How do my prices look for my new business?

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dcswd

New member
Here are my prices. I'll be starting business real soon, but I want any input that Autopians might have for me.



#1 Wash

$25 for most cars, $35 for oversized vehicles

Hand Wash, Bugs and Tar Removed, Rims and Tires Cleaned, Exterior Trim and Tires dressed, Windows Cleaned





#2 Quick Interior and Exterior

$80 for most cars

Includes the #1 package plus -

1 Step Wax, Interior Vacuumed & Spot Cleaned, Vinyl and Rubber dressed



#3 Full Interior, Mini-Exterior

$125 for most cars

Includes the #1 package plus -

Clay, Wax, Interior Shampooed, Leather Cleaned and Conditioned, Vinyl and Rubber are Cleaned & Conditioned



#4 Everything

$170 for most cars

Includes the #1 package plus -

clay, swirls removed with PC, wax, Interior Shampooed, Leather Cleaned and Conditioned, Vinyl and Rubber are Cleaned & Conditioned





If it helps, I'm doing this in Oceanside, CA. I'm really experienced with doing interiors. I wont be using an extractor or anything like that though... just cleaners and towels. I just got some QEW, so ill probably be using that. I still need a bit of experience with the PC though, but I think i'll get that pretty fast.



Thanks for any tips
 
ah yes, I forgot to add that here. I took off all my marketing stuff from my possible price sheet. I was thinking of adding "for most cars" after the prices and then add something about needing to see the vechicle for a more accurate price quote.
 
Sounds like alot of money for someone just starting out. When you just start out in business the most important thing you must do is justify to your customers a reason for bringing their vehicle to you. Price is certaintly part of the picture but references, time in business, and quality detailing by an experienced detailer will all come into play. Good luck but your #1 concern is to get the business.
 
BlueRanger said:
does the wash include an interior wipedown and vacuume?
Click to expand...



I wasn't planning on it, but if you think that would make a better package, id be sure to do that.
 
You might want to get a Little Green Machine from Wal-Mart for about $70 and you can add steam cleaning as one of your options. Also, if your not real experieced with your PC you might not want to claim that you can remove swirls - just say lightened or removed. And as far as your prices go, just name your minimum price and then say "and up" after it.
 
One item that really stands out to me is in your #1/$25 package you state that you will remove tar. That could really bite you if you came across some cars/trucks that I've seen.



Other than that, you know generally how long it takes you to complete the stated tasks. Determine what hourly rate you want to earn and go from there.



Good luck in your new endeavor.
 
good point on the tar thing. I'll be removing that from my listing. So if the bugs/tar is real light i'll remove it for free but if its heavy, I would have to work out a price.



Thanks for the tips. They are very helpful. :D
 
Me personally, I would include an interior vacumme. It just finishes off the basic package IMO. Who wants a clean car on the outside, and all your stimutents on the inside? If they are repeat customers, it should be taht bad, and only take you 10-15 min (new cust) 5-10 repeat customer. Assuming you had a powerful vacumme cleaner, maybe less. Quick wipe down, all of a minute.....Thats just me man, if your sucessful with your existing plan, by all means, keep to it!
 
I agree with blueranger. Introduce a wipe down and vacumm is a must. Most of My customer like a interior and exterior basic clean. From that point on, some prefer tyre dressing, vynil conditioners, etc....



I charge 23 € for interior vacumm, interior wipe down(dashboard, console,..), , glass cleaning, hand car wash with quality shampoo.



This one is very popular.
 
You have to keep in mind your competition's pricing and the cost of living in your area. Where I live for instance, the other detailers charge around 190 for a total package for a mid-size vehicle. Claying is not included which is around 20 dollars if you request it done.
 
Thanks for the replies



I think I am going to remove the full package from my price sheet for now, but I will still do it if requested. Once I have a tiny bit mroe experience and have had the time to research more about what other detailers are charging in the area, ill have a better idea on the price for that.
 
