so I thought I would throw this out there with all of you after doing a little research in my area. a basic wash and wax in my area for a mid sized car like a honda accord is $120.00. alot of detailers I have gone out and watched detail have specials where they will wash and wax as well as vacum out the interior along with a "light" wipe down. I saw the wax application and they were all using a orbital to apply a liquid wax and then use a detail spray to get off the excess. I saw nothing spectacular about any of the results and feel strongly that my results are better using power lock after using a great detail spray to add alot of shine to the car before topping it off. what I am asking here is pricing in regards to "wash and (spray) waxing" cars. can't figure out what to charge for the life of me. power locking the car I can certainly justify charging 120 per car. but how much to wash the car and then spray it down with something like Prima Hyrdo? I am thinking that I should offer the following prices: 120 wash and wax, (on opening shop will offer wash and wax with vacum and light wipe down 100 dollars) 75 dollars for wash and spray wax with vacum (60 dollars on opening month) so, how much to just wash and wax the exterior with no door jambs? any thoughts? godoman
You can always go with something like Permanon or Gtechniq C2. Spray sealants with great durability (4-6months). Charge the $120, saves you time, makes you money. $10-20 less without door jamb cleaning? But I think its a nice touch and you shouldn't give people so many options and ways to pick and choose.
A classic trick - have a couple pricier options on your services list. Your customers will see the lower price options and think they are better deals that way. Perception.
I do wash n wax for $60. I'm mobile and pretty much service an area where I can go point to point in 20 minutes. This is wheels, tires, and paint, and then exterior windows. The customer doesn't need to let me in the car to do this service. Now, I am all about the upsells. I just started doing Opti-seal for an extra 10 and takes same time if not faster as a spray wax. The product costs a little more than your conventional spray wax but what I've been finding is that little bottle of optimum lasts a long time. What location are you at>?
I am just south of seattle, washington. I really want to make my service and price as simple as possible as I am just opening a shop for the first time and dont want to take on more than I think I can. I only want three different price plans so that I can just go to town on the car that is in my shop and get back asap to the customer. feel that spray waxes/sealants is kinda cheating the customer unless I am informing them that this is what I will be protecting their car with and also can tell them how long it will last and what the results will look like. godoman
I agree you should keep it simple. Customers don't need a whole lot of options. You definitely need to be upfront with the customer how long protection will last. Some people will be after your bottom price no matter what your offering for that price. Obviously, these people can be a real pita but good time fillers especially with you having a shop. I'm subscribed to see what others say for price point, but I'm sure someone might tell you, you need to look at expenses and time and charge accordingly and no one on the internet would be able to calculate this for you.
I wouldn't call it cheating if you can get similar durability, and great gloss with a lot less effort on your end. Obviously you should be upfront and tell them what to expect, but in the case of the newer spray sealants, they pack a good punch!
that is sort of what i wanted to post a thread..where i live at they are cutting cost so much.. wash,wax around $ 50 bucks or less very bad busines down here in New Orleans,la soo many people out of work,,see car washing at $5 bucks now...how can we stay in business with the cut throats out there trying to make a buck,,and not good washing and waxing practices i seen. Good thing i have a client list to rely on in these hard times..Heres what im throwing out there wash,vac,tires,spray sealant honda car $ 70.00 and up..and it starting to work for me..now using a pc with powerlock i add another $30 bucks to that..no a bad deal..add claying another $ 25 bucks,,interior leather cleaned and conditioned another $40 and up these add up...
I start full interior detailing at $75 (includes some shampooing) Wash/clay/wax start @ $100 and goes up depending on the size, and amount of crud on the car.
My most basic service offered is what I call "Signature Mini Detail". This is more of a regular maintenance type service and it is 65 for and SUV and 60 for a car. This includes,a thorough vacuum, wipe down seats, dash, dust vent, and interior windows are cleaned. Wheels/wheels wells cleaned, ONR vehicle, door jams wiped out, followed by Aquawax on wheels, paint/door jams and glass, and tire shine. Think this is pretty close to your 75 service. I certainly do let people know that this is a "maintenance" wax and it will not yield the same durability as a wax/sealant I would use in our full detail but most people are on a regular schedule so it isn't a major factor matter to most. $120 for a wash and wax (clay included) would probably be for a smaller 2 door car for me.
thanks for the input detaildude, I think I am going to go with what my gut tells me and what my friends tell me, and my family tell me, and what everyone on here has told me in the past. always, always, always start your pricing off high after researching the other detail shops in your area. open the shop with prices greatly reduced on opening just to let people know you are there. during the peak season (end of february till end of september mid october) remove the discounted pricing and finally make a killing. detaildude is right. times are really tough for everybody including us detailers. what I am looking to do is to cater to those that want the high end detail but cant it so they will come to me for wash and wax (spray wax/sealant) with the option to have power lock for those that either have an understanding of what a true sealant can offer in protection vs a spray wax. pricing is as follows: wash and wax (spray wax) - steam clean rims, dress tires $79.99 wash and seal (power lock) - $120.00 - prices increase of course with size of car *wash, wax and seal special - $99.99 wash and vac (no wax, just an option some customers want this) $45.00 interior only (vac, shampoo, wipe down dash, windows, all the good stuff we hate to do) $130.00 now these are the prices I will list because these are the full prices i want to charge during peak season, when the economy bounces back so people cant jump out at me and say "hey, what the hell man! why are your prices go up?" I just have to tell them that "the promotional prices are no longer available". just have to figure out how low I should lower the prices. going too low will look desperate.... godoman
wheelz25, I really really like that you classify it as a "maintance" wax. that has a nice ring to it and it is a colorful way of being honest about what you are offering at that level. godoman
Sorry gti, forgot to fully describe That 99 dollar "special" is to include interior wipe down and vacum with power lock. Don't really think I need a topper for it Sorry for the confusion Godoman
