How would you price this?

A

autobahn

New member
Customer is looking for hand washes, twice a month, on two cars.



Now the number I've been using has been $35 for just an exterior foam gun hand wash, including wheels.



So I figure 2 cars, 2 times a month, would add up to $140/month. Discount for a "contract" opportunity would put me at around $100/110 a month. Does that seem fair? Obviously a lot of money when you find that automatic washes give out unlimited montly passes for $19/month these days, but this is hand labor. With my procedure (I spend about an hour each car) it would work out to be less than $25/hour when you work in materials costs as well.



I was looking in trying to work a UPGP seal once a month into the deal. So maybe charge $120/month and include the sealant?
 
I have a monthly deal...4 washes and one 1-step (poliseal) exterior detail. interior always will receive a vacuum, dusting and glass treatment (no leather, plastics, etc)....starts out at 175 a month....but that is for 4 washes....take two washes out and you are at your pricing of 125. but I am offering a one step polish/wax, not just a sealant wax. Its roughly a 15% savings if prepaid...



but here is the clincher, there must be at least 3 cars, if not more to sign up for this service...I cant just drive across town for one car...
 
i just put the costs of all details together and give my customers a $20 savings



weekly = 3 washes + interior (~$40 each) & 1 wash/wax + interior (~$90 each) = $210-$20=$190 total/month



bi-weekly = 1 wash + interior (~$40 each) & 1 wash/wax + interior (~$90 each) = $130-$20=$110 total/month
 
Why do you have to give a discount??



Doesn't make any sense to me to discount your work when you're using a foam gun, two bucket and other such quality techniques, sorry but you can't get high quality at those other place.



I say don't discount it at all, if he can't afford an extra $30 bucks a months for top quality care then don't waste your time.



Josh
 
JoshVette said:
Why do you have to give a discount??



Doesn't make any sense to me to discount your work when you're using a foam gun, two bucket and other such quality techniques, sorry but you can't get high quality at those other place.



I say don't discount it at all, if he can't afford an extra $30 bucks a months for top quality care then don't waste your time.



Josh
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While I see the point, perhaps the OP is just starting out and not done contract detail work before? maybe he thinks if offering a discount to a new customer can seal the deal per say. Me however, given prices of gas/food/my wife/etc if the customer that I have a contract with COMES TO ME then I offer 15% off, if I go to them then its full price period. and its ALWAYS prepay....
 
bwalker25 said:
While I see the point, perhaps the OP is just starting out and not done contract detail work before? maybe he thinks if offering a discount to a new customer can seal the deal per say. Me however, given prices of gas/food/my wife/etc if the customer that I have a contract with COMES TO ME then I offer 15% off, if I go to them then its full price period. and its ALWAYS prepay....
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I dont' understand this?



If they come to you then you offer them a discount?? But if they come to you then that means they're wanting your services and are willing to pay your prices, why discount that?



If you go to them then that means you're needing them and they are more at bay to negotiate at that point cause they don't neccassarily need you, you need them....



Is that what you're saying?
 
Even if he's new in the business, why discount a small percentage that only equates to a measly $30 off a month??? That's just not a deal clincher to me.....



Now I can understand if someone had 5-7 cars needing to be detailed twice a month, then that measly percentage adds up to like $75-$100 off per month, but even though that's a sweet deal for the client, if they have that many cars they can afford it.



You start discounting this early on and you'll end up discounting most of your clients cause you think it's the reason why they are signing up with you and you just don't make any money.



I vote no discount.:xyxthumbs
 
Well it's not a discount in the sense that I'm doing my work "on sale", more like a quantity discount. I still will charge $35 for an individual hand wash, but because he's having me do 2 cars twice a month, I believe at least a small discount is in order.



So $130/month is not unreasonable, then? My washes are of top quality, all microfiber mitts, foam gun + mitt on every panel, I rinse the mitts thoroughly after every panel to clean any grit out of the mitt, followed up by a flood rinse and a gentle microfiber dry.
 
I'm with Josh on this one... I give repeat clients a 5% discount on polishing only, but a wash is a wash and I might give $5 off if someone comes weekly or if I'm on really good terms with them.



In short, you simply shouldn't discount your services to anyone. Yes sometimes it's fine when you've built a good relationship with some client(s), but even they should be kept in check and understand that your services are worth exactly what you charge... you're not a hack shop which will get what they want even with a discount... I do sometimes lower my quote if I breeze through a job faster than I estimated I would, but at the end of the day, you're doing the work, you should get paid for the quality of work you've done...



So like Josh said, I vote no discount as well (99% of the time)
 
Oh and to answer your question, I would charge full price because, again as Josh said, what's a $10-30 savings to the client... he knows what you can do, he knows what to expect and he knows it's worth it, so why give him a discount.
 
I agree with Josh........Skip the discount and if he wants quality then he should pay. If he wants cheap then find a local hack a whack shop that is desparate and let them goop his car with 1980's tradition and love.



If you are putting quality time and passion into his vehicle with quality products then he should also give you a great tip also and then pass the word along. Quality does not come cheap, it comes hard to find. You get what you pay for.
 
autobahn said:
Well it's not a discount in the sense that I'm doing my work "on sale", more like a quantity discount. I still will charge $35 for an individual hand wash, but because he's having me do 2 cars twice a month, I believe at least a small discount is in order.



So $130/month is not unreasonable, then? My washes are of top quality, all microfiber mitts, foam gun + mitt on every panel, I rinse the mitts thoroughly after every panel to clean any grit out of the mitt, followed up by a flood rinse and a gentle microfiber dry.
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I think it's very reasonable IMO.



And let me be real with you, two cars is not a quantity, even the poor people in America have two cars.....;) For me quantity means 4 or more but that's just me.



