Detailing for dealers new/used?

F

Flexin

New member
Is anyone doing any detailing for any dealers? What services do they ask for and what prices do you charge for them? My shop is about about a month an a half to two months from opening and today while doing work on the shop the dealer next door stopped by. He asked when we will be opening. Introduced himself and asked what we would charge to do all of his cars. I know he asked for a wash, interior clean and I can't remember if he said wax. I wasn't ready for him to show up. I went blank. I need to sit down with him and see what he really wants done to these cars. I know he washes his cars and I think cleans them out so if he wants something quick then it wouldn't be worth it to get me to do it when he has been doing it. I want the work because it can help pay the bills. He has 20+ cars right now ranging from cars like a Precedia ($2500) and Intrepid ($2850) to 5 BMW's ($6500-34000) to a 55' Thunderbird ($37500) to a Ferrari Mondail Cabriolet to two H2's($62000-72000). I really want to get my hands on some of these cars. Well all of them really. Even the cheap ones because they look good for what they are but they have bad swirls that I want to remove. He also said he will have a lot more cars in the summer. Damn I'm long winded. :D



Anyway I'm trying to decide what to offer him. I know I need to sit down with him first to see what he really wants me to do with these cars before I can really price anything up. I do know that one of the shops around here offers a 30% discount if they are giving at least 4 cars a month.



So does anyone do this kind of work?



James
 
Well, I think you would first need to come up with a contract. Offer him a package price for say maybe a light, medium, and heavy duty details. (Not necessarily those words, more or less descriptions) Im sure he is, and you will come across some cars that just need a little refreshing, to complete details with SMR and interior work galore. Make sure you dont sell yourself short, or leave yourself without anytime to detail the real money maker clientelle. Your also going to have to set yourself up with proper products for all of the above type of details. Obviously a all in one type of cleaner/protectant like ColorX or AIO, cleaner/mild protection products like Moosewax, etc...You get the pic, if he accepts your offer, you have to be prepared......
 
Dealers, dealers, dealers........LOL. They are a totaly different breed of detailing customers. Even over the years I have had high end car dealers trying to kill me on the prices. The price you give the dealer is probably going to have to be pretty cheap. Most dealers that have been in a location for a while already have detailers. The best thing is to phone the other companys in your area and ask what they are charging. This will give you a better idea of what to charge. Most dealers want a total clean up. There are alot of little tricks you can do do save time and money when dealing with dealers. PM me and I will let you know some. For starters if you don't already know start learning how to use a rotary. A rotary and a cleaner/wax will work great for this application. They will want a cheap price 9 out of 10 times. Your objective here is time is money. As far as products go,sta away from the good "name brand" stuff. Call your local distributer and start buying in bulk. To use AIO or any other stuff is a waste of your money. Cheap and fast is what you want. No name distributer products work really well when used properly. If you can't find your distributer go down to your local new car dealer and ask their detail dept. Where they order from.



JW
 
I have a dealer down the street from me that has a full line of Malco products. You can get them in bulk. The thing that is going to get me is I don't want low quality work rolling out our doors. I know most used car dealers won't want the best but I need to try to get him to meet me half way. For example. I don't want to send a car back out with swirls. Idon't want something that I'm not happy with out there and him saying "yeah the guys next door cleaned that car" :mad: I'm picky and I'm starting to think that could be good and bad in this kind of business.



James
 
Scottwax said:
Honestly the dealers around here want the work done for $50-60. Not worth it for me.
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What do they want done for the $50-60? Your mobile right? If so for that price they would need to have enough lined up to keep you going all day. For me he is right next door to me so depending on what he wants done and what he is willing to pay it might be good for me. And I might try to set some up for after hours. Try to fill my day with retail and do some of his cars after I close my doors. I could take two of his cars and do them that night and leave them there. When I open in the morning I have give him his cars.



James
 
All the used car dealerships around here stock cars with swirls. I also doubt that the dealer wants them swirl free. Malco is great stuff. Wash and use a AIO type of product. They pay $80.00 around here.
 
tdekany said:
All the used car dealerships around here stock cars with swirls. I also doubt that the dealer wants them swirl free. Malco is great stuff. Wash and use a AIO type of product. They pay $80.00 around here.
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Do you know what they get for the $80?



James
 
tdekany said:
All the used car dealerships around here stock cars with swirls. I also doubt that the dealer wants them swirl free. Malco is great stuff. Wash and use a AIO type of product. They pay $80.00 around here.
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So in the Malco line then the Restore-it Cleaner/Glaze or Rejuvenator One-step paint restoration would be good products? I'm going to buy a few of them in the smaller bottles to see what I like then get the larger size.



James
 
Flexin said:
So in the Malco line then the Restore-it Cleaner/Glaze or Rejuvenator One-step paint restoration would be good products? I'm going to buy a few of them in the smaller bottles to see what I like then get the larger size.



James
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yes
 
Flexin said:
My shop is about about a month an a half to two months from opening and today while doing work on the shop the dealer next door stopped by. He asked when we will be opening. Introduced himself and asked what we would charge to do all of his cars.



