Best Places to get top dollar or high end cars

B

baseballlover1

New member
Well guys... i have just been inspired (as a few others im sure have) by a click and brag. The click and brag of the jag is the one im talking about. It was decided by myself a while ago that after high school and college i want to detail full time. As of yesterday, i started thinking of the best places to get the best clientele that could pay anything for the best detail money can buy. I am far from being the best detailer(!!!!)... however that is what i strive to be. I do want to be a VERY good one though. I am wondering where the best places to detail would be to accomplish my goal of finding a clientele that is willing to pay me to bring there car up to the level that i am happy with (spending 30 hrs or more on a car). Anyone have any ideas?



I was thinking palm beach or L.A. Anyone else have any better recommendations.



Thanks guys!... maybe a bunch of other guys can benefit from this also!
 
just look up any high income area...there might be some around you that you can travel to without having to relocate...unless that is something that you want to do.
 
Yepp... i dont want to stay in VA. I want to go to a place like So Cal or Florida cus of the climate and the topicality. Plus, i dont want to live near my family... i love them but they drive me CRAZY! My moms side anyway.
 
alot of people that have the high end cars sometimes still don't want to fork the money for that type of detail. What part of VA are you from?
 
Roanoke... and yea, thats the exact reason why i said what ii said instead of what is the wealthiest town/city in America.



In roanoke, there are a few very wealthy people and i know them however the cost of living is less then everywhere else so they dont pay as much for a detail. Plus, they know me as "Jeffs son" not as a detailer. They dont understand that i am actually better than the rest of the detailers, however they are starting to.
 
You will make more money taking care of everyones needs rather than just one group of clients. In my opinion that is the only way a detail business can survive. I find that those types of clients are too few and far between to keep the bills paid. Just my .02 for what its worth and thats probably not much.



My sights are set on buying a Lamborghini Murcielago around August this year for a rolling advertisement and to bring the high end interest to my shop. I diversified my shop and got into accessories of all kinds so I can pull money from several areas but not straying to far away from specializing in vehicle appearance type work. Accessories are generally bolt on and make for quick profits!



I am fortunate not to have too many competing shops here in Portland. The retail guys seem to be going away and the wholesale shops are thriving. We do a mix of both of these as well as accessories and it is working very well.



If I were in your shoes I would consider somewhere other than Cali because there will be some pretty fierce competition down there and being the new guy in town I can see being a bit rough for a while. Depends on where youre at financially I suppose as to how long you could afford to be slow.



Good luck and keep us posted!



.............................................................Chris
 
WOW man! Lambo! I hope its not going to be JUST an advertisement and is going to be driven as any car like that should!



I could see where the fierce comp. comes from and agree...
 
Daniel, figure where ever you do move to, you'll be starting over from scratch again and have to completely build up your clientele from zero.



If you're going to do this full time and want the type of clients that really love their cars and want the best for them, then you need to figure on big cities, with pro teams and such. Get in there and find the tuning shops that do high end cars and start getting to know people at exotic car meetings/shows and eventually you'll be making money.



Big cities.
 
My recommendation is to stay in school and eventually graduate college. At that point, you will be able to make a valid career choice. Until then, just stick to the books.



On the other hand, I highly recommend taking 1 yr off school after high school to figure out who you actually are. Travel a little bit, work a little bit - do anything you like to gain some valuable experience that will actually enhance your "real life" education.



Although detailing full-time is a very valuable experience and rewarding, you may decide - as many do - that it's a very difficult way to live.
 
There are exceptions, but very few detailers can exclusively detail high end cars full time. You have to be established (ie, 5+ years in business), well connected (with wealthy car enthusiasts), and well located (cities with good weather and large population bases...LA, San Diego, Miami, Phoenix, an Las Vegas come to mind).



To pay the bills, most of us have to detail minivans, construction trucks, dog hair pits, mold and vomit damage, chemical overspray...you name it...between the $75k cars.



Breaking into the top end of the market is tough. There's usually an established company that has earned the trust of the local wealth after years of fighting it out with the competition.



It can be done, but it's a tough haul.



If you really want to make money, specialize in onsite boat and RV detailing. It's physical, but the $$ is supreme.
 
to do the higher end cars you need to market to the higher end market, yeah there is more money, however you have to be the best.. if you want the most money tou have to be the best.



If you are not up to it now, start doing cars and do not do as good of a job as they want you will have a reputation that may casue alot of damage in the future.

The thing with higher end cars is that there are fewer cars to do, if you screw one up its liek screwing up 5 less expensive cars...



I would say start with your average run of the mill cars until you are ready... and its not about the less expensive cars not needinf or deserving the attention, its just the amount of each and the size of the target market.......



like everything in this business, dont jump in untill your ready. You will base your business on your work and reputation, if either is destroyed you will have one hell of a time fixing it...





im not posting this to scare you, but the more info you have the better a decsion you can make. If you are ready then good luck and have fun, if not then dont..



ohh and one last thing, the other issue is the cost of a repaint, if you burn an average car it wont cost you as much to re-paint, (no its not cheap to repaint, im not saying it is)... e sure of your skill before you take risks you cannot afford to loose
 
I happen to do a lot of high end cars. Insurance was the biggest deal. My prior insurance co. dropped me when they saw my web-site -LOL.



I think detailing for a "CAR GUY" is what counts. A rich person who can't give a squat about his car is worst than a guy on min-wage that loves his. Find a client that is both WEALTHY and CAR GUY and you have it made.
 
From what I've researched, *most* high end/exotic clients want you to be mobile(go to them). With that in mind, you're limited to a certain maximum yearly income (say ~$120K), because you're typically doing the work yourself. On the other hand, that maximum income is more or less a starting point if you have a decent fixed shop with 3-4 detailers. Yeah, you most likely won't have the same calibre of vehicles lined up, but you'll be able to afford to buy one, instead of just clean one. Plus, when you're 50, your back won't feel like a you're 70.
 
