Help me price a limo!

GregCavi

GregCavi

Pinnacle Detailing Owner
Hi everyone! I stopped into a reputable paint shop today to see if I could get a part time job becuase detailing is dead for me this time of year. The owner had told me twice on the phone that he didnt need help so I finally asked if I could meet with im in person. He is a really nice guy and agreed, so today I dropped by some pics of my work and he asked me some questions. He seemed impressed about my processes for buffing and told me he had a limo that needs to be done. He went in the shop to tell his son to come meet me. HIs son didnt seem to wild about me coming in to a buff a limosine. I dont blame him at all. Teenager x rotary x limo = usually disaster. He agreed to let me do a test spot on it and then if he liked It I get the job.

I need to get him a quote for the big beast. Its a black lincoln limo fairly new but has some swirls, looks like broom wash, but I dont think it will be that deep. They will be repainting and polishing 2 panels. Anyway I think it will be at least 8 hours of work. I was thinking I would charge him 225 - 250 for the complete buffing and sealing of the exterior.

Most likely route:

S+W or QD
Optimum Polish Via light cutting pad @1200 rpm
Menzerna FPII or po85rd via pc and polishing pad @ 5
Fk1 #2180 sealant


The reason for the pc is it will be quicker to use over the whole car as my last polishing step. SO if you have any suggestions on pricing it would be greatly appreciated. He said he will upsell the price and take a cut so if I say 200 he will tell the company 350- and take 150 for himself. Its totally fine with me, becuase Its money that I dont have now and I get a nice place to work and a great connection.

Thanks

Greg
 
I can't give you a price,but i wanted to say congrats on getting the job. I have seen your work posted and have no doubt you will do a nice job.I hope you can get some ref from it. Good Luck
 
That's a funny story because that is exactly the same way I got my first job in a detail shop. They had me buff out this stretched black Cadillac limo for my first job. I told the shop owner to charge the customer $275 for the job and I'd only ask for $125. It took me three hours of polishing, but it came out perfect and I think everybody was pleased. From then on out they gave me big SUVs that had been trashed and expected me to do the same type of work. I ended up making like $150 a day for 8 hours of work. I make way more money on my own than I did in that place. I think the straw that broke the camel's back was when I came home after a pathetic $80 day and I made $60 just detailing a regular customer's engine. I called in the next day and told the owner that shop work wasn't for me.

It's a great place to get experience and have a steady flow of cars coming in, but once you learn whatever the shop has to teach you it would be my suggestion to run and start building your own client base. The $30 or $40 an hour you can be charging on your own is a lot better than the $10 bucks an hour the shop is likely to pay you. Or worse... pay you a percentage of whatever you detail.

Anyway, I know that was more information that you were asking for, but I thought I'd share since your story is so similar to what I experienced.
 
I've seen your work and all of it has been excellent. I think that he would be getting a great deal for that price. If work is slow for you, go for it and maybe he will send more work your way.
 
Thanks jngnrbrdmn. I am just planning on doing some details every once in a while for him. He was ok with my prices so I wont be really taking any huge cuts. Its going to be good to have some money now though haha.

Greg
 
if you are slow, take it for the money, work and connection.that price sounds fair to me for a first time job.
 
How long of a limo are we talking about here? It might be more effective for you to charge "by the sq. foot" for it -- as in calculate how many square feet of paint you'll have to work on, and charge something like $15-20 per sq. foot. By the time you're done, I'm betting you'd be up much higher price-wise than just $2-300. It would also make for a great "standard rate" for the body shop to assume they will pay you for any jobs you do for them. They can approximate the charge before even calling you about it.
 
I don't know how often I'll say this, but I'm agreeing with Shiny, some. Don't go too high--get the job. But don't go so low that you are stuck in expectation and have to bow out, or say, "listen, I was wrong, next time it's double."

