How do I compete with this?

ShaneB

ShaneB

New member
This is a local company that's got a few locations in my area. I'm trying to wrap my head around their prices. More specifically what looks to be a 2 step compound/polish exterior detail starting at $160!

See here Select Auto Detailing – Carsmetology

Judging by some pictures I've come across on their website and Facebook, it looks like they actually do a great job. But how?! A proper 2 step on a car should/would take me 10+ hours easy. For $160 that's awfully low, especially if it was closer to 15 hours.

My price for a single step correction starts at $300. Looking for some tips/opinions on how to market myself with this other shop nearby.
 
Great question and it boggles my mind too sometimes.

Let's see what we get for $160:

  • Exterior hand wash, wheels, rims & door jambs
  • Remove tree sap, tar & bugs
  • Utilize clay bar to remove contaminates that are stuck to the paint service
  • Machine compound and polish using the state of the art Rupes polisher to remove light scratches, faded paint and contaminants to provide the deepest shine possible. We carefully polish the entire car!
  • Orb wax with high quality Meguiar’s #26 carnauba wax. Provides richness and depth of color. Then wax off using ultra deep pile microfiber towels
  • Chrome cleaned and waxed, trim and moldings detailed
  • Windows cleaned in & out to a streak free shine including rear view and vanity mirrors
  • Gloss tires, wash windows
  • Vacuum interior
  • Touch up paint chips (customer supplied paint)
  • Meguiars #21 Synthetic Sealant – A Non-breathable sealer that bonds to the paint creating a tight micro seal. Provides up to a year of protection
  • Add On – Engine Cleaning—$30
Seems like a good deal except everyone who is working on these cars is getting paid $9-12/hr and is praying their customers leave them a tip to make up for the fact that they're slammed everyday in a low-wage job trying to make money for a company who relies on a massive work volume to stay afloat with this pricing structure. At $9-12/hr wages you're constantly hiring inexperienced workers with no real wash experience who have to be fully trained on how to wash cars in this environment. An environment that is designed around the concept of cutting corners to get the high volume work done on time. Just like the majority of other quick detail/wash centers and dealership wash centers. And there's a large difference between this type of work at a fixed location by inexperienced washers, and the type of work done by an experienced detailer who is mobile and is much more flexible with their work time who focuses on quality over quantity.

So understanding more of how that market differs from your type of detailing might give you a better understanding of how to sell your experience level and quality to your customers. If you're fully mobile this is also an attractive selling point over these other wash centers which are usually fixed locations. And if you're a hybrid mobile and fixed location then getting into coating applications is a way to differentiate yourself and bring in customers who are looking for that extra level of protection that many of these quick wash centers don't seem to be offering.
 
I don't think that you try to compete. Educate your clients on what is involved with a paint correction and what they are getting for the cost.

At $160 a correction is definitely not what they are doing. It looks like they did a copy and paste from another website because they list cleaning the windows multiple time, and claim that they are laying down wax and then a sealant. Why don't you call as a potential customer and ask if "how long will the detail take?" If they tell you half a day, then you know a 2-step is not happening. I would go so far as to find a badly swirled out car, and dropping it off to see what kind of work they do.
 
I think they are fibbing on what being done, the old bait and switch.

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their pictures look like the do ok work, which you cant do even for that price (pictures are probably from up sell jobs that are true 95% + corrections). Its an AIO job (50-80% correction) and they are calling it 2 step as well both steps are in that one product it cuts and polishes "slight of hand word play". But truth be told 99.9 percent of the car owners out there are happy with that even impressed with the results.
 
you know the more I read their site I am wondering if they are just using a medium polish or something and trying to make the illusion that its a two step because we think compound and polishing as mutually exclusive things...their references could be portrayed either way

have you called and actually asked them what compound and what polish they use? or if its even two steps ?

M21 providing up to a year of protection is a stretch of a statement as well

I would not worry about competing with them, looks like they have a couple locations to absorb any loss across the board.

