What are your rates for your services? mobile or shop?

[11B250]

Just curious what people are charging for their services. I know location and probably years of establishment (experience) could make a difference, but I'm just curious.. I do my own work, so I neve really inquired it. Was thinking if I charged someone to do their car.

What do you charge for a wash? (include spray wax?) do you upcharge for wheel cleaning with iron remover?

1 step AIO (including claying the car and all necessary steps) Do you upcharge for iron decon?

2 step polish > sealant?

Do you even offer 3 step?

and how do you guys charge? By the hour? I was thinking maybe like 100 an hour?

Lastly, do you work out of your home garage and people come to your house? Do you go to them? or do you have a warehouse?

Thanks!

[SKorch630]

I work from my home shop, and people come to me, but I've read/heard from multiple sources that mobile detailing is the best way to start out.

[sweatthedetails]

Spray wax wash incl. cleaning and dressing wheels, with vac and interior wipe $60. This takes me about 1.5-2 hours and is almost always done mobile
AIO is my silver package and includes clay bar $100, $20 up charge for mobile and for oversize vehicle (anything I need a step stool to reach the roof). takes about 3 hours
2-step polish is my gold exterior package. $150 and it takes about 4-5. I don't usually do this mobile because I like to control the shade and take breaks in the FL sun.
I do offer a 3-step for some but I don't advertise it. I usually suggest the horizontal surfaces get compounded on darker vehicles that need some extra. I will generally charge an additional $50 for this or $100 more for the whole vehicle making it $250.
I always charge atleast $20 more for mobile work and always tell the customer I can do more for less if they drop it off. When mobile I work out of a MazdaSpeed3 and mostly use ONR.

[11B250]

Spray wax wash incl. cleaning and dressing wheels, with vac and interior wipe $60. This takes me about 1.5-2 hours and is almost always done mobile
AIO is my silver package and includes clay bar $100, $20 up charge for mobile and for oversize vehicle (anything I need a step stool to reach the roof). takes about 3 hours
2-step polish is my gold exterior package. $150 and it takes about 4-5. I don't usually do this mobile because I like to control the shade and take breaks in the FL sun.
I do offer a 3-step for some but I don't advertise it. I usually suggest the horizontal surfaces get compounded on darker vehicles that need some extra. I will generally charge an additional $50 for this or $100 more for the whole vehicle making it $250.
I always charge atleast $20 more for mobile work and always tell the customer I can do more for less if they drop it off. When mobile I work out of a MazdaSpeed3 and mostly use ONR.

Interesting. Way less than I thought. hell, for 250 3 step, you can come do my car!

I was thinking more like 100 an hour, so your AIO package closer to 300 and 2 step for around 400-500.

[SKorch630]

Here's the biggest issue. Other people telling you what your prices should be is a reflection of their work. If you charge $500 an hour, and can justify WHY, so be it. There will be clients within your reach that will understand why your services are the price they are. Vise-versa. If your services are $40 for an entire interior/exterior clean, chances are, it'll show. You have to be the one to set your prices because YOU know your abilities and skill level. Figure out the demographic that you're after, and work from there.

There's a lot of hillbillies around here, that drive beat up, rusted out, old school trucks. I know already that I do not want to cater to those people simply based on the fact that they can't maintain that vehicle, so why waste my time on another one of theirs? Instead, I look for the guy who's driving the Mercedes, or the Porsche, because I know that he's going to actually maintain that vehicle. Maintaining that vehicle means coming to me more often. I'm not going to rape the guy on my service prices, but he's going to know that by paying "$x" he's going to get exactly what I tell him, and then some.

Figure out your demographic
Analyze the market
Pinpoint a certain target audience
Figure out time spent + cost of product + labor rate <<< This will help you find your advertising price.

Time is the biggest factor here. People don't want to spend the 4-10 hours we do on vehicles. They just don't have the time for it, so they hire someone to do it. They're trading money for time. Vise-Versa. We're trading time for money. Eventually, you'll get into the swing, get things rolling, #### will start clicking, and you'll be good to go. Go with what YOU feel is sufficient for your level of work.

[11B250]

Here's the biggest issue. Other people telling you what your prices should be is a reflection of their work. If you charge $500 an hour, and can justify WHY, so be it. There will be clients within your reach that will understand why your services are the price they are. Vise-versa. If your services are $40 for an entire interior/exterior clean, chances are, it'll show. You have to be the one to set your prices because YOU know your abilities and skill level. Figure out the demographic that you're after, and work from there.

There's a lot of hillbillies around here, that drive beat up, rusted out, old school trucks. I know already that I do not want to cater to those people simply based on the fact that they can't maintain that vehicle, so why waste my time on another one of theirs? Instead, I look for the guy who's driving the Mercedes, or the Porsche, because I know that he's going to actually maintain that vehicle. Maintaining that vehicle means coming to me more often. I'm not going to rape the guy on my service prices, but he's going to know that by paying "$x" he's going to get exactly what I tell him, and then some.

