I think I undercharged!

J

jwgarrison

New member
I did my first detail today on an expedition. It was my son's teacher, and I told her I charge $75.00 for a basic detail, (which consisted of exterior wash- wheels, tires, wheel wells all cleaned. Interior consisted of vacumming-seats, under seats, carpet as well as floor mats. All glass was cleaned inside and out, and tires were dressed, as well as door jambs wiped. The process took about 2-1/2 hours to complete, because the vehicle was in worst shape than I thought (should have looked at the vehicle first before giving a price) Sorry, should have posted pics. Was this an undercharged job, and if so, can anyone give advice on how to price? Thanks.:hairpull
 
Once you build a business based on quality you can charge more for your "basic" wash. Not only that, but you'll only get faster as time goes on.



But, where the money is, is in up-selling. Not lying to your client(WORSE THING YOU CAN DO IS LIE!), but noting something else that they might find value in having done. Like leather cleaned and conditioned or a vinyl treatment. Basic washes are for paying the bills, up-selling is for sending your kid to college. In basic washes I billed $90 today, for 2 cars. But, because I up-sold those 2 cars I billed a total of $405.



Congratulations on your first professional job!
 
Thanks guys for the encouragement! I also forgot to mention I did a wipedown of all vinyl trim and applied a protectant. Integrity detail-What could I have done different or added to my service, to be considered an autopian detail.
 
Whether or not you undercharged is for you to decide, not others. I do this for a living, and can not afford to undercharge. I would be out of business if I did. I would be able to charge much less if I did not pay licensing, taxes, insurance, advertising, and have the best equipment. Not trying to sound like an a**, but if you are just doing this for an extra buck, you can probably charge a lot less than someone detailing for a living, and still make a profit.
 
brwill2005 said:
Whether or not you undercharged is for you to decide, not others. I do this for a living, and can not afford to undercharge. I would be out of business if I did. I would be able to charge much less if I did not pay licensing, taxes, insurance, advertising, and have the best equipment. Not trying to sound like an a**, but if you are just doing this for an extra buck, you can probably charge a lot less than someone detailing for a living, and still make a profit.
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I agree with this totally. I'm in a limbo with making this a full time business, and doing it part time until I can go full time in a few months. Right now I charge around $50 for cars for what you just did. I've yet to do an SUV with just a wash. Actually, I do a little bit more than you for $50.. but like others have said, it's all about location, what you feel is necessary and what you can afford.



I'm not doing more full correction details and I'm charging between 150-300 right now. Why? Because my customer base isn't there, I'm not as efficient or good as others on here (still learning day by day!), and because it's all just going to buy more supplies!



Sounds like you charged about right. Good luck with everything!



Aaron
 
brwill2005 said:
Whether or not you undercharged is for you to decide, not others. I do this for a living, and can not afford to undercharge. I would be out of business if I did. I would be able to charge much less if I did not pay licensing, taxes, insurance, advertising, and have the best equipment. Not trying to sound like an a**, but if you are just doing this for an extra buck, you can probably charge a lot less than someone detailing for a living, and still make a profit.
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+1



im a senior in high school and just do it for extra cash on the weekends/after school. i do not pay taxes, ect. but am licensed for protection purposes and to look more professional. I am happy with making $25-30/hr for being 18.
 
ajnavo61490 said:
+1



im a senior in high school and just do it for extra cash on the weekends/after school. i do not pay taxes, ect. but am licensed for protection purposes and to look more professional. I am happy with making $25-30/hr for being 18.
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+1 on that! I make more in 2 details than I do in 2 weeks at my bank job :)
 
everyone has different prices, based on what your market will allow, your level of expertise, competitors pricing, cost of materials etc.
 
You have two options to prevent undercharging:



1) Overcharge. If you estimate it will take 2 hours to recondition and your hourly rate is $30/hr, it will cost $60. Now, add 20% of the total cost to that. That would be $72 total. Chances are, you are going to find something that will push you over the 2 hour limit. Happens all the time to me.



2) Charge by the hour. The client will be pleased because the work is of higher quality, and you will be pleased because you're getting paid for *all* instead of *most* of the time you are detailing their car.
 
ajnavo61490 said:
+1



im a senior in high school and just do it for extra cash on the weekends/after school. i do not pay taxes, ect. but am licensed for protection purposes and to look more professional. I am happy with making $25-30/hr for being 18.
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AJ- In Virginia, being licensed, means you have to report your revenue to the county in which you are licensed. Based on this you pay your license fee, which is $30 unless revenue is over $200,000. It also means the county taxes you on your business property and equipment. I am not sure how it works in La., but you may want to be careful that the IRS does not get angry.
 
jwgarrison said:
Thanks guys for the encouragement! I also forgot to mention I did a wipedown of all vinyl trim and applied a protectant. Integrity detail-What could I have done different or added to my service, to be considered an autopian detail.
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jw- I meant no offense, but you only described a wash n vac, to me a detail is much more. Like correction and protection. I didn't mean that you didn't do a thorough job, just that w/o wax or a sealant, it's not even a minidetail. It's just semantics, so forget I said anything, LOL.
 
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