advice needed

L

loodi

New member
i need help again.

im far from being a pro, but something could change these days as i got the opportunity to jump a few obstacles and get much closer to my goal of having a detailing business:



there is this local used car dealership that is looking for a detailer that would make the prices of his used cars jump a bit before being sold.



as im doing this only as a part time job (1 or 2 cars each week, sometimes not a single one for a month), the guy agrees for a "no-contract" method. he brings the car, i detail it, he drives it back and sells it for a higher price. if somebody asks, this is my friends car and im doing him a favour.



now we are in a phase of agreement but i cant come out with a normal price, and this is the part where i need help.

lets say all the cars are gonna need the same amount of work, like 6 hours each and once a month one car is gonna need a full detailing treatment, like 15hours.



what price should i suggest first for like....5 cars a week for a full year?

(i dont want to blow this opportunity so im asking you guys to help me out. if i say a price that is too high, the guy will not negotiate, he will just turn his back and walk away as he usually does. on the other hand, i dont want to work for nothing.)
 
Maybe a basic package that every car will receive(like wash, dust, vacuum, wax and glass $75 or whatever) then if he wants shampoo it's $35 extra, glaze is $55, ect. Those are just random numbers I threw out. Not suggesting you use those or any in particular.
 
cant throw a basic package cause every treatment has to give a noticeable visual improvement so he can raise the price of the vehicle itself. like a black toyota hilux he showed me yesterday for example:

the interior just needs a bit of care, no more than 1 hour of work. the plastic trim is as good as new, the windows ARE new, but there are light to mid holograms over the entire body. by polishing it for good and getting rid of the holograms, he can raise its value for 300$ easily (he said so) cause of the dramatic improvement.

what im saying with this example is that some cars are gonna need just to be focused on exterior, while others are gonna need drastic engine cleaning or i dont know... just some chrome restoration or similiar.

so i need a price that is gonna cover every kind of work. i was thinking of 160$ for a car. so 160 whether is gonna need interior detailing and a washing or vacuuming and full body detailing for example. would that be ok?
 
what you have to look at is what your materials cost, your time, etc. and then calculate a price. I wouldnt give him a flat price for each vehicle, but inform him that you will be competitve in pricing each vehicle he brings in. lets say, you quote him $160 per car, and every other one needs alot of work, wet sanding, polishing, etc. you will actually lose money on these cars. Dont sell yourself short.
 
I work at a dealership right now and I start at $85 a car. That includes CLEANING and dressing everything. Interior includes spot cleaning of seats, carpets and headliner with cleaning and dressing of everything else. If a shampoo is needed on anything it's extra. The exterior gets a good wash and spray wax with engine bay, wheels, tires and wheel wells all cleaned and dressed. If a compound or polish is needed or the wheels need extra work it's extra. They want the $85 spray wax option instead of the straight $120 with a D151 polish. Not every car needs that work done to it. Are you spending $300 on recon to make you $400 on a $5000 car?



Getting on 90% of the cars on the lot at $85 a pop gets me the opportunity to upsell the other stuff. How many do they actually pay the $85 for? ~50%. So, if he gets 10 cars a week I am almost guaranteed $765. Add the 5 cars that need a polish, shampoo or both I'm at or above $1000 in no time. And I'm averaging ~3 hrs a car.



And I rent the wash bay so I can do retail work there as well. I'm not going to go into details about the rent but It's a DAMN good setup for me and them.
 
For dealer cars I have a base price for a complete interior job only, a base price for an exterior clean up with one step polish, and a price for a complete (in and out) detail. 9 times out of 10 they go with the complete package, but in cases where a car needs almost nothing on the exterior/interior they choose to go with just an interior/exterior. If I get a car that needs extra work (wet sanding, excessive interior cleaning, etc) I give them a quote before starting the work. After you have established a relationship with the dealer you will know what he wants and what you can charge him.



When deciding on what to set your base rate at don't sell yourself short...figure out what your costs are (equipment, supplies, insurance, etc) and add to that what you need to make an hour. The hardest part for me with dealer cars is to do what you are paid to do and not do extra work for free...once in a while I will throw in a little extra bonus (ie. headlight polishing) for free but I make sure to point it out to the dealer when I drop the car off.
 
thats why i think its never the best solution to be smart, but take into consideration the possiblity that someone is smarter already.



thank you for the replies guys, i think i will do a basic price for all and add an extra for every car that comes (if needed).

cleaning as a basic (carwash ext/int) and +++ for any extra detailing needed.

you are right, if i take 160 on each, maybe he will overwhelm me with 10 cars in a row that will need both interior and exterior and engine full detailing. hell, if he brigs 4 cars that only need a wash and 1 that needs a special treatment, i'll loose money.



thank god i asked before doing something so stupid.

thank you guys!
 
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