Auction Purchased Vehicles Prepped to Sell!

J

Joshua312

New member
I will be doing work on some vehicles purchased...fixed mechanically then detailed to sell. I will be detailing them, the amount per month is yet unknown. My question is, which product should I look into for the best one-step to polish out some of the swirls? Some of the vehicles will get more attention for heavier correction. What should be my plan for these vehicles?



Rather than charging regular prices like I do for private vehicles I think I am going to tell him the price will be determined based on an hourly rate so I dont get screwed over with mega-crappy cars.



*Does Chemical Guys soung like a safe bet for one-step?



-- I detail cars for private owners, but havent had any experience with one-step products hence the need for my questions, thanks for the help!!
 
Joshua312 said:
I will be doing work on some vehicles purchased...fixed mechanically then detailed to sell. I will be detailing them, the amount per month is yet unknown. My question is, which product should I look into for the best one-step to polish out some of the swirls? Some of the vehicles will get more attention for heavier correction. What should be my plan for these vehicles?



Rather than charging regular prices like I do for private vehicles I think I am going to tell him the price will be determined based on an hourly rate so I dont get screwed over with mega-crappy cars.



*Does Chemical Guys soung like a safe bet for one-step?



-- I detail cars for private owners, but havent had any experience with one-step products hence the need for my questions, thanks for the help!!
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Be cautious as most wholesalers want a quick cheap turnaround. They hate to spend money on cars and have it done right.
 
94BlkStang said:
Be cautious as most wholesalers want a quick cheap turnaround. They hate to spend money on cars and have it done right.
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This is a friend of my boss' he knows my prices already and is willing to spend the money

Mainly he just fixes cars for customers but he wants to get into selling some on his lot...so he needs to have them look better
 
Joshua312 said:
*Does Chemical Guys soung like a safe bet for one-step?
Click to expand...



Which one of their products? I'm prepping a couple cars for trade-in using CG Revive glaze. Fixes some, covers up the rest with fillers, seal it in with a coat of wax and it's GTG.



Just a note, i'm by no means a professional detailer, just a hobbyist.
 
Bump - - Anyone have any other ideas for a one-step? Or could I do a Optimum Compound/Polish mix on a polishing pad then seal with M-21 Sealant or something else that will conceal the remaining marring left?
 
I'm not a pro detailer, but you mentioned chemical guys. I'm using their revive glaze to prep two of my family's cars for trade. Has some mild abrasives to fix some stuff and a lot of fillers to cover up the rest. Guess you could just top that with an inexpensive but durable wax to seal it all in.
 
Give some consideration to ValuGard's Fini System



Altho I don't use it daily, it is a simple and effective method of producing a nice finish in an efficient manner.



The system will put shiney cars on his lot. And that's the goal, yeah?



Jim
 
After lots of looking through past threads I think I am going to go with



Edit: Decided on Cerious Compound from ValuGard

Meguiars APC

Meguiars All Season Dressing

Meguiars Wheel Brightener (Going to highly dilute it to be safe)



Any input appreciated
 
CG's cut2polish has given me some seriously impressive results, the key to that product is slow movement allowing the mechanical abrasives to break down , the finish is very glossy.

I also use the Fini system and like it as well, using the their polish is a bit faster than CG's , but both give pretty good results.

Tony
 
Joshua312 said:
Rather than charging regular prices like I do for private vehicles I think I am going to tell him the price will be determined based on an hourly rate so I dont get screwed over with mega-crappy cars.
Click to expand...



You may be making a mistake to get into a situation where the customer realizes that everything you do is based on an hourly rate.



Of course, it is good to base your prices on how much you need to make per hour, however it is not a good idea to share that information with your customer. The reason is simply due to the fact that some vehicles may actually take you less time to complete than you estimated. In that case, it would be very easy for your customer to try to get you to lower the price because you were able to complete the job in less time.
 
If they are just going to turn around and sell it I would just slap some glaze on it or even Four star Professional 4-54 Sealant. The 4-54 has good swirl hiding properties.
 
