Putting a Price on My Hobby

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dgraupman

New member
Since buying a scratched and swirled 97 Lexus LS400 last April, I’ve found Autopia, enhanced the bottom line of several detailing products companies, bought a 2-car garage with an attached house, and replaced formal theapy with solitude and a PC. I’ve really come to enjoy detailing as a hobby.



A good friend at church on disability told me he was thinking about buying a 92 Cadillac with 80,000 miles on it from his sister. I told him if he bought it, I’d detail it, no charge. He’s seen my cars and smiled his approval. Well, he bought the car and I detail it this weekend. Pick it up after work Friday, and return it Saturday afternoon.



This is the first time I’ve done someone else’s car. The first time I’ve put myself on a time line. Since I’m doing it as a gift, I’m looking forward to it.



Here’s my problem (*he finally gets to it*). My friend says his sister and her neighbor both want me to detail their cars too. Now, I’ve never met them or seen their cars, and I’ve never detailed for money. They’ve asked him to find out what I’d charge. I didn’t give him an answer, I just said he could show them his freshly detailed car and if that’s the result they were looking for then have them give me a call and we can work out the specifics.



This may be a one-time detail for these two, or it could establish an ongoing schedule of periodic detailing. I wouldn’t mind making a few dollars now and then so I could keep buying more stuff and make the hobby self-sustaining.



Living in the Wash DC suburbs where prices for everything are inflated, what would be a fair price for a non-professional with an Autopian attitude to charge for what surely must be their expectation of a good wash and wax job?



Here’s what I plan to do:



EXTERIOR

Wash - QEW

Clay

DACP (if needed) - PC

#9 - PC

AIO - PC

NXT - Hand

Wheels

Tires - Vinylx

Glass - RainX

Wheel wells and door jambs



INTERIOR

Wash and rinse floor mats

Vacuum carpet (trunk included) and spot treat

Clean dash and vinyl with wet MF and Vinylx

Leather - Leder Pflege

Plastic - Plexus

Windows - Stoners



I know I do good work, and my time, effort, and supplies are worth charging for. I know at my level this will take about 6-7 hours. But I get the feeling I’d scare them away if I said $150. I’d appreciate knowing what some of you who may have been in similar situations have charged. For the professionals out there, this might be the same as the “family discount�, if you have one. Thanks for staying with me and reading this far.

:)
 
dgraupman -



Living in the same DC metro area as you (and thinking along the same lines of doing some detailing on the side: ie. some pleasure, some profit)...I've been scouting out prices of local established detailers. From your services list above I'd say $150 for a small to mid size vehicle and $200 for a large vehicle/SUV is right on the nose for our market.



You can look at this price point in a few different ways: On one hand, since they know you and you're personally doing the work they'll probably feel as if you are going to do a better job rather than someone detailer they've never met. In that case $150 sounds like a good deal to me. I'd pay going rate if I knew I was getting a great job done. On the other hand, you could cut $20-$30 off (or some other fixed percentage) and give them a bang up job at a slight discount to area competitors so they'll want to keep coming back to you for reasons mentioned above as well as price. However if you opt for the second, I'd let them know what you would 'normally' charge and give them the 'discount' price. I would assume that would make them feel a little special...like they have an inside deal and if they reference you to someone else they can quote your normal price and you're not stuck giving everyone the 'family and friend' discount.



Just my 2 cents,

Kris
 
I'm not a pro, nor do I depend on detailing for any substantial source of income. I do others' cars because I like seeing clean, shiney cars (and have way too much wax etc. sitting in my home). With that in mind, I also do cars usually just for friends or family, not friends of a friend's cousin or something. I am usually willing to do it gratis, but if they insist, I'll let them pay for the supplies used. I realize that this does allow a person to be taken advantage of if they were to do this for everybody who asks.

You said you were in D.C., and things are inflated. Do you know about how much the other people you may be detailing for make an hour? The reason I ask is, if they don't know how much a detail costs, saying $150.00 may shock them. I know my girlfriend couldn't believe how many hundreds of dollars I'd "saved" her over the years. Even if a detail in D.C. costs $300 and you say $150-half price, to someone who makes $5-$10.00 an hour, I don't think they'd want to spend the equivalent of 15 to 30 hours (pre-taxes) on 1 detail.



