The Pricing Thread

Jakerooni said:
Yea I'm pretty lucky so far my overhead is dirt dirt cheap. And I agree with motorcity there. He's in the prime location for Michigan. I'm actually planning on expanding in pretty much the only other area of Michigan that's doing worth a damn. The Holland Grand Rapids area. trying to get something in line to accomadate the marine line. Starting my fact finding mission this weekend over there. Hopefully by next spring I'll have something all set up. Although for being in Flint here I think I'm doing phenomally well. I opened up June 1st of this year and I'm already doing anywhere from $1300-$1800 a week in sales. Not bad for being in the worst economic county in the entire united states (read in a local paper a few weeks back)
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Hmm I live and work in GR. Mobile for 4 years now.
 
Wash 75-125

Wash + sealant (perodic detail) 115-175

Follow up detail (inbetween Zaino details) 150-200

Inital Zaino detail, exterior 165-250

Paint Correction + Inital Zaino detail 225-600

Concours Level Detail 500-2000



I charge about 75 per hour and base everything on that rate
 
LADNAR said:
Todd, why a $40 increase from wax to sealant?
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Yes, it does apply the same and the product is just a little more than the wax. However, it is just a typical 'up-sell' service that increases my pay-per-hour because it does apply and remove in the same time as a wax.



Another detail shop in St. Paul across the river charges $80 for their "Blue Coral" paint sealant ala carte and $40 when added to a package (same as me) and they have been around for much longer. I have a tendency to go with a paint sealant over a wax "at no charge" for some vehicles, so when the customer sees a $40 credit on their invoice they see a large discount and will come back.

Also, my sealant will last over 6 months and I will reward returning customers with a "free" sealant upgrade if they come back within that time frame (the shop across the river does this for $25 within 4 months). You have to know what words are important to returning clients.



And my hand washes are about a quarter of my weekly sales. We have a quick lube that packages an oil change with a hand wash ($45) that a lot of people request. Our location also has an automatic tunnel wash and vehicles that will not fit on the conveyor will have me wash them (big wheels, low clearance ... hummers, escalades, corvettes, vipers... yes, someone tried putting their viper through our car wash). We are also located right next to the Metrodome, so I also see a lot of professional athletes on their way to "work". :cooleek:
 
ron231 said:
Oh no a tunnel wash! I can see the swirls now... It hurts...
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It's actually a touchless tunnel and one of the only ones in the area. However, the owners are getting a brand new one installed the end of this month that is friction. :cry:

I had tried many times to talk them out of it to no avail. They fell for the sales pitch "we use new materials now, it's perfectly safe for paint." It could possibly be true, but I'm not trying it on my car.
 
Regarding the price increase from a wax to a sealant, what type of sealant do you use? Something like opti-seal or clear-seal? Would those be acceptable?
 
Todd now I understand, iits an upgrade with a discount. thing is only the body shops around here have used paint seakant or even heard of it. I tell people that I did not wax their vehicle but used a higher quality, longer lasting product instead for the same price. I thenc tell them to bring it back so I can give the paint some BLING-BLING. RANDAL
 
stiffdogg06 said:
I;d like to know what everyone charges for a full detail regardless of geography.



My FULL CAR detail would consist of:

Hand Wash

Hand Dry

Door jambs

cleaning/dressing trim

cleaning/dressing wheels/wheel wells

Glass cleaning inside and out

Shampoo/steam carpets

Leather treated

Dash, and all vinyl and such dressed and protected

De greasing and detailing engine

Clay bar

2 step polishing

Glaze

Sealant and/or glaze



I'd like to know how you much guys normally charge for that sort of thing.
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I don't do interiors anymore, but when I did that was $600ish. I had that as a starting point and most stuck to that. You guys are right though, a lot of it is about geography. I based my pricing on wanting to make $60-$70/hr, the job above would be between 8-9 hours, so there's your hourly price.
 
I have two catagories of billing. Club members and non club members. Basically if you purchase a full detail (Full reconditoning) Which basically includes everything up to three steps of polish. Then you are a club member, Membership is maintained by staying on a maintainance routine. but the discounts are around 50%. It takes me less time to clean a car i saw a few weeks ago then to be happy with a vehicle that hasnt been cleaned in 6 months. By rewarding my customers for maintainance i minimize my job time and cultivate a loyal educated customer base who know they are getting a good deal.



Plus since i service dealership accounts also, automatic membership to cars purchased from my service lots directs new car owners to my wash bays.
 
jeteast99 said:
Regarding the price increase from a wax to a sealant, what type of sealant do you use? Something like opti-seal or clear-seal? Would those be acceptable?
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I use a sealant from Rightlook that I have seen from regular clients last well over 6 months even through a Minneapolis winter, but the finish is rather plain. I'll also use opti-seal in conjunction with a concourse wax (P21S, Pinnacle, Natty's, CG5050...) if I know they are concerned about looks.



My typical full detail finishes with a liquid express wax. I'll chat with the client a bit to find what their expectations are from their detail/wax application and will use anything from the above mentioned to Collinite for an additional cost because the application is more than wipe on/wipe off. Most are willing to pay the extra cost when they see the difference.



If you take the time to explain the difference to the client between a carnauba wax and a sealant, it's usually a no-brainer for them unless looks are more important. With all the people that get snookered into the "5-year warrenty sealant" that dealerships sell, $40 for an applications helps them feel better about their decision.
 
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