What do you charge for engine detailing?

S

stilez

New member
and what does it entail?







My process is as follows:





-Warm engine

-Pressure wash compartment from top to bottom but do not saturate

-Spray degreaser/APC generously

-With soapy solution and various brushes/wash pads, clean thoroughly

-Pressure wash clean

-Start and run for 15 minutes with hood closed

-Wipe down any puddles of water

-Saturate in water-based dressing and close hood

-After 15+ minutes, open hood and wipe everything down

-Polish any metal/paint





This process take 60-90 minutes for me. Where do you think a fair *starting* rate would be? Right now, I am on the cheap side.





Thanks.
 
Practically every question on price will come down to the same answer; time, materials + profit. The only other factor to take into account when you're starting out would be what the market in your area currently offers.



Personally, I do not offer engine detailing to average customers with production cars. Too much risk for too little reward.
 
for what you do, and if I was in charge - you'd get $75/hour at least. so that would be $100. Your nissan dealer's service dept. charges very close to that I am sure. Most mechanics are nothing like you. They don't give a $h&^.



Did I help?
 
Usually $30 or so keep in mind that when I do an engine it is 99% of the time on a full detail. For me this is what I do:



-Lightly Pressure Wash to get

-Saturate with Meguiars Super Degreaser 4:1

-Lightly Agitate (SD does alot of the work)

-Rinse



(I will shut the engine and do the wheels, and wash the car at this point)



(After drying the car I will continue the engine)



-Saturate with Meguairs Hyper Dressing 3:1



(I will again shut the hood and then work on the cars exterior)



After about 30minutes of soaking I wipe down all of the engine

-Spray wax all painted areas and polish all metals





Honestly I only spend about 15-20 minutes tops on engines and they come out flawlessly.



Greg
 
I build it into my full details, which is typically all that I do. I charge for 1 hour labor($40), it usually take about 30 minutes.



Pressure wash (I will not do an engine without one due to the fact that *I* think it's safer this way due to decreased amounts of water)



use a citrus based degreaser



scrub with various mitts, ez detail, etc



rinse



blow off excess water with blower



dress



shut hood and start car while I clean the wheels, tires, whell wells, etc



pop hood at end of detail and wipe down engine to smooth out dressing



If needed I use meguiars colorX on painted portions of hood--this typically isn't necessary.
 
we charge $39.95 at my shop and almost all the time it is with complete details anyway. Our process is spray everything with Meguiar's Super degreaser 4:1 let sit for a little while then pressure wash off. Then while everything is still wet spray Meguiar's Hyper Dressing mixed about 3:1 and then close hood and continue on rest of car
 
tdekany said:
for what you do, and if I was in charge - you'd get $75/hour at least. so that would be $100. Your nissan dealer's service dept. charges very close to that I am sure. Most mechanics are nothing like you. They don't give a $h&^.



Did I help?
Click to expand...



I've never heard of a detail shop charging $75/hour for detailing. Service departments can & should charge more because most of their techs are liscensed and/or certified. Sorry to say, our cost of doing business is not on their level. It's like comparing a Doctor to a Plumber with their skill set.

I usually charge $30-$50. It usually depends on the other things I'm doing to the vehicle.
 
David - no disrespect, but Sean is in a very different class from you and I.



He is the most underpaid detailer I know of. He is not only an artist with the rotary, he is extremely efficient.



You are a funny guy David. Comparing a certified tech to Sean like a doctor to a plumber?



He is at the top of our game where a tech is pretty much a tech. You can pretty much choose any of them.



Now compare Sean's work to ours. If you can't see what I am talking about, you shouldn't comment on what I beleive.



FYI how about this guy?



http://www.miracledetail.co.uk/auto-detailing-home.html



How many techs make what he makes? The only tech I'd compare Sean to is the mechanic who is in F1 or similar.



m2c
 
David Fermani said:
I've never heard of a detail shop charging $75/hour for detailing.
Click to expand...



Car Cleaning & Restoration Specialists

2000 Wilson Blvd

Arlington, VA 22201

(703) 243-3919





Not too far from me this shop has done details that cost > $5000.



Just because us the little guys make our $40.00/hour, doesn't mean that that is all that there is out there.



Exceptional work always need to be rewarded accordingly.
 
David Fermani said:
I've never heard of a detail shop charging $75/hour for detailing. Service departments can & should charge more because most of their techs are liscensed and/or certified. Sorry to say, our cost of doing business is not on their level. It's like comparing a Doctor to a Plumber with their skill set.

