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Newcomer detail prices

Posted by Anne Springer 
Newcomer detail prices
April 12, 2004 11:02PM
<HTML>I have read all the posts I can find on mobile detailing prices for services, but unfortunately I cannot find my answers.

I am going to start doing cars casually on the side in addition to a full-time detail job (when I get one), and I haven't a clue what to charge. I am more interested in getting the pictures, recommendation and experience, but I should be charging a little for my time and supplies, since I barely have a penny to my name.

Here's my guesstamate:
Basic wash & wax: $15.95-29.95 (my first big question)
Exterior or interior detail: $59.95-79.95 (here's my second big question)
And then for wash & ext. & int. detail= $89.95-$109.95

I've tried the formulas and such, but they don't help me out! I also don't want to charge too much at first, at least until I have more business.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I plan on putting up my test brochure and advertisement later in the week on my website for you to check out...

Anne</HTML>
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 12, 2004 11:07PM
<HTML>WAAAAYYY TO CHEAP !

Wash and wax = $65 bare minimum. I charge $80 - $120
Interior only = $90 and up
Full basic detail starts at $150

you will find it harder to raise your prices later that to start out charging the right price, not to mention you will work yourself to death and make no money charging too low.</HTML>
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 12, 2004 11:29PM
<HTML>I am afraid of not getting my first customers by charging too much too... I thought I was way too cheap too, but I am thinking of raising them per your suggestion.

Any more thoughts?

BTW, I've just put my brochure, business card and advertisement up on the website for your private enjoyment, or amusement. <g> Feedback is greatly appreciated, as always! :-)

[www.geocities.com]

Anne</HTML>
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 13, 2004 12:37AM
<HTML>I can never understand how you guys get away with charging $65 for a wash and wax! You are mobile I presume?? I charge $50 for a wash and wax on the largest of vehicles.

I understand that your reputation earns you teh right to charge that much but what do you say when they say "damn! that much!?" and then go elsewhere?</HTML>
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 13, 2004 01:22AM
<HTML>Not to sound like a broken record, but pricing services has to do with what it costs you to operate your business and the salary and benefits you want to take from the business.

Pricing is not an issue with detail customers unless you make it an issue. The people who buy detail services want quality and service, they do not want price, as long as it is reasonable.

If your customers are very price conscious then either they are the wrong customers or you have not convinced them that what you are asking is worth that price.

Anne the first thing you have to learn in this business is to charge the price that meets your business and personal salary needs.

Why work for yourself and get less than you would working for someone else.

Calculate you hourly rate and then multiply the hourly rate times the hours to do the job. If it is lower than the market, then, of course charge more, but never less.

There will be a seminar at the Carwash/Detail Show put on by a CPA who has kept books for two detail shops that I know and the gist of the seminar is How to Calculate Your Hourly Rate.

Regards
Bud A</HTML>



buda
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 13, 2004 11:43AM
<HTML>brian.......i rarely just wash and wax a car. Clay treatment high speed polishing, cleaner or compound if needed and a quality pure wax
125 to 150 is my price if not more for trucks ,show cars etc about
Almost all cars need more than a quick wax but then most haven,t a clue...or have cheap clients which i have none</HTML>
Gus
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 13, 2004 12:52PM
<HTML>Hello there...

Just an opinion from your local market. I run a detail department at a dealership. We a running less expensive than anyone else in town that I know of - just to grow.

At the moment, full details are selling for 129.95 - interior and exterior.

I think your in line. I think it makes sense to price budget to get things rolling.

Don't lose hope about employment either, if you are interested we will probably be hiring in the next week or so.</HTML>
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 13, 2004 01:05PM
<HTML>"what do you say when they say "damn! that much!?" and then go elsewhere?"

I say have a nice day and leave it at that.

And I only have 1 or 2 customers that I charge $65 and that is only because I have been doing their cars for a long time and just never raised their price. Our minimum to show up is $80.

Whatever you do dont compete on pricing, especially with the dealership, there is no comparison on the work or the convienence. Dealership detailing and retail detailing are two different worlds as far as customers, quality and pricing.

No offence intended Gus.</HTML>
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 13, 2004 01:16PM
<HTML>Anne,

Before you decide on what price to charge for your services, you should have a good understanding of how your customers will measure the value of your service. For example, when you provide your services at the customers’ location, you provide a value by saving them time. Time that would have been wasted if they had to take their vehicle to a detail shop. You allow them the freedom to go about their daily routine at their own home. You are providing a convenient, valuable, time saving service.

