What would you charge for this DISGUSTING Sebring Sedan interior detail?

I'm changing my answer. I'd quote them a ridiculously high price so someone else gets stuck with cleaning that rolling landfill. I am generally in a position to turn down jobs like that because I am booked 7-10 days out. I'd hate to put off a nice Mercedes or Porsche on hold to clean that disgusting pit of a car.



I've done that before. Had someone call about detailing a Honda Odyssey. I could hear kids screaming in the background so I knew exactly what I'd be getting into. I quoted him $275-350 for the detail. He said he was prepared to pay around $100 or so and said he'd call around. $100? For a minivan? Ha! That is a good 7-9 hours to detail it right, maybe even more if his kids have trashed it.



Same deal when people call about milk spills or pet/human urine. Sorry, booked up for 3-4 weeks. :LOLOL
 
Scottwax said:
I'm changing my answer. I'd quote them a ridiculously high price so someone else gets stuck with cleaning that rolling landfill. I am generally in a position to turn down jobs like that because I am booked 7-10 days out. I'd hate to put off a nice Mercedes or Porsche on hold to clean that disgusting pit of a car.



I've done that before. Had someone call about detailing a Honda Odyssey. I could hear kids screaming in the background so I knew exactly what I'd be getting into. I quoted him $275-350 for the detail. He said he was prepared to pay around $100 or so and said he'd call around. $100? For a minivan? Ha! That is a good 7-9 hours to detail it right, maybe even more if his kids have trashed it.



Same deal when people call about milk spills or pet/human urine. Sorry, booked up for 3-4 weeks. :LOLOL
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Amen brotha... I hate having to clean after people. If they'd just vacuum every now and then it would make a huge difference.
 
F150BOB said:
David,



For the sake of friendly debate, not being in the business, I accept that you can operate on a 80% gross profit. However, the taxes on 80K are $34,282.52 combined, here in CA. (Unless you live in TX or FL or a couple of other states, you tax rates are really not that much different.) That leaves the detailer, who can bill for 8 hours a day for 50 weeks a year, $45,717.15 in net.
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Your calculations are way off. I don't know a state out there that taxes someone earrning $80K over 40% tax? I didn't pay $35,000 in taxes even if you combined 5 years together and my income was much more when I owned my shop. :secret Someone needs to fire their accountant if they pay anywhere close to that much in tax and their self employeed.



f150BOB said:
It is over 100 degrees here in CA today. Why would a skilled person, skilled heck, many of the detailers on this board are almost artists, spend the day working hard under those conditions for less than that? It does not make any sense to me.
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Isn't there alot of skilled trades people(throughout the country) busting their butt in the summer heat right now taking home "only $45K" per year? That isn't that bad of an income to me. I'm assuming by saying that I doubt alot of detailers would complain if they could net $45K a year. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Median Household Income in California is $51K. The highest state is New Jersey and they're at $60K. And that's pre-tax.
 
Right, but that again goes back to where you live. In CA for example, if you live more than 100 miles from SF, San Jose, Sacto, or LA, 51K is plenty. If you don't, 51K is a pittance.
 
Right, but are detailers expected to live there and make more too? My job pays the same salary whether the territory is Boca Raton, Detroit or Manhattan. The cost of living is certainly much different in each place; my company is expecting me to live in that region. Just commute to it, like detailers do. The manager at the Taco Bell in Manhattan definitely isn't expected to live near by and the cost of a soft taco is still 89 cents.
 
David,



Go to the IRS website and compute the tax, then go to FTB.ca.gov and compute the tax. I did it for 2006. Don't forget the self-employment tax on the IRS website. It alone is 15.3%. I think you will find I am correct to the penny.



Anyway, the point is, don't under charge for your services. A highly skilled professional detailer is worth the cost, whatever he/she chooses it to be.



I won't bore anyone with my ranting about getting paid any longer. Sorry for the minor hi-jack of thread.



Back to the good stuff, shiny stuff!



BOB
 
Yea but you seriously have to realize more than 80% of all working americans make alot less than $45,000/year. In gross. You seem to look at that as being lower class or something. taking $45,000 in net would be a god send to most working class people.
 
Jakerooni said:
Yea but you seriously have to realize more than 80% of all working americans make alot less than $45,000/year. In gross. You seem to look at that as being lower class or something. taking $45,000 in net would be a god send to most working class people.
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I never mentioned class or money defining a person. In addition, we are not talking about an employee working for someone. We are talking about the owner of a business who has a tremendous investment in his time and money, taking a heck of a risk running his own business. If you do those things, you need to be rewarded.



Two very different animals.



