how much do detailers make a year?

**SamIam** · 11-04-2007, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by JoshVette

Best thing about being a quality pro detailer for me is making an honest living. Don`t have to swindle or make a sale,

Can I ask what you mean by this statement?

**imported_JoshVette** · 11-04-2007, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by SamIam

Can I ask what you mean by this statement?

It`s pretty self explanitory, I`ve worked in the "Professional" business world sitting at a desk all day dressed up with the pressures of landing deals and HAVING to meet a quota and deal with all the office politics and make you corp. money. I`m just glad I don`t have that pressure anymore and I can work at my own pace, at my own rate and let my work do the talking and not have to compete with the guy in the next cubical for the big raise.... Scottwax is just around the corner from where I live, but do I feel we are competing for busines.....NO WAY.

I wasn`t a used car salesmen, but they are good examples of what the world will do to land a deal.

Josh

**YoMike** · 11-04-2007, 03:58 PM

Talk about pressure landing the deal, you should try yoyo sales it`s really up and down! hehe

**mhschiefs806** · 11-04-2007, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by BRODEY1

I can`t imagine that the OP`s intent was to offend anyone or to be too personal. He could have worded it a bit better, but most likely he simply wanted to understand how it all pans out in the end financially, or at least a ballpark figure. I am a Respiratory Therapist living just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. In my industy, you can slack it and do the minimum right out of college and make around 28K a year, or with a few years experience, obtaining a higher license level and busting it a bit, you can make up to 90K. I hope I was able to help any aspiring Respiratory Therapists on this forum with this information. I excel in my profession, thus I make more than most, I`m not scared of other Therapists coming along and doing my job better than me, if anything, it helps my profession become more respected. I hope the analogy was obvious. I know the pro`s here don`t want give out trade secrets, nor do I, but I don`t thing jumping on the guy was warranted. Anyone can go to a bookstore and find out how much any given career pays, auto detailing is a strange bird in that regard because it is a career/small business, which changes all the variables, you don`t just clock in and work, it is so much more than that. I tried my hand at detailing 15 years ago (pretty much pre-PC and ONR), I was making great money, but the profit wasn`t there after everything else (time, equip, supplies, etc). So I applaud anyone who is doing well for themselves in that industry, it is very hard work, and very few clients understand how much work truly goes into proper detailing, you get the "oh, it looks great!", but not really the appreciation for the work done. Sorry for the rant, I`m working night shift and we are about to go an hour backwards, so I`ve got an extra hour to kill tonight!! Blain

^^ yes i didn`t mean to offend anyone on how much they make. i simply want to know how much one would be able to expect. something reasonable like 34k-110k a year and so on. if you are a lawyer in california and a lawyer in alabama i`m able to find what your average pay would amount to with a bell curve and find what percentile makes what with certain deviations. but with the searching i`ve done i have not been able to find a solid "auto complete detailer" as a listing. so i got interested. i`m a business major with a high interest in cars. so after i finish my degree i have a business plan already and would like to include detailing in it. but if my revenue will not exceed my costs (supplies paywage operating etc) then it wouldn`t be such a wise business decision now would it.?

i didn`t mean this to offend anyone just really wanted a ball park.

basicaly has to be a high enough amount to include this into my plan.

**stiffdogg06** · 11-04-2007, 09:44 PM

Originally Posted by mhschiefs806

i`m curious to see what some detailers make a year

Enough to pay bills.

:woot2:

**Invigor** · 11-04-2007, 10:38 PM

Because I do this as a hobby, not a job, I let them pay me what it`s worth to them. It doesn`t matter to me really as long as I`m not doing it for free. In most cases, they pay pretty decently. It`s always a bonus for me because they usually find me and ask me to do it for them, I don`t search customers out and say "Hey man, I`m starving here". I do however approach friends that I think would appreciate having their car looked after properly and offer to spruce up their car for them. In the event of doing work for friends, it`s either for beer, some cash, or for a favor in return.

So I guess that`d make me a hobby detailer, not a professional detailer eh?

Nah, my full time job is detailing low end stuff, but I enjoy doing the high end stuff on my own time and for people that I know will appreciate it.

