Do I take too long on interiors?

C

cybean

New member
I`ll attach pictures below, but this car took me 8 hours to complete. In my defense, the car was pretty dirty (doors, console, dash, etc. took me 3 hours) and it was almosy 95 degrees out, so I had to take a break every so often to stay cool and hydrated. I have some after pictures (last 3 pics), but they were taken every so often as I was still cleaning and finishing up. I don`t have final pictures because it was dark. So whatever looks dirty, like the carpet, (which I did last), front seats, glass, or small spots, was cleaned after the pics were taken. How long would this car have taken you and what would you have charged?

I now realize that I should have steam cleaned the plastic and vinyl (doors, dash, console, etc.) last. I`m still rusty, so what is your step by step for interiors? I think I took too long because I kept working over myself. I mainly cleaned the car with a steamer, extractor, various brushes, and folex. Thanks for any future replies!
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To get an interior Autopian clean, I`d take that amount of time, especially on an interior like that. I always ask myself if I take too long, and when customers like the cleanliness of the interior, I have some reassurance.
 
Coleroad said:
It may have taken too long, but it sure is a world of difference better!
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Thank you! I tried my hardest. So is 8hrs on something like this typical? I did my best to restore it, too. On the seats (and carpet), there was this really hard stuff that ended up compressing the seat`s foam. I was able to bring the foam back to life with the use of the steamer.

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TheMeanGreen said:
To get an interior Autopian clean, I`d take that amount of time, especially on an interior like that. I always ask myself if I take too long, and when customers like the cleanliness of the interior, I have some reassurance.
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Thanks for the reply and reassurance that I didn`t take longer than what`s expected. I made $20 an hour. Does that sound about right? I feel like I maybe should`ve made more. I`m not complaining since it`s a nice compensation for my efforts but don`t want to underprice myself either.

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cybean said:
Thanks for the reply and reassurance that I didn`t take longer than what`s expected. I made $20 an hour. Does that sound about right? I feel like I maybe should`ve made more. I`m not complaining since it`s a nice compensation for my efforts but don`t want to underprice myself either.

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For that amount of filth you definitely needed at least 6-8 hrs. $20.00 per hour is low. Awesome work.
 
Cybean --
First off, Welcome to the Forum !
Second - That is an awesome job you did on that Interior !!!
Any time there is a carseat/s and no one cleans, it will be a mess..

Your skills and attention to Detail are just great ! It looks like new again !
Thanks for all that hard work..

Working alone, I take about 20 hours to totally dial in the entire vehicle, paint, wheels, interior, the engine, and compartment, everything comes out of the trunk including the spare which is also cleaned and checked for correct air pressure, etc..
Sometimes just the Interior can all be handled in 8 or hours, sometimes, it takes 10..

I use a Steamer and an Extractor.. Those machines may use up some time getting them set up and moved around the vehicle, but I am interested in removing ALL the dirt wherever it is, out of the vehicle, so it will perfectly clean, and naturally smell - clean - when the Client picks it up..

The rest of the 20 hours goes into paint correction..

So you are in what I consider an average amount of time to do that awesome job you just showed us in your pics.. Congratulations !!!

Whatever the Market will bear, and what you find other Detail Shops are charging around your area is what you may consider the price point for your work..
See if there are any Detailing Shops around your area, go over there, see how busy they are, see how many people work there, and especially look at their pricing.. Get a brochure, etc., from them..

If you are just starting out ( and we ALL started out at some point), you want to charge a little less so you can get your name and work out there, but at some point, and taking into consideration the market, and average pricing around where you are getting Clients, you want to adjust your pricing up so you can cover all your overhead and still be able to say at the end of the year, you did pretty good for all that work, and feel good about it..

Keep doing what your doing - I see a great recovery from a totally neglected Interior for who knows how long??? :) You did great !!!
Dan F
 
I don’t think 8 hours was that bad considering the condition it was in. Speed comes from efficiency. Once you get an efficient system down for interiors, you’ll get through them faster. That was a great turnaround though. Nice job :)
 
Wow that was nasty. 8 hours sounds a little long, but it is hard to put a time limit on a car because each one has its unique challenges. I think your prices are too low. I live in a rural area and I paid $60 just to have my vehicles carpets deep cleaned and they were no where near that bad. If you were happy with making $20 an hour then there is no problem. At the end of the day if you are happy and your customer is happy then everyone wins. I’m assuming you have a package price for interiors so you can make more money on the interiors that are not as trashed as this one. I would suggest you have some “add-ons “ to your interior packages such as a “Protectant” package. Upselling is a good way to increase your bottom line and it does not add too much time to your workload. Small things like protectant packages and headlight repair will keep you in business and set you apart from your competitors.
 
Hope you wore a hazmat suit lol. It looks great now.

I don`t detail professionally but I imagine it depends on your workload and the financial return you`re expecting. It sounds like you`ll only be more efficient once you dial in your process.
 
8 hours for that car is nothing. To me, at least.

I spent 4-5 hours on my wife`s Kia, and that car was mostly clean! I cleaned/treated every part of the interior, less the headliner. I removed the rear compartments that were not bolted in, the spare, etc. Anything that could easily be pulled, was. Vacuumed all I could reach. Treated all the plastic, vinyl, and even the rubber seals around the doors and lift back.

And no extractor was used on that Kia.

So for me, 8 hours is probably a minimum for the car you did. Personally, not even sure I would have taken that job. But I also dislike interior work.

Nice job, though!
 
I feel like I`m in a similar situation to you. I usually work outside, subjected to daylight and heat, never knowing how bad the interior will be and not fully confident in budgeting time and resources since my jobs are so few and far between and I never know what to charge.

My process is generally removing all loose debris via vacuum. Then using compressed air to remove all stuck debris, followed by another vacuum. If I need to have the vehicle back soon I`ll start on the shampoo or deep cleaning of areas that require drying. Then I`ll generally work from the back forward or vice versus so I`m only moving or removing seats a limited amount of time. I definitely utilize a carpet cleaner, steamer, various brushes and a plastic safe APC, Folex, glass cleaner, and a final plastic/vinyl/leather protectant. I feel like I would take about 8 hours doing that job alone taking breaks.
 
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