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08 GTI

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Question.

What do you guys try to make per hour when detailing a car??

Trying to determine the best way to come up with the ideal way to charge a customer.

I usually try and make $20 hr. but not sure if that is enough.



I just finished a BMW 550i...came out great. This was a complete job, inside and out and the car looks new again.



I will have about 9 hours in the car and trying to come up with a fair charge for the work.



Any input would be great.
 
gmblack3a said:
Can you list the steps you did in the 9 hours?
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Here are the steps that I did for this car:

Hand wash

Clean Wheels & tires

Clay

Wash again and dry.

Meg 205 with PC

Wipe paint down after completed polishing with water/Alcohol mix

3 Coats of Zaino Z5 & ZFX

Dress tires and hand polish/wax wheels.



Vaccuum interior

Vaccuum truck

Clean carpet and mats

Clean leather seats

Condition leather seats

Windows inside and out



All door jams cleaned and waxed as well.



The exterior took about 6 1/2 hrs and the rest was the interior and final inspection.
 
I'm very curious about this as well.

I'm considering trying to ****t doing this on the side (for now, hopefully to move to full time).



If the OP doen't mind me piggy backing his question with:

Do any of you guys feel the economy has impacted your business?
 
A couple things you need to consider:



Are you doing this as your main means of income?



What is your time worth?



Are the results worth the money? Perceived value?





If you're doing this for a living then you won't be making enough at $20 per hour....



I try to make no less then $60 per hour, but you've got enough experience to charge that with no complaints and leave your clients happy believing what they paid was well worth the money. For paint correction and polishing I charge more though.



It's really all up to you.



Josh
 
sounds like you did a pretty decent amount of work. It's also hard to determine a price for you since all areas are different but i'm guessing that was at least a $230+ job because of the quality of work and products used. You did paint correction already even though it might have been a 1 step and you also did interior work as well
 
I don't have a business in this field but if you do it for $20/hr raw time your effectively making 8 bucks an hour once you subtract materials, taxes, insurance, equipment, and marketing.

I'd advise anyone to incorporate themselves it gives many benefits along with liability protection. Self employed you get screwed on the AMT tax big time. As a corp you pay yourself a minimal salary and only that portion of your income is taxable for payroll, SS, etc while the remaining funds are taxed much lower. Plus as a business virtually everything you buy is a write off including travel. You simply have your corporate meeting with yourself wherever you go. You can also contribute 11,500 a year to a IRA as an S corp.



Separate your services into levels working up to the big 9 hour job. Don't undervalue yourself, people are suspicious of too good of a deal, and don't be afraid to tell them how long each level takes you.
 
VWGTI said:
Here are the steps that I did for this car:

Hand wash

Clean Wheels & tires

Clay

Wash again and dry.

Meg 205 with PC

Wipe paint down after completed polishing with water/Alcohol mix

3 Coats of Zaino Z5 & ZFX

Dress tires and hand polish/wax wheels.



Vaccuum interior

Vaccuum truck

Clean carpet and mats

Clean leather seats

Condition leather seats

Windows inside and out



All door jams cleaned and waxed as well.



The exterior took about 6 1/2 hrs and the rest was the interior and final inspection.
Click to expand...



Don't take this personally, but I wouldn't charge too much if you're polishing a car using a PC. Someone who uses a rotary polisher, could charge more per hour and get better results in less time. In the end, they might be able to charge the customer less money for better results since it takes less time. It will be difficult to compete with that.



John
 
JohnKleven said:
Don't take this personally, but I wouldn't charge too much if you're polishing a car using a PC. Someone who uses a rotary polisher, could charge more per hour and get better results in less time. In the end, they might be able to charge the customer less money for better results since it takes less time. It will be difficult to compete with that.



John
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Good point, I make a bit less per hour for basic, 1 step DA polish details than I do for rotary corrections.



In addition, I think your efforts in polishing will pay off more than layering LSPs.
 
JohnKleven said:
Don't take this personally, but I wouldn't charge too much if you're polishing a car using a PC. Someone who uses a rotary polisher, could charge more per hour and get better results in less time. In the end, they might be able to charge the customer less money for better results since it takes less time. It will be difficult to compete with that.



John
Click to expand...



I take it you're not a supporter/believer in the many Pros that use a DA for correction?
 
Thanks for all the feedback...it will help for future jobs.

Here is the a pic of the BMW.
 

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When I see these "$40/min an hour" threads, I think about the click and brags that claim they put 18+ hours into paint correction. NO WAY is the owner of a Honda Accord paying $800 for paint polishing.