I would honestly not even worry about an LSP in this situation. For a quick turnaround I would do a strong polishing step then either leave it that way or just do a quick spray of a QD or OCW to get some slickness.
 
mirrorfinishman said:
You may be making a mistake to get into a situation where the customer realizes that everything you do is based on an hourly rate.



Of course, it is good to base your prices on how much you need to make per hour, however it is not a good idea to share that information with your customer. The reason is simply due to the fact that some vehicles may actually take you less time to complete than you estimated. In that case, it would be very easy for your customer to try to get you to lower the price because you were able to complete the job in less time.
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For this car shop the...should I tell the guy $75 flat rate for cars and I'll do these steps:



Vaccum/wipedown interior with APC

ValuGard Cerious Compound

OCW

Clean wheels, dress wheel wells

Trim dressed with All Season Dressing



Anything else is extra: Spots out of carpet, scratches, heavy swirl removal, paste wax
 
I'm sure you'll include the (time to do) the windows...



If you'll use the VG Cerious, be certain to use Fast Finish, also. That makes the deal.



Jim
 
Jimmy Buffit said:
I'm sure you'll include the (time to do) the windows...



If you'll use the VG Cerious, be certain to use Fast Finish, also. That makes the deal.



Jim
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Windows for sure :) For the fast finish..Im kind of curious what exactly does it do in its spray form to help with the polishing stage? Thanks Jim!
 
Joshua312 said:
...should I tell the guy $75 flat rate for cars



Anything else is extra
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It is the same story. Trying to charge him a flat rate and then charging him extra for anything else allows him to try to lower your price when less work is involved.



It would be better to base your prices on how much you need to make per hour. What that means is that your price should be based on the age and condition of each individual vehicle and the amount of hours that your estimate it will take you to complete the job.



Simply multiply your hourly rate(what you need to make per hour) times the number of esimated hours you think it will take to complete each individual job. Using this method to price each job will elimate any guesswork and it will insure that you will always make a profit and continue to grow a successful business.
 
mirrorfinishman said:
Simply multiply your hourly rate(what you need to make per hour) times the number of esimated hours you think it will take to complete each individual job. Using this method to price each job will elimate any guesswork and it will insure that you will always make a profit and continue to grow a successful business.
Click to expand...



Keyword there is estimate . If he underestimates the number of hours it takes him, he will get hosed. Since he knows the customer, if the customer will pay him an hourly rate based on the actual number of hours spent, that seems like the way to insure he will always make a profit. Frank, I don't see how your car-by-car estimating method insulates Josh from the dealer trying to lowball him any more than the flat rate does. If the cars don't all cost the same, the dealer will know that different cars take different amounts of time (hell, he knows that anyway, that is the premise of your argument). Josh doesn't have the estimating skills that you have, otherwise the question wouldn't have come up.
 
Okay, well since I am merely one stepping these vehicles and not making them look perfect in the autopian eyes...I am going to tell him for $75 I will wash, remove grime (body solvent), one step with the cerious compound, apply OCW, clean wheels, dress trim/wheel wells, glass, vaccum interior, and wipedown interior



I will then tell him if he wants anything extra done, it is more - and we will base that on each vehicle that comes in. If he brings me a car that has many scratches, stained carpet, etc..and he wants something different/extra on this car..I will charge according to how much extra time it is going to take me. One thing that may be important for people trying to help me to know is that these vehicles will be done at my house..I live right down the road from this mechanic and he will allow me to keep the car overnight..whatever I want so I can do the cars under my territory. This was one stipulation I set up with him in the get-go. I ordered 2,000 business cards last week and they should be here soon, I am going to place those at his shop as well, and make sure people dont find out that I am the one prepping the vehicles to sell....because I dont want my reputation to look as if I simply do one steps- if faces with the question by someone I will merely tell them I fill the need my customer is looking for, for dealers it just isnt possible for them to pay for a full detail.
 
I'm just going to stick my nose in here one more time...just be careful...what you describe is a business you are running out of your home...which it surely isn't zoned for. Since you will have business cards, etc., that lead right back to you, you might want to think about that a little...real businesses require licenses, permits, insurance, taxes, etc.
 
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