Ask the pros.

R

rogie

New member


Hello fellas. I'm not a professional detailer like yourselves,
but I do enjoy detailing or at least what I call detailing.
My question for you is- How long should/would it take to do a
"full detail" on a 2005 Chevy Tahoe? And if you could, please explain
what exactly is a " full detail " to you.
I ask because it seems to be taking way to long for me to finish this beast!
Granted I know for sure I don't have the equipment or know how you guys do
but I got the heart for whatever that's work. Thanks for the time. Out.
rogie
 
if you think its taking way to long then your probally right on track. haha.
Im not sure on time but when i did my mountaineer it took me up to..I would say...6 hours....of course i would usally spread it though out the day or even a weekend. Im not the fastest moving person out there though and i tend to get distracted.

Full detail would to me would be

Engine - clean and dress

Interior - Good vaccum or shampoo, Windows, Dress Dash, Leather clean and condition

Wheels - Cleaned and dressed along with wheel wells.

Paint - Wash, Clay, Med-Heavy polish, Light hand polish, Sealent and wax(or one or the other.)

Exterior windows, polish metal/chrome, Dress rubber and plastics, Clean/spray wax door jams



Thats about it. i might have missed some stuff but thats about what i would do.
 
Pappy has it about right and on your ride it should not be that dirty that regular cleaning would not keep it in good shape.

How long for me start to finish about 5 to 6 hours depending on how bad it is..so you are not far off....if the car was real bad for one that big then 7 plus hours
 
I recently spent over 12 hours on a mountaineer.. my full detail woudl be this:

Wash
Clay
Polish out as many defects as possible/safely
sealant and or wax

dress wheel wells, tires
polish and seal rims

shampoo and vaccum carpets
clean and dress vinyl and leather
clean, polish, and seal glass

Clean out gas door , seal
polish and seal door jambs

engine degreased and dressed
all painted areas cleaned and sealed

polish all metals and seal
dress all trim

I think thats all. I dont think I forgot anything but I probably did.

Greg
 
This truck took about 3 1/2 hours with two of us detailing it, my wife and I. A Tahoe in bad shape, about 2 to 3 at the most.




 
Time is money. On a truck that size it would take me 2.5 hours to do a clay, paint cleaner, sealant, dress tires and trim, clean windows inside and out, condition leather, shampoo and vacuum carpet, and clean the dash and console area. (not necessarily in that order) I know that because I just did a Tahoe last week and that is how long it took me to finish. I was doing him a favor and only charging $90 bucks because I believe he will be a repeat customer and bring in referals, but I still wanted to make some money out of the deal. Generally I would have charged between $120 and $150 for that particular vehicle.
 
Now that you started talking MONEY, thats dirt cheap. Our full details start at $235.00 for a small car. A Tahoe starts at $265.00 in fair condition. This hunting truck in the shape it was, $365.00 and with tip came out to $400.00.
 
How long it should take depends on someones experience and condition of the vehicle. 6 hours is a reasonable time though. Since money has been brought up i'll say this. You can charge whatever you want but someone is only going to pay the going rate for that area. Some areas you may be able to charge 350.00, here in polk county,florida the going rate is 150 to 175 for larger trucks/suvs.
 
"Why is it that if you take a lock to the locksmith for a key he might charge you $20 to make the key. However, if he has to come to your home/office his charge is $65 to $75, but a mobile detailer is lucky to charge the same price as a fixed location charges.

Seems to me that if the reasons mobile detailers give for being in the business, "customer convenience" are true, the customer would be willing to pay "twice" the price as a fixed location.

To me mobile detailing is a major convenience service and should be priced accordingly.

Just some well intentioned thoughts."

Quote from Bud Abraham, Car Wash Magazine
 
Can we please get this back on topic.
Rogies question was
My question for you is- How long should/would it take to do a
"full detail" on a 2005 Chevy Tahoe? And if you could, please explain
what exactly is a " full detail " to you.
Click to expand...

Thank you
"J"
 
There's a problem if a full detail has to be explained over and over again. Basically returned as close as possible to a show condition, no matter what it takes and charge accordingly.
 
Like I said when trying to help a newbie the other day, "every demographic is different".

I hear people on here talk about 8 to 12 hour details all the time, and all I can say is I hope you are being compensated equitably for doing details that take that long. Not slamming ANYBODY either for the amount of time they put into their details. Everybody's got their own way of doing it.

To the South of me on the West side of LA the high end detailers are getting $500 for their details. I've seen some of their work and it's very good. Most high end shops have multiple employees, and are usually doing 2 cars at a time. I could write volumes about these kind of shops, but it basically boils down to they have a "menu" of their services, and their clientel has the money to burn. Good for them!!

I haven't checked on what others in my area are charging these days, but my guess is they're getting around $125 to $150. Car Washes here will polish & wax your car (while you wait) for as low as 30 bucks, and it's almost always 4 illegals (per car) with rotarys in their hands knocking them out as fast as the guy up front can sell them.

So it's pretty much boils down to whatever your market will bear. Personally I could care less what others are charging. If you can stay in the game long enough to gain a good reputation, and are able to take good care of your family, that's really all that counts.

Apologies to whoever it was who wanted to get back on topic.
 
"full detail" is a fairly loose term. A full detail in my book doesn't necessarily include damage repair. If you have serious oxidation or swirls or stained carpet or sticky leather seats or peeling tint to be removed or any number of other situations, then those are outside of a full detail. A full detail doesn't necessarily include a show car engine detail either. "clean enough" is usually what you get unless you want to pay for a couple hours of work. Not likely many people will do that.

For me I consider a full detail to be clay, polish, selanant, basic interior including leather, carpet and dash. Windows, tires and trim are always part of any detail for me. Engines are considered an extra and aren't included in any detail. Same for wheel well detailing, exhaust tip restoration, chrome polishing/restoration, touch up paint, PDR, etc. There are too many extras to include in one package, so I just break them up and offer them as needed. Most of what I do is just done by estimate after visual inspection and discussion with the client. $80 - $120 has been the average this year for my area and what I am willing to do.

I'm also working alone out of my garage so if I can make $40/hr in my spare time then I consider it a good hobby. I don't care what I could charge if its just a hobby. As long as it pays for itself and keeps me stocked with the good stuff then I'm happy. I should just have clients writing their checks payable to PAC with as fast as I turn around and hand it to Dwayne. lol I'm sure other detail shops with more overhead would charge more, but they aren't making the profit margin I am either. So each to their own. I don't need to make $150 an hour for something like this, so charging $300 would be silly. I've got a full time job that pays the bills. This is just a hobby for me. My full time job may very well be a hobby for others who detail for a living for all I know. lol
 
Sounds like a clean rig, so I would:

wash
clean wheels
clay
dress tires & wheel wells (if appropriate)
clean door jambs
vacuum
clean mats
clean glass
wipe vinyl & plastic
dress vinyl & plastic
clean leather
adding leather protection is extra and I haven't found any stuff I like
AIO on paint & chrome
polish
sealant or wax (depending on customer request)

any protection like glass, trim, lights, etc. is extra. without protection I would guess 4-6 hours for me, and about $150 in my market.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top