Need pricing options for a big dealer account!

S

SidewerksDetail

New member
Hello all,



I need to know from all you dealer account detailers, if you are promised 200 cars a month to complete a full detail on all of them, no intense buffing, just 1 step and wax. What is a competitive rate per car? Or should I have a set fee bi-weekly to charge?



I was thinking of charging 70/per car and 80/truck suv for a full detail, i know it is an aggressive rate that would really get the dealership's interest.



Thanks in advance.
 
I would most certainly agree with that price, but you may want to start a little higher, and have them work you down to it... $100 a vehicle across the board is a good start! Make sure you get them to sign a contract stating that the price you agree on is for 200 vehicles a month, and that each one under the 200 mark is an extra $10..... ex: 190 cars...$100 extra! If you need help with this contract... let me know...lol
 
that sounds good, i was originally thinking that, as one of my big dealerships, but higher end cars, i bill 125 per vehicle with a guranteed minimum of 100 cars per month, was just trying to get an idea of what to charge for average cars, and at that high of volume, also what kind of agreement would you come up with? feel free to PM me or w/e! Thanks
 
You can't charge that low. If your detailers only spend 4 hours per car, and you pay them $13/hr. let's say, then $52 is already out the door, plus taxes, plus expenses, chemicals, shop lease, electricity, insurance, etc. etc. I would probably recommend starting around $150 per car, I can't imagine they're paying much less than that for a full detail. Wholesale work is great, especially if your employees can handle that load, and you can concentrate on doing the high end stuff, or generating more business.







John
 
JohnKleven said:
You can't charge that low. If your detailers only spend 4 hours per car, and you pay them $13/hr. let's say, then $52 is already out the door, plus taxes, plus expenses, chemicals, shop lease, electricity, insurance, etc. etc. I would probably recommend starting around $150 per car, I can't imagine they're paying much less than that for a full detail. Wholesale work is great, especially if your employees can handle that load, and you can concentrate on doing the high end stuff, or generating more business.







John
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John is correct, depending on the amount of time spent on each vehicle and the amount of supplies needed per vehicle. How many employees do you have ? What kind of shop space ? Do you have to go get / return the vehicles yourself, or are they brought to you ? More numbers are needed before any of us could even TRY to help you with a price.
 
yeah I dont see how you can operate that low....



I dont do big dealer accounts, but seems like at 70/car, you might be losing money in the end, or barely breaking even/profit. at that point, whats the point?
 
200 cars at $70 is $14,000 month. if you do the math, that is about 1 hr/ car. buff and wax (interior?) I would say 2-3 man hour. Now why wouldn't the dealer hire 2-3 employees @ $15/hour and have a payroll way less than $14,000. whether it is New or used dealer, I don't see how $70 would work for the dealer.



I am just looking at the dealer point of view. There are dealers who contracted mobile wash for 10-15 per car. They simply spray with wash and wax sealant soap for those cars sitting in the lot too long.
 
@ $70 per car you will have to cut corners somewhere if it will be worth while.



Not saying to or not. That's between you and your customer. But it is what it is.
 
Here is the rundown, and i got the agreement today, all is going to pull together well.



I use there dealership, water and electric for free, i get to store all my supplies, extractors, buffers etc.



70/per car

guranteed 200 cars per month.= $14,000/monthly



Paying 4 employees salary of 350/week.$5600 monthly



Supplies will run about $600-700 monthly



My insurance is paid for the next year, not a big expense, along with workers comp and workers liability insurance.



Cars are all newer vehicles 06 and up, in pretty good condition after inspecting 50 of them.



Details should take no longer than 3 hours unless there is a 1 out of 20 cars that is a disaster for an odd reason.

So i will clear a good amount..
 
From reading the chat window, you are still looking for workers. Know that you general. What you pay for and having someone really cranking out quality volume work for -$9 per hour is going to be difficult. It's nice you got that big account and I hope you can make killer money. But be careful you don't make a bad name by promising something you can't deliver on.
 
JohnKleven said:
You can't charge that low.
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WAS said:
John is correct, depending on the amount of time spent on each vehicle and the amount of supplies needed per vehicle.
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toyotaguy said:
yeah I dont see how you can operate that low....



I dont do big dealer accounts, but seems like at 70/car, you might be losing money in the end, or barely breaking even/profit. at that point, whats the point?
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Jean-Claude said:
@ $70 per car you will have to cut corners somewhere if it will be worth while.
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You guys need to stop looking at the price per car and see the big picture and that's the total sales coming in and the amount that needs to be paid out to achieve this level of volume. As you can see from what the OP posted, there's quite a bit of profit potential. This is difficult to achieve at a high end shop as business is very choppy. With dealers(especially this one @ 200/month) the cars are always flowing. Then, get 2 or 3 more accounts like this and it can lead to some serious profit potential.



SidewerksDetail - Start planning your future in the high volume detailing business. You're off to a great start right here. If you need help with your setup let me know. The shop that I established has been doing high volume detailing for nearly 20 years. Good luck!
 
David Fermani said:
You guys need to stop looking at the price per car and see the big picture and that's the total sales coming in and the amount that needs to be paid out to achieve this level of volume. As you can see from what the OP posted, there's quite a bit of profit potential. This is difficult to achieve at a high end shop as business is very choppy. With dealers(especially this one @ 200/month) the cars are always flowing. Then, get 2 or 3 more accounts like this and it can lead to some serious profit potential.



SidewerksDetail - Start planning your future in the high volume detailing business. You're off to a great start right here. If you need help with your setup let me know. The shop that I established has been doing high volume detailing for nearly 20 years. Good luck!
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You bring up a great point David about the volume. I have tried to do dealer accounts and in my experience it has not worked out. Not because my supplies, insurance, costs are too high, or because my prices are too low but because it has been impossible for me to find quality detailers who are willing to work a full 40+hr week for only $9/hr. It has even been hard for me to find quality labor for $15/hr here in Boston.



Sidewerks: I don't know what part of the country you live in but for $9/hr I think you will have a very difficult time finding quality labor.



From your numbers you will be making approximately $1800/week after all expenses (14k-5.6k-.6k=$1800/wk net profit). That is not bad but you have to look at the headache of hiring, training, managing 4 employees. That is a full time job.



If you were doing the work alone and charging $150-$200/car for retail business you would be making the same amount, without having to deal with employees. If you are overwhelmed with work, hire a couple guys at a good hourly rate (I pay $15/hr) and have them do 10 full retail details/wk that will bring you in at least another $1000/wk. Now you are making more $, with less employees (who are happier and more qualified), that is if you can get the business...



This strategy has worked for me although it did take me a few years to get to the point of doing 30 full details/wk.



Let me know how your dealership contract goes. I am all for volume as long as it can match the profitability of retail business. Every aspect of your plan looks great, I just think you will run into trouble with employees.
 
jbdetailing said:
You bring up a great point David about the volume. I have tried to do dealer accounts and in my experience it has not worked out. Not because my supplies, insurance, costs are too high, or because my prices are too low but because it has been impossible for me to find quality detailers who are willing to work a full 40+hr week for only $9/hr. It has even been hard for me to find quality labor for $15/hr here in Boston.
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You should consider bringing in Sub-Contractors then. That way you know your exact labor and chemical cost.
 
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