I usually charge $30-$50. It usually depends on the other things I'm doing to the vehicle.
Click to expand...



True but specialized work like wetsanding and heavy compounding are hard work and we should get paid accordingly. Also, you have to consider the market. Here in the Dallas area, if I get too far over $40 or so an hour, people think I am overpriced. In SoCal, you could easily go $50-55 an hour and be okay.



I don't normally clean engines, too much liability. Most don't get too dirty down here anyway so a quick wipedown is usually enough for the very few of my customers who even care if the engine is clean. When I do a full on engine detail, it takes around an hour and I charge $40-50.
 
Thanks for all the feedback.





FWIW, the market is competitive up here. I am considered the price leader, which I kind of don't want to be (lol). I want to be a value leader, meaning I'm being paid fairly for what I'm doing.





Thomas: I appreciate your kind words in my defense.





David: The thing is, many dealership "detailers" are hacks. The technicians are in a different league...they fix, I clean. I have fixed wayyy too many holograms, silicone slime messes, and just general neglect, that routed from a dealership. If I were fixing cars out of my garage and comparing it to a BMW tech, whom have to go to a 2-year college...yes, doctor to a plumber.
 
tdekany said:
David - no disrespect, but Sean is in a very different class from you and I.



He is the most underpaid detailer I know of. He is not only an artist with the rotary, he is extremely efficient.



You are a funny guy David. Comparing a certified tech to Sean like a doctor to a plumber?



He is at the top of our game where a tech is pretty much a tech. You can pretty much choose any of them.



Now compare Sean's work to ours. If you can't see what I am talking about, you shouldn't comment on what I beleive.



FYI how about this guy?



http://www.miracledetail.co.uk/auto-detailing-home.html



How many techs make what he makes? The only tech I'd compare Sean to is the mechanic who is in F1 or similar.



m2c
Click to expand...

I not trying to start a flame war and I'm certainly not trying to insult anyone's level of skill and expertise, but I would like to reply to your comments.

Please explain how Sean is in a different class than you or me. In what way? Is it because he's the most underpaid detailer? I don't understand. I too like to consider myself very proficient with a high speed polisher as well as the complete reconditioning art itself. In the 15+ years of professionally detailing, yes I've seen good and bad detailers. I'm sure that Sean is among some of the best. As far as what to charge, I still believe, based on Sean's description of the process and steps he does to clean an engine compartment, doesn't justify $75 per hour. This equates into over $110 to clean an engine compartment. Yes, some people could and would pay that, but it's way over the high end for the industry standard. Sean was asking our opinions on what to charge, so I gave it.





Also, what does a $5000 detail include?? I hope it's not similar to a $250 complete detail us "little guys" charge is it??
 
David Fermani said:
I not trying to start a flame war and I'm certainly not trying to insult anyone's level of skill and expertise, but I would like to reply to your comments.

Please explain how Sean is in a different class than you or me. In what way? Is it because he's the most underpaid detailer? I don't understand. I too like to consider myself very proficient with a high speed polisher as well as the complete reconditioning art itself. In the 15+ years of professionally detailing, yes I've seen good and bad detailers. I'm sure that Sean is among some of the best. As far as what to charge, I still believe, based on Sean's description of the process and steps he does to clean an engine compartment, doesn't justify $75 per hour. This equates into over $110 to clean an engine compartment. Yes, some people could and would pay that, but it's way over the high end for the industry standard. Sean was asking our opinions on what to charge, so I gave it.





Also, what does a $5000 detail include?? I hope it's not similar to a $250 complete detail us "little guys" charge is it??
Click to expand...





I uderstand where you are coming from. 15 years is a long time. Sean I'd say is a natural. In the very short time that he has been detailing - look where he is at.



As far as what to charge? Knowing how fast he is I was trying to say not to charge too little. I really doubt that it will take him 90min anyways.



BTW, there is a high end used car dealer near by and a few years ago I took my car in to have the engine cleaned. I believe I paid around $55 or $65.



the inside of the hood and the painted area around the engine weren't touched. Just as dirty as pre detail.



Knowing how meticulate he is, $75.00 would be a bargain.



Engine detail should be a set price.



$5000 detail? Complete restoration of winning classic show cars.
 
I think it'd be easy for a pro to get in a jam pre-pricing engine details, seems like it's just be *too* hard to predict what'll be required and how it'll turn out. I've done a lot of engine compartments over the years and I still can't predict what they'll look like after I get rid of all the grime.



