How much to charge, suggestions please!

M

MandarinaRacing

New member
For those of you that live in the US, how much do you guys charge for a very thorough wash and wax? (small sedan)



Here's the process:



1- Wash the wheels and tires



2- Wash the wheelwells



3- Dress wheelwells with Hyper-Dressing



4- Wash the car



5-Dry the car with MF and blow dry trim and other parts



6- Dress all exterior trim and mouldings



7- Wax with synthetic wax



8- Vacuum interior (carpets, door panels, dash, console, trunk)



9- Wipe door jambs with Last Touch



10- Dress interior (door panels, dash, console, trunk)



11- Clean interior glass



12- Buff out wax



13- Clean exterior glass



14- Dress Tires



Aproximate time is 2.5 to 3 hours for a small sedan



Thanks,



Alex
 
There has being quite a few discussions about this. Depends on market. Try for around $40 to start and go from there. You might want to upgrade to a simple polish before wax, it makes a vast improvement and should take an hour or less with a PC.
 
I'd charge 85, a good time saver is to not do the outside glass with glass cleaner. I used to wash the whole car with a foamgun, let it drip dry while I did the interior, and then do everything with a PC and Poli-Seal (exterior glass too).
 
Hmmmm.... 2.5 - 3 hours is a lot of time to spend on a car that you aren't even claying or polishing. If I was spending that kind of time on it then I would charge around $120. However, to remain competitive for the services offered, that type of job is an $80 or $90 job around here. Typically I set my prices based on a $40 per hour rate, but you have to work up to speed to be efficient enough to get through a car like that in a time that satisfies the need for quality and the need for money. Spend 3 hours on an $80 job and you are losing money. The process behind what you are doing might need to be evaluated to determine where you could save some time. That job shouldn't take more than two hours in normal conditions. If the car is really hammered then that is when you up the price. I'm just thinking of a late model car in good shape that evidently doesn't need to be clayed or polished.
 
I'd charge around $60-70 for that job... seems like a simple wash & wax



It does all depend on the market though.. you might only be able to charge $20-30...
 
lecchilo said:
I'd charge around $60-70 for that job... seems like a simple wash & wax



It does all depend on the market though.. you might only be able to charge $20-30...
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$20-30 even for a simple wash and vac is pushing it. I don't know what the market is like in Costa Rica, but the only way someone here in the US could charge $20 for a wash/vac is if they have 5 or more cars to do at one locationl. For the amount of work and the time needed that you mentioned, $90-100 minimum.
 
clnfrk said:
$20-30 even for a simple wash and vac is pushing it. I don't know what the market is like in Costa Rica, but the only way someone here in the US could charge $20 for a wash/vac is if they have 5 or more cars to do at one locationl. For the amount of work and the time needed that you mentioned, $90-100 minimum.
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I charge $50 for wash and vacuums; $60 or more for oversized vehicles. It usually takes me 1.5-2.5 hours to complete my wash and vacuums. I do not work slow and my process is good. I feel the service is thorough and a good value for th customer. Note, my wash and vacuums do not include wax or dressing interior surfaces.
 
clnfrk said:
$20-30 even for a simple wash and vac is pushing it. I don't know what the market is like in Costa Rica, but the only way someone here in the US could charge $20 for a wash/vac is if they have 5 or more cars to do at one locationl. For the amount of work and the time needed that you mentioned, $90-100 minimum.
Click to expand...



It's tough! Average wash and wax down here is $5 for a small sedan. But most if not all are of very poor quality.



There are no Detail Centers, or mobile detailers, some of the car washes do "paint correction" if you can call it that.



The high-end collision repair shops do paint correction, but they're focused more on volume than quality detailing.



I'm by no means a PRO detailer, I do it because I enjoy detailing cars.



I charge $20 for the service posted above, and all of my clients are very pleased. Some people here



find it hard to justify why they would pay 4x as much for a "simple car wash".



Here are my base prices:



Wash & Wax $20



Wash & Seal + Clay $40



Exterior detail with minor paint correction $100



Interior detail $50



Ful detail $150







If you look in my website you can see some of my work!



cheers,



Alex



AB Auto Detailing
 
MandarinaRacing said:
It's tough! Average wash and wax down here is $5 for a small sedan. But most if not all are of very poor quality.



There are no Detail Centers, or mobile detailers, some of the car washes do "paint correction" if you can call it that.



The high-end collision repair shops do paint correction, but they're focused more on volume than quality detailing.



I'm by no means a PRO detailer, I do it because I enjoy detailing cars.



I charge $20 for the service posted above, and all of my clients are very pleased. Some people here



find it hard to justify why they would pay 4x as much for a "simple car wash".



Here are my base prices:



Wash & Wax $20



Wash & Seal + Clay $40



Exterior detail with minor paint correction $100



Interior detail $50



Ful detail $150







If you look in my website you can see some of my work!



cheers,



Alex



AB Auto Detailing
Click to expand...



Like I said, I'm not sure what your market is like over there, so I can only go by the average going rate over here. If you can cover your expenses and still have a decent amount of change left over charging those prices, then thats all that really matters.
 
Here in Denver I would charge something like $150 for that. It would take me about 2 hours if I used the PC. I use mostly chemical guys products and do explain the value and protection added versus the common over the shelf stuff. I see you are using the meg's detailer line, I'm not very familiar with the products.



Bottomline is... Figure out how much YOU are worth. That $150 is my intro package. From there I can do add-ons (mostly at $100/hr factored in the prices) or product upgrades (which don't cost me much unless we go into the high end glazes and waxes). The numbers might be different down there but first figure out how much you think you need to make an hour to have a decent living. Start pricing it from there. I'm originally from Brazil and I'm sure as hell that I would not be able to charge more than $25 for my $150 package.



My 2 centavos of Reais.
 
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