**Scottwax** · 11-04-2007, 11:30 PM

Once you get established, you can make pretty good money.

**ScubaStevo** · 11-04-2007, 11:40 PM

I make a decent wage. I`m probably around 4 grand a month gross right now. Not bad for 18 and in university full time. lol

**mhschiefs806** · 11-05-2007, 12:34 AM

thank you for the last couple of posts. that is what i really wanted. i did not really request what if your year pay? as i did not really wanted a 118,977 or a 76,292 or a 58669 etc

**imported_ajbarnes** · 11-05-2007, 08:46 AM

Most of my business is repeat. During the spring and summer I average around 3-4k per month, and the winter is around 1.5-3k per month. I`ve been running this business for about four years now. I could make more, but I`m just taking my time trying to establish credibility and improve my image before I go all out marketing.

**Scottwax** · 11-05-2007, 09:18 AM

Originally Posted by ajbarnes

Most of my business is repeat. During the spring and summer I average around 3-4k per month, and the winter is around 1.5-3k per month. I`ve been running this business for about four years now. I could make more, but I`m just taking my time trying to establish credibility and improve my image before I go all out marketing.

Start raising your prices on new customers and phase the new prices in on your old customers in about 6 months. No one complained when I did that and it got me a nice raise for myself.

**imported_JoshVette** · 11-05-2007, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by Scottwax

Start raising your prices on new customers and phase the new prices in on your old customers in about 6 months. No one complained when I did that and it got me a nice raise for myself.

+1

That`s what I`m going to be doing come this new year.:2thumbs:

**jimmybuffit** · 11-05-2007, 09:52 AM

Maybe this helps... I have a fixed location with 2-3 employees, and my "break-even" per month is $11,000. Anything I earn after that (less materials) is profit.

Now, you pick your own prices and volume, and what is left is your income.

**HiDefDetailer** · 11-07-2007, 01:53 PM

First time poster, long time viewer. I think the original poster asked a great question. For someone who is considering Detailing as more than a hobby it would be great to know from current BUSINESS OWNERS about current market trends. Basically, what I`ve gathered from the comments that on average Mobile Detailers probably make >$50k/yr. and Fixed Operators probably make +/- $100k. And I am assuming most of that is not likely profit w/overhead. I don`t know a lot of about each individual market but that doesn`t seem to be a lot of money to "prosper" or grow your business on.

Outside of the usual answers of "I set my own schedule" "I`m my own boss", "I love what I do", and other general statements - can someone pass along a good business case for choosing Auto Detailing over other career options? And yes I have read Detailing for Profit. THANKS!

**Bigpikle** · 11-07-2007, 03:37 PM

Originally Posted by HiDef Detailer

Outside of the usual answers of "I set my own schedule" "I`m my own boss", "I love what I do", and other general statements - can someone pass along a good business case for choosing Auto Detailing over other career options? And yes I have read Detailing for Profit. THANKS!

I`m going to chime in here with a view, although I have never received a $/Ã‚£ for my detailing.... I think it is probably tough to make a great case for this industry above any other industry as the options are so vast.

For me the key to success, is to find a profession that isnt work, in other words where work = play. Many of the most successful people in all fields claim they never worked a day in their life as they simply enjoy/love/are passionate about what they do.

I work in a totally unrelated field and love what I do. It means I get up and have some great days, not every day, but many days. As a result of working in this area I also now earn a pretty big salary, but that comes from enjoying what i do, working hard at it as a result, and actually being pretty good at it - its tough to love doing something and be poor at doing it, for very long anyway.... My clients love what I do as a result and pay me to do more of it.....

I would guess you could look at detailing in the same way. Its going to be a poor choice for somebody that isnt interested in cars and making them look stunning, but is going to be a great choice if that is your passion. Frankly, I really enjoy doing it but if I had to do it for money and measure everything I did by other people`s standards it probably wouldnt appeal to me as much.

Not sure if that helps, but I really wish people made more career choices because they really wanted to do something than because they thought they could earn a good $/Ã‚£ - we`d probably all enjoy ourselves just a little bit more...