If I have offended you, I apologize. Since that is not why I am here or what I want to do, I will just let this issue go. No more comments from me.



BOB
 
David Fermani said:
Right, but are detailers expected to live there and make more too? My job pays the same salary whether the territory is Boca Raton, Detroit or Manhattan. The cost of living is certainly much different in each place; my company is expecting me to live in that region. Just commute to it, like detailers do. The manager at the Taco Bell in Manhattan definitely isn't expected to live near by and the cost of a soft taco is still 89 cents.
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Almost everyone who lives in an area with a high cost of living has their salary adjusted upward in some way. When I worked as an engineer in San Francisco I was making ~50% more than I would here in Toronto. Minimum wage was 65% higher there... My wife, who was working as an insurance underwriter, took a 15% pay cut when we moved to Toronto. Why? Cost of living.
 
Picus said:
Almost everyone who lives in an area with a high cost of living has their salary adjusted upward in some way. When I worked as an engineer in San Francisco I was making ~50% more than I would here in Toronto. Minimum wage was 65% higher there... My wife, who was working as an insurance underwriter, took a 15% pay cut when we moved to Toronto. Why? Cost of living.
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Did you and/or your wife transfer within the same organization you each worked for? I've never heard of anyone getting 50% more (or less) for doing the same thing (job title) at the same company? If you changed companies, that could have been another reason as well as how desparate the company was to fill the opening for the salary variance.



Minimum wage is the same throughout the entire country; it does not vary between states and cities? How could it be 65% higher?



Back to my point. Because detailing resembles/cross merchandises with the auto body repair business, I feel it should also have a baseline model in the way it charges out work as an hourly rate. Body shop prevailing rates change marginally throughout the country and I think that detailing rates should also. I can't see how a detailer, who is not certified, recognized or formally trained by any national association, can justify charging more than a body shop that is.



I enjoy and encourage this discussion and am not tying to insult or demean anyone by debating this. If the original poster feels hijacked, I/we could start a new thread in the Professional Forums.



I enjoy this discussion and am not tying to insult or demean anyone by debating this. :welcome
 
This thread is really entertaining. As a general rule, I won't pay someone more than I make per hour to do something I can do myself. Heck, I have a Ph.D. and a pretty good career in biotechnology and don't quite make $50 per hour. For you pro detailers who can get that for cleaning cars, all I can say is good for you guys!! For your clients all I can say is I guess that's the price of being lazy. :laugh:
 
David Fermani said:
Minimum wage is the same throughout the entire country; it does not vary between states and cities? How could it be 65% higher?
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There is a federal minimum wage but individual states can set their own too. California normally has a higher minimum wage, 7.50$/Hr right now going up to 8$/Hr next year. I think the federal is like 5.85$/Hr or something right? I'm not entirely sure since the federal minimum wage doesn't normally concern us.
 
I'd say quote them abnormally high so you either get paid or they take a disaster of a car somewhere else.

That car is a special case, it was probably in a flood.

I agree with F150BOB and his numbers/theory.

You get paid what the market can handle. Capitalism. I don't think you should lower your price just because you think you should. Competition and negotiating with the customer is your barometer.

You pro detailers work really hard; it's a physically demanding job. All that stooping / bending / and wear and tear on your knees it's tough day after day.
 
Man that Sebring looks very similar to the interior of a car of someone I know. He used to brag about how rare this particular Saturn is/was, and now the car has gone to crap. He's got a short haired dog that he take with him often, but he never cleans the inside of the car. When I said I was going to start detailing cars he wanted to know how much I'd charge him. I said you're looking at least $200 with the interior of the car looking like that. His response was I'll pass...LOL

Some people I swear.
 
F150BOB said:
David,



Go to the IRS website and compute the tax, then go to FTB.ca.gov and compute the tax. I did it for 2006. Don't forget the self-employment tax on the IRS website. It alone is 15.3%. I think you will find I am correct to the penny.



Anyway, the point is, don't under charge for your services. A highly skilled professional detailer is worth the cost, whatever he/she chooses it to be.



I won't bore anyone with my ranting about getting paid any longer. Sorry for the minor hi-jack of thread.



Back to the good stuff, shiny stuff!



BOB
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I agree with you as I am a film student and animator in Hollywood. It is about 50% minus expenses so about 35-40%. Social security tax and self employment tax is what really kills me.. so bad I can not afford health insurance. I actually talked to my "Sunday school teacher who owns a CPA firm." Big High end clients. I would have to agree as I am in the Independent contracting field that you might have to be "SUPERMAN" to do the things you do to make money like working and pulling all nighters for an animation job to be done.





But anyhow how'd the interior job go?:waxing:
 
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