Pricing

S

shg_gt500

New member
I own a car shop and have a detailer come into my shop to detail my client's cars. I pay him for the detail, then turn around and charge my client for the detail.



My question is this -- If I provide this detail guy with all the chemicals, towels, DI water, electricity, facility and materials to do a full detail, what is a reasonable price break for me supplying these things for him?



Hypothetically, say he would charge a client in the field $300 for a full detail. With me supplying everything mentioned above, should the price be $200?
 
Taking your detail service into account, if someone was going to supply you with everything I mentioned in my original post (basically everything you need to do the detail, you just show up and detail)...what would that be worth to you in dollars, on a per detail basis?
 
Is this guy going to be detailing for you full time or is he a professional detailer who is just going to be doing SOME work for you?



If it's the latter of the two, then it wouldn't be worth all that much. You're providing a location, which if I'm mobile, every other client provides. Costs me the same if I'm in your shop or in a client's garage. You're providing water & power which many mobile client's provide. You're providing towels which he likely has a ton of and which is hard to calculate the value of on a single job. At that point, all you're providing to save him money is cleaners, polish, wax, etc., and on a single detail you don't spend that much on the materials unless you're using SUPER EXPENSIVE boutique products.



Id think it would be more straight forward to just negotiate a price with him using his own stuff, and possibly a volume discount if you're giving him lots of work. Then you don't have to worry about stocking materials, etc.



The cost of a good detail is primarily time and expertise. The amount of product used is minimal unless you're doing a major correction/restoration job.



If he's coming to work as a full time employee (i.e. giving up his mobile business) then that's a different story.



Either way, as noted previously, it ultimately comes down to what you can negotiate with the specific detailer, and it doesn't matter what it's worth to anyone on this board. There's no set price structure for detailers. You have to take into account the person's expertise and the demand for their services elsewhere.
 
Keep in mind that on this forum you are on the other side of the glass. The detailer you hire is probably perfectly happy with the current situation. You throw him some work; he provides a service that your own clients appreciate.



So, I have to ask two questions...

1) Are you looking to make more money off of the detailer by marking up his price?

2) Are you looking to cut the costs to your clients by offering a cheaper detail?



When I found out the dealership I sub-contracted for marked up my detail price by 50% for their service customers, I stopped doing service details for them. On the other hand, I have done many details for body shops and tuning shops where a 20% mark up is perfectly reasonable (mainly because they would credit me for the work and hand over a card). If you are happy with the detailer and their quality of work, you do not want to jeopardize that relationship. He is in business just as you are and probably appreciates the networking connection with your shop. Would the quality of work suffer if you didn't have this detailer working for you? ... How would a poorer quality reflect upon your business?



If you are trying to cut costs, that is another story. If you want to go through the trouble and research of supplying all the chemicals and equipment for a detail shop... hire a detailer for $10 per hour and make a hefty profit. Just do not be surprised when it reflects on the quality of work.
 
eddie926 said:
The cost of a good detail is primarily time and expertise. The amount of product used is minimal unless you're doing a major correction/restoration job.
Click to expand...



I agree with this line of thinking ... also don't forget EFFORT in addition to time and expertise. Detailing is physical work, slinging a buffer around for hours, bending, crouching, wiping, etc. I know I work up a sweat.



eddie926 said:
Hypothetically, say he would charge a client in the field $300 for a full detail. With me supplying everything mentioned above, should the price be $200?
Click to expand...



Your formula works out to be about 1/3 overhead, 2/3 detailer (expertise, time, and labor) . IMO, it's more like 15/85 overhead/detailer. You can argue the percentages till the cows come, this is just my opinion.



Bottom line, it's whatever you both negotiate and consider fair. You want it to be win-win whenever possible on these kind of relationships.



Just my 2 cents.
 
Where are you located?

If you are in a region with harsh winters, maybe the use of an indoor garage with water and electricity would be appealing to the detailer if he is mobile. Another arrangement could be to offer use of your facility in those winter months in exchange for a lower detail cost.
 
If you are looking to make money, pay them an hourly rate and have them work for you. If you are looking to offer a service to clients and want somebody good, you might be able to get a small percentage (like 5-10 percent, maybe). Most really good guys will want to supply their own product, so it sounds like you might be better off with an employee.
 
Thanks guys. Those are all REALLY good points.



What I was trying to do was to control the quality of detailing chemicals and products and also allow for a shop where I could bring in different detailing people and have them all use the same quality materials.



Maybe this isn't the route to go. If I can find the detailers that use the same quality products I like to have used on my client's cars, maybe that's the route to go.
 
It's usually not so much about the chemicals, it's about the technique and attention to detail. You can get great results with Meguiar's Products, which cost much less than boutique products, if the detailer knows what they're doing and has a good prodecure. Good luck!



Steve
 
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