Tips, Advice and Help. Please.

A

AquaHawk

New member
Hello everyone, I'm John, but I'm mostly known on forums as Hawk. I am very curious on a few things, well actually a ton of things and would like if I could receive some help please.



Well my friend and I are going into a kind of detailing service, more of a fine cleaning. But we plan to do more of "quick washes" so more so of, wash ext. and wash int. but do it in reasonable time. But would like to provide more packages and need some help of what you think the pricing should be.



Okay well we have:



Clean Small Car $10 (Outside)



Clean Small Car $10 (Inside)



Clean Medium Sized Car $11 (Outside)



Clean Medium Sized Car $11 (Inside)



Clean Large Sized Car $12 (Outside)



Clean Large Sized Car $12 (Inside)



We also have little pricing things like Armor All Dash and Rain X windows and Undercarriage clean, etc. Simple stuff for few dollars here and there and we have Shampoo Seats for $35 and Shampoo Carpet for $20



I would like to do "Fine cleaning" instead of "detailing" more of a I'm not going to sit here for 10 hours deal type clean. Where it just gets the dirt better and we clean certain areas.



But my help which I need is, what should I charge for fine cleaning, and should that include armor all, rain x, etc. Also, are any of my prices ridiculous or low? I had a customer that said it was cheap and that I should charge more. What do you think?



Also, do you have any tips for speed and way to do things, just anything would help, how to wipe, how to get dirt, stuff like that. I would really appreciate it. Thanks.



-Hawk
 
Welcome to Autopia! You are going to find tons of detailing knowledge on this website, I hope you dig into the "Guide to Detailing" section and read read read.



I will give you some quick input:



1. Your prices are way too low. Even if you are just a high school kid wanting to make a few extra bucks on the side, you should not be charging less than $20 for a wash. I assume you are applying tire dressing after each wash?



2. Up charge for applying wax to the vehicles. Say an extra $20. You can get a tub of Meguiar's Ultimate Paste Wax at Wal-Mart for around $15. It will give you around 20+ applications easy, looks great, and is easy to remove. It is even recommended for full sun if you are detailing outside.



3. Interiors. I would recommend you not do ANY interior work for less than $25 - $50. It just takes too long, even if you are just vacuuming, cleaning the hard surfaces, and dressing.



4. People to not know what "fine cleaning" means. They know what detailing means. Call yourself either a detailer or a car wash service, but not a fine cleaner.



5. Read on this web site, ask questions, and research your trade. Even if this is a part time thing to make a few extra bucks, if you learn the craft to even a tiny extent, you can provide really good service and satisfy your customers.
 
I agree with Mark! What you need to do is look up the Garry Dean method of washing for insight on how to wash exteriors...You can choose whatever product you want but that and the two bucket system is the way to go! You do that wash and charge 20 to 40 per vehicle just for exteriors! Read these forums as much as you can! You'll learn a ton! Trust me, you'll enjoy it much more when you make more then 10 a car! Oh, and stay away from Armor All....there's so many bomb products on this sight you can choose from! Good luck man



Bill Parris

Precision Detailz
 
Cheap is not the way to make your mark in the business unless you want to constantly have to market to replace customers who found someone even cheaper. And if you focus on low prices, hope you like detailing trashed minivans, Grand Ams and PT Cruisers.



Set yourself apart by doing a good wash and interior wipe-down/vacuum with add ons like claying, waxing and interior detailing. Start washes at $25-30 for small cars with a 2 car minimum if customers are close, more than 8-10 miles on way, 3 car minimum. Learn to upsell waxing and interior detailing.
 
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