Other considerations:
1. Has it been repainted well? Most limos have been, and usually not well done.
2. Will you get hung up on complicated, dirty wheels?
3. Are the panels--especially the roof--contoured, or mostly flat? This is a big question. One good thing about limos is long, flat panels so you can work slowly, meticulously, and marr-free the first time. With contours, round or rigid body shapes, it's all different.
4. Are the bumpers chrome/metal/satin plastic or paint?
5. Length? Most average limos are about two car lengths, though with a little more paint than two cars (but with less contours).
6. Any scratch repair?

Do your demo (the hood, for example), then measure backwards onto the whole car.

Oh, and I was thinking: if you were willing to work for $8-$12 an hour in a shop, perhaps you'd be willing to do a learning job for a little less than book rate.
Please let us know how it goes.
 
Hey Greg congrats.
You didn't say what type of limo so it could be a single stretch or a triple stretch. So for pricing you may want to price it like a boat, say around $15 a running foot not a sq ft.

You said that they will be repainting and polishing 2 panels so i'll take it are you getting limo after that, which means you may have to clay the car for overspray afterwards, so keep that in mind.

I agree with Jngrbrdman, pick up knowledge there at the shop but don't let them use you either. A place like that might be a good spot to pick up wet sanding skills ;)

Good luck
"J"
 
My price On limos is $350 on 6 doors 450 on any thing bigger. I do 3 a month.
One of the three is a hummer this is the one I charge 450 for a complete detail and it is an all day process. Good luck!!! :rolleyes:
 
Well to answer some questions -

The limo is im guessing triple streth or double. Its pretty big. I would say its about an 00'. The paint is clearcoated and seems to be in decent overall shape. The top is vinyl, thank god, so that cuts of a huge chunk of work for me. The rest of the paint on the vehicle is original to the best of my knowledge. A couple doors are being repainted at the shop, but they do great work, so I have no worries. I think I will stick with the 250 for now even thought 300 would be more ideal. I really wanna snag this job because of its connections so Im jsut going to take a tiny bit less, that usual. The bumpers btw are painted too.

Greg
 
jaybs95 said:
So for pricing you may want to price it like a boat, say around $15 a running foot not a sq ft.
Click to expand...

Good call -- I knew I didn't really mean sq. ft.... that's the term I was looking for :o
 
Typically my logic behind a job like this (big job for someone else that could lead to a lot of business) is:

Price a little lower than usual and 'under promise, over-deliver'


Spend a little extra time on the nooks and crannies and impress the hell out of the owner. This seems more or less like a job interview for you. I would price between $25 and $30 and hour compared to $35-40. Be sure to pull it out in the sun after finishing as artificial lighting tends to make one miss a spot here and there.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Thanks for all the great responses everyone. The update is that I went to the shop today and he wanted me to do the quarter panel becuase it had plenty of light on it. I taped up half the panel and did optimum polish with a light cutting pad and then po85rd with finishing pad, all on the rotary. He saw it and gave me the job. I didnt even finish the whole panel haha. SO i am planning on doing half tommarwo after school and the rest friday after school. I went and spent 50 bucks on 2 1000 watt halogen lights after i left the shop so I can use them on the detail. We agreed on 250 and he said the owner will be speechless on how it looks.

Greg
 
:bigups :bigups :bigups :bigups :bigups :bigups :bigups :bigups :bigups :bigups

'course you know - we're gonna want pics ;)
 
Hey Greg!!!

I am glad that you went and purchased those lights. You will not believe the difference that they make in looking at your paint. I used mine so much that i broke the switch to turn one of them on. I miss the second light but one id better than none.

I new that you would get the job. All that prior work helped make an impression, I am sure!! :rockon
 
kirk- thanks! and norah too! ;) The only downside in the lights is that they dont tilt forward. So instead of having them higher and tilting them down I will just lower them on the stand. Im sure they will be tons of help with the job.

I will have pics of probably half the limo tommarow, Im guessing they will be indoor becuase I think snow is moving our way in the next couple of days.

Greg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top