David Fermani said:
your back won't feel like a you're 70.
Click to expand...



I disagree. Detailing not being the best example of course but physically-demanding careers such as construction tradespeople are often in far superior physical condition in an advanced age (e.g. 40+) than those who are not in a physically-demanding career. It can lead to certain health problems but, in the end, those jobs are the healthiest for your body.
 
David Fermani said:
From what I've researched, *most* high end/exotic clients want you to be mobile(go to them). With that in mind, you're limited to a certain maximum yearly income (say ~$120K), because you're typically doing the work yourself. On the other hand, that maximum income is more or less a starting point if you have a decent fixed shop with 3-4 detailers. Yeah, you most likely won't have the same calibre of vehicles lined up, but you'll be able to afford to buy one, instead of just clean one. Plus, when you're 50, your back won't feel like a you're 70.
Click to expand...



And what's wrong with $120K per year?





If you're just in it for the money then go ahead and open some car spa on a busy street and make a killing, but you'll be the grim reaper of clear coats and most quality detailers will despise your "hack spa" and you'll also never really get to make those cool connections with high society/high rollers.:hifive:
 
JoshVette said:
And what's wrong with $120K per year?





If you're just in it for the money then go ahead and open some car spa on a busy street and make a killing, but you'll be the grim reaper of clear coats and most quality detailers will despise your "hack spa" and you'll also never really get to make those cool connections with high society/high rollers.:hifive:
Click to expand...





There’s nothing wrong with $120K, but how many single person operations are making anywhere near that much? Unless you already come from wealth, most people leave their home each day for the money, not because they’re emotionally attached to chasing & removing scratches on expensive vehicles. If that’s what satisfies some people, that’s great, and please make the most of it. But, there’s much more to detailing, than this. It’s really a fraction of the market, not because only a few people do it, but because most clients throughout the country could care less about total perfection and actually seek it out. Why do a few people look down at people who own shops and equate them as nothing more than hacks? Not all shops fit this description. As long as you’re operating a successful business, properly maintaining a customer base and making a secure income and growing constantly, is there something wrong with this? Just because their’s a handful of super high end, balls to the wall, total perfection people out there, doesn’t mean that 1000’s that don’t market themselves that way are inferior! Having this level of knowledge is just 1 piece of the pie. Just imagine if one of those high end guys decided to open up a large shop, trained and empowered some of their team to gravitate towards quality? Would that automatically give them hack status and zero credibility? Imagine spending a portion of your day not physically working on vehicles, but knocking down doors, meeting with people and businesses selling your business. Imagine the income potential there? Plus, being a successful business operator (not just in the detailing industry), allows you to rub shoulders with “high society� more and market yourself to them more effectively.
 
David Fermani said:
There’s nothing wrong with $120K, but how many single person operations are making anywhere near that much? Unless you already come from wealth, most people leave their home each day for the money, not because they’re emotionally attached to chasing & removing scratches on expensive vehicles. If that’s what satisfies some people, that’s great, and please make the most of it. But, there’s much more to detailing, than this. It’s really a fraction of the market, not because only a few people do it, but because most clients throughout the country could care less about total perfection and actually seek it out. Why do a few people look down at people who own shops and equate them as nothing more than hacks? Not all shops fit this description. As long as you’re operating a successful business, properly maintaining a customer base and making a secure income and growing constantly, is there something wrong with this? Just because their’s a handful of super high end, balls to the wall, total perfection people out there, doesn’t mean that 1000’s that don’t market themselves that way are inferior! Having this level of knowledge is just 1 piece of the pie. Just imagine if one of those high end guys decided to open up a large shop, trained and empowered some of their team to gravitate towards quality? Would that automatically give them hack status and zero credibility? Imagine spending a portion of your day not physically working on vehicles, but knocking down doors, meeting with people and businesses selling your business. Imagine the income potential there? Plus, being a successful business operator (not just in the detailing industry), allows you to rub shoulders with “high society� more and market yourself to them more effectively.
Click to expand...



Wow David, could you ask any more retorical questions??



I say they will be hack shops cause even if you have a high end detailer doing all the training, he can't make the employees care about doing quality work, that's a trait few people have and you can't impart that to others by simply training them how to wash a car.



I cannot train someone to be a perfectionist like I am, I cannot train someone to care about the cars like they are my own, I cannot train someone to be bothered by a dirty area on the car that no one sees, you just can't train someone to care......



Remember the more quantity you have the less time you have to spend on quality. And quality does take time.



Josh
 
David Fermani said:
Imagine spending a portion of your day not physically working on vehicles, but knocking down doors, meeting with people and businesses selling your business. Imagine the income potential there? Plus, being a successful business operator (not just in the detailing industry), allows you to rub shoulders with “high society� more and market yourself to them more effectively.
Click to expand...





I disagree here also, going door to door is not the best way to market yourself. That makes you look like a door to door salesman and no one likes those poeple, they seem desperate as if this is there last way to make a buck....



Why go door to door when you can go to a car show and set up a display or meet a bunch of new faces at an exotic car get together at a resteraunt or something?



I get to knock on new doors everytime I detail a new car, not to mention the neighbors who come by to chit chat and get a card. I've even had car clubs seek me out to speak at seminars about taking care of their vehicles and all I had to do was answer a phone call.



The quality of your work will determine the quantity as well and the type of clientele you'll bring in.



Josh
 
It's pretty naive to just think you can drop down and start a successful business where the 'rich' people are. There are so many more factors to making money than just chasing the high end customers. Methinks someone needs to get out and see the real world for themselves, rather than pretending they will be fine while they are still suckling on the teet.
 
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