Time to talk about pricing...

[Niko Molina]

I'm thinking about having two packages.

-One would be a maintenance/production/basic package for essentially a daily driver. Would be for customers just looking for that 'shine' that simply clay barring can offer (lol). The clean interior, nice looking engine bay and the wheels/rims all shined up, windows looking good and the paint done with an AIO.

-Second would be the premium/showroom package for guys willing to spend the $$$ to get their BMW, Audi, Mercdes, etc. looking the best it possibly can. Also show cars and Garage Queens should be done. It's where I would hit the car with everything I have to offer to make it look it's best.


Maintenance/Production/Basic Package
Car - 90$
Truck - 100$
SUV - 110$


1. Engine Bay - clean & dress
2. Rims - decontaminate w/Iron X, then clean & wax (specified wax for what the rims are made of)
3. Tires - clean & dress
4. Decontaminate paint w/ Iron-X
5. Foam Gun
6. Rinse & Dry
7. Clay bar
8. 2-Bucket-Method wash & dry (I prefer to wash again after clay bar)
9. AIO
10. Windows - clean & add Aquapel & wipe wiper blades
11. Interior & Trunk - LGM, leather conditioners, plastic cleaners, dressings, etc.
12. Add custom scent to interior


NOTE:
The steps in MediumTurquoise are what have been 'ADDED' to the 'Maintenance/Production/Basic Package' to construct the 'Premium/Showroom Package.'

Premium/Showroom Package
Car - $150
Truck - $175
SUV - $200
*Window Polishing Service +$$$????

1. Engine Bay - clean & dress
2. Underbody - rinse down
3. Wheel-wells
4. Rims - decontaminate w/Iron-X, clean & wax (specified wax for what the rims are made of)
5. Tires - clean & dress
6. Decontaminate paint w/Iron-X
7. Foam Gun
8. Rinse & dry
9. Clay Bar
10. 2-Bucket-Method wash & dry
11. Compound - Rupe's Bigfoot Polisher + M105
12. Polish - Rupe's Bigfoot Polisher + M205
13. Seal - UNDECIDED ON SEALANT
14. Wax - either Carnuaba or NXT2.0 (customers choice)
15. Windows - clean & add Aquapel & wipe wiper blades
15.5 - Customer ADD ON - can polish the windows for extra $$ (yet to be determined... suggestions? btw have you guys seen this done? theres a few videos on Youtube of it.)
16. Interior & Trunk - LGM, leather conditioners, plastic cleaners, dressings, etc.
17. Add custom scent to interior


Any suggestions?

[thebamboo23]

How long do you think you'll take on the basic/premium service? How much are you trying to make an hour?

1. Engine Bay - clean & dress This can be as an add on service.
2. Rims - decontaminate w/Iron X, then clean & wax (specified wax for what the rims are made of) wax can be an add on
3. Tires - clean & dress
4. Decontaminate paint w/ Iron-X add on.. i doubt they'll care for this
5. Foam Gun def dont care.. and this is production, so i wouldn't do it
6. Rinse & Dry
7. Clay bar After rinse, I would clay, then dry
8. 2-Bucket-Method wash & dry (I prefer to wash again after clay bar) this is production work. no need for this.. and your also not going for perfect. ONR
9. AIO
10. Windows - clean & add Aquapel & wipe wiper blades Aquapel-add on.. why wouldn't you clean the wiper blades?
11. Interior & Trunk - LGM, leather conditioners, plastic cleaners, dressings, etc. [COLOR="red"is this a full interior cleaning?[/COLOR]
12. Add custom scent to interior add on.. and not many people like/want/care for this

[Just02896]

Prices seem way too low for services included! Earlier today I finished a 2 step correction with CQUK coating on an ecoboost crew cab f-150 and charged $650. Took just about 16 hours to complete.

[Niko Molina]

How long do you think you'll take on the basic/premium service? How much are you trying to make an hour?

Basic: 1.5-2.5hours
Premium: 3-6hours.

Not concerned about how much I make an hour honestly. I have a good job Mon-Fri and only doing this on Saturday/Sundays as a hobby because I enjoy doing it... just going to charge a bit because it's only fair lol

Engine Bay Add On - I agree.

Rims - Wax Add On - I agree.

Decontaminate - I disagree.
--Doubt I could sell it. I'll include it anyways. Only takes like 5 minutes. If they ask 'What the hells that purple/red stuff seeping out of my car?' I can educate them on it and it might 'open their eyes' like 'Damn this guy does all the little things...I doubt the other detailers have this, or at least if they do, charge extra for it."