Figure out your demographic
Analyze the market
Pinpoint a certain target audience
Figure out time spent + cost of product + labor rate <<< This will help you find your advertising price.

Time is the biggest factor here. People don't want to spend the 4-10 hours we do on vehicles. They just don't have the time for it, so they hire someone to do it. They're trading money for time. Vise-Versa. We're trading time for money. Eventually, you'll get into the swing, get things rolling, #### will start clicking, and you'll be good to go. Go with what YOU feel is sufficient for your level of work.

Yeah but then you get someone like sweatthedeatils who charges 250 or so for a 3 step (would take me probably 2-3 days), I don't understand how you can compete with that.

so you're saying he either does a real shitty job, or he charges very little and is making a mistake and undercharging. I'm gonna assume being an active member here, he knows what he's doing no better or worse than me.

the reason I posted this is the labor rate. Someone doesn't have to break it down for me, I can figure that out myself.

[Eldorado2k]

I'll say this, sweatthedetails deserves alot more respect than this. I've seen his vids and I can tell just from how he speaks and presents himself that he's a kind hearted person who delivers quality in his work. He doesn't know who I am but I can tell these sort of things when I see good people.

[RonAlv]

Spray wax wash incl. cleaning and dressing wheels, with vac and interior wipe $60. This takes me about 1.5-2 hours and is almost always done mobile
AIO is my silver package and includes clay bar $100, $20 up charge for mobile and for oversize vehicle (anything I need a step stool to reach the roof). takes about 3 hours
2-step polish is my gold exterior package. $150 and it takes about 4-5. I don't usually do this mobile because I like to control the shade and take breaks in the FL sun.
I do offer a 3-step for some but I don't advertise it. I usually suggest the horizontal surfaces get compounded on darker vehicles that need some extra. I will generally charge an additional $50 for this or $100 more for the whole vehicle making it $250.
I always charge atleast $20 more for mobile work and always tell the customer I can do more for less if they drop it off. When mobile I work out of a MazdaSpeed3 and mostly use ONR.

I do like the upcharge idea for mobile services. As for me, I perfer to do the work in my garage as SKorch630 does. It would be kinda hard for me to wheel around my 33 gal compressor, and then all my product, and tools. My biggest problem right now is coming up with some packages to offer. I am also in the process of designing a web site but do not want to reveal it till I have all my T's crossed and I's dotted. I strictly want to detail as a part timer, and advertise strictly by word of mouth and social media. In researching my area, a basic car wash is running around 50 bucks. I guess I am to much of a perfectionest and would charge more, but I know the quality of work I do. Just remember, if you fail to plan, your plan will fail.
Good Luck.

[SKorch630]

He's free to charge as he wants, I was merely stating that around my area, $40 is a basic car wash. I don't do production work. I'm by no means, in any way/shape/form discrediting ANY member on this board, so let me make that clear right now. I'm almost guaranteeing that someone like sweatthedetails could be charging more for his type of work. I've not seen his work, but if it's what you're saying it is, then there's more money to be made. Again, that may not be what he's after though. Each and every person is different. Do what works for you.

I'm stating that if you feel $100/hr is sufficient for your work, then charge that. You'll quickly figure out what works, and what doesn't, and adjust your prices, or change your demographic. I was doing $50 exterior/interior work when I first started, and I hated it. So I figured, if I hate production work, then I need to change, and I did. By lowering your prices because someone else has a lower price, is asinine. Go take a look at Larry over at AMMO NYC, and ask him about his journey. He's one person, in particular, that was/is very adamant about undercutting, and why it's destroying your business. Simply put, just because you appear "cheaper" than the competition, doesn't mean you're going to make more money. It's actually the adverse effect. When you undercut prices, and your skills are superior, you're hurting your business by not charging enough for your skills. Hence, in my original post, I stated that if you charge $500 an hour, and can justify it, so be it.

Competition is something that's going to happen in any industry. If you're next door to him, or down the street, and he's charging $250 for a 2 step, and his skills are far superior than yours, well... you've got an issue. But if you're in a different state, or across the country, why does it matter? My suggestion to you: continue to master your craft. Continue working on the weekends, master your industry, hone your skills, and then set whatever price you want.

Backstory: Larry @ AMMO NYC cut his client list from 300+ for the car wash he owned, down to roughly 10-15 clients that he works with SPECIFICALLY because that was the demographic he was after. He wasn't interested in the production work, and solely wanted to work with those clients that he carefully crafted the list from.

[Real Riders]

Just because someone charges a really high rate doesn't mean they do a better job than the person who charges a lower, more reasonable rate.