How much will usually a detailing shop charge for a job like this?

[zalo]

Wash, paint decontamination, some taping, 2 stages of paint correction ( menzerna 400 followed by menzerna 3500 and sealed with wolfgang 3.0)... I spent like 12 hours doind this in my garage at 110f....I have done like 10 cars so far from friends and family members (for free).... a lady passing by stoped and asked me how much I would charge to do her 2 year old black porsche cayanne...did not gave her an answer.. but I was thinking $350 wich I consider a fair price for me to sweat my ass of 12 hours! Will not doing for less I guess... your inputs are highly apreciated!!58268582695827058271


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[PurpleTowel]

$30 an hour seems shallow to me. Best to make it worth your while if you're going to do it for someone willing to pay for it. For those conditions and that type of time investment, $40-50 an hour seems more reasonable. I'm sure others will have their options, too.

[Maestro Sam]

3 step process in 12 hours is really fast! I would probably charge $850 and up for a multistep process that will take me about 20 hours or more. I first started charging $200 for paint correction when I first started doing it professionally to gain experience and also, to get some reviews on my google/yelp so I can upcharge my services with reputation. I still have people that think my services are fairly expensive, but I also have a good amount of people who are willing to pay $1000+ for paint correction because of my reviews. I have learned from Mike Phillips and others that not charging enough is a deservice to yourself and sometimes you need to know when to draw the line/reject customers.

[DZ302]

750 to 850...

[Dan Tran]

At least $750


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[Dan Tran]

I know the local car wash will charge $150 for a three stage... [emoji23]


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[juvefan30]

I know the local car wash will charge $150 for a three stage... [emoji23]


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$99 for an "express compound" here at my local car wash in northern NJ.

[PurpleTowel]

Are you guys billing at an hourly rate or a project rate?

[TMQ]

Both.

Establish what you'll need on an hourly rate that you will be happy to "pull" polisher off the table.
After hourly rate is established---create package 1, 2 and 3.

Package 1 = once around the car using an AIO
Package 2 = Twice around the car, starting with polishing and finishing out with LSP.
Package 3 = 3 times around car ( 3 step) Compound, polish and LSP

Tom

[FrankS]

I would charge $75/hr x 12 hrs = $900.

I normally estimate how long it will take and give the customer a total price.

I think the bottom line is how much you want to make per hour and how much you think your time is worth.

[TMQ]

Your initial offer of $350 mentioned in your first post above is a good price and a good start. If you feel good about it, then it will be
good for the customer.

You need to be happy to create a "happy" job! Smile.

I think you're on right track.

Go for it!

Tom

[TMQ]

To just let you guys know---I am in the process of finalizing my price sheet!

Since you've done 10 cars to date---You know by now what it will take for you to do a car that you'll be happy with. $350 for an AIO is a good start.
And you'll be surprised how well a good AIO can achieve and the customer will be blown away!

And I agree with all of the suggestions posted by forum members listed above.

I think you're good to go.!

Tom

[Vegas Transplant]

You know what you're willing to settle for. Don't feel guilty.
The only thing that I can offer as advice is that you get her to agree to a maintenance plan. By doing this she will always see the value of the correction and detail. My two cents.

[PurpleTowel]

A little story, because it's not just about making a fair rate—it's about how much your customer is willing to pay.

I once worked for someone who made widgets—literally hundreds of thousands of the same little part. He was a specialist, and few others made that part or could make that part like he did. He had about a dozen customers who bought as many of those widgets as he could make. To one client, he sold those widgets for $5 a piece and sold them by the thousands. For another customer, he sold fewer widgets, but he charged $50 a piece, and the customer was happy to buy them from him. He was profitable on both, but he knew where he could increase his margins. When he was asked why his prices were so different, he said, "because you have to know the pain threshold of your customer to know what you can charge them for any given service. This customer has a low pain threshold, this one has a high pain threshold."

I asked him how he knew what each customer's financial paint tolerance was and he responded, "ahh, see, that's the magic."



I think the price someone is willing to pay for a specific service is going to be different from person to person, neighborhood to neighborhood and state to state. Your experience, location, quality of work and a lot of other factors will go into the rate you can demand. Look around your area for an idea of what local detailing shops are charging (not quick car wash-type production lines), and put yourself in the same ballpark. And don't be afraid to adjust your prices slightly as you go—not discounts to everyone, but adjusting for your market overall as you go.



I'm in the same boat trying to establish my business locally, make enough so that it's worthwhile and profitable and get enough work to keep my schedule full. It's WAY harder than making a car look good.



Good luck,

doug

[Don M]

And you'll be surprised how well a good AIO can achieve and the customer will be blown away!

And I agree with all of the suggestions posted by forum members listed above.

I think you're good to go.!

Tom

I also agree that a good AIO can work miracles when you're trying to keep your costs down and your profit (and the happiness of the customer up).

Here is a truck I recently did using Meguiar's D151, a PC and a Meguiar's thin maroon cutting pad.


The Supervisor's Truck (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/110701-supervisor-s-truck.html)

BTW, the picture I emailed him is now his desktop picture on his work computer.