Just my thoughts, and I didn't want to get into debates about increased value to the car, ownership pride etc. Just basic. Hope this helps. :nixweiss
 
The question is--do you want to be in business? and if so, how to position your services. If this is just a lark, and some extra weekend cash--I'd price very high and skim the market via word of mouth; and also enjoy meeting friends of friends. If you price competitively, the day will come when you'll get a miserable job with little satisfaction and you'll wish, you'd never done it.
 
Reevis and BigLeegr - Thanks for the great replies and good advice. The idea of letting someone know what the market charges for the service, then giving them the discount and making them feel good really appeals to me. Of course, if I were trying to make a business of this I would see it a lot differently. If every now and then I can work my hobby on someone else's car and see a big difference, that in itself is acceptable payment. The money's a nice bonus! Let's face it, I can only see a HUGE improvement on my own 2 cars just once. After that, it's mostly maintenance of the good work I've already done. Someone else's neglected car, on the other hand, gives me the satisfaction of making a big difference.



Joe K - No, I don't really want to be in business. Then I'd have the perspective of having to detail, rather than retreating to it as a hobby.



Appreciate all the replies!
 
how about you charge them for the full cost of new products that you use on their cars? that way u get new products, and u can charge an extra $20 for yoself
 
Id say, it depends on what you think your "free time" is worth to you? Also figuring in cost of products, etc. I would think that $100 would be a killer deal and $150 is more than fair. I like your idea of letting them see your friends Caddy and then telling them about your services and price after they see the results.
 
You live about 30 minutes away from me and I would say your prices are towards the low-end. The poor-quality detailers in Rockville/Gaithersburg area charge $100 and they use an 1-step cleaner wax, armor-all on tires and vacuum interior. Those people dont bother with polishes, MF, and haven't even heard of AIO or NXT. They pump cars out under a hour and you will be spending just about all-day (maybe more than 6-7 hourse depending on car's condition).



Then again, if you are trying to build a customer-base might need to keep prices low. But then again, dont give anything away either. I say $150 is good if you dont need DACP, but $175 if car is in bad shape and needs the DACP.
 
You and I are in the same boat. I don't do it a lot for money but I do every once and a while. Its fun really because after a while you run out of things to do to your own car, and it gives you the experience of working on something else. I charge $150 and it works for me, I did a 626 last week that I really should have charged $200 for as it was really bad. Think about it this way, since you aren't looking at this as needed income and its something you enjoy, don't get too worked up about pricing. Thats why I chose $150, if they take it, great I'll have fun. If they don't, then I'll do my own car. No skin off my nose.
 
It's nice to discover a pair of Autopians in my local area!



All your replies have given me good perspective and I'm greatful. Thanks for your posts.



I think I'll adopt GoodNCleans laid back approach to pricing so I can keep detailing more of a hobby, rather than starting to put a business hat on. Setting a consistent price around $125 will make it worth my while, give a customer a clean car and the feeling of a bargain, and if I take my wife out to dinner with some of the proceeds, she won't mind me being in the garage on a Saturday!



Thanks everyone.
 
Thats exactly right. Think about it this way, if you can get one car to do a week at $125, you can take your wife out to dinner to buy her off ( :D ) and have money left over to buy your detailing supplies.



Thats my goal this summer, I'd like to do one car for $$ a week.
 
I think the laid back, low-key approach is the best advice. It will give you a chance to 'test the waters' and see if you have any desire of taking it further or simply deciding that 'hey, it's not for me' and just deal with your own cars.



Right now, I'm personally interested in doing family and friends' cars just so I can gain enough confidence and experience before I would even attempt anything on someone else's car let alone charging them.



dgraupman said:
...and if I take my wife out to dinner with some of the proceeds
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Yeah...I think my wife wouldn't mind 'a little' money coming in just to pay for my habit (um, I mean hobby...yeah that's right...hobby). I'm starting to get really creative when we come home from work and there's another box on the porch! ;)
 
It sounds a lot like the plan I am doing. I'm doing details in the $125-$150 range and putting that income in my coffee can for the garage remodel.
 
When I was 16 and did not have a car, family members would occasionally loan me their vehicle for a day or weekend. In return I would detail their vehicle inside and out, throw on new wipers, fill up the gas tank, etc. This continued a few years, through college, after college.



Now that I have a decent car I barter with family members for various things in exchange for a detail. It works out well, in essence we exchange time for time, not time for money.



At work, co-workers know me well, have seen my car, and I've offered them advise on car care. Some are willing to pay me for a detail. They spend $100 for a wash, wax, vacuum, tip, and feel like they are being scamed. I don't have the time now to turn my hobby into more.



