Why Pro charge so much?!

Wow, i can't even imagine making a grand off of one detail...i'm working towards being able to, but so far the highest ive gotten is about $650...and that was with two people and a LOT of hours.

Do you guys all work by yourself or do you work with someone? I work with family so we split everything 50/50, and pretty much have set prices for single and double passes...but when you get into the show car detail of...you do as many passes that are needed, then thats a more variable price. I'd like to set it up by the hour but want BOTH of us to make a fair amount per hour.

Any suggestions on how to go abotu setting that up or what a good rate would be?

 

Of course the car can always use more than 1 step, but for a daily driver, 1 step is good enough. You know it's going to get beat on every single day anyhow, and the owner of the car knew that as well.
By the way, here is the car I "1 stepped", the end result (Last 3 crappy pictures) is pretty darn good for a 1 step. (But then again every single panel except the hood has been reshot at one point or the other, so it wasn't the original soft GTR paint)

 

By the way if anyone is wondering, I charged $250 for that job (Exterior only, no interior and no engine bay work), 1 step with interior and engine bay I'm around 400 or so. I charge what I chagre because I normally work out of my friend's shop, and instead of paying him rent to use one of his bays (And his rent is expensive, about 4k a month for a 15k square ft lot), I simply give him 10% of what I make. I've made a spreadsheet of all my costs just to know what I need to charge to make extra bucks on the side while attending college (And I'm an accounting major finishing up my last semester, so I LOVE doing spreadsheets, lol). My cost for 1 step exterior only is approximately $50 (Includes the 10% kick back + gas + cost of products, I even broke down how much my pads depreciate everytime I use them, lol).
Cost for my complete 1 step that includes engine bay and interior is approximately $89. So for a college student, I'm making pretty decent money while doing what I ENJOY to do. (Which just rocks to no end!)

 

I have someone that works for me, and when I stated that I charge 65 an hour at the shop and 75-85 on the road, I mean I charge 65 an hour per hour per man. I don't know the quality of work you do or where your located but figure out what seems fair to the both of you for an hourly rate. If they customer complains about it, a simple response would be if I was doing it by myself it would cost just as much of more as you wouldn't have someone helping you. Where as if you have someone helping you the hourly rate maybe be higher but in the end it should be quicker with two of you versus one.

 

I'm located in Arizona. I do quality work... you can see quite a few write ups ive done on AG... 23 YEAR OLD swirls on top of swirls - 88' Red Honda Civic pix/vids - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum or Metalic Blue Benz 320 CLK - D300/D301 combo (pics and vid) - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum if you care to look.

Unfortunately we don't make anywhere close to $65/hr lol. Usually more around $30/hr...and for set price jobs sometimes $25/hr. DOING the work is not a problem at all, i enjoy it and i love giving customers the real deal..even have really good relationships with quite a few of them just because they were so impressed w/our work ethic and 'go getter' attitude. Its just getting CONSISTENT work that is really being our biggest bump in the road. I'm not a website guru, Ive got our site up but its WAY beyond my understanding as to hwo to get it to show in the first page of a google search or something like that.

Most of our work comes word of mouth, but its not always consistent like i said...thus my problem.

 

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Good info in here, I charge around $25 an hour as I am building a clientele from referrals. Recently did a R32 1 step polish full exterior detail for $250 and let me tell you, I could have charged way more since my client makes 6 figures, but I decided on charging what I'm worth at the moment with my current equipment. He was very happy and even said "I haven't seen the flake in the paint since I picked it up in 04". My prices will go up once my inventory and skill level grow.

 

definitely some good info here, I started my own business licensed and insured. Its 6 months passed and I'm not making any headway. Before I started, I looked at what most people in my area charges and I place myself in the middle. I used to think the Pros are overpriced, but now I understand why after 6 months in business.

I know most of people might think Bob is a bully, but he gives great advices IMO. If the detailing industry had a DR.Dre, Bob is that person IMO. and Dave DSMS is like P DIDY... lol all jokes

 

Wills, WIndow, & wheels does some great work.

