Dealership discount?

**StephenK** · 03-07-2011, 07:41 AM

just wondering if any of you that do work for dealerships give them a discounted price or percentage off if they bring you a certain amount of car per month?

EXAMPLE:
10 cars per month 10% off
11-20 cars per month 15%off
etc etc etc....................

i was thinking this may help sweetin the deal when approaching them. still not sure what percentage i want to give off or the amount of vehicles to start the discount at yet.

**Harleyguy** · 03-07-2011, 07:46 AM

Be very careful when you contract with a dealership . For one thing the used cars are usually in really bad shape and another one is they don't like to spend a lot of money on details . That just reduces the profit on a used car . That's one of the reasons dealerships use in house service to get cars ready for the front line . Get the work first work out the price for a detail then worry about giving them a discount . Also most dealers these days take 30 days to pay for any sublet work done at one time my dealership was 60 days before a check was issued .

**Spicy McHaggis** · 03-07-2011, 07:53 AM

Generally dealerships are already only willing to pay a very low price. Giving them anymore discount may cut all of your profits. I remember at one I worked at they were paying this poor guy $25 per car to wash, glaze, wax and interior. Now he is a moron for going along with it, but still dealerships are always looking for the cheapest deal, not the best work.

**StephenK** · 03-07-2011, 07:55 AM

i would be looking at monthly payments from them so i am ready to not get paid but 1 time a month. i am also aware they use in house "detailers" to prep cars for delievery. most of the use car dealerships i see near me only wash and wax the vehicles usually just wash them. and 15 years ago when i was one of those dealership "detailers" they always sent trade ins and auction bought carsto a detail shop to get buffed and polished. back then they paid $80 a car. as far as cutting into profit of dealership i got that covered too. i remember about 5 years ago someone was trying to show the value of a detail and why it cost so much. so they took a car to i think CarMax had it appraised then took the car and did a 1 step and waxed it took it back the next day and same dealership offered him like $1500 more. so actually it would increase the profit they make. i just have to get to the cars as soon as they get them in so that way they have not stuck a price on them yet

**Spicy McHaggis** · 03-07-2011, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by detailgod

i would be looking at monthly payments from them so i am ready to not get paid but 1 time a month. i am also aware they use in house "detailers" to prep cars for delievery. most of the use car dealerships i see near me only wash and wax the vehicles usually just wash them. and 15 years ago when i was one of those dealership "detailers" they always sent trade ins and auction bought carsto a detail shop to get buffed and polished. back then they paid $80 a car. as far as cutting into profit of dealership i got that covered too. i remember about 5 years ago someone was trying to show the value of a detail and why it cost so much. so they took a car to i think CarMax had it appraised then took the car and did a 1 step and waxed it took it back the next day and same dealership offered him like $1500 more. so actually it would increase the profit they make. i just have to get to the cars as soon as they get them in so that way they have not stuck a price on them yet

Good luck convincing a used car manager of that. Our used car guy wouldn't buy tires or brakes unless it didn't pass inspection, let alone spend big money on a detail. And that's not uncommon in the dealership world. Not to mention you have to deal with scumbags everyday.

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**StephenK** · 03-07-2011, 08:48 AM

Originally Posted by Spicy McHaggis

Good luck convincing a used car manager of that. Our used car guy wouldn't buy tires or brakes unless it didn't pass inspection, let alone spend big money on a detail. And that's not uncommon in the dealership world. Not to mention you have to deal with scumbags everyday.

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i know it will be hard to convince them just by words alone. that is when i will do a "bait" detail for them. i will tell them i will detail 1 car at no charge to give them example of my work and what a properly detailed vehicle looks like. i am only doing this for 5 dealerships near me. if they dont take the bait well atleast i have pictures of thier cars to show other dealership. i do appreciate all the input.
still wondering if anybody does this discounting prices. from the detailers point of view it looks like a great deal. but i do understand it will be hard to convince dealerships of this.

**Kristopher1129** · 03-07-2011, 10:07 AM

Usually a dealership will laugh at a discount such as the one you mentioned. They typically don't wanna pay more than $75. That's just in my experience around me at least. Dealerships typically have a "detailer" on location most the time too.

