What are your product costs per vehicle

I

imported_Grouse

New member
I mean everything.



Clay, soap, shampoo, laundry, towels, qd, wheel sealant



Have any of you figured out your cost per vechicle based on the amount used?



Please include gas, ins, ect ect



for all of this here are the results of my first 4



keep in mind i am new to this so i used more product than i should have. the 4th i believe to be more realistic.





first one

70.51

2nd one

59.79 No interior work done

third

69.98

4th

62 ish. full interior.



I wish i could copy my spread sheet out but it's being difficult. and unless you have office 2007 it will do you no good to dl it.
 
LOL it's 7 screens long. and with out an explaination it would make little sense.



lets try this



yeah see, it just does not convert, and with out the headers and explainations it does not convert.



so I will explain it as best i can



i took my item input the cost, and the oz. then when i used it I figured out it's cost per oz and multiplied it by how much i used.



for things like towels i figured out how much i paid per towel so when one was shot, i then could put that cost into the job.



for multiple use items i have tracked how many uses i have gotten out of them, I will figure out their cost by use and apply it retro actively.
 
I'll admit that, and i am working on getting it down. Keep in mind thought I am adding in OBT, ins, lisc, gas, washing of pads, pad cleaner ect ect.



so while there is room for less product cost, there are fixed costs that are allways there.
 
this last car i signifficantly reduced the amount of product i was using, while increasing services. with about a 16% drop in overall cost.



I think around 60ish, is a fairly stable number. I have another this weekend. I will see what i end up with on it.
 
No need for specialized pad cleaners in my experience as dishwashing soap works just as well. Insurance and licensing costs go down with each added detail. It would be good to see or if you can just tell how much of what product you're using. It may just be a case of using other products that are as effective but less expensive.
 
yes i have the ins costs guestimated over a year. as for the pad cleaner I'm using car wash soap. but it still is a cost.



part of my biggest cost was clay and clay lube, I am still trying to find a suitable combo that will not puke out on me with soapy water
 
Grouse said:
yes i have the ins costs guestimated over a year. as for the pad cleaner I'm using car wash soap. but it still is a cost.



part of my biggest cost was clay and clay lube, I am still trying to find a suitable combo that will not puke out on me with soapy water
Click to expand...



ONR has multiple uses and clay lube is one. Car wash soap isn't as strong as dishwashing soap and it's more expensive to use. There's two places you can lower your costs right there. I'll ask again, how much of the other products are you using?
 
Just wax the wheels with the same product you use on the paint. That will save you the cost of wheel sealant.



How many cars are you doing with each clay bar? Use it longer if it's not marring.
 
Pb2theMax said:
Just wax the wheels with the same product you use on the paint. That will save you the cost of wheel sealant.



How many cars are you doing with each clay bar? Use it longer if it's not marring.
Click to expand...



Any it doesnt require the entire clay bar to clay most cars. I normally cut my in half or thirds.
 
That seems awfully high...



Lets break mine down:



Carwash $1.00 (Meguiars Gold Class)

Gas (40km) $8.00 (Propane :))

Claybar $6.50 (Half of a $13.00 Bar)

Lube $3.50 (3/4 Spray Bottle from a $45 Gallon Jug) - Meguiars Final Inspection

Pads $5.00 (One new pad every 2 details)

Polishes $10.00 (less than 1/10th of any products)

Carpet Sampoo $5.00 (Still haven't found a cheap carpet shampoo...

Microfiber $3.00 (One new per vehicle)

Cleaning Pads $1.00 (Dishwash Soap)

Car Insurance $8.00/Day



Total: $51/Detail



I average $200/Detail, so $149/detail is living costs and my salary :)
 
SpoiledMan said:
ONR has multiple uses and clay lube is one. Car wash soap isn't as strong as dishwashing soap and it's more expensive to use. There's two places you can lower your costs right there. I'll ask again, how much of the other products are you using?
Click to expand...



consider alot of this is OTC, now replaced by other products in bulk. sorry for it taking so long spoiled man. i ended up being quite busy yesterday. this is as good as i can get with converting the cells to a readable form on the board here.