When your customers measure value, they will be looking at the entire experience. Of course, they want a good quality job, but they are also interested in other things, such as ease of making an appointment, whether or not you arrive 'on-time' and finish 'on-time', friendly yet professional explanation of services, etc. These are all factor that play a part in how a customer will measure the value of your service.

In most cases, a good customer is one that is interested in a high level of quality, not necessarily a low price. One that will understand the value of your service. Maintain a high level of quality and you will be able to charge a profitable price for your services. Lower your prices and you will begin to lower your standards. It is always a good idea to provide your customers with a level of quality that they will not normally get from other detailing businesses.

The price you charge should not be based solely on what other detailers charge. It is good to know what they charge, but it is not a good idea to base your price on that fact alone. In order to cover expenses and stay in business you should consider pricing your detailing services somewhere between what you need to make and what you actually want to make.

How much do you need to make on an hourly basis? $20, $30, $40 per hr

How much do you want to make on an hourly basis? $30, $40, $50 per hr

For example, let's say it takes about 4 hours to do a complete mid-size car detail.

To make $30 per hr you will have to charge $120 per mid-size car. 4 hrs x $30 = $120

To make $40 per hr you will have to charge $160 per mid-size car. 4 hrs x $40 = $160

Another factor to consider is the size of the vehicle. A small compact car may take about an hour less time to detail than a mid-size car. Then again, a full-size luxury car may take about an hour more time to detail than a mid-size car. From a marketing standpoint it is very important to let your customers see that your prices reflect the amount of time that you need to spend on a particular size vehicle. The owner of a small compact car will appreciate the lower price. While the owner of a full-size luxury car will understand the higher price.

In summary, it is always better to focus on the quality of your good work, rather than the price.</HTML>

Gus
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 13, 2004 01:25PM
<HTML>no problem there 2rotorz, just offering a different opinion. I know the difference between dealership and retail. There a benefits to both customer and employee/worker.</HTML>
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 13, 2004 02:47PM
<HTML>CAN OPEN - WORMS EVERYWHERE..........
Didn't we just have this topic last week? I will never understand in this day and age of technology and ease/availability of information why people still don't use these tools. See Bud's post above - dead on the money. Cheap prices attracts cheap people - period. You also need to remember that there is a profound difference between being busy and being PROFITABLE. Some people on these froums seem to think that's a dirty word but it's the name of the game in any business. Set your prices according to the guidelines set out in Bud's post and don't apologize for what you are charging. I think you'll find the customers you initially attract with low prices will be gone when you try and raise them later.</HTML>

Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 13, 2004 10:07PM
<HTML>Interestingly I had a customer in near the end of the day today that I haven't seen in a while. It turns out he had been going to the "low ball" detailer who opened up down the street from him last summer. He regailed me with stories of how he got his filthy conversion van completely detailed (including 2 shampoos) for $80 and his 15 passenger van shampooed for $75 andf how cheap it was and then he brought up the most important part - the guy is out of business. "Always seemed busy" was the quote he gave me I believe.</HTML>

Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 14, 2004 12:39AM
<HTML>I have to agree with Scott and Bud. As the old saying goes, "you get what you pay for" is the spoken truth when it comes to the detailing industry.

Anne, only way to make money in the detailing business is to own the company

(or)

Get a full time position at a Saturn dealership. Around here, the Saturn dealerships pay $50k salary, full benefits (401k, vacation, sick leave) uniforms AND the employee discount for a vehicle from their delaership. I was actually thinking of going there 2 years ago when the ad came out in the paper but didn't feel like stopping what I'd be doing and clap for every new customer that drove away in a car, hehe.</HTML>



Take care,

Brian
Precision Auto & Marine

Learn to detail boats! Visit www.detailtheboat.com
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 14, 2004 03:57AM
<HTML>50K ?

I work for Saturn right now and I dont make anywhere near that.

Going to ask for a pay rise first thing in the morning ! That or I'm moving to New Jersey. We dont do the clapping thing, just take their picture and off they go.

Jim.</HTML>
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 14, 2004 06:03AM
<HTML>Jim,

Yes, $50,000 a year. I was shocked when I saw that and almost put my biz up for sale to work there. The ad also said must be experienced with using rotary buffers, paint cutting, etc.</HTML>



Take care,

Brian
Precision Auto & Marine

Learn to detail boats! Visit www.detailtheboat.com
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 14, 2004 09:44AM
<HTML>........as everybody knows here I DISAGREE !!!

