PhAtTysSiVi

I'm goin to start detailing cars at my house as a side job for some extra cash.
My uncle used to detail cars and before he passed away I used always help him out at his shop.
So I know I can do it right, and I have everything I need but I dont know how much to charge.

Detailing will include....under hood, exterior, interior, wheels and tires, glass, carpet shampoo and wash, waxing and buffing, vacum, vinyl/ wheel/tire dressing....u get the point....completley detailed in and out in every easy or hard to reach spot

I already have 3 people waiting one me.....tomorrow is da first one...97 Toyota Camry

Help me out if u have an idea of how much to charge

Thanx

bo0sT

I live in a nice area, so there's quite a few full-service detail places.. some of them charge major $$$ for the whole thing. I'd probably just check what the locals charge, and beat that price so you give your customers a reason to go to you instead. Also, think about how long it would take you.. and consider that as well. I own my own business, so i always look at how much equipment costs, time for labor, and competition.. it's hard sometimes.. but what you're doing sounds simple enough, and i have a friend making good money doing it.

Assasin

how long does it take you to do one car?

slammed2k2

iTrader: (1)

i do detailing,
but i have weekly customers, i do them every saturday or sunday, I charge them 20 for a car or 25 for an suv, van...(CANADIAN DOLLARS) all i do though is vacuum incl. windows, dash cup holders everything and i wash the outside incl.tires/wheels, windows...

thats where the money is at man, coz i do them everyweek so it takes almost no time, the car hardly gets dirty, it hasnt rained here much this summer so all this cars just get dusty, i just hose them off and dry them with a chamois, but when i do those once in a while cars, u gotta charge a lot coz think about it, some of the cars haven't been cleaned EVER, so think about the mess, don't be scared to charge coz think about what those other shops charge...over 150 easily...

So i say you can charge $75-$100 (US DOLLARS) to do these cars man, its gonna take u awhile in most casess

ak

iTrader: (19)

At the most i would pay $150 to have all that done to my car. It sounds pretty tough and time consuming.

PhAtTysSiVi

it is hard work, I'll tell u that. It'll take me about 3.5-4 hours.
Not tryin to brag or anything but I live in my fathers house in a pretty nice area. People around here have $$$$$.
I'm thinkin 100 dollars??????
What do u guys think?

Voiceofid

iTrader: (3)

yeah, detailing around here usually cost from 50-200 dollars, depends on how detailed you want the detailing!

ak

iTrader: (19)

$100 definetely sounds worth it! and fair!

HCCriminal

iTrader: (2)

yeah a $100 bux is fair ..!!

Scorpioflo

at least 100 bones!!!

ak

iTrader: (19)

oooh..i second that.

Collective

Not to be a bummer... but make sure you have sort of "liability insurance". I seen a case of a part time guy getting dragged into court over a paint issue... seems the the guy burnt the paint with his buffer and had "no" insurance and was not incorporated. As you can tell he lost, and was forced to pay to pay to repaint a BMW ! Sure this is a extreme case, but when you act like a business... you better be a business or you pay out of your own pocket.

Good luck, wish you the best !

johnride

$100 is a fair price.

ak

iTrader: (19)

besides, you're gonna get at least $10 tip [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

PhAtTysSiVi

a $100 it is!
thanx for the input

Numinous001

Tell them $120. If they don't seem to keen on the idea start asking them questions about what kind of car they have etc and then change your price to $100 and make it sound like your doing them a favor, people always fall for that stuff... Oh yea sometimes people charge more for black cars because it's harder to to the exterior work and get it to look as good as lighter cars.
-Numinous

2k2civicballer

iTrader: (1)

A hundred bucks sounds fair to you guys, but good luck finding many people to pay someone doing sidejob a hundred bucks....id say 25$ bucks...

But if you can get that kinda money outta people go for it! and send me some...my address is....lol

Toad

100 for normal.. 200 if its a really rich community

DcatStylee

Normal Car - $100
Black Car - $150
Normal Suv - $125
Black Suv - $175
When it comes to trucks, you just be the judge, and find a price somewhere between cars and suvs. I would price this high, if I were you, because you'll soon realize how costly chemicals are. Think about it:
Step 1: Degreaser, Brush, Soap, washmit, water, and a soft towel or shammy.
Step 2: Vinyl/leather cleaner/dresssing, window cleaner, vacuum, stain remover/shampooer, and an extractor.
Step 3: Wax removing compound (something like a solvent), Claybar, Waxing compound, Cutting compound, De-swirling compound, and an Orbital buffer (the killer).
Step 4: Armorall.
Step 5: Car polish and a detailing cloth.

You'll come to find that you're not getting all of the money that you charge your customers. The detail shop I work at charges upwards of $250 for just a normal car.

Mbow

I would pm civicdude as he does it for a living...

neoretromax

when i detail a car it usually takes me 8 hrs by myself and that is everything you can think of. nothing gets missed. i usually charge upwards of 100 bucks but no more than 150. