Maintenance wash prices?

[shoeless89]

Just wondering what you guys charge for maintenance washes. Since it will be recurring income, I feel like I can charge slightly less but I still have no idea what to charge. Any input would be awesome

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[Joe@Superior Shine]

This is what works for us - $50 per average size car / min. of two. Must commit to either weekly or bi-monthly service with a maintenance detail performed somewhere between monthly to two months.

Washing is like anything else you do in your business. You MUST ALWAYS make your labor rate. Your labor rate is your expenses plus profit.

Two of us take about 45 minutes to wash two cars. My labor rate is $60 per man hour so $50 per vehicle works for us. This might seem like allot of money to many but I catered my service specifically to those that; 1- can afford it, 2- value their time, 3- that have very nice cars.

[Vegas Transplant]

I charge what the market will bear. Before I serviced my first customer I researched the going rate. Not only detailers, but the car washes , and mobiles also. My work speak for itself and most of my client base are referrals. Futhermore , my target market turned out to be dd's as this area is largely metropolitan and most of my clients own 3 or more vehicles per household (2 dd's , 1 or two garage queens, or a family vehicle). Also 80% of my clients are divorced female head of household ,driving mb's, jag, audi, caddy, porsche etc. and the remaing % are either retired or semi-retired and enjoy the convience of my detailing services. Two of my detail packages have maintence washes built into the detail cost covering the first 30 days, then a fixed price revolving service after that. But, the biggest draw of my services is the time savings the customer enjoys by my being mobile and the fact that they now have a dedicated professional who will take care of their vehicle cleaning needs. The only discount I offer is multi-vehicle , however I will throw in little extras on the package just to show my appreciation for their business. Happy trails...

[Ted S.]

Keep a few things in mind:

• Every vehicle is different.
• How well your initial detail is.
• The current condition of the vehichle.
• Whether or not you travel and by how much.
• Products used.
• Desired labor rate.

With current gas prices, a 10 mile drive and one hour of time for me, I'd charge around $15-25. But I don't run a business.

[Grimm]

$15-25 seems way low. It may take an hour to knock out a car, but if you are mobile, I would think you have at least another half hour in down time to drive there and set up/pack up your supplies. So you would be able to do probably five cars a day? Multiply that by five days, and 50 weeks, that's 1250 cars a year. At $15 per car, that's less than $19K a year, and you haven't even included cost of products, gas, or insurance. And that's if you are getting enough business to actually be doing five cars every day of the year. I don't do this for a living, but I would think your expenses will be at least $5 per car. I would think you would want to charge $30 minimum if you are doing a 45-60 minute wash.

[LuxuryMobile]

My prices for a maintenance wash wont go below $50. I will only offer this service if the client has already had a full exterior detail that included full clay bar treatment and a sealant/wax. My maintenance wash always includes a spray wax as I am drying to keep that just waxed look and make it easier for me the next time Im there.

[Ted S.]

With current gas prices, a 10 mile drive and one hour of time for me, I'd charge around $15-25. But I don't run a business.

Just a clarification; I only detail as a hobby.

[Mike Phillips]

This is what works for us - $50 per average size car / min. of two. Must commit to either weekly or bi-monthly service with a maintenance detail performed somewhere between monthly to two months.

Washing is like anything else you do in your business. You MUST ALWAYS make your labor rate. Your labor rate is your expenses plus profit.

Two of us take about 45 minutes to wash two cars. My labor rate is $60 per man hour so $50 per vehicle works for us. This might seem like allot of money to many but I catered my service specifically to those that; 1- can afford it, 2- value their time, 3- that have very nice cars.

I charge what the market will bear. Before I serviced my first customer I researched the going rate. Not only detailers, but the car washes , and mobiles also. My work speak for itself and most of my client base are referrals. Futhermore , my target market turned out to be dd's as this area is largely metropolitan and most of my clients own 3 or more vehicles per household (2 dd's , 1 or two garage queens, or a family vehicle). Also 80% of my clients are divorced female head of household ,driving mb's, jag, audi, caddy, porsche etc. and the remaing % are either retired or semi-retired and enjoy the convience of my detailing services. Two of my detail packages have maintence washes built into the detail cost covering the first 30 days, then a fixed price revolving service after that. But, the biggest draw of my services is the time savings the customer enjoys by my being mobile and the fact that they now have a dedicated professional who will take care of their vehicle cleaning needs. The only discount I offer is multi-vehicle , however I will throw in little extras on the package just to show my appreciation for their business. Happy trails...

My prices for a maintenance wash wont go below $50. I will only offer this service if the client has already had a full exterior detail that included full clay bar treatment and a sealant/wax. My maintenance wash always includes a spray wax as I am drying to keep that just waxed look and make it easier for me the next time Im there.

Nuggests of Gold

Thanks guys for sharing some valuable information with our forum members...

[Vegas Transplant]

Thank you AGO !!! This forum provides me much more help and info than I could ever pass on.