I know quite a few of you guys detail vehicles in spare times, just curious as to how much you guys charge. The shop in town charges around $150 for trucks, and a few buddies of mine see all the stuff i got and want me to detail their vehicles. id say to start out with until i get better recognition, $65 for a car and $85 for a truck. I plan on just wax, clay, polish/seal, wax, interior, hd wheel wells, wheels and tires, and under hood with sg. sound fair? lets here what you guys would charge for this as well.

 

Don't touch engines, too much liability, IMO.

 

Depends on the area, your skills/ products being used, etc. etc.

 

Good point. Scratch that off then.

Depends on the vehicle. it will be a case by case basis. a few products to be used with all: foam gun (thanks Thump!!!), mild clay, #80, HD, APC+, QDI, #7, NXT 2

 

Depends GREATLY on where you're located. Where here people are hesitant to pony up on average $150. Yet drive 3 hours south and the same thing is $300 - $500.

 

Lets just say i saw some cousins kissing in walmart the other day. However, there is a major goodyear plant here, so there are some decently wealthy people. Im looking more towards the college crowd, they spawn from memphis, nashville, and the ****son area. dont know if that helps you out much, but perhaps the Tennesseans might chirp up, or RP, KY seems to have the same income levels.

 

I'm with Dan on this one...

The price that you can bring to your table is reciprocal to your skill level, knowledge of your products, and, ultimately, what you can deliver for your client.

I buck the trend that some 'volume' detailers will set - and do it intentionally, might I add.

My pricing is based upon my visual inspection of the vehicle. Some like this ... others seem to love it. I don't say that a car is this much or a SUV is that much. If the caller is looking for a ballpark, most of the time I can get that in a verbal format by asking a lot of key questions while talking to them on the phone. Even then though, I don't give a set in stone price -- or, rarely do I. I typically give a range and, while I definitely want the business, it's kind of left as a 'take it or leave it' deal. I'm not cheap and I don't work for free but, by the same token, I don't want to sound like a pompus **** with a perspective client on the phone, ya know?

In a nutshell, if the vehicle is thrashed and it's going to take some serious time to correct the paint, it'll be more expensive. If the vehicle is in great shape in the door and needs only minor corrections, it'll be much less.

My 'maintenance' detailing is much cheaper than the initial detail pending that the owner keeps the vehicle up and uses good habits between visits to my drive.

I don't want to talk pricing here... I will say this - know your client, know your skill, and be humble. Just because another detailer in the area is charging $750 to do a Suburban doesn't mean that you can... or that you should.

Remember... word of mouth advertising is 100X more powerful than anything you can buy.

 

Excellent advice from Thump earlier about staying clear from engines...one thing goes out two weeks later and you are being sued even if it wasnt your fault...your credibility will fall apart........on to the polish i assume when you say 80 you mean 80 only..via PC? Explain to them that with only one pass of 80 you will only remove about 85-90% of defects...(in my opinion that is)....use #7 on dark vehicles more so than light vehicles...remember this is a glaze and really does bring out shine but mostly fills in the defects left behind by 80....but will all of the oils in 80 it seems as if it is a glaze itself..and NXT 2.0 will handle most of your shine.....here that price range is low that would be at least 200 here..or that is what i would charge..but like mentioned above every area is different...and most college kids do not have the expendable income to afford details in my experience..but nice idea on the plant hit all of them up!!! Get some literature and build a reputation..they will come to you!

 

i agree completly rp, i cant really assess my skill level. ive done just family cars and my own. i have some experience, but no where close what you, rr, gip, 03 mustang, and boss_429 have. i wouldnt be charging for my time, just for the ammount of product and price of product that i use. Im in college and i have tons of time. im getting a cj degree hence me never having to study and i work in a fitness center part time to make some money. i figure i start out kinda low then as my rep and skill level increase, i charge more. by the time i raise my prices, my time will start being a factor as well. as of right now, i have tons of time, so detailing a vehicle this spring/summer, helps keep me out of trouble, and keeps me off the cd threads so i stop buying all these gosh darn products!!! sorry for the long post.

 

I'm definitely not suggesting that you work for free but, remember that you have to bring a value-added aspect to the table for your clients.

They have expectations. If you meet them, you're golden. If you exceed them, you're platinum. Of course, there's the other side of that coin as well...

Heck man... have fun with it. My first details were freebies for some of my neighbors (way before that, my first customers were my grandparents - they tip well! ) The neighbors still occasionally get a freebie when I'm wanting to experiment on a particular color or something. I can't tell you how many times I've worked on my neighbor's hood (silver Windstar (or whatever Ford calls their van))... they've never once paid for my time or work because I won't let them (although, we did get a helluva nice platter of goodies (cookies and other 'make you fat' fare) from them for Christmas.

 

i understand and i know you didnt mean pro bono. people just tell me all the time that my truck looks so clean and they want me to make there truck/car look the same. my gf has washed her car twice since she bought it new in 99 (eclipse) i will def have my work cut out for me this spring when i get my hands on it. i will start a thread showing the progress. if it goes as planned, it will def take my detailing to the next level. In fact, I will post up pics of it tomm and let you guys give your opinions on what needs to be done to it. Brad, Im kinda following the stang you did for a co-workers son as a model. And yes, my gf's headlights are worse.

 

I've done two relatives cars for free. Friends have been asking for a quote. I tell them all 50 bucks until I get better at what I do. I'm not perfect and I don't think I should charge someone a good amount for a probably mediocre (to the professional) detail.

I also tell them I'll charge them more for their interiors. Some of them are really nasty and worth a lot more than some.

 

Using those products and techniques, I wouldn't do any vehicle in any shape in any market for less than $125.

 

I could go on and on for hours on this one, but will just add a few things...

The guy with the shop in town who is charging $150 probably has to cover his overhead, pay for liability insurance (or should be) and maybe even workers comp, along with other expenses. Therefore, you can't expect to charge the same price as him. On the other hand, he may be extremely good, and also extremely efficient (very important) at detailing. On the "other" other hand, he may not be doing all the things you listed in your proposed detail... and you listed a bunch of things.

With that in mind, try and establish how long it will take you to do certain aspects of of a "complete" detail, and charge accordingly. For example...

Exterior...
Wash, including tires, wheels, wheel wells, dry, and exterior windows - Say 1 to 2 hours

Clay vehicle - Say 1 hour (I would skip this step if you are using a light or medium abrasive polish in the next step.

Polish vehicle - Anywhere from 1 to 4 hours (and even longer)... depending on paint, your tools (or lack of) and desired results.

Wax or Sealant - Say 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Interior...
Interior windows, vacuum, detail - Say 3/4 hour. If you are shampooing carpets, seats, cleaning leather seats... etc, add another 3/4 hour or so.

Under hood...
Anywhere from 1/2 hour to 2 hours depending on your process and the results you want to achieve. (I would be careful on this one, it can get you in trouble)

Of course, the times above depend on the size and type of vehicle, how efficient (or slow) your are, and again, the desired results.

There are a lot of specifics we could get into, but there's not enough time or space for that here.

Once you have an idea of the time you think you will spend, determine what you think you should get per hour (within reason, and based on competition) and add about 10 percent or so for the products.

Then again, you could do it all for free, and get some good will and publicity for it.