay competative, it's not like we're just washing and waxing a car for a ton of money and are getting away with ripping people off so you might as well do it too.... (you make it sound as if (me and Todd) are ripping people off cause we charge more then you or others??) I don't even know what others charge. I set my prices based soley on my standards of detailing and what I value my services to be worth.

There's a difference from cleaning a car and doing perfection detailing...... (if I can call it that without sounding arrogant)

Josh

David Fermani · 05-08-08, 09:34

Josh - I think you're taking it the wrong way. I commend anyone that can successfully charge those rates. Especially on a regular basis. If I had a customer that valued my work integrity and wanted me involved in any and all possible detail (or unrelated) jobs, I'd focus my full attention towards them. There's not too many professions out there (let alone detailers) that allow one to make $75/hr. Does this sound better?