Pricing question

I

imported_sal3291

New member
How do you price your services?

ex:

Exterior:

Wash and Wax $X

Wash. chemical paint cleaner, wax $X

Wash, clay, polish, wax $x



Interior:

Wipe down, vaccum and glass $X

Wipe down, vaccum, shampoo carpets and glass $X



How do you guys do it? :work:
 
A lot of folks just set an hourly rate and then set an estimated time to complete the tasks wanted by the client.
 
Since every vehicle is different I think hourly is the way to go. It is more fair to the detailer and client IMO. Like Mindflux said--if they want a set price, estimate the time required, at most, and multiply that by your hourly rate. This way you can say "it's going to cost you $xxx at most."
 
:xyxthumbs What they said but - keep in mind that your hourly rate must include the cost of doing business.
 
Yeah this has been my problem too with setting prices. Since I'm just starting out, I'm mainly detailing family and friends cars and not charging too much. I think it's important to be confident in your work and charge what you think you deserve. If you do good work, most people wont care that much about the price.
 
I run with package prices, and my advertising uses some 'starting at $XXX' or 'most cars $XX'. That way I don't get BS calls all day about prices, customers can see them in print or the website, and it leaves me room to go up or down if necessary.



The package prices are based off general estimates for cars in that condition or the desired end result, and the hourly rate I want to walk away with.
 
I've found the single best way you can figure everything out:



Make a list of your most common detailing processes



Figure out how long each one takes, write it down



Figure out what it costs you approximately per day of detailing



Figure out how much you want to make per detail



Then you should be able to come up with a hourly $$$ figure you need to make money



Then for each detailing process, just use that hourly rate compared to how long it takes.



For me, I know I want to make $50/hour preferably, $40/hour minimum.



Wash/Vac = 1 hour = $40-$50



Wash/Vac/One-Step/Interior = 3 hours = $120-$150



Wash/Vac/Polish/Wax/Interior = 5-8 hours = $200 - $450



A car (Magnum for example) would take about 5 hours to polish and detail, whereas a black Escalade might take over 10 hours. Those guys get lucky and I wouldn't charge more than $400-$450 for a detail.



Someone that owns a Cadillac Escalade (especially with nice wheels) has enough money to spend on their car, you know they will spend it on keeping it looking better than anything else on the road.



Thats how I do it!

Tyler
 
I have a spread sheet that I use to break down material cost (based on price, and dilution rates)



using this spread sheet, I can figure the cost of ANY job I want to do.



For family I offer a ONE time free full detail, after that corrections are $20/hr or wash/vac/aio (if needed) + sealant or 'nuba is done for $45



For everyone else I offer 2 things a $60 wash/vac/AIO (1 hour) + choice of sealant or liquid 'nuba

exterior/interior corrections billed @ $30/hr
 
Keeping it simple is the key.



The customer will simply call the next detailer when you say "i charge by the hour"



Having 10 packages is just annoying for the customer. You'll be talking to the customer before you start the job. If the customer says the seats need attention then that 4 hour detail you should spend an hour just on the seats. So every package is different and the customer gets what they want. If you wanted a package for every car you'd have 100 packages to choose from.



If the car is large charge the same price but do less steps. Telling a customer that its $25 extra here and $25 extra there just pisses them off.



A good idea is to have three packages. Low/medium/high



As the level of the package goes up, so does the price and number of steps.

As the size of the car goes up down comes the number of steps, price stays the same.

If the interior is filthy, up goes the number of steps on the interior and down goes the number of steps on the exterior, price stays the same.



If your high package takes 8 hours then multiply that by your hourly rate and dont exceed the 8 hour limit. That way you still "charge by the hour".



So the low/medium/high packages work great. I dont like detailing crap cars so i removed my low end (wash n' wax" package altogether. But for the higher end clients that still want a wash n wax i've included free washes with a top package.



Medium

High

High + 5 washes



As the high package with the five washes is prices well it created an upsell.
 
I like the idea of including a couple or a few free washes with a medium or high package. Great upsell there. Now with the high package do you go for perfection or just what you can in 8 hours?



I'd go for perfection, but with just a UDM I doubt I can get it 100% perfect, so I guess what I could get done is all that I could do, so is 90-95% a good obtainable goal (hopefully closer to 95% or greater)
 
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