what to charge for wash and hand wax-non professional

funyfarm

funyfarm

New member
first off, i am no professional but im trying to clean some cars for extra income. i have a guy ( friend of a friend) who i sw last week who said hed give me $200 to clean up his truck a new model gmc 2500 work truck with a grill and bedcover, after a conversation in front of my clean shiny car.



im thinking a good scrub and interior clean and then maybe a quick hand wax...im kind of weary about cleaning the engine and im not sure after speaking with him that he really expects amazing results, but he works in the oilfield and told me that he would send some good business my way.so i intend on doing a good job.



i could really use the extra income as i am struggling on unemployment at the moment.



from what ive researched everyone seems to say $40/hr to make any money. and also to make sure you understand their expectations vs reality.



im willing to put a solid 5hrs on this if necessary, esp if there is a chance for more work, but i also dont want to try and take someone for their money



thoughts?



i love this forum, i have already learned so much from just reading



thank you to all who contribute
 
there is a "professional" place in town and ive been there and my friend worked there and they would charge more for,what ive seen as a half a@$ job.

they do hand waxing but theyll hire anyone off the street.
 
A wash and wax job is one thing, what you mentioned is closer to a full detail.

Time is money, as you know, so cost of materials is not a real issue, but the labor spent in doing the work.

Labor is where you make your money.

So, back to the "time" factor.

Which then brings up doing a complete inspection and diagnois of the condition of the vehicle before providing a price.

Plus, is it to be an "anal-perfect" end result or one that is acceptable in your market?

You are the only one who knows how fast you work, what you find acceptable and what equipment you have.

All of these factors are important in figuring the amount of labor/time when you price out a job.

So, my answer, first consider these items and then what you need to make an hour, etc.

Then price the job.

Hope this provides you some direction.

Grumpy
 
MeanGreenClean- Here are a few of the Qs I think you oughta ask yourself:



-Do I know what he expects?

-Can I do a job that will satisfy him?

-Do I have the ability to deal with anything unexpected?

-Will the time/effort involved be worth it for that amount of money?



IMO only you can answer those questions.



I am kinda wondering how you came up with the "five hours" timeframe though :think: Better have a really good idea of what it's gonna take (time, effort, products and equipment...everything) before you sign on for it.



And regarding that "professional place", I wouldn't base what *you* do on how somebody else is doing it the wrong way.
 
Accumulator -expectations...he told me that he is "too lazy" to do it himself. he threw out the 200 figure. he said he just really wants it cleaned.

-yes i feel i can do a job that will satisfy him

-unexpected, well if you mean liabilities, im unsure on that aspect. i will definately pre inspect the vehicle and walk it over with him, ive already seen it close, the truck is one year old, good shape

- time and effort,yes. i am unemployed and still cant find work

the 5 hrs was a rough estimate, for 200 im willing to invest more time, thats 25% of my rent

- regarding the professional place, i understand what youre saying but it was just kind of a subjective comparisson, and a bad one i guess



thanks for the input
 
grumpy...i guess my mistake with regards to time/ cost was the way this all came about. since he threw out the number i pretty muched decided on the spot what that would entail but we did not fully come to terms...the first thing i tried to figure out was what his expectaions were and they did not seem,to me, that he expects a showroom shine.

products...i have everything already, i regularly clean the two cars in this household...im not buffing or orbital polishing or anything like that. just hand wax at best.



thank you
 
Meangreen. First off, welcome! There are many issues that I also see here at hand. I guess being unexperienced, it is difficult to place an estimated time on this vehicle; but you could "Guestimate" how long it will take you based on your household vehicles that you do. It is important to find out the clients expectations, and make sure that you explain to him exactly what your plan is, and the results that he can expect with what tools you have. As far as having everything already (products), you still need to calculate in your overhead for using these products or, in actuality, you may not be making as much as you figure (per hour), and quite possibly, if you are using alot of your products, you may be barely breaking even, or loosing money.



When I first started doing this, I made a list of all my products, and roughly what it costs per application (per vehicle), both small, medium and large. I then caculated use of specialty products (leather care, etc...also for small, medium, large). I calculated for wetsanding, etc. Pretty much anything that I can do, I calculated it. I then calculated in my hourly rate (what is acceptable for my demographic area, coupled with what I think I am worth to come to a "happy medium", and then combine the two costs to get a total cost. It is essential not to forget your overhead, or you won't make any money. It may seem that you made $200.00, but *if* you are thrown more business, you are going to soon realize that you are making less, because now you are buying product to do the job. I personally had to tweek it a few times until I got it just right, but also because the cost of items increase as well. I guess in a nutshell, be upfront and honest with the client, discuss his expectations, plan accordingly, and don't sell yourself short.
 
thanks street. i know pricing what i have would be very helpful, i really am not sure how many applications per product i have. im not sure if this will tirn into a regular thing but i do intend on discussing expectations with the guy so this turns out beneficial for both of us
 
Street give good advice, however, for one in your situation, max per car should not exceed $10 to $12 per car.

I think, or whatever, that he is focusing on a volume operation.

From what you posted, due to your "work" posistion, the generation of after expense dollars that may be used to keep the roof over your and yours head, while you await a change in the job market, does not really apply to what you posted that you are seeking to do.

Over my decades of working with many volume and those who are a "couple a day detailers" (I worked with those who did up to 700 a day for volume operations), it becomes an "economy of scale" once one goes over 10 to 15 vehicles a week.

Simply put, if a detail requires 5 hours of work, the cost of the chemicals, pads, towels, etc, should be 10% of the charged price.

IE- safe number, and I mean "safe" and really "safe", would be $20 for a $200 job fee.( that is for the "normal, diagnoised detail, and interiors can be more material cost expensive than an exterior polish /waxing)

I use the "safe", as who really knows, one job you use $10 of product, the next $15, and then the "monster" comes your way and you use $22 in supplies for the vehicle.

No matter what the job is I am quoting, be it a gel coat repair, a restoration of a cast iron home decoration piece, a set of aluminum wheels, a normal trashed vehicle , etc, I always figure that which "may be" the max amount of product/sand paper/tape, etc, and move it up another 20% in my quote.

If I want the job, and need to "work with the client", I or in your case, we have wiggle room to adjust our cost figure to them.

Grumpy
 
thanks ron. i dont intend on doing multiple cars and at best i would just make some extra income from this. i really dont plan on going commercial or anything, i looked into that previously and dont think i really have the market to dive into that type of an investment
 
I think its depend on town/area. So we can't specific amount. We can see in a professional place in town they would charge much money. They do hand waxing but theyll hire anyone off the street.
 
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