My suggestion would be to set yourself apart from those people. How do you do that? I have no idea. I'm terrible at marketing.


I did have a question though. I was checking out your website.... your exterior detail lists machine polish and sealant (is that not a 1 step? are you using AIO or what there?)
then you have a deluxe ext for the 300 you referenced before..... lists a single step paint correction

am I missing something?

edit: nevermind. I read the services page..makes sense...btw I like how you explain the step by step process and the final part on the customer's options is a great touch IMO
 
Yeah I have to offer some type of polishing to be able to offer a similar detail to compete for those 99% of customers who are more than happy with a quick polish job. I separated the actual paint correction details because a quickie AIO and an actual single step paint correction are two completely different things IMO. I'm still working on that part of the site obviously and finding the wording to make it clear they are very different.

I have to to try to compete because they are attracting the occasional high end cars. If you dig into their site and Facebook you'll see the occasional Ferrari and Lamborghini. I definitely need help with ideas on how to set myself apart. I put a ton of time and effort into the new website. Trying to portray a premium image from the start with the website. Still working on it.

Ill ll have to give them a call to get some more info I guess. The big thing I have going for me is their horrendous reviews on Yelp and even groupon for all the groupons they sell and the way they have handled that. If you want a good read I suggest you dig into their Yelp reviews.

gotta figure out how to word things on my website without overloading my potential clients with information
 
I like the idea of finding a swirled out car and taking it to them to see the quality of their work. Something fishy is going on. I don't see how they can do a good job and make any money at $160. $300 would be minimum unless they are using an AOI and calling it a two step. Stop by their shop and take a look around. I would like to know exactly what they are really doing.
 
Well I know they are all about volume volume volume. And they pay their workers flat rate which explains a lot of their reviews. I'll have to dig in for more info
 
A quick AIO would be my guess, which is fine just explain to your clients what you are doing differently and how long actual correction takes. I stopped offering any correction in my detailing packages a while back because I was spending way too much time and no one actually noticed or asked about it, clients just don`t see what we see. With any detail package I will just clay and wax or do an AIO (I make it clear to clients that`s what is included) unless they specifically ask about scratches, swirls etc. then sell them on a paint correction.
 
polishd said:
I stopped offering any correction in my detailing packages a while back because I was spending way too much no one actually noticed or asked about it, clients just don`t see what we see.
Click to expand...
It took my stubborn mind 4 years to accept this. I did a light polish (aio) on a red challenger recently and he couldn`t have been happier. He said he didnt even care if it still had swirls, he just wanted it to Pop. When I explained how much more it would Pop with little to no swirls he saw my point but he still wasn`t interested.


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Let`s take a look at Carsmetology`s prices now in 2018:

#1 Beautify–$129.99

Carsmetology technicians will perform a maintenance cleaning package on your vehicle to bring it back to a freshly cleaned state. This package includes:

  • Exterior hand wash including tires, wheels, and door jams.
  • Removal of bugs and light tar and tree sap contamination.
  • Windows cleaned inside and out.
  • Gloss tires
  • Blow out and vacuum all interior fabric to remove free standing dirt and debris
  • Wipe interior plastics (Dash, door, cupholders), and trunk area.
This package will provide 2 hours of services, if additional time is needed
there may be an upcharge.


#2 Make Over–$249.99

Carsmetology technicians will perform a full reset
on your vehicle. Inside and out your vehicle will be restored as close to
showroom clean as possible, this is our most popular offering. This
package includes:


  • Exterior hand wash including tires, wheels, and door jams.
  • Perform a clay bar treatment on all painted surfaces to remove any contamination to prep for proper protection.
  • Removal of all bugs, tar, and tree sap contamination.
  • Apply a coat of synthetic sealant to the exterior of the vehicle, which provides up to one year of protection from the elements.
  • Windows cleaned inside and out.
  • Gloss tires and door seals.
  • Blow out and vacuum all interior fabrics.
  • Perform a full shampoo service on all fabrics to remove embedded dirt and stains. Clean and condition all leather surfaces.
  • Clean and condition all interior plastics. (Conditioning is optional).
This package will provide up to 4 hours of service, if additional time is
needed there may be an upcharge.