HIs writeups are excellent and he has put up some great show & shines.

 

Hey thanks a lot man. Did you see mine on AG on MOL? Not recognizing your name on here. Thanks again

 

For those who do mobile detailing, do you have commercial auto insurance in addition to your general liability insurance? How much does that run?

 

I'm no pro, but have polished some paint, wet sanded some paint, and in general, know how much work goes into the process. IMO, $250 for the result you achieved and the work you put in is well worth the price.

I think, judging by the condition the car was brought to you, that the owner is not likely to keep the car in a "perfectly polished" state, so what process you used, as well as the price you charged seems logical for a daily driver, imo.

 

Personally, I don't even WANT to polish a car that is not (going to be) properly taken care of...and I let the clients know that there is no point in making the car look new if they won't keep maintaining it. I mean, a year from now if their car has gone back to the state it was before I polished it, and they go around saying they had their car "professionally detailed" by me, then it makes me look bad because they won't mention it was over a year ago and that they did nothing to maintain it. Gotta look out for yourself too!

 

I agree, what is the point of fully correcting moms mini van when it gets driven daily? An exotic, or someone who is an enthusiast yes, but average cars really don't demand full corrections. I don't even recommend it unless its a concern.... Because the minute the person takes it to a car wash, your work and their money is negated. I would rather have a customer come to me 3 times a year for a good decontamination, clay wash and wax then a full correction never to be seen again...

 

Well I'm definitely not a mom, but I would like to drive around in a nice car. I hate driving or riding around in a dirty car...it just bugs me. My jeep is a daily driver and the only vehicle I have to drive so obviously I'm going to keep it clean. However, it is aggravating to keep it clean. Even with it being my daily driver I understand that it can't be perfect all the time so it's only perfect after I do complete a full correction lol. Of course, unlike a lot of people, I know how to properly wash my car and after a full detail it'll look a hell of a lot better than most cars out there now, thanks to this website.

On another note, I'll be correcting a family friend's car that is extremely swirled because all he does it wipe it down with a dry old rag or soaks that rag in water and says it's good enough. Haha the car looks okay from a distance and without sun. I'll just have to take pictures cause words cannot describe it. Anyway, I cannot pound it into his head enough that he needs to properly clean his car so I told him I would correct his car for free to show him what his car should really look like. Maybe it won't work and he'll go back to same old same old, but it'll look good for a couple of days and won't bug me so much when I have to see all those swirls.

 

When meeting with the person I always give some sort of verbal disclaimer saying "hey it might not be worth it if you are going to just take it to the car wash". that way if they do choose to have the correction done they understand that most likely they will get swirls and scratches again. I usually do the same just before the winter time. I will let them know that it might make more sense to wait until spring where they can "hopefully" go longer without getting swirls. (because of salt and all the crud flying around the roads.) We can usually come to decision and if they are adamant on correcting AND going to the car wash...will do the job but can't stop them from doing their own thing once my job is complete.

 

Most of my clients are Daily Drivers, I simply educate them on how to properly wash it, or they just call me back to do the upkeep.

 

I will always listen carefully and exceed expectations of my Clients.
I tell them all that their paint condition is the direct result of going to the dang Brown Bear Carwash that has all those slapping things and brushes, and that if they want to prolong the beautiful clear finish, they need to try to stay away from there. Some will, some wont. That's life. I have found that some Union 76 Stations with car washes use the high water pressure method that rotates around the vehicle and nothing touches the vehicle but water, so I tell them to perhaps think about using those car washes instead.

Even if they don't follow my advice for a year, I know that all the crud I removed initially will not ever be nearly as bad the subsequent times I see the car/s and that is how it's been for me here. Perhaps not true with those that drive in mud, or try to get their cars as dirty as possible, etc.,..

But those that do what they will, even though they got a 90%+ correction, come back and I dont have nearly as much work involved to get them back, taking into consideration paint thickness, etc..

Dan F