How Do You Charge?

ok, really. I have just put together a standard price list. I have tried to base it on the general amount of time it takes for me to complete the task. I am trying to get it priced so that I am making anywhere from $20-$50 an hour. I let my clients know in advance that this is generally an 8-12 hour process so that they can plan for it (depending on what they are needing)

Then I will give discounts for bundled services. ex. I charge less for a full detail than I do for an interior plus and exterior plus engine separately.

And finally, I let my customers know that if they come back for service on the same car within 6 months, I will give them a discount. I generally do this because I know that the car has been well taken care of and should not have declines in condition that much over the 6 months.

I am also not shy about letting people know that I charge extra for out of the ordinary things. Like excessive dirt, or tar, or bugs, or pet hair, etc.

Hope that helps!

D!
 
D!Tailed said:
ok, really. I have just put together a standard price list. I have tried to base it on the general amount of time it takes for me to complete the task. I am trying to get it priced so that I am making anywhere from $20-$50 an hour. I let my clients know in advance that this is generally an 8-12 hour process so that they can plan for it (depending on what they are needing)

Then I will give discounts for bundled services. ex. I charge less for a full detail than I do for an interior plus and exterior plus engine separately.

And finally, I let my customers know that if they come back for service on the same car within 6 months, I will give them a discount. I generally do this because I know that the car has been well taken care of and should not have declines in condition that much over the 6 months.

I am also not shy about letting people know that I charge extra for out of the ordinary things. Like excessive dirt, or tar, or bugs, or pet hair, etc.

Hope that helps!

D!
Click to expand...

That's pretty close to what I do. But some people aren't interested in there paint looking perfect,they just want it to shine you know. So for them a package price works. But for other perfectionists like my self. They want perfection... that can take alot of time to achieve, so hourly is the only fair proposition for me and them.
 
I generally give a price range. Too difficult for me to go by the hour. I usually have a good understanding of how many hours it *should* take and price accordingly.
 
When I say by the hour I mean giving a time estimate and the price is based on a certain amount per hour.

So you meet the customer, inspect the car, and estimate it will take 13- 17 hours to complete. Say your prices are based on an hourly rate of $40/ hour. Therefore, price quote would be $520- $680.

So maybe you aren't charging by the hour necessarily, but the price is based on an hourly rate.
 
when you say "package price" what is in your package and what is the price? i am in the same boat, to where the majority of the people want their car " cleaned up ".
 
David Fermani said:
I generally give a price range. Too difficult for me to go by the hour. I usually have a good understanding of how many hours it *should* take and price accordingly.
Click to expand...

This is what I do too David. If I miss it by an hour or so, it's my fault and have never re-charged the customer from the original price. Most of who I deal with would not like a quote. Granted though, I do not do a lot of 500.00+ details. With the economy the way it is here, I try to stick to no more than 150.00 details. I've actually made more money by lowering my prices since my volume then picked up. For 100.00, I can give a customer's vehicle a thorough interior cleaning, a wash, and a 1-step correction/protection. They know what they are getting and are happy for what they get for that price.......a clean vehicle. I normally do these in 2.5 hours and I do 2-3 per day, 3 days a week. The other days are for routine follow ups. In the end, it works out to 45.00 an hour per hour worked, not in the day.
 
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