show preps

I

I.A.S.

New member
kinda stole this idea from the other thread about the $10k dollar detail where someone else asked about he pricing of a show prep?.....thought i would starta thread on this to find out what some of ya'll are charging for this kind of work??



i am interested becuase i may have the opportunity to do a show prep for a truck that is going to SEMA.....is a 2007 Chevy Tahoe, 12" lift, 22" wheels, 42x15.5x22 tires, all chrome and powerdercoated suspension, too amy other mods to list.....but i was thinkin bout bidding on it and goin around the range of $2500?......i really want the opportunity to do this so i was thinkin bout lowballing it a bit just to get the job?.....any opinions?...suggestions?....input of anykind would be cool!
 
Assuming a Shop Rate/Hourly Rate of $40, the the new truck would receive 62.5 hours of attention.



I think $5-600 would be more in line...



Good Luck.



Jim
 
Recently looked into the possibility of doing a few show preps at a nearby yearly auction. Hey, these are some expensive cars. Was very surprised to find out that show management was really not interested in someone who would supply a high quality service(at a high price). He was more interested in a quick service at a very low price. More of a production line set-up. Needless to say, I turned down the work.
 
If it is going to Sema give them a price break if they put your decal on the car and some cards maybe? $2500 sounds crazy to me and I am sure they will think the same thing. These guys would be happy with you throwing some glaze on it and calling it a day.
 
Danase said:
If it is going to Sema give them a price break if they put your decal on the car and some cards maybe? $2500 sounds crazy to me and I am sure they will think the same thing. These guys would be happy with you throwing some glaze on it and calling it a day.
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hmm.......maybe i will go closer to like $1k then.....i was thinkin about going real low on it anyway just so i could get the opportunity to do it.....



i thought $2500 was a little high but i talked to a few other guys that said thats waht they were charging for full details on show cars and stuff......



But thanx guys that gives me a better idea as to what i need to be lookin at
 
are you waxing and polishing all the powdercoating too? how about the paint and the chrome, is it really bad, or does it just need some glaze and sealant wax/carnauba topper?



what I am saying is that if the truck is already in good shape, it doesnt need tons of compounding and scratch removal....maybe 3 coats of a glaze polish, or 2 coats of OC and 2 coats of glaze/pure polish, then topped with a sealant to help prevent washing/qd scratches, then topped with a bunch of your favorite carnauba wax....



if its the latter, I would probably charge around 500....if its the former, then looking at an hourly rate at 40+ per hour



oh an ddefinitely get a decal on the truck, or at least let you put out some postcards/flyers....
 
oh yeah!...i would go through it with a fine tooth comb and cue tips!!......this thing is gonna be at SEMA so its gotta look f'n ridiculously good!...



the truck just came out of the paint booth a few days ago, isnt even completely assembled or anything....if and when i did it, would be in Vegas that day before the show and i would imagine it would be really dusty an full of handprints cuz it will take the next month or so to completely assemble the truck and these guys are not gonna clean it in the mean time.....



i was thinkin bout compounding it on a light foam pad...then a 2 pad polish and then some sort of glaze to get the paint to really pop!... and then yes suspension would hafta be polished...just about everyhting....even the driveshafts on this thing are painted/powdercoated.....
 
mirrorfinishman said:
Recently looked into the possibility of doing a few show preps at a nearby yearly auction. Hey, these are some expensive cars. Was very surprised to find out that show management was really not interested in someone who would supply a high quality service(at a high price). He was more interested in a quick service at a very low price. More of a production line set-up. Needless to say, I turned down the work.
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I got a call about that too, some car show was going to be in the Dallas area and they basically wanted people to QD the car for the duration of the show. Definitely wanted the low bidder. I thought the guy was going to have a heart attack when I said $750 a day for my son and I to work it.



Back on topic....



Have you even seen the truck? I wouldn't even consider giving an estimate without seeing the vehicle and meeting with the owner to find out what their expectations are.



I'd then base my rate on $45-50 an hour since a show car owner should have higher expectations and be willing to pay for them than a soccer mom with a minivan does.
 
yeah i have seen it... but not as a total finished product....i have done trucks of similar size and extensiveness though....the truck wont be complete for another coupl of weeks



the owners of the vehicle i know fairly well, i am not gonna be getting this job because i am there friend though, it will be because of price.....i dont wanna break this detail down into what hourly would be cuz i have a feeling i am gonna spend a ton more time on it than what they would pay me anyway....i was just gonna charge one larger sum and go to town on it....
 
