Something that irks the crap out of me... charging more for black cars!

Scottwax said:
If you do an 80-85% correction (as requested) and then someone wants...
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In your first sentence it shows you misunderstood my point, read it again carefully. I stated say a silver or white vehicle only needed 80%-85% effort (not what was requested) to get it to par with our standards.



I hear exactly what you are saying and your way off topic, this is about packages that have a set price and then increase when a black car rolls in, you my friend...are talking about the difference (effort wise) in what it takes to make a black car equivalent to a white or silver colored vehicle. I can understand how the 2 may be confused but if you need an idea as to what Ivan is talking, please see the #10 post
 
You know something Ivan, am really glad you started this thread as I have taken so much knowledge away from all the experts here. When the other Jason (mine name is Jason as well) said that silver is harder, he is right about that when you really sit down and think about it! Black shows everything.....we all agree on that....but anyone whose ever done paint correction on a silver car could tell you first hand what a b!tch it is to find every little swirl or scratch! Seriously when you look at it from that perspective you will realize how slightly easier you have it when correcting black paint.



Jason thank you for pointing that out!
 
JCastro1085 said:
In your first sentence it shows you misunderstood my point, read it again carefully. I stated say a silver or white vehicle only needed 80%-85% effort (not what was requested) to get it to par with our standards.



I hear exactly what you are saying and your way off topic, this is about packages that have a set price and then increase when a black car rolls in, you my friend...are talking about the difference (effort wise) in what it takes to make a black car equivalent to a white or silver colored vehicle. I can understand how the 2 may be confused but if you need an idea as to what Ivan is talking, please see the #10 post
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I already said I agreed that if you are doing basic 1 step paint polishing you should charge the same no matter what color. I'm not the least bit confused.



What i was talking about was I don't think anyone here gets comfortable doing 80-85% correction on lighter colored cars (again, assuming the customer is okay with that and you charge accordingly) and is unable to ramp up to the effort needed for a full correction on black.
 
Very good points and opinions on both topics. It's safe to assume most of the people posting haven't had the same experience with some of these hack shops/scammers... lucky you. After reading all this and thinking about it, I feel that it is simply a scam where lighter color cars get less of a service than advertised. However, thinking back on how cars come out of these shops, black or another color, I have no clue what they possibly do differently that warrants a higher price. They're still hacked up with a rotary, wool and sand from Lake Michigan as a polish.
 
LUSTR said:
However, thinking back on how cars come out of these shops, black or another color, I have no clue what they possibly do differently that warrants a higher price. They're still hacked up with a rotary, wool and sand from Lake Michigan as a polish.
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The higher price is for the extra swirling they give black paint. :lol
 
Scottwax said:
I already said I agreed that if you are doing basic 1 step paint polishing you should charge the same no matter what color. I'm not the least bit confused.



What i was talking about was I don't think anyone here gets comfortable doing 80-85% correction on lighter colored cars (again, assuming the customer is okay with that and you charge accordingly) and is unable to ramp up to the effort needed for a full correction on black.
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Gotcha! Now I understand what you mean. As far as people getting comfortable with the 80-85% I know here I won't find anyone who is like that but that's what I see happen where I live and it was just a reminder for all of us not to fall into that category.
 
LUSTR said:
Oh I'm not taking any of this the wrong way, I was just hoping I could get what I meant across well enough for everyone to understand. To answer your question, I have first hand experience with a couple of these shops, and ... Trust me when I say they're not taking ANY precautions a good detailer would on a black car..
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OK, thanks for explaining. I was probably coming at this from a weird angle because when I was doing new-car prep at a dealership (way back in the day) I was the only person allowed to work on the dark cars; they really *did* treat the black cars differently (at least while I was working there), at least in that regard. Considering how much longer/harder I worked to "do the same work" they could've maybe justified a higher price.
 
Let me give you a visual taste as to what goes down in these "Detail Shops" I remember one time I had my car hand washed and I was watching their detailer work on a 2003 Lexus GS 430 (nice car) and he had a Dewalts rotary and was pouring some kind of creme all over the hood in random directions (assuming compound or a polish) mind you this was their top of the line we'll make your car showroom flawless in 6hrs package for $135 and you drop your car off when they open at 8am and pick it up around 2-3pm. Well this hack was moving wildly with this rotary making it seem as if he was doing this immense amount of work, but after being here for a while I learned he was doing jack $hit! There was no tape on the car, they do not use clay bars, and he only went over the vehicle one time with the rotary. I think about it now and I wonder w-t-f did he really do to that Lexus? Not a damn thing, except maybe use fillers. Gentleman I never even knew about "prepping" a car before coming here as I have never seen it done around here. I knew about clay barring a car because that kinda stuff is sold OTC but masking/taping things off, I had never seen. Also I never heard or seen a shop around here use IPA wipe downs. I didn't know it was possible to get behind the wheel and clean the inside of the rim (never seen that done here) hmm what else........never seen people treat rubber trim, never seen shops polish glass (thats a big one I forgot) never seen a shop use different MF's....its always the same HIGH GLOSS greasy $hit they put on your tires so a matte finish is out of the question...never knew you can use a brush to clean leather, most shops just spray & wipe away. This is the kind of service you get at these "Detail Sops" and unfortunetly to the customer this is the standard around here and that give Professionals such a bad rep! It's also sad that a customer has no idea of the service they should be receiving for their dollar. I'm sorry but you cannot make a vehicle flawless in a 6hr work shift by yourself, you can make it look better but not showroom shine as advertised. I guess seeing this kind of crap is what made Ivan post this thread in the first place, glad he did cause I myself needed to vent about seeing this.



After learning so much from the Pro's here I could never walk back into a shop around here as I am disgusted at their lack of skill and service. It's really that bad here and worst of all we live in a city where everyone is always trying to get over on you. I guess thats why Ivan has been very successful here in Chicago & am not surprised because look at what he is up against (not much competition to say the least)
 
Interesting thread. I decided years ago to specialize in black paint. We advertise our simple slogan: "We Do Black". We've developed quite a reputation for delivering swirl free black cars. More than 60% of our volume is in black cars. We've aggressively pursued a niche area of our market - we think it to be a very business like approach.



Yes, we charge an additional $30 "Black Paint Surcharge". ($40 for Denali, Expedition, etc)



As many have already stated, these cars simply take more time, and time is money.



Works quite well in our busy shop
 
Jimmy Buffit said:
Yes, we charge an additional $30 "Black Paint Surcharge". ($40 for Denali, Expedition, etc)



As many have already stated, these cars simply take more time, and time is money.
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I can understand charging an extra $30-$40 due to the size of an Expedition or Denali, but to simply charge a vehicle extra because the paint is black is a scam, also we're not talking about the time it takes to correct a black vehicle...we're talking about a package deal that has a set price, then goes up due to the color of the vehicle (2 different topics)
 
LUSTR said:
Hey now! Low blow.
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Not at all!



I gave your a compliment and simply stated with the standard you set in your work, no other local detail shop can compete with you because they don't put in 1/10 the attention to detail as you do, hence no competition (I think you took it the wrong way or I may have not been clear enough)



-cheers
 
JCastro1085 said:
Not at all!



I gave your a compliment and simply stated with the standard you set in your work, no other local detail shop can compete with you because they don't put in 1/10 the attention to detail as you do, hence no competition (I think you took it the wrong way or I may have not been clear enough)



-cheers
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haha I was just joking in taking it the wrong way. Thanks bud!
 
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