James
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James,



It sounds like you are missing some basic information about how to successfully market your detailing business. Here are a few questions worth thinking about.



1- Do you have any idea of the hourly rate you need to make in order to make a profit and stay in business?



2- Will your hourly rate be compromised by doing low priced wholesale work?



3- Have you given any though to creating a strategic marketing plan that will help you to define your business purpose and mission?



4- What methods will you be using in order to establish meaningful objectives and set realistic goals for your new shop?
 
mirrorfinishman said:
James,



It sounds like you are missing some basic information about how to successfully market your detailing business. Here are a few questions worth thinking about.



1- Do you have any idea of the hourly rate you need to make in order to make a profit and stay in business?



2- Will your hourly rate be compromised by doing low priced wholesale work?



3- Have you given any though to creating a strategic marketing plan that will help you to define your business purpose and mission?



4- What methods will you be using in order to establish meaningful objectives and set realistic goals for your new shop?
Click to expand...



First off thank you for asking these questions. It can help me from over looking something. The basic answer to those questions is yes. As far as making a profit goes I know what we need to make an hour to be able to stay in business. I need to know exactly what he wants done to his cars and then see if he is willing to pay me enough to make it worth it for me. I don't think he expects a lot. My price will depend on the amount of time I figure it will take to do the work. Also if the price he wants to pay is just worth it I'll try to set it up with him that I do it more on my time. One way is to do some after hours (after I'm done the retail work) to bring in extra cash. If I'm having a slow day and he has some cars that need to be done I can do some during the day and get out early. So the way I see it is, if I can get a good price from him it will be really good for the shop.



James

1.
 
BTW you need to remember that this will be a fixed location. So small jobs that wouldn't be worth the set up time for a mobile detailer will be good for me.



James
 
My reason for asking a question like this is to get as much info on what I'm doing as I can. Getting tips and info for someone who has done it before can save time, money and a huge headache. So thats why I'm here. To learn all I can.



James
 
I can honestly tell you that dealer work is the pits and you should avoid it at all costs. The average length of time it takes for a detail shop to go out of business is 6 months. 6 months! One of the reasons for this is because of concentrating on doing the wrong type of work for the wrong type of money. How much should you be charging for a complete detail including the engine? You should be charging at least $150 for a car and a dealer is willing to pay you what? $90? $110? What justifies such a massive cut in price? Are your profit margins such that you can afford to cut your prices as such and still make a comfortable living for your hard work? Also, you need to factor in all the "extras" that inevitably come with doing wholesale work for the dealers. First you need extra insurance to pick up and deliver the cars. Second you need "dealer plates" which around here cost $200 + a year each for licensing. Thirdly you need to account for all the time it takes to go to the dealer, get the car and drive it back to the shop and then return it when you are done. A lot of extra work and expense there that you DO NOT HAVE when dealing with a retail customer that is paying you at least 25-30% more money. Oh and factor in that the dealer will not pay you for your work for at least 30 days (if you are lucky). Attractive proposition isn't it? I know the dealer game and have been in it for over 11 years. Every successful detailer I have ever met either does not do dealer work (at least not for a discount) or has gotten out of doing it after learning it doesn't pay. Do yourself a favour - spend your time finding customers that have the money to get their cars done and then sell, sell, sell. Build a business that will grow and prosper rather than you becoming a slave to someone that does not respect your value.
 
ShineShop said:
I can honestly tell you that dealer work is the pits and you should avoid it at all costs. The average length of time it takes for a detail shop to go out of business is 6 months. 6 months! One of the reasons for this is because of concentrating on doing the wrong type of work for the wrong type of money. How much should you be charging for a complete detail including the engine? You should be charging at least $150 for a car and a dealer is willing to pay you what? $90? $110? What justifies such a massive cut in price? Are your profit margins such that you can afford to cut your prices as such and still make a comfortable living for your hard work? Also, you need to factor in all the "extras" that inevitably come with doing wholesale work for the dealers. First you need extra insurance to pick up and deliver the cars. Second you need "dealer plates" which around here cost $200 + a year each for licensing. Thirdly you need to account for all the time it takes to go to the dealer, get the car and drive it back to the shop and then return it when you are done. A lot of extra work and expense there that you DO NOT HAVE when dealing with a retail customer that is paying you at least 25-30% more money. Oh and factor in that the dealer will not pay you for your work for at least 30 days (if you are lucky). Attractive proposition isn't it? I know the dealer game and have been in it for over 11 years. Every successful detailer I have ever met either does not do dealer work (at least not for a discount) or has gotten out of doing it after learning it doesn't pay. Do yourself a favour - spend your time finding customers that have the money to get their cars done and then sell, sell, sell. Build a business that will grow and prosper rather than you becoming a slave to someone that does not respect your value.
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I understand what your saying about all that come with dealer work. But that wouldn't be the case with this one dealer. His door is 10 feet away from mine. Last night his H2 was parked 2 feet from my window. And we have some leads on some retail work right now and will be going for that more then anything.



James
 
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