How to Price a Body Shop???

R

rlguy28

New member
I received a response from my craigslist ad from a body shop owner who is looking for a good detailer to detail his clients cars. He also runs a detailing business but does $99 "details" which doesn't include paint correction. I went to do a test spot on the hood for him on an old black Jaguar and he liked what he saw.



He said he'd be willing to pay me a flat rate of $150/car but if the other cars are in the same condition as the one i did the test spot, $150 is not enough. I do need the cash since i'm a student but I don't want to sell myself short either. What should I do????



I was thinking maybe set a time limit of 5 hrs max and do as much as i can within that time.....what do you guys think...?
 
could offer two step details only..."should" take about 5 hours max on a suv



but then again, overspray removal, clay, heavy compounding to remove sanding marks, etc. all may lead to longer time



on one hand you can do it while in school for extra cash, on the other hand you can not do it and not have that cash...



I would say just do it...could turn into something better down the road...but tell him 200 and you will 3 step it, or 150 and only a two step...something along those lines...
 
Is this price firm or could you haggle with him? Even going up to 175 a car can mean a big difference after a little while..i would try that and strictly do two steps..get you some M105 and Ultrafina and have at it! You can receive good results out of two polishing steps with these two (among tons of others) but that would be what i would do
 
toyotaguy said:
could offer two step details only..."should" take about 5 hours max on a suv



but then again, overspray removal, clay, heavy compounding to remove sanding marks, etc. all may lead to longer time



on one hand you can do it while in school for extra cash, on the other hand you can not do it and not have that cash...



I would say just do it...could turn into something better down the road...but tell him 200 and you will 3 step it, or 150 and only a two step...something along those lines...
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that is something that might work.

jordanrossbell said:
Is this price firm or could you haggle with him? Even going up to 175 a car can mean a big difference after a little while..i would try that and strictly do two steps..get you some M105 and Ultrafina and have at it! You can receive good results out of two polishing steps with these two (among tons of others) but that would be what i would do
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I am scared to give a flat rate cuz i don't want to be doing a black swirled out escalade for the same price. $175 is more reasonable. I've heard and seen great results with M105 and Ultrafina respectively..might have to give those a try.
 
Get your hands on some aggressive clay, M105 and a green german foam pad, and UF and a blue foam pad. You can knock out awesome work in 5 hours, in that time you could get even a black full size truck to 90%.
 
The problem is though, the body shop will be charging a flat rate so you have to charge a flat rate to maintain the same comission.



If a black swirled SUV comes in to the bodyshop for a $199 detail, if the bodyshop charges the same as a silver hatchback then you may only end up removing half of the swirls on the black SUV. Charging the same price for all cars means the hard cars will not be made perfect.



If he charges $199 and you get $150, obviously he cant pay you $200 so you'll have to do less steps if the car is large. You will have to make this clear to the bodyshop.



Maybe work on a set percentage say 75% of the total job cost. So the bodyshop may charge $350 for a black SUV and you then get $250 which would cover the larger car.



Explain yourself and it should work out well.



If the bodyshop does get one of those black swirled SUV and he charges only $199, then the bodyshop has to make it clear to the owner that the car will not get complete swirl removal for that price due to the size. This makes it easier for you, allowing you to only do a 1 step polish.



So the bodyshop will either:



A) Charge more for the bad cars, so you then get paid more to cover the extra time to get it perfect.

B) Charge the same for all cars meaning you spend the same time on each car. If the car is bad it will not be made perfect, the bodyshop has to make this clear to the customer otherwise you may get in trouble for not doing a flawless job like on the small easy car.



Its completely logical and the bodyshop should have no problems with working something out..
 
Body shops are used to pricing out details cheap because insurance companies usually don't pay that much. What's worse is they price everything on an hourly table and have no comprehension what it takes to do a quality detail that they are willing to stand behind. If you're smart, I'd inspect the vehicle with the shop before your start on it. Make sure you both come to an agreement on how the vehicle will come out and what their expectations are/will be. Unless your a super fast experienced seasoned pro, 5 hours isn't realistic for anything close to Autopian levels. If you can agree on a basic detail (nothing special), then your bases will be covered.

BTW - The normal markup for a Body Shop on sublet repairs is 20-25%.
 
