How much to charge??

B

Beach15

New member
Okay, here's a few simple questions for you guys:



1) How much would you charge to clay a car?

2) How much to do the engine compartment?





And, just to see if you still think I'm out of wack, take a look at my pricing page on my website:



DKAutoSpa



To put that in perspective, I've been using things like a coat of Klasse AIO topped with a coat of Platinum UPP. I also now have Zaino and will be using it too. Should I charge extra for the "Zaino treatment" and market it, or just include it as a substitute to the Klasse + Platinum, according to what the owner wants.



Also, now remember, when looking at these prices, we live in a rather nice area, 15 min.'s away from a very popular beach resort area (Rehoboth & Dewey Beach, DE) with all of the other detailer's in the immediate area doing a not so great job. People here are what I'd say "comfortable" to "moderately wealthy". Go to the beach areas and there's a more upscale nature, with large homes and people driving MB's, Audi's, BMW's, Jag's, and the like.



Any idea?:up :up :up
 
If you upgrade your site to the one that's like $4.95 a month, you get tons more bandwidth -- even posting pics on Autopia I haven't run out lately.... plus you lose the ads! :xyxthumbs
 
Oh crap! What happened with my site??? I just got a blank email from Geocities with "Your Data Transfer Status" in the subject line. My site isn't deleted I hope...!



No, wait a minute, I just clicked the link in my post and it worked fine. I wonder what's up?



Well, I'll post the pricing & packages in the next post.
 
Check the link again. If it still doesn't work then I'll have to upgrade it tonight (was going to have to do it eventually anyway).



In the meantime, here's the pricing:

____________________________________________________

Pricing & Services List



Basic Wash $25-35

-Hand wash, window cleaning, tire dressing, vacuum

Exterior Detail $50-60

-Hand wash, minor blemish polishing, wax/sealant, glass cleaning & polishing, tire dressing

Interior Detail $50-60

-Vacuum and cleaning of carpets and fabric, clean/treat vinyl & leather, clean door jams and weather stripping

Full Detail $80-100

-Combination of Exterior and Interior Detail



All prices serve as a basic guideline. Excess interior dirt or stains, exterior scratches, tar, etc. may warrant an additional charge. I will inform you of this during initial inspection. Claying, engine detailing, or additional coats of sealant/wax are a sample of available extras.

____________________________________________________

I think, if anything, my full detail rate may be a bit out of wack. But then again, I did put in there that all prices are a basic guideline, to which I can give a set price after inspection of the vehicle.



Any suggestions? What about how much to charge individually for 1) Claying, and 2) Engine Detailing?



Thanks!
 
IMO, your basic wash prices are too high, and your full detail prices are too low. ($35 just to wash my car, but its only $100 to do the WHOLE process?? I'm gettin jipped on the wash...)



Other than that, what I would recommend as far as Zaino, market it as like a "Platinum Plus Detailing Package" (wait.... that might not work since Platinum is one of the other products you're using :o) perhaps a "Show Car Premium Package" and charge about 20 bucks more for it. Then give each car you do 2-3 coats of Zaino.



:up
 
Thanks a lot! My basic wash prices were much lower to begin with, but I guess I never really paid much attention to them when updating things, so they rose a bit over the top. I'm going in right now to cut them down a bit and maybe raise the others a little. Considering that I haven't had ANY business lately, I don't want to make too big of a change.



Good thinking on the Zaino--just what I had in mind!



Now, what about the claying or the engine detailing?
 
for the engine, don't be shy about charging the same price you would charge for your basic wash, if not a little more - thats essentially what you're doing - washing the engine, then dressing it. But, by doing it you're taking a risk of if the vehicle gets messed up in the process (unlikely but still possible).... you need to be sure to cover yourself on it.



claying should be given a "per case basis" charge - if there's enough crud on the surface that a quarter-bar won't cut it, charge more than if only one or two pannels even need it. - Although, I wouldn't charge less than $10-$15 bucks for the service, as clay can get quite expensive rather fast.... despite its low time-consumption and needed labor.
 
ejant- Thanks!:D Your comments are now posted in my guest book.



Shiny Lil Detlr- So we're talking about $20-25 for an engine detailing? And, about $10-15 for claying? Sounds good to me, I'm updating my site right now. Thanks a lot!:up
 
When it comes to Clay I charge for the clay and then 20 per hour. Most clay jobs that I accept are a good 2 or 3 hours worth of work. I hate charging people 30 bucks for a quick 30 minutes worth of work. Clay is the only thing I charge by the hour for. The rest of it has mostly a set price.
 
Well, I'm fairly sure the customer's that I have had and some new others would prefer a flat rate, stated in the beginning, so I just came up with a basic figure. I paid $13 for the Mother's clay kit, and considering that I've read it can be used 2-3 times (I read it here), I just put $10-15 for claying. Matter of fact, now that I read it, that does seem a little low, but I'm not sure if I'd want to raise it just yet. I have most of my prices in order (give or take a little), and still plan on doing little adjusting when necessary.



I've further updated my site yesterday, so take a look:

DKAutoSpa
 
Hey Beach15!



Your website is looking great! :xyxthumbs Looks like you've got your prices in a good range, too. I like the "Showcar Premium Package" with the Zaino logo beside it.



The only thing I could see wrong was that you misspelled "brake" as "bake" (under claying). Thought you'd want to fix that one!
 
Thanks! I never really thought I was into the whole website thing, but once I started working on this one, it just all took off. It's a great customer attraction too, as they all love it and can't wait to see their car on the pics page.



About the "bake"! I just noticed that myself a minute ago when going through to check everything out, and will fix it right now.
 
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