My highest payed detailed yet (56K DEATH)!

G

golfdude

New member
Chevy Silverado HD. About 25 hours were put into the vehicle. The owner had some weird stuff on the driver's side that could NOT come off despite almost every solution attempted possible, including clay bar, tarminator, mineral spirits, goo gone, etc... Nevertheless, I offered a discount to the owner, but he felt it didn't matter since he liked what I did to the overall look of the vehicle so much. Those marks in the third pic came out (look further down for the results of that panel) I did my usual full package including:

-Wash

-Clay

-OC or OHC with PC and Edge 2000 green pad

-OP with PC and Edge 2000 blue pad

-OP with PC and Edge 2000 white pad

-AIO (applied to windows too)

-P21S

-Autoglym Tyre dressing on tires

-Trim cleaned/dressed with Meg's #40 (I really think this is an excellent product by the way...very flexible product)



Here are some pics of the car after a wash and clay, before polish:











During polishing (I believe this was taken while using OC):





After:









 
Thanks for the comments! The owner of the vehicle payed $225. What would you pay for something like this? Any ideas? I've been trying to find customers who are willing to pay a little more for getting the job done RIGHT! I was recently at a local detailing place, and from 200 feet away I could see the rotary swirls on a pick-up truck that was just detailed...ughhh! Oh well. I try my best all the time, and I am happy with the results. Honestly, the owner was so happy that he couldn't stop swearing! It was somewhat amusing to me. When that happens, it makes me feel proud. Without a site like Autopia, I know for a fact that I would have not be able to ever learn these skills that have allowed me to avoid working in retail. My thanks to everyone on the forum :2thumbs:
 
Nice job xfire, Is this your only source of income? The reason why i ask is. When this is done on the side, you can be more choosy about your clientel. simply because you need not make that monthly daily nugget.



I charge what i charge, yes i do offer discounts. but only for repeat buisness. I prefer to reward loyalty, than reward first time customers.



I include alot in my details. As do you. Charge what you charge and never look back, give a written estimate upon inspection of the car. If they waffle, then IMHO walk.



BTW for a full size rig, in this shape I would say with my plan about 550.
 
Gusbubba, it gives me the chills when a client keeps on telling me "Thanks, you made my truck look like brand new!"...I was just looking at your awesome "Z" turnaround. Excellent work to you too!



Grouse...I'm a student in college whose home for the summer. Nice to see there are customers out there looking to pay that much for a good detail!
 
Good work on the truck! Pity too what some people pay for details in local areas... some detail shops do the same down here as well.
 
Very nice work.



I would have to say you did a lot more work to that truck than you got paid for. There are some guys on here charging that much for a few hours worth the work. I would say you didn't charge anywhere near enough. You basically got paid $10 an hour for busting your ***. I know that it meant more for you to see the guys reaction, but I'd say the guy got quite a deal if you ask me. If you are happy with what you got paid, that's all that matters.
 
Really nice work on that truck :)



I mean no harm here, but you made $9.00 an hour! This detail cost YOU money to do.



You won't be in business very long if you continue to charge those prices. You need to figure out what your business costs you to run and then charge according.



Anthony
 
550/25=22 bucks an hour that is not including the 60+ deduction for material costs, liscense, gas, ect ect.



I would eat that cost the first time knowing that my return visits, which i would sell every 6 months would go much smoother and faster.



Probably closer to 15 hours.



which is 36 before costs. not great. I possibly might have gone up a bit higher in this instance.
 
Excellent job on that truck, it was really rough to start!



I ran into a similar situation with an S600, had spots all over the roof, half the hood and most of the passenger side that nothing would remove beyond getting them flush with the paint. Looked way better but I was still frustrated at not being able to remove the spots.
 
Curious how did you start the detail half naked and ended up fully clothed
eek1.gif
:p
 
Nice work, 225 is a fair if not low price for that job with your setup. I could probably do it for 200 in 8 hours, but that's with a rotary and possibly cutting some corners. Given the amount of time you put into it, 350 would not be unreasonable depending on your market.
 
Yeah full size truck should have been 400 for the outside and another 100 for the inside. Depending on how detailed you are. From the looks you are well trained detailer now. Keep up the good work and make you some money! Be picky and stand bye your prices!
 
I charge no less than $30 an hour plus it is also dependant on the vehicle and the condition of the paint. This saturday im doing a miata that is in pretty bad shape and im charging her $200-$250 and it will take 'about' 6-8 hours to do. Keep in mind its a very small car and from what i know the paint is easily correctable so i decided $25 an hour was fair....so did she. I can feel a nice heafty tip also.
 
To comment on some people's posts...



When I took the picture with me with my shirt off...I just got finished washing and clay barring the car. It was pretty hot outside, that's why I had my shirt off. The other pic with all my clothes on was taken when the vehicle was picked-up by the owner.



Hmmm...I feel that I should charge a rate of about $20 per hour for my cars now. The problem with wanting to charge this much is that I can't seem to find people who are willing to pay that much for a detail. But, I've also never asked anyone a price at that hourly rate yet. I fear loosing business because my prices are too high. What to do now? Just think, I'm 18, and lets say I walk up to your door and ask if you want your cars detailed. You ask me how much and I say $400, wouldn't that be like, a quick way of getting the door slammed in your face? What I am trying to get at is that it is difficult to charge so much without much initial credibility.
 
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