Hello everyone I just have a question to throw out there. I am considering getting into detailing for a profession. Now I have 12 years in the auto body repair industry, so I have some experience in cleaning cars. Now when I say cleaning I mean buffiing, washing, & cleaning the inside. But there is a differance between getting a car ready for someone who has had some repairs done and detailing someone's car for them. I live in the north central part of the USA and have to deal with the winters. I mean the -20 degree temps and a lot of snow. So I am wondering if anyone else has to deal with the same stuff that I would have to deal with if I pursue this? And if so how do you deal with it and do you make a living at this financially with the conditions that you are in? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Starting out
- Thread starter Delo
- Start date
Welcom to detail city Delo! I can kind of feild some of those questions for you. I'm from Madison Wisconsin so I can really sympathise with your weather situation. The way i deal with that is not detailing durring the winter. I actualy work in a body shop myslef right now and that's my full time job. Detailing is all on the side durring the summer for me. Sadly enough there have been weekends where i have made more money doing that than going to work a full week though. I know there are detail SHOPS not just detailors as being a mobil is imposible when below freezing, who do make a living durring the winter. Usualy they cut staff though. I would imagine if you have a good client base and a good shop it would not be too hard to make it through winters. Even if you had to pick up a part time job to fill you time.
As far as diffrences between getting a car rdy for pickup from the shop and detailing goes it's not as big as you might think. It's just more complete. Tipical body shop washes last 30-45 min. This keep productivity up and can still satisfy the customer. A full detail should take around 4 hours. This happens because we don't already have clean fresh paint to work with and because the interior has to be spotless. We also have to wax/seal the paint and a few other steps are needed. In gerneral though you just get all the "details" taken care of and that's what makes it more than just a wash.
As far as diffrences between getting a car rdy for pickup from the shop and detailing goes it's not as big as you might think. It's just more complete. Tipical body shop washes last 30-45 min. This keep productivity up and can still satisfy the customer. A full detail should take around 4 hours. This happens because we don't already have clean fresh paint to work with and because the interior has to be spotless. We also have to wax/seal the paint and a few other steps are needed. In gerneral though you just get all the "details" taken care of and that's what makes it more than just a wash.
Thanks Koop. I live in Minnesota so we are in the same situations for winters. I have thought about doing this just a few Saturday's a month to see how things will go. Not about to quite my day job and go into this full time until I know I can make a go at it. I have been looking at other options for detailing for winters, like actually having a place to work out of. But the less I have to pay out means the more I can make. I have been doing some research into this so I want to make sure I am as informed as possible before making a decision. Thanks for the response.
Hey you could always have my problem. My only real competition comes from a shop that uses a short-lived inside gloss and a short-lived outside quickie wax. Just to give you an idea, they do cars in about 1-2 hours. My highest priced detail is $100 (gotta compete directly) and I offer long and ardrous detailing work, yet no one will use me. Htye wont even use my quickie Wash and Vacuum.
Either case, welcome to the world of auto detailing. Remember its addictive; but unlike drugs, they cant put you in jail to get you off of it.
Either case, welcome to the world of auto detailing. Remember its addictive; but unlike drugs, they cant put you in jail to get you off of it.