I recently cleaned up two engine compartments, both with about ~74K miles. Not to any great standard, just to "won't get your hands dirty working on 'em" level (they're my two new beaters). One came out :eek: *really* nice- almost show quality; the other is clean but still looks just *awful* so awful that I'm really disappointed. I spent less time on the nice one too!



I wouldn't worry about water damage/etc., I'd worry about having to spend hours on end for results that a customer wouldn't appreciate.
 
I think the disconnect you guys are having is location. While it might be out of this world for a detailer in X town to charge $75/hr it is completely reasonable elsewhere. That s why "how much should I charge?" questions are so hard on Autopia. The way I always answer is pick an hourly rate and multiple that by the amount of time it takes you to do a process. My "desired hourly rate" is $65/hr, so for an engine detail I will charge ~$100. Now I say ~, because as Accumulator mentioned some engines take a lot longer than others.
 
Picus said:
I think the disconnect you guys are having is location. While it might be out of this world for a detailer in X town to charge $75/hr it is completely reasonable elsewhere. That s why "how much should I charge?" questions are so hard on Autopia. The way I always answer is pick an hourly rate and multiple that by the amount of time it takes you to do a process. My "desired hourly rate" is $65/hr, so for an engine detail I will charge ~$100. Now I say ~, because as Accumulator mentioned some engines take a lot longer than others.
Click to expand...



I'd like to compare the detail industry to the body shop & auto repair industry for this example. I've seen body labor rates range from $30-$75 and mechanical labor from $50-$135 accross the country. The high end of the spectrum for each were for aluminum repair and high end vehicles(mercedes and such). The work was done by I-CAR & SAE certified, well trained, experienced techs, not an entry level run of the mill person. I still think $75 per hour for vehicle cleaning, detailing, maintaining and/or reconditioning is too much. How can someone justify their or their shop's time to be this expensive. A crane operator makes $60/per hour, not a detailer. I'm not trying to hate the player or the game, I'm just thinking rational. :waxing:
 
Location would also factor in with regard to what's possible/feasible. e.g., once salt does enough of a number on some surfaces you just can't bring 'em back.



[Accumulator posts this while on the phone ordering some new underhood parts to replace badly corroded cad plated ones].
 
David Fermani said:
I'd like to compare the detail industry to the body shop & auto repair industry for this example. I've seen body labor rates range from $30-$75 and mechanical labor from $50-$135 accross the country. The high end of the spectrum for each were for aluminum repair and high end vehicles(mercedes and such). The work was done by I-CAR & SAE certified, well trained, experienced techs, not an entry level run of the mill person. I still think $75 per hour for vehicle cleaning, detailing, maintaining and/or reconditioning is too much. How can someone justify their or their shop's time to be this expensive. A crane operator makes $60/per hour, not a detailer. I'm not trying to hate the player or the game, I'm just thinking rational. :waxing:
Click to expand...



It's a fact of life; some areas are more expensive than others. You're thinking way to insulary - I have no idea what it costs to live where you are, but it might be that in your area the cost of living dictates that your pricing is lower than $75/hour. People wouldn't spend that much because they can get similar service elsewhere for less and because you can make a profit which suits your lifestyle by charging $40/hour (or whatever you charge). Somewhere like NYC or SF or any large (and expensive) city will generally cost more *for every service* because the people performing the work need to make more to keep up the same style of life you do while making $40/hr, and people are willing to pay it because they make more and because @ $75/hr the pricing is competative. Make sense?



Take my area for example - the general going rate for a *quality* detail that involves polishing is generally between $50-$80/hr, of course you can get it for less but that's a whole other issue (regarding the quality of the job), the guys on the high end of that scale typically have to do better work to maintain their "high pricing", however even at $80 they are not considered "over-priced", the market dictates what they can charge.
 
Picus said:
Take my area for example - the general going rate for a *quality* detail that involves polishing is generally between $50-$80/hr, of course you can get it for less but that's a whole other issue (regarding the quality of the job), the guys on the high end of that scale typically have to do better work to maintain their "high pricing", however even at $80 they are not considered "over-priced", the market dictates what they can charge.
Click to expand...



So like you stated, a "quality" detail with polishing(5-8 hour job) could run $650? That seems really hard to believe. Having lived in the Detroit area, I've been to Toronto many times and the cost of goods there didn't seem that expensive, especially with the exchange rate. My neighbor here in Florida is from Toronto(born and raised) and he's a big car nut. I'll have to ask him about it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top