I personally hate working with dealerships. I stay away from it as much as possible. What I typically do is try to get on the owners good side, and show him my skills. If you can get the owners to bring them your personal vehicles...you've done something good. Cause not only do you have him as a customer...he's going to refer the real detail work to you. Not just the crappy cars they are selling.

A lot of times when people buy their vehicles from a dealership...the dealership offers to detail it. Lots of people turn that offer down, and ask straight up if there's a good shop they can take it to instead. Usually the dealership will call you up, and pay for the detail work through you, instead of having their guy do it. I do this with a couple dealerships. Works great, cause they respect your price in that situation.

**ShaunD** · 03-07-2011, 10:20 AM

Yeah, I wouldn't sell myself short when it comes to dealerships. You are talking about saving them money to make more money on the sale of a vehicle. And all you are doing is getting more working and getting paid less to do it. I agree with Kris on the fact that you will probably make as much if not more having them refer customers to you. And you will probably enjoy that work more and get paid right away. But I don't know from personal experience. All I know is that when I see paint that has been marred and swirled by a dealerships in house guy, it lowers the value of the car to me and just means more time/money I would have to spend to get it to my standard if I bought said vehicle.JMHOs

It seems better for you in the long run if you just stick to your pricing and focus on keeping your foot in the door for when the vehicles first arrive, and impress the socks off the owners/dealers/managers that see your work in hopes that the will give you biz with their personal vehicles and refer others to you, i.e. customers and friends, etc.

**Midnight1700** · 03-07-2011, 10:31 AM

Dealerships (a.k.a.,Stealerships) want everything for nothing! I had a dealership contact me about doing their cars for $100.00 each. I did one car, and did what I considered a pretty good deal for only $100.00. This included a single step cut/polish, wax, complete vacuum of interior, cleaning of all vinyl and leather, quick cleaning of engine compartment, windows, and door jams. The car looked a whole lot better than it did when they brought it in to me. Well, when they looked at it, they agreed it looked a whole lot better, but they also wanted the engine compartment completely detailed, all dressings applied inside and out, wheel wells "Painted", SCRATCH FREE PAINT!, door jams waxed, and wanted to know if I removed the wheels so I could get to the brake calipers to detail them too. I asked them that they wanted me to do all that for only $100.00. Well, needless to say, I told them the idea was for them to pay me for my services, not for me to pay them for the priviage of detailing their cars. Following that event, I decided right then that I will not become a "Production Detailer" and the dealerships can go somewhere else!

**Kristopher1129** · 03-07-2011, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by Midnight1700

Dealerships (a.k.a.,Stealerships) want everything for nothing! I had a dealership contact me about doing their cars for $100.00 each. I did one car, and did what I considered a pretty good deal for only $100.00. This included a single step cut/polish, wax, complete vacuum of interior, cleaning of all vinyl and leather, quick cleaning of engine compartment, windows, and door jams. The car looked a whole lot better than it did when they brought it in to me. Well, when they looked at it, they agreed it looked a whole lot better, but they also wanted the engine compartment completely detailed, all dressings applied inside and out, wheel wells "Painted", SCRATCH FREE PAINT!, door jams waxed, and wanted to know if I removed the wheels so I could get to the brake calipers to detail them too. I asked them that they wanted me to do all that for only $100.00. Well, needless to say, I told them the idea was for them to pay me for my services, not for me to pay them for the priviage of detailing their cars. Following that event, I decided right then that I will not become a "Production Detailer" and the dealerships can go somewhere else!

Yeah, that was a similar situation I ran into. Years ago I worked out a deal with a dealership, and it was $99 a vehicle. To them, that was pulling teeth. Same thing happened, I was just doing a glaze to the outside, and the full interior...and they wanted the engine done, wanted me to compound, blah blah blah. In the long run, I personally feel it's better to stand your ground. Cause now, I get calls from dealerships...but usually it's for specialty type things. Swirl marks, bad stains, scratches, picky customer, etc. They know I can do it...that's all I care about, ha.