How am I doing on time?

D

dcswd

New member
So I have been taking about 2 to 2.25 hours to do a "wash and wax" on a customers vehicle.



This job consists of (and in this order):

Interior vac, dash wipe down,

qew wash,

wipe out doorjambs

clean wheels,

wax exterior (usually with the regular sun friendly waxes),

dress tires and wheel wells,

clean windows





I was wondering what the other pros though about the time it takes me to do this amount of work. How does it compare to what you do? If everyone thinks I'm too slow I'd do some work to figure out how to make things faster, otherwise I'll keep doing the same thing.



Thanks for the help.
 
This would be for first time jobs. So there is usually bug guts or tar or something similar on the paint somewhere that slows me down. As well as whatever else you would expect.
 
Your timing is not bad, but it also depends on what you are charging. Speed comes with experience and having a routine down. For a wash and wax on a regular sedan in "normal" condition, I generally take about 1.5-2hours, and obviously shorter than that on small two door sport cars.
 
For me it all depends on what I'm trying to achieve, what vehicle it is, what condition it's in and also, it may sound stupid, but where it's parked. I can wash and dry my car (BMW 1 Series - including the wheels) in about 45 minutes as it's well maintained and I have heaps of space around it to work. On the other hand the same job on a clients X5 can take over an hour as it's a bigger car, I have to get a ladder to do the roof and it's parked in quite a tight area so can't work as freely.



Ben
 
I have been charging around $45 to $60 for this job depending on size and condition. So its about $25/hour.



Thanks for the input everyone.
 
dcswd said:
I have been charging around $45 to $60 for this job depending on size and condition. So its about $25/hour.



Thanks for the input everyone.
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I used to take about 3 houra for this type of work and prices started at $85, but I also including claying. Now I do ABC and have cut my time down to about 2 hours, and still charge $85.
 
Yeah like other says, it really depend on the condition of the car. For example my 1999 Accord, I can do it in 45min(all the steps you inputed). If a car never been wax/vacuum for year, then 2 hr isnt bad.
 
Depends on the car and condition. I can wash/wax my own car in under an hour. I've had trashed Suburbans take more than 3 hours for the same thing...and that is just waxing, no polishing included.
 
dcswd said:
If everyone thinks I'm too slow I'd do some work to figure out how to make things faster, otherwise I'll keep doing the same thing.
Click to expand...



When you price the job correctly, based on how many hours you know it will take you to complete, it really shouldn't matter how long it takes other people. Detailing should never be a race against the clock. It's much more important to charge enough money so that you know that you have plenty of time to do the job without being rushed.
 
dcswd said:
If everyone thinks I'm too slow I'd do some work to figure out how to make things faster, otherwise I'll keep doing the same thing.
Click to expand...



When you price the job correctly, based on how many hours you know it will take you to complete, it really shouldn't matter how long it takes other people. Detailing should never be a race against the clock. It's much more important to charge enough money so that you know that you have plenty of time to do the job without being rushed.
 
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