Quick Detailing, Wholesale Detailing, Fleet Detailing - Underrepresented Here?

**DaVinci Detail** · 12-06-2011, 11:30 AM

What a GREAT thread. My initial thoughts were that the OP was gonna be put on blast, but it was a great informative read. Dutrow, thank you for all you posted.

I`ve struggled with this exact same thing. I don`t want to cut corners as my name and reputation is all

I have. But, I have learned to still do a great job, MEET MY CLIENTS EXPECTATIONS AND THEN SOME, and make more money.

I can still do full correction details, but my bread is buttered by the `express details`.

**Scottwax** · 12-06-2011, 01:58 PM

I`ve picked up a wholesale customer, prefer to keep it at just one since I don`t want to turn down full priced jobs for lower priced ones but so far he seems fine with paying more than he is used to because the results are so much better. New products like Optimum GPS, microfiber pads and Meguiars D300/301 have really sped up compounding work so I can offer a better job at what an wholesaler considers a fair price.

**Scottwax** · 12-06-2011, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by DaVinciAutoSpa

I can still do full correction details, but my bread is buttered by the `express details`.

Same here. Until the economy picks back up, thats just the reality of the business.

**Jngrbrdman** · 12-06-2011, 02:57 PM

What I tell people is that car care is on a scale. I---I---------------I----I That first section is what gets accomplished by `washing` or just cleaning up a car. I`m not a car washer, so I don`t deal with any of that if that is all they are wanting. The second area is where a lot more of us work. It goes from just claying and waxing the car on one end to the far end where we are wet sanding and getting every defect we can out of the appearance of the car. There is quite a range there, but it is beyond what gets done at the coin-op carwash for sure. The last section is for the PDR, airbrushing, bondo, and real body work that has to be done to take a car back to showroom quality in some cases. I don`t do much there either. I dip slightly into the touchup paint area, but that`s about it.

So for most of us on this forum we are in that middle section where `detailing` happens. Car washing, or the kind of thing you can accomplish with quarters on your lunch break, is something I let the guys who can stand to give the keys back to an owner knowing there are still problems they can fix on that car. I just can`t vacuum out a car and leave the stains in the carpet. I can`t just wash the car and know it needs to be clayed and waxed, but dry it off and be done with it. My business name isn`t OCDetails for no reason after all.

I`ve got respect for the guys who work in the first section of the scale for sure. Just like I have it for the guys who go beyond what I do. We all have our standards and our business is built on those standards. I can`t justify sacrificing the time in my personal life for anything less than a $120 job, and sadly that is not to be found in that first section, so I have to focus on going into a little more detail. Maybe if this was a full time gig and money was money then I wouldn`t turn away business when someone just wanted a wash, but as a hobbyist and part time detailer, I have to capitalize on my time the best way I can.