120k miles + Child = One Nasty Jeep :(

[j0hn.H]

This was my first detail for a REAL customer. Totally random person who saw my flyer and called me. They're selling their car and wanted to add some quick value to it before listing it on Craigslist. They called me up and I headed on over. I got there and soon realized this would not be like the other cars I recently detailed which were pretty clean already. You could tell the paint had never really been waxed, it was so dry.



There were stickers in the windows from their child, wax & crayons in the door pockets and cup holders. Tons of crumbs all over the seats, stains in the carpet, etc. There was even a ketchup packet in the front driver seat. ugh.

Halfway through the detail I hear the squeeling of tires. I thought it was a kid racing around, then heard a huge bang. Someone had driven through a garage door, and hit the wall...cracking it. :rofl:

Afters:



Check out the metallic flakes.

How much should I be charging for this? I feel like I'm undercharging. I charged $75 and got $80. I'm charging so low because I'm just starting out, and I'm only 18. I have a Porter Cable, but do not know how to correct paint yet using polishing methods. :buffing:

 

[imported_themightytimmah]

Oh man I would charge like 220 for that condition if they wanted it polished down perfectly, 160 for a full interior, deep scratch removal and Poli-Seal. 80 is a steal for what they got. You'll learn to polish quickly...



I started when I was 17, same thing, doing good work for low money, and eventually I was able to raise my prices as I built a reputation. Keep that level of quality, stick with light colored vehicles until you get the hang of polishing, and you'll be all set in short order.

 

[anthony914]

no interior afters?

 

[j0hn.H]

no interior afters?

No the car was locked and she had left. I'll try and grab them tomorrow.

 

[anthony914]

so you just walked over to the other house and snapped some pics?

 

[Scottwax]

Nice work, looks a lot better.



Charge more or that is the type of vehicle you will always get stuck with .

 

[mr.ikon]

80 bucks is a steal. nice work you did there. and that sucks to be the owner of that garage door. hahaha.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

So that white car was in the garage? Or it came from the street and crashed into the house? Did they live there? Was someone preparing to stop in front of the garage and hit the brake instead of the gas? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[j0hn.H]

So that white car was in the garage? Or it came from the street and crashed into the house? Did they live there? Was someone preparing to stop in front of the garage and hit the brake instead of the gas? Inquiring minds want to know.

No the white car was coming from the street. It pulled up to the garage then hit the gas instead of the brake. lol They didn't live there but they're best friends with the people that live there. They went like halfway through the garage then tried to reverse out but they got stuck. I can't believe they didn't rip the garage apart any MORE! lol



Thanks for all the comments.

 

[White_07_G6_GT]

Great work, I did a Jeep last month that was dirty but not as bad as yours. Funny I did it for $75 because I wanted to get more work from him. He has a nice collection of cars and 12 work trucks. I figured do one cheap to show my work and then move up.

 

[VTechFan02]

Very nice work for your first paying gig. You def. should be charging more, even without paint correction. By the way, what products did u use?



-Frank

 

[mgm2003]

Nice work! It looks night and day better.



I agree with some of the comments above.... Charge more or this is the type of work that you'll consistently pull in.

 

[j0hn.H]

Very nice work for your first paying gig. You def. should be charging more, even without paint correction. By the way, what products did u use?



-Frank

I've been paid before but it was just family cars, so those don't count. :woohoo:



Meguiar's Gold Class Wash

Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze

Menzerna FMJ

Stoner's Trim Shine

Stoner's Invisible Glasse

Klasse AIO (on 3rd tail light)

Meguiar's Leather Cleaner/Conditioner

Turtle Wax carpet Cleaner

 

[MidLife Cruiser]

THEY GOT A BARGAIN!! (And, yes, I am yelling that.)

 

[Pats300zx]

Great work. At that price I am sure that you will be getting a return customer...:grinno:

 

[anthony914]

for carpet try Woolite mixed at a 8:1 with water (water to woolite) you can use it on leather, vinyl and all sorts of stuff

 

[Adam's Polishes]

For $80 I would've bought a couple gallons of gas, a book of matches, and burned that thing to the ground before I would've detailed it. J/K



That was WAY low for that much work, but since you're starting out you just need to get a feel for these things. How many hours did you spend on it?? Multiply that by what you THINK you should be paid an hour for your work and theres your ballpark price.

 

[Smithule]

Great work, for that price I'd have you come detail my car any day. I just paid $180 but it was a swirl removal job. Keep it up...