There just has to be a faster way..Like seriously lol

[ShineTimeDetail]

So Ive been thinking a lot about taking on some dealerships. So I went to school with a grandson of the owner of one of the biggest dealerships in the St. Louis area. He told me they pay an independent shop $115 be car/small suv and $130 for full size suv's. This includes a full engine detail(steam clean only no degreaser can be used), full interior detail along with the plastic must be laid down and heated to stick, wheel wells are spray painted, paint is clayed, compounded, polished then waxed. If its 08 or newer resit-all must be applied.

Ok, so for all of south St.Louis county dealerships, which I believe its 3, they send about 400 cars per month. So that's a nice chunk of change! The deal is, I know they are not spending 6 hours buffing the paint. So what are they doing? I understand what they are doing is not the correct way to do it. Call me a hack but if they are paying me and want a car to look a certain way, hey I will do it. When it comes down to it money is money and if they are going to put food on the table in the winter time I'm game. Don't get it wrong, I do not plan to do a "dealership detail" on customers cars but I want to know how they do it.

Thank you! :xyxthumbs:

[Dr Oldz]

Cheap, unskilled labor......My guess!

[andym]

"but I want to know how they do it."

They don't !
Not to knock them, but unless they have a huge lot and dozens of people working for them, I just cant see it being done, correctly anyway!

[V3AutoDetailing]

I would ask what kind of result the looking for. What they see in a 3 step, you might be able to do it with an AIO, or a one step.

[sal329]

Does not take long when you have 1 or 2 people doing the interior, 1 guy running around the car with a rotary and compund, then polish, then high filling glaze.

[Garry Dean]

It makes me want to puke when I see discussion about detail mill work. Hack em up and crank em out.

Multiple people hacking and heavy glazes are how its done.

[ShineTimeDetail]

I figured 1 guy for motor, 2 on interior and 2 on paint. I also figured a good aio product would do the trick.

[BorisC]

paint is clayed, compounded, polished then waxed. If its 08 or newer resit-all must be applied.Could they be getting away w/ just a one-step?



Ok, so for all of south St.Louis county dealerships, which I believe its 3, they send about 400 cars per month. So that's a nice chunk of change!
I know it's early but am I understanding this correctly? 400 cars per month, that's 20 cars per day figuring 20 working days. 400 x $115 = $46K / month on detailing? $2300 / day. How many independents do they use & how many of those cars would you get?

[ShineTimeDetail]

I haven't asked for any yet and I'm not sure how many shops they have.

[Flannigan]

Could they be getting away w/ just a one-step?


I know it's early but am I understanding this correctly? 400 cars per month, that's 20 cars per day figuring 20 working days. 400 x $115 = $46K / month on detailing? $2300 / day. How many independents do they use & how many of those cars would you get?

Those numbers sound impressive but you have to take into account rent for a shop, insurance, products, and pay for helpers. To do 20 cars a day you would need a MINIMUM of 5 guys working their asses of. Probably for $10/ hour. So there is $500 per day gone at the minimum. When you add a power bill and water bill for the shop there really isn't that much profit left over for the amount of work that would be done.

Not to mention its hacking up cars which should go against what everyone on this forum tries to do.

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

[BobbyG]

Your confusion comes from "assuming" they're performing all the steps you mention and doing them "correctly".

Let's break this down in sections....

The Customer - Expectations

What is the first thing a customer sees; the exterior.

Exterior


Clean
Shinny
Glistening chrome
Dark rich rubber
Trim

Interior


Clean
Carpets
Seats
Door panels & dash
Fresh clean new car scent


Most customers are satisfied with a very basic detail that meets the above criteria. You know it, I know it, and more importantly, the car dealer knows it. If the car looks great to the customer that's all that counts.

Dealers

Car dealers are in this for profit and the less they spend means a better bottom line. Two guys can knock out a car meeting these requirements in as little as 2 hours, I kid you not.

Don't assume that they're doing a full "quality" detail that generally takes a detail technician 8 to 10 hours in as little as 2 hours because they're not.

[ShineTimeDetail]

I'm confused first you say they're doing it correct then you said they're not** unless its early and I'm reading incorrect.

[cutter]

I can't see how they would be doing it correctly...JMO

[CleanGene]

It doesn't take a whole lot to prep new cars. A quick round with a good AIO should be more than enough for a new exterior. Not all used cars are in terrible shape either. A lot of your time spent will be based on the condition of the inventory you receive.

[BobbyG]

I'm confused first you say they're doing it correct then you said they're not** unless its early and I'm reading incorrect.

I didn't say they're doing anything correctly. I said that they have a specific goal in mind and that's to clean up a car so it "looks good" in the customers eyes. This does not mean the jobs been done correctly.......The definition of "correctly" is determined by the requirements. The requirements of a dealership are quite a bit different than those of a quality detail shop..


This includes a full engine detail(steam clean only no degreaser can be used), full interior detail along with the plastic must be laid down and heated to stick, wheel wells are spray painted, paint is clayed, compounded, polished then waxed. If its 08 or newer resit-all must be applied.

Anyone can advertise but are their process steps the same as mine....Not At All.... I've been there and I've seen it.

The thoroughness or quality of the task performed again is dependent on the requirement or goal. If the goal is to pump a out every two hours meeting specific requirements then the thoroughness or quality becomes less important and shortcuts are taken.

A multi stage paint correction takes 5 to 6 hours or more if it's done correctly whereas if 2 guys were using a 1-step product such as Meguiar's D151 can give the finish a quick buff in about 1 hour.

From the Meguiar's Page

Meguiars Paint Reconditioning Cream D151 uses Meguiar’s cutting edge Unigrit abrasive and polymers to create a one-liquid solution that removes defects, produces incredible high shine with long lasting paint protection. One product does it all!

Meguiars Paint Reconditioning Cream D151 (http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-paint-reconditioning-cream-d151.html)

In some minds Meguiar's D151 or similar product clays, compounds, polishes and waxes all in one step.