I think the pay rate should be reflective of experience/value, just as it is in most professional service organizations. If you're just starting out and not as efficient (or good!) as an experienced pro, you're simply ripping people off if you're trying to charge $40/hour. If you've been a pro for awhile and have the knowledge, skills and ability to bust *** and get the job done quickly without compromising quality, then $40 is reasonable.



From the consumers' perspective, you have to make sure you're not overvaluing yourself out of the market. Detailing is still a luxury item for most people, and I think 90% of your customers can't tell the difference between Turtle Wax and Zaino. Accordingly, I would save the boutique products for those that actually care about that sort of thing.



Just my $0.02 - I'm not a pro, but I watch this forum with interest because the concepts apply to most any professional services discussion.
 
David Fermani said:
I take it you're not a supporter/believer in the many Pros that use a DA for correction?
Click to expand...



Exactly... Don't get me wrong, they have their place in the detailing world. If a professional detailer really wants to spend 20 hours with a D.A. in the hands for a few hundred bucks, then have at it. D.A.'s are for home users, and for some finishing work, but better and faster results can be achieved with a real polisher.



John
 
JohnKleven said:
Exactly... Don't get me wrong, they have their place in the detailing world. If a professional detailer really wants to spend 20 hours with a D.A. in the hands for a few hundred bucks, then have at it. D.A.'s are for home users, and for some finishing work, but better and faster results can be achieved with a real polisher.



John
Click to expand...



I remember spending nearly 10 hours on a black S55 using a UDM that would now take about half that time with a rotary and the paint looks noticeably better. I can charge the same or even a bit more, end up making a lot more an hour and getting better results.



My DA buffer is great for one polishing step jobs where the customer is paying for shiny paint but isn't interested in any serious correction. Both buffers have their roles.
 
I guess it all depends on the user. Personally when using the new non diminishing abraisives and a PC (the KBM), I can often achieve as much correction, in less time than when using my rotary. I don't have to tape up as much on the car, and I don't have to be as careful around edges. Additionally, I don't have to polish until the compound / polish breaks down (since these are non diminishing abraisives)...I just "look through" the polish, and stop when the defects are removed.



Another thing I have found when using the PC to remove heavy defects is that I can often achieve in 2 steps with the PC, what would have taken me 3 in the past with the rotary. For instance, I recently polished a heavily swirled vehicle. I used M105, KBM, PC, and a 5.5" LC Orange pad. I followed up with the PC, KBM, a Light Polishing Pad, and M86 (another non diminishing abraisive), and had an unbelieveable finish.



Don't get me wrong, I still use my rotary for jobs such as full wetsands on fresh paint jobs...and there are some paints that only respond to rotary correction.



The point I am trying to make here is that it is hard to make a blanket statement that a guy who uses a PC is not as skilled as a guy that uses a rotary, and is spending unneccesary time on a detail. Like everything else in detailing, it all comes down to the type of paint, defects at hand, techniques, and the skill/experience of the user.
 
15951 said:
When I see these "$40/min an hour" threads, I think about the click and brags that claim they put 18+ hours into paint correction. NO WAY is the owner of a Honda Accord paying $800 for paint polishing.



I think the pay rate should be reflective of experience/value, just as it is in most professional service organizations. If you're just starting out and not as efficient (or good!) as an experienced pro, you're simply ripping people off if you're trying to charge $40/hour. If you've been a pro for awhile and have the knowledge, skills and ability to bust *** and get the job done quickly without compromising quality, then $40 is reasonable.



From the consumers' perspective, you have to make sure you're not overvaluing yourself out of the market. Detailing is still a luxury item for most people, and I think 90% of your customers can't tell the difference between Turtle Wax and Zaino. Accordingly, I would save the boutique products for those that actually care about that sort of thing.



Just my $0.02 - I'm not a pro, but I watch this forum with interest because the concepts apply to most any professional services discussion.
Click to expand...



This is well said. I charge $40 an for all work, except my maintenance wash and vacuums. Those people get a better rate because their cars are done bi-weekly or monthly, and it is steady money for me year round. Even in my area of the country, which has one of the highest per capita incomes, $40 an hour is about the limit people will pay for this type of service. I also have REAL expenses (salary, insurance, car, licenses marketing etc); so once the expenses are subtracted, I am left with much less in profit. The key with detailing, as with any business, is achieving efficiencies and economies of scale. This will allow you to make much more per hour than $40. For example having a well trained team of guys detail a car quickly and efficiently and still have good quality.
 
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