#3 Spa Package–$299.99

This is the treatment your prized possession deserves. Our technicians will be pampering and protecting your vehicle inside and out. This package includes:

  • Exterior hand wash including tires, wheels, and door jams.
  • Perform a clay bar treatment on all painted surfaces to remove any contamination to prep for proper protection.
  • Removal of all bugs, tar, and tree sap contamination.
  • Perform a two step correction to all exterior painted surfaces.
  • Apply a coat of synthetic sealant to the exterior of the vehicle, which provides up to one year of protection from the elements.
  • Windows cleaned inside and out.
  • Apply anti rain protection to all windows, and side mirrors.
  • Gloss tires and door seals.
  • Blow out and vacuum all interior fabrics.
  • Perform a full shampoo service on all fabrics to remove embedded dirt and stains. Clean all leather surfaces.
  • All fabrics receive stain protection
  • All leathers are treated with a dedicated leather conditioner.
  • Clean and condition all interior plastics. (Conditioning is optional).
This package will provide up to 6 hours of service, if additional time is
needed there may be an upcharge.


So you can see the polisher doesn`t touch the paint now until $300, but there`s more of a focus on interior cleaning than before in 2016. I`m a bit surprised they don`t have a standard one step AIO type offer. Pretty interesting to compare over the years.
 
They must be calling a two step an AOI and Wax. $160 is dirt cheap. I would be interested in watching them detail a car at that price.
 
Wow they really revamped their prices. Gotta love that a 2 step “correction” can be yours for just another $50!

Fair enough, my prices have changed as well and I’m at $400 for single and $600 for 2 step.

Im not worried about them anymore anyway. I’ve been booked solid for over 2 weeks now, and am booked a week and a half ahead as it is with other appointments booked in later weekends as well. Business is booming! :)
 
512detail said:
It took my stubborn mind 4 years to accept this. I did a light polish (aio) on a red challenger recently and he couldn`t have been happier. He said he didnt even care if it still had swirls, he just wanted it to Pop. When I explained how much more it would Pop with little to no swirls he saw my point but he still wasn`t interested.


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Click to expand...

It is amazing what a good carnuba heavy spray wax will do to fill swirls. I`ve done two cars recently that I topped with a spray wax, then a spray sealant. The wax fills in the swirls nicely and the sealant adds some pop (hopefully keeps the wax there longer).

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It would be interesting to see their work up close. Looking at the photos on their website, there was nothing that jumped off the page at me, other than a couple of pics of high end cars. By the looks of their setup, they`re relying on heavy volume just to keep the doors open. Since the average customers wants `clean and shiny`, all they have to do is price themselves properly and they can sustain that volume.
 
512detail said:
It took my stubborn mind 4 years to accept this. I did a light polish (aio) on a red challenger recently and he couldn`t have been happier. He said he didnt even care if it still had swirls, he just wanted it to Pop. When I explained how much more it would Pop with little to no swirls he saw my point but he still wasn`t interested.
Click to expand...

It took me about a similar time to make that change and it was such an uh huh moment, I started saving a few hours per detail and clients were just as happy.
 
jatleson said:
It is amazing what a good carnuba heavy spray wax will do to fill swirls. I`ve done two cars recently that I topped with a spray wax, then a spray sealant. The wax fills in the swirls nicely and the sealant adds some pop (hopefully keeps the wax there longer).

attachment.php
Click to expand...

I`ve found reload seems to fill quite nicely aswell, plus a whole heap of gloss.
 
Have you never watched a place buff a car like that? The arm movement is pretty funny. If they use a DA the pad isn’t even rotating most of the time. It’s like a min or two per panel they are flying through it. You don’t see pads being cleaned or changed.

The place I know currently is using megs 301. Shines well and wipes off easy. Top that at the end with a spray wax of some sort like aqua glow or whatever production wax/sealant of the week is


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