XMt 12oz pad cleaner..................1.2..................2oz

xMt 12oz pad conditioner..................1.2..................2oz

1/2 gallon sprayer

4 32oz graduated sprayers

2 32oz isopropyl alcohol..................0.89..................16oz

1 gallon distilled water..................0.25..................16oz

1200 watt halogen work light..................1.31..................33%



2 1" tape rolls

2 1.5" tape rolls



4 pack foam pipe ins

knee pads



3m plastic cleaner

3m plastic polish



Sonus Gery detail clay

Megs Clay ....................................1.................. 16.99

Pinnacle Clay

mothers gold clay

32oz Super Slick & Suds

32oz Spray & Rinse ..................4oz..................1.86

32oz Bio-Degradable All Purpose Cleaner..................4oz..................1.86



16oz Spray and Wipe

16oz Spray & Gloss

16oz QW+ Quick Wax Plus

16oz Trim Restorer....................................4oz..................4.27















16oz Natural Look..................3oz..................1.99

16oz Bold N Bright..................2oz..................1.24

16oz Leather Stuff..................2oz.................. 1.99

16oz Bug Squash..................1oz..................0.89

SSR2.5 - 16oz..................1oz..................1.29

SSR1- 16oz ..................4oz.................. 4.27

Poorboys Professional Polish - 32oz

Natty's Paste Wax - 8oz..................2apps..................3.13

nNatty's Paste Wax (BLUE) 8oz

Clay magic clay lubex3

16 oz megs detail sprayx4.................. 1..................7.99

..................50%..................3.99



megs gold class wash 160oz .................. 4oz..................0.24

4x sprayaway glas cleaner 19oz..................20%..................2

4x air duster 12 oz

mothers Metal polish



2 eagle one tire sponges ..................1..................1.45

2 wool mitts

4 sponge applicators

2 mf applicator pads

armor all original 32oz







98 16"x16" mf towels 9.99 per 24.................. 2 .................. 0.82

4x 24" x 36" Poorboy's Wolrd Waffle Weave Drying Towel

4x Poorboy's World Mega-Mitt

3x 16" Velvet Smooth Glass Towel

3x 16" Work Towel

3x 16" Super Thick and Plush

3x 16" Mega-Plush

3x 21 x 36 Velvet Smooth
 
Aaron, I want to say this without starting a fight with anyone. If you're in this to make money it looks like you're going to need to change to products that are available in gallons. For instance, I use Meguiar's Wheel Brightener to clean most wheels. A gallon costs about $18. It takes about 4 ounces to mix up a 32 ounce bottle. This mean just pennies to clean a set of wheels. IMO you just can't beat the Meguiar's Detailer Line products for most of the cleaners, degreasers, dressings as they are multipurpose and inexpensive. There are labeled bottles available and they're easy to get.
 
I don't see it as a fight, And almost all my product is coming by gallons, or shortly here in the future, 5 gallon pails. Those original prices were my costs based out of 16 oz bottles. Considerably more expensive in the long run. Don't get me wrong I plan on making money, i will charge accordingly.



Yeah i've seen the megs line for detailing products, right now i am happy with the products i have. It's a matter of cutting time, ordering in bulk, and solidifying my processes.
 
awahl63 said:
How much are you charging per detail to overcome your costs
Click to expand...



sorry i did not see this earlier



for this

Interior,

vacuum clean, and wash/wipe down:

carpets, Dash, headliner, trim, seats, under seats, storage bins, card trays, cup holders, steering column, rear window area, trunk, and engine bay.

Dress/condition:

Dash, trim, seats, under seats, storage bins, card trays, cup holders, steering column, rear window area, all applicable pieces in the engine bay, and all trim and plastics in the trunk.



Exterior

Wash/clean



Tires, wheels, wheel well, Front grill, Exhaust, Door trim, door wells, sunroof area.

Claybar:

Body work, windows, and as needed wheels and exhaust.

Compound/Polish:

Find the appropriate compound/polish to remove swirling, then step down to either finish polish or to a light polish then finish polish. This will include taping off the car, windows, tires, wheels, exterior trim.



Clean/polish all exposed metal/chrome/polished aluminum



After Polish wax and sealant:

2 coats of sealant base just on top of the prepped paint, 12 hours apart.

two coats of wax on top of the sealant at least 2 hours apart.



Exterior dressing:

Dress all black plastic, rubberized trim, and rubber door/hood/trunk seals.

Seal all polished metal/chrome/aluminum.



Options are:

3 month return visit:

Wash, vacuum, 2 coats wax, dress exterior and interior trim, dress seating area
Click to expand...





450-550with out the return visit.

add 150 for the return visit.



total time is between 15-20 hours for the detail and about 8 hours for the return visit.
 
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