I.A.S. said:
i dont wanna break this detail down into what hourly would be cuz i have a feeling i am gonna spend a ton more time on it than what they would pay me anyway....i was just gonna charge one larger sum and go to town on it....
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You don't have to break it down hourly on paper for the customer to see, however, you should break it down for yourself in order to figure what lump sum to charge. If you're not going to at least get your minimum hourly rate, why would you want to do the detail anyway? It should not matter if the job is $150 or $3000, your hourly rate would be the same. It's all relative...if your hourly rate is $100/per hour the jobs above should take you 1.5 hours and 30 hours respectively. Why should you have to charge a lesser amount because the job is going to be bigger?
 
Scottwax said:
I got a call about that too, some car show was going to be in the Dallas area and they basically wanted people to QD the car for the duration of the show. Definitely wanted the low bidder. I thought the guy was going to have a heart attack when I said $750 a day for my son and I to work it.



Back on topic....



Have you even seen the truck? I wouldn't even consider giving an estimate without seeing the vehicle and meeting with the owner to find out what their expectations are.



I'd then base my rate on $45-50 an hour since a show car owner should have higher expectations and be willing to pay for them than a soccer mom with a minivan does.
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Scottwax:



This is off topic, but have you heard of Detail Werkz, formerly Zaino Mobile Detail? They operate in Dallas, and I just wanted some info on them, since they have advertised in a spot that I am looking at.
 
beachy said:
Scottwax:



This is off topic, but have you heard of Detail Werkz, formerly Zaino Mobile Detail? They operate in Dallas, and I just wanted some info on them, since they have advertised in a spot that I am looking at.
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I've heard of them but their main area of operation doesn't really overlap mine, plus if I am going to refer anyone in their area to anyone, it would be rlspringer since he is a member here and I have personally seen his work.



I think they go a little overboard on the 'layering' aspect of Zaino but if their customers are happy, more power to them.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't SEMA a show for display vehicles. Are the vehicles getting judged? If so, your reputation could possilbly depend on it and it is critical that you put out a perfect piece. If not, that makes things less dramatic and could mean that the price could be less. Also as you quoted: "if and when i did it, would be in Vegas that day before the show" - you only have one day to do a complete detail on this thing. That a pretty short deadline. $1000 for one days worth of work seems a little high(maybe withour seeing it), but not really if more than 1 person is going to be working on it to get it done before the show. Plus consider transportation, food and lodging charges to and from Vegas.
 
SEMA is a trade show to show new products and services available in the aftermarket industry...as far as i am aware (been there once before) nothing gets judged though....yes alot of vehicles there will make it inot magazines and stuff but there really isnt any sort of award for best vehicle....they do have awards though for best new products and what not....



my goal in detailing is to always try and make over $75/hr....i have succeded so far with this so if i take all day doing this truck which i am usre i will (about 8 -10 hours roughly) that is about right on track to where i wanna be for charging about $1k...
 
I.A.S. said:
SEMA is a trade show to show new products and services available in the aftermarket industry...as far as i am aware (been there once before) nothing gets judged though....yes alot of vehicles there will make it inot magazines and stuff but there really isnt any sort of award for best vehicle....they do have awards though for best new products and what not....



my goal in detailing is to always try and make over $75/hr....i have succeded so far with this so if i take all day doing this truck which i am usre i will (about 8 -10 hours roughly) that is about right on track to where i wanna be for charging about $1k...
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For some reason I thought SEMA gave out awards for the top few show cars (10?) but you'll have over 2000+ cars there. Which vendor is sponsoring the truck? I'd love to see your product. You need to realize somebody needs to do constant touch up's unless it is roped off. I've never seen one roped off. Even the bling wheels with the nigh end BMW's etc will let you walk inside the ropes to see (and touch). :2thumbs:
 
az57chevy said:
For some reason I thought SEMA gave out awards for the top few show cars (10?) but you'll have over 2000+ cars there. Which vendor is sponsoring the truck? I'd love to see your product. You need to realize somebody needs to do constant touch up's unless it is roped off. I've never seen one roped off. Even the bling wheels with the nigh end BMW's etc will let you walk inside the ropes to see (and touch). :2thumbs:
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yes you are correct...they do have a best of show award and a few others..



but i am not going to be doing the detail for it....it was just for a fabrication guy here out on the west side that was bringing it out there...wasnt going to be in the convention center though, he could not afford a booth inside and his sponsors would not pay for it...



but yeah i lost my bid on that..supposedley, or so he told me, he is just going to do it himself cuz with all the money he is putting into the truck he really cant afford to pay anyone to do it for him....no biggie though, i will be out there in Vegas for the show anyway so if he wants my help with it i will...for free...



i am lookin forward to Barret Jackson this year now...i have a few guys in mind that i know that are going to be bringing a few cars out there..
 
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