What is considered in a "basic" though? Granted, we all have our idea of what each of us can get done in 5 hours for this case but "basic" is subjective in my mind.
 
coming from a body shop, does he already put out high end detail work? I think you might be thinking he wants better than what he does....after all, you are only going to be doing what you are paid to do...150 per car, find some really good filler products and go to town, 300 per car, get some more quality products...



talk about the fact that body shops have a bad rep for crappy detail work...explain to him that you want to help him change that for HIS shop, and that it will eventually turn into more business for him in the end because he will be putting out a better product, thus enticing more people to use his services over the next guy...
 
getcha said:
What is considered in a "basic" though? Granted, we all have our idea of what each of us can get done in 5 hours for this case but "basic" is subjective in my mind.
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Here's what I'd be trying to work out for a basic detail:

*1 step polish to shine the finish (no gaurantee on scratch removal)

*Light Tar removal

*Basic LSP (nothing special)

*Complete Interior Detail

*Clean Jambs



It wouldn't include:

*Claying or any medium removal of contaminant (tar, road paint)

*Heavy finish correction

*Well known/high end LSP

*Engine cleaning



Another thing to consider is if you make the shop happy, you/they still have to make their customer happy. Get an agreement to get paid as long as your agreement on outcome is fullfilled.
 
The way I look at it is $150.00 may not be enough for some vehicles but then on the other hand you will get vehicles that are a lot simpler. I think 150.00 would be very reasonable here in Illinois. If he is using you for a quantity of vehicles I definitely think it is worth a shot. A body shop is a good place to do cars at due to the fact he will also be able to spread the word on who is detailing his clients cars. Which could lead you to more work which will make your 150.00 worth the little extra time.
 
thanks for all the responses. I have alot to consider. I'm pretty sure he wants a flat rate and not pay me hourly. Like you guys said, I will just have to make it clear to him that I won't spend more than 5 hrs per car for $150 and that it will be 1 step polish only. What would u guys recommend for that? klasse aio? zaino aio? poliseal??? etc???
 
rlguy28 said:
thanks for all the responses. I have alot to consider. I'm pretty sure he wants a flat rate and not pay me hourly. Like you guys said, I will just have to make it clear to him that I won't spend more than 5 hrs per car for $150 and that it will be 1 step polish only. What would u guys recommend for that? klasse aio? zaino aio? poliseal??? etc???
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Poli-Seal is a good pick. I always liked Meguiar's #66 in gallons with a white foam pad via rotary. Product was cheaper than dirt, and you could run it through one of the high-volume sprayers on a 32oz bottle - just spray a line 6" long, pick it up with the rotary, work in at 1500 then drop to 1000, spray the next line etc. I could do pretty good looking cars with no holograms and mild swirl removal in an hour and a half or so.
 
Will you be providing your own equipment?



For cheap details a rotary may be hard to produce perfect work as you often rush using a 1 step polish that is too aggressive and leave holograms.



Every considered a forced orbital like the flex?



That would give pretty good results and you wont produce holograms when you rush. A cutting pad or foamed wool pad with Meguiars #66 would make a good combo.



I'd definitely look into the new meguiars product that effectively replaces #66. D151 Paint reconiditioning creme. Its ideal for 1 stage bulk work in the $100-150 price bracket.



That with applied by a flex with a cutting pad on bad cars and polishing pad on the good cars would be an excellent one step. The flex my pay itself off quickly. Then hit it with a spray wax and your good to go.



If anything the body shop would be blown away by the flex compared to their rotary buffer when it comes to bulk detailing. Might score some brownie points.



A rotary is often used because it cuts better and works quicker, however with a twisted wool pad on the flex using a product like Meguiars M105 i dont see any defect that could not be removed in a single pass.
 
TTWAGN said:
Will you be providing your own equipment?



For cheap details a rotary may be hard to produce perfect work as you often rush using a 1 step polish that is too aggressive and leave holograms.



Every considered a forced orbital like the flex?



That would give pretty good results and you wont produce holograms when you rush. A cutting pad or foamed wool pad with Meguiars #66 would make a good combo.



I'd definitely look into the new meguiars product that effectively replaces #66. D151 Paint reconiditioning creme. Its ideal for 1 stage bulk work in the $100-150 price bracket.



That with applied by a flex with a cutting pad on bad cars and polishing pad on the good cars would be an excellent one step. The flex my pay itself off quickly. Then hit it with a spray wax and your good to go.



If anything the body shop would be blown away by the flex compared to their rotary buffer when it comes to bulk detailing. Might score some brownie points.



A rotary is often used because it cuts better and works quicker, however with a twisted wool pad on the flex using a product like Meguiars M105 i dont see any defect that could not be removed in a single pass.
Click to expand...



Yes, I have a pc and now a makita. A flex is so damn expensive! Need to do a few more details before i consider buying a flex. I've heard great things about how the flex is the perfect median between an DA and a RO......
 
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