Foam Gun - I disagree.
--Another 'eye popper/head turner' essentially . Even though the foam gun is NOT necessary, it only takes 5-10 minutes and if the client sees me spraying the #### (pardon my french aha) out of his car, he may have never seen it done by any other detailer and in-turn give me an 'edge'. The perspective essentially as I have something to offer that the other detailers in my area don't.

Clay Bar - I agree. I could use a Quick Detailer to add extra lubrication hence most of the soap will be rinsed off.

2BM - Hmm... but how do I know the foam gun got everything off?

Windows - I agree with Aquapel add on. The wiper blades, I use to always forget them when I detailed my car and my family's cars for free so any chance I get to 'remind' myself to do them, I write it down lmao.

Interior - Yes. Theres no difference between the Basic & Premium interior cleaning. Unless you could offer some differences I could use?

Scent - Perhaps a signature. There were some damn good scents on a bodybuilding forum's topic about detailing (which is where I came from and how I found AutoGeek) that some of the guys were talking about and recommending. Essentially claiming they themselves as well as their customers really enjoyed them.

Prices seem way too low for services included! Earlier today I finished a 2 step correction with CQUK coating on an ecoboost crew cab f-150 and charged $650. Took just about 16 hours to complete.

Coatings are a bit more difficult to apply than a sealant and wax though aren't they? Lol I don't offer that service... yet. It's just because I've never done it.

[Niko Molina]

Also, I have created my business card... I'm just having trouble between which 'back side' I want to use.

Front




Back Side #1 (No Dark-Blue Top&Bottoms)
-Note the text and everything else in the card (even the front) are in the most basic, simple color 'BLUE' there is. In side #2 the top & bottoms are a darker blue.





Back Side #2 (Dark-Blue Top&Bottoms)
-Note the text and everything else in the card (even the front) are in the most basic, simple color 'BLUE' there is. In side #2 the top & bottoms are a darker blue.

[tommythecat]

Coatings are a bit more difficult to apply than a sealant and wax though aren't they? Lol I don't offer that service... yet. It's just because I've never done it.

Not necessarily...I have used the DP Paint Coating on a couple of friends cars INSTEAD of a wax or sealant because it takes less time to coat it than it does to wax/seal it. Also, the price point on the DP Paint coating makes it an easy choice.

[Niko Molina]

Not necessarily...I have used the DP Paint Coating on a couple of friends cars INSTEAD of a wax or sealant because it takes less time to coat it than it does to wax/seal it. Also, the price point on the DP Paint coating makes it an easy choice.

Benefits of coating vs sealant+wax?

Haven't researched much into it. I was under the impression that you had to let the coating 'sit' for 24 hours or something along those lines?

[Firehouse Mike]

My .02 here is to not sell yourself short. You WILL spend 6-8 hours to do a good detail. Add another 4-6 for a typical 3-step paint correction. Get some experience working on friends and families cars to get a feel for how long it will really take. Don't try to keep it under a certain time frame - your quality will suffer if you speed through it. Your market area may set prices as well. I can't even come close to getting whats the going rate in So Cal and the like. Know the area and what others are able to charge. Price accordingly and remember, you are new to the game - It'll take awhile to get where you want to be at an hourly rate. Take a look at my packages and what's included on my site. Prices and approximate times are listed too. Just for reference, i'm south of Seattle.

[Niko Molina]

My .02 here is to not sell yourself short. You WILL spend 6-8 hours to do a good detail. Add another 4-6 for a typical 3-step paint correction. Get some experience working on friends and families cars to get a feel for how long it will really take. Don't try to keep it under a certain time frame - your quality will suffer if you speed through it. Your market area may set prices as well. I can't even come close to getting whats the going rate in So Cal and the like. Know the area and what others are able to charge. Price accordingly and remember, you are new to the game - It'll take awhile to get where you want to be at an hourly rate. Take a look at my packages and what's included on my site. Prices and approximate times are listed too. Just for reference, i'm south of Seattle.

'Good' detail as in the premium package? I assume it would take very long.


I've got some practice cars lined up...
'93 Nissan 240SX Convertible (Premium Detail)
'94 Nissan 240SX Convertible (Premium Detail)
'10 Honda CR-V (Basic Detail)
'03 Chevy Cavalier (Basic Detail)
'10 Honda Accord (Premium Detail)
'12 Ford Fusion (Basic Detail)

[tommythecat]

Benefits of coating vs sealant+wax?

Haven't researched much into it. I was under the impression that you had to let the coating 'sit' for 24 hours or something along those lines?

Coatings last longer than sealants/wax and they will not come off if your customer runs it through an automatic car wash.

I don't know enough about the cure times of different coatings to comment on that. I think the cure time is mostly for when it is ok for it to get wet.