One thing to keep in mind is educating your clients. You say you do top quality work, but everyone says the same thing..... so make sure your clients understand WHY MF towels are better and WHY two bucket washing and prefoam soaking is better and all that, otherwise they just see a clean car and not a safely kept long lasting finish due to no swirls being added.:idea



Josh
 
I totally agreee with Josh! Educating your customers is the main key and not only if they decide not to use you, they then will go to a second shop and ask them if they do all those steps. If they do not then the customer will come back to you and it will be a sealed deal.



The more knowledge you show to a customer the more they want and trust you to do their vehicles. Always go into long detail about everything that way they know how much work is really involved in doing things right.



The prices that you are charging are VERY cheap. Sometimes cheap prices scream cheap work to some customers that you really should be focusing on. Educated people always know, you get what you pay for.



Example: Let's say you go into a store and look at 2 buffers. You see one cheap one for $49 dollars or you see another one for $179, which one would you get if you are looking for quality? Now you see what I mean? Yes you may know the difference cause you are educated on the brands and quality. Your customers do not know the difference, so you have to educate them and once you do that they will never go to a hack shop again and you now have a new customer.
 
rydawg said:
The more knowledge you show to a customer the more they want and trust you to do their vehicles.
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+1! So many times I talked to someone for 5 minutes straight when doing an inspection and their response is "Where do I sign?" or "When can you do this?"



You don't need to bs when advertising your business but definitely sell what you do and it'll show potential clients what's involved and what it's worth... rydawg said it perfectly
 
I only do my wash and vacuums with a bi-weekly or monthly agreement. If the customer has me do it bi-weekly, it is slightly cheaper than monthly. The car is cleaner, which makes my work easier, and the customer is giving me steady and frequent income all year round. As always to each is own. I can never understand why people so aggressively disagree about how others operate their business.
 
yea Josh... Rydawg... you guys have things extreamly skewed I think. You guys have the reputation and the ability to talk the way you guys do because you've worked years putting in hard hours building up that clientel and rep. What works for you two I can honestly say won't work for the mass majority on this board. It's his operation let him run it as it works out for him. Telling people they charge to little is stupid. You have no idea what his actual quality is like You have no idea what his area is like. Maybe he's alreay 20% or more higher than any local compitetion. That would change the light on almost everything you guys are saying. I personally think paying upwards of $130+ for simple hand washes and a one step polish is insane. But that's because in my area no one even the uber rich would ever think about paying that. If he can get it awesome. But to say that's cheap is just plain stupid... And insulting to the buying public of america. We wash cars guys.... In most cases it's looked upon by the general public as one step above washing dishes... Certian people have the ability to niche a service and get paid top dollar while the majority do DD' and volume work. Most people on this board are weekend warriors. Not pro's.



Let me toss this out though. Just Q/A a bit



Why is a MF mit better?



Why is a 2 bucket sytem better?



I don;t usually discount either but I do upgrade to a better wax or something.
 
I start at min. 50.00 per car , trucks 70.00 , SUV's 80.00. for maintence washes that i have corrected for the customer (Detail) and if i have to travel a bit then the price goes up alittle.
 
Jakerooni said:
yea Josh... Rydawg... you guys have things extreamly skewed I think. You guys have the reputation and the ability to talk the way you guys do because you've worked years putting in hard hours building up that clientel and rep. What works for you two I can honestly say won't work for the mass majority on this board. It's his operation let him run it as it works out for him. Telling people they charge to little is stupid. You have no idea what his actual quality is like You have no idea what his area is like. Maybe he's alreay 20% or more higher than any local compitetion. That would change the light on almost everything you guys are saying. I personally think paying upwards of $130+ for simple hand washes and a one step polish is insane. But that's because in my area no one even the uber rich would ever think about paying that. If he can get it awesome. But to say that's cheap is just plain stupid... And insulting to the buying public of america. We wash cars guys.... In most cases it's looked upon by the general public as one step above washing dishes... Certian people have the ability to niche a service and get paid top dollar while the majority do DD' and volume work. Most people on this board are weekend warriors. Not pro's.



Let me toss this out though. Just Q/A a bit



Why is a MF mit better?



Why is a 2 bucket sytem better?



I don;t usually discount either but I do upgrade to a better wax or something.
Click to expand...



You got it wrong... what rydawg said, and what I agreed with, is not to discount services for repeat clients or clients with many cars (which comes out to be the same thing haha)... rydawg did not tell the OP how much to charge for each service, rather not to discount those services.. you see the difference?



As for the $130, you say $130+ for a simple hand wash, but he was talking about 3-4 hand washes per month, not just 1.



I don't know why MF mitt is better (I don't think it is better or worse as I use both mf and sheepskin)



2 bucket system is better than 1-bucket depending on how you're washing... it's better than one bucket because you will rinse off some of the dirt into the rinse bucket... but it's not anything great because best would be to rinse off the mitt/sponge with the hose before going back to wash bucket... many here have mentioned using just 1-bucket with great results and it all comes from proper rinsing of the sponge after each panel
 
personally here in this area with all the hack shops around charging nickle and dime prices people here will NOT pay top quality money even if your work screams quality and perfection. The uber rich here wont pay it and those that do well it would be years before that door would open for me. I am a weekend warrior I work full time and detail on the side for extra money. I can't charge alot to my clients because I dont have many of them and I dont want who I do have to go looking else where, so they get a hacked up car so I price on the low end to keep them and do top notch work. Just starting for me I would rather have LOW prices and a TON OF WORK then high prices and not be able to get work. You see you can have low prices and make more than someone with higher prices, just depends on the volume of work. As was previously said what works for some in 1 area will NOT work for others in other areas of the country. You must be able to adjust and price the people in your area....
 
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