AUTO DETAILING attracts ALL kinds of people NOW, NOT just consumers WITH EXPENSIVE CARS who have the EXTRA money & and don't care about the price, and thinks the more they spend, means they get a better service THEY GET for it(not always true).Auto Detailing now attracts everybody, even the AVG. car owners who mostly are just satisfied taking their car through the automatic car wash for the quick wash job.The same people are NOW interested in getting an "express detail" for less than most full-service detailing shops charge,and most automatic car washes don't offer it YET(IN MY AREA), they just want or need a quick, good quality "express" detailing job for less than they can get at most detailing shops. This explains the trend of full-service car washes(in other areas) who are now offering this service(express detailing) also to their customers. IT'S PROVEN TO BE A HIGH-PROFIT CENTER TO ADD TO THEIR BUSINESS. It can be just as profitable to a detailing owner /operator who is WILLING TO JUST focus on it, and target that market.

You can charge a lower price than your most competition AND STILL MAKE as much PROFIT as the high-price market, if you keep your expenses LOWER than YOUR COMPETITION & increase your volume of business !

There is a (need)market for lower-priced(maintance) detailing, that is mostly IGNORED by most detailers who have been in the biz awile and focusing on the high-price market(reconditioning).

This is GOOD for US in the low-price market, while they are WAITING to catch that big fish all day(with a fancy rod & reel), WE are BUSY catching ALL the little fish(with a basic cane pole & line), which equals as much OR more weight(profit) than ONE big fish AT THE END OF THE DAY.

Instead of doing (1) high-priced "re-conditioning"detail for $160 that takes most detailers 4hrs to do, you can also do (4) low-priced "maintance"$40 express details that only take (me)an hour or less,that equals $160 the same overall price($40 per/hr/shop rate) for a half day of labor. Double that in a day = $320 for two cars reconditioned OR 8 cars maintained=$320

IT ALL EQUALS THE SAME ($40 per/hr/rate), just different markets, and yes different customers. But, that is a GOOD thing, because there is less competition(most detailing operators focus on reconditioning detailing) and DON'T FOCUS on avg. car owners who just need or want a quick express detail, and can't afford anymore OR just don't need anymore work done to it.(because their vehicle is new or in good condition to begin with)

Add lower operating expenses to that, and you get to keep MORE of what you charge(net profit) So, it's just a matter of CHOICE, do you want to spend MORE(operating expenses) to make LESS(profit).The key to high profits is low operating costs, however you can do it(lower labor cost, or chemical cost or rent/bldg. & equiptment cost)ONLY get what you NEED(to produce a quality job) not what every Detailer & supplier feels you MUST have to start YOUR detailing biz!!!! It dosen't require that much to start-up or maintain, that's why most of us got started in the detailing biz in the first place, back in the day(late eighties) before Most people even knew what the word "detailing" meant, or what they should pay for the service.SOME DETAILERS FORGOT WHERE THEY STARTED, or just dont like to admit it.Most of us started at the bottom and are working twords the top.Most will fail,sooner or later.... few will be at the top.....but were all trying the best we know how !


"You don't always get what you pay for, you sometimes just get what you perceive is better" (like Zymol) that is the sad truth.....most products or services are the same quality, just marketed in different ways.....just like most chemicals are produced by the same 3-4 companies in the US, but branded(labeled) and marketed for different customers & prices, but its all the same basic chemicals produced by the same few companies. Some customers are just willing to pay more, some are not....but their is a market for both. Its all about HOW you market your product or service. AND what customer your trying to attract.

But, bottom line is.... there is a STROND NEED(niche market) for detailing owner/operators to focus on QUALITY low-priced "EXPRESS maintance DETAILING services in markets who don't offer them at the reg. full-service car wash.

This has been the market i'm targeting now, and have enjoyed continued response & success from the avg. car owners & new car owners or garaged good condition cars, that has produced a Very high profit rate compared to targeting mostly high-priced details in the past in my rual market.

This has been MY experience & may not be YOURS, but it's what works for me in my market the best so far....

Find YOUR niche, and FILL it.....you do have a choice(low-price or high price) offering the SAME quality service,but different market. the decision is YOURS, do what WORKS best for you, not what everybody is telling you will work best for YOU.

Only thing you really need in any business is the determination to succede, and NEVER give up until you do.TRIAL & ERROR PROCESS, learn from your mistakes, then adjust and move on. ADAPT TO YOUR ENVIROMENT, be flexible !!!


Well i'm sure everybody heard enough of this, so I'll give you all a break and end this post for now........ but, "I'll be back" ....like Arnold said.


LESS=MORE</HTML>



Visit my Web-Site
ColesCountyAutoDetailing.com
Re: Newcomer detail prices
April 14, 2004 04:17PM
<HTML>I am a rookie at the business also. I charge roughly the same prices that you do. I tried to stay at the low end of prices to recriut new customers. I know eventually I will have to raise the prices but for the meantime I plan to keep small and keep my prices small.</HTML>
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