I live in Redondo Beach, and I think your pricing is fair. Won't be the cheapest, but won't be the most. I know Oceanside is a high cost of living, so they vehicles you're going to be detailing could be high value and willing to pay a little more. I'd check with the local car washes for their price sheets. If you can get a price sheet from a professional detail shop also, put yourself between the two.



Packages seem to be pretty good. I'd maybe add an engine cleaning option to the set-up, as you can almost always get someone to pay for that when they're selling a car (a clean engine is worth lots more $$$).
 
You've got to find out what your competition is charging. Once you do you can set your prices accordingly. I charge $175 now for a full interior and exterior including 3 step wax (compounding, polishing, sealing) claying, interior steam cleaning (I bought a little green) leather cleaning etc. It takes me about 4 hours usually so thats $44 an hour. I price everything according to that figure, I charge $25 for a wash on a car (always include vacuuming because thats what they would get if they went to a carwash). Thats about $5 less than most detailing companies. Recent experience has taught me normal washes are the place to concentrate your efforts. Once you wash a customer's car every week you have a small but dependable income (every car is $100 a month) and the opportunity to sell them and their friends on more services down the road. I just got a weekly customer to wash her BMW and was able to do her daughter's Jeep 2 step wax and full interior for $170. Plus she took 10 business cards to give to her friends! I've already gotten leads off of her so it was worthwhile for me to shave the $5 off my wash because it helped me get her business.



BUT I can afford to not have the business as I have the full time income from my marketing business. If you NEED this income then as Auto Care said you might want to focus on getting the business before maximizing profit.
 
This will be my summer job for fun. Just inbetween college semesters. Once school starts again, ill still be doing it, but not as much. I'll still be happy if I do 3 details or 20 details. I want to charge prices that are fair, but I want to still be making money.





I was thinking of charging $35 for most cars for a wash.



That would include Wash (QEW), Rims/Tires Cleaned, Exterior Trim and Tires dressed, Interior Vacuumed and Wiped down, Windows Cleaned Inside and out.



I haven't had a lot of practice with QEW yet but I was thinking that would take about 1.5 hours. Does that sound like a fair price? I know that there are two hand car wash places in my area, so I would have to stress that my wash would be better (in order to justify a higher price, if my price is higher... I still need to check)
 
I'm pricing my hand wash package at 25 baseline. Car washes here charge 30 and the detailers charge 30. I figure that since I'm a new business I have to fight for that initial inertia when it comes to creating business. You don't want to overvalue your service nor do you want to devalue it just to compete for the frugal consumers.
 
dcswd said:
I was thinking of charging $35 for most cars for a wash.



That would include Wash (QEW), Rims/Tires Cleaned, Exterior Trim and Tires dressed, Interior Vacuumed and Wiped down, Windows Cleaned Inside and out.
Click to expand...



Be careful there. I do all of that for $25 for a car, $30 for a station wagon/SUV/Minivan and $35 for a monster SUV. For something like a 5 series BMW (normal sized car) it takes me 45 minutes. So going back to my $44 an hour I want to be making that more or less works out. I take a little hit on a wash because its going to be regular business and its a window into more expensive services. You can't sign them for that $170 detail the car really needs until you wash it a few times, earn their trust, and see what the car needs done. Then you can say this when they come out to see the nice clean car:



"Hey Bill, couple things I've noticed, I can fix this this this and this, and the paint really needs to be waxed"



"I see that (he of course wants his BMW, Benz, whatever looking its best) what would you charge me?"



"$170, that would include buffing out those scratches, conditioning those leather seats, steam cleaning out those stains, polishing and waxing the paint"



"Great!"



Thats how you want it to go, and thats easier to do with a recurring wash customer. What you have to understand is to most people a carwash is a carwash, they're not going to see the benefits of your wash vs a carwash. If anything a carwash is going to be easier for them and if its cheaper too, well...



You want to sell those washes and get that customer base.
 
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