But if I pick up a Porter-Cable, in a 1/2 days work, it would pay for itself. Plus a PC would allow me to recondition some difficult vehicles. I just have to find the time, and make sure the 'customer' understands I do it as a hobby in my free time.
 
I am actually from Frederick and thinking about starting my own mobile detailing business. There don't seem to be many detailers in the area at all so I don't think it's going to be very difficult to find business. This is my first real post on here but I own a small car dealership and I've been detailing cars for myself for over a year now.



What I'm really doing on here now is researching what products to use and what equipment to buy.



Just wanted to say hi since we are from the same area.
 
luke667 said:
how about you charge them for the full cost of new products that you use on their cars? that way u get new products, and u can charge an extra $20 for yourself
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This approach sounds like a very good idea. Hey, I'm a professional and I still detail a few of my neighbors cars at no charge. And sometimes they'll give me a $20 store gift certificate in return, just for my generosity.



About what you should charge. Don't be surprised that any price over $100 dollars is going to be a shock regardless of what the market charges for the service.



Remember, you said you are doing this as a hobby, therfore there is really no need to charge anywhere near the price of a professional. Relax and have some fun. Enjoy your new found hobby.
 
Joburnet :wavey to Autopia!



Good luck launching a business in detailing. In this thread alone you'll find local support as Bluto, Reevis, GoodnClean, and Ottoman are all here in the DC Metro area.



Mirrorfinishman, you're dead on with your comments. Sometimes the real reward (if you're doing this as a hobby) is the look on the owners face.



I did spend last weekend detailing my friend's 92 Cadillac Eldorado and after 13 hours (over 2 days) I still didn't finish all that I wanted to do. The owner, however, was thrilled. (Sorry, no pics as the car was returned after dark, even though I did take before pictures hoping to show the transformation). I enjoyed the process, but man was I worn out. Again, he asked what I'd charge to do his sister's car, and I said I'd have to see it first. But he pressed me for a number and I told him the local area would charge around $150, but I'd do it for no more than $100. He said that was too low for such a good job, but he'll pass the word along and tell her it's $125 (he said she wouldn't let me do it for free). His sister is out of town, so I haven't heard from her yet. Chances are, I see myself doing the full blown detail once for a modest price, then every three months doing a good wash and wax and interior clean up at no charge.



Anyway, thanks for the replies. It was fun to work on someone else's car for a change and see a big transformation. When I work on my cars the only change is usually a new product where the shine has more depth or wetness. My wife just sees it as shiney, but on the Cadillac she was :shocked
 
dgraupman said:
Mirrorfinishman, you're dead on with your comments. Sometimes the real reward (if you're doing this as a hobby) is the look on the owners face.

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Hey, whether you're doing this as either a business or hobby, I'm sure everyone will agree that 'the real reward is the look on the owners face'. That's about all that really matters.
 
Change of gears, I have a comment on his process, i was under the impression that #9 before AIO is useless due to the fact that it has fillers, and AIO will remove it. It was recomended to me by another member to use #82 SFP after DACP and Before AIO in order to get stellar results (which makes me mad bacuase i already bought a new bottle of #9, now its useless). Also, what do you use for your wheelwell cleaning? Im curious, i need to add that to my routine
 
BlueRanger said:
Change of gears, I have a comment on his process, i was under the impression that #9 before AIO is useless due to the fact that it has fillers, and AIO will remove it. It was recomended to me by another member to use #82 SFP after DACP and Before AIO in order to get stellar results (which makes me mad bacuase i already bought a new bottle of #9, now its useless). Also, what do you use for your wheelwell cleaning? Im curious, i need to add that to my routine
Click to expand...



BlueRanger - After I used DACP, I still had a few swirls where I thought I could make an improvement, but didn't want to be as aggressive. So, I used #9 with a LC yellow pad on the hood, roof, and trunk. The swirls were better, but it made no difference in what turned out to be scratches. It also removed the DACP haze, but AIO would have taken care of that regardless of the #9. I was after the swirls. I liked the shine after using #9, and IMO the shine looked the same after I used AIO.



For the wheel wells, I used an ordinary kitchen sponge with what was left of the QEW and wiped them down. Then went back over them again with the same sponge rinsed in clean water (didn't stay clean for long). Then wiped down the wells with an old towel. I sprayed Vinylex on another wet sponge and wiped down the wheel wells to finish up. The results were good, but this was one area I didn't get to as well as I had hoped. I think a good brush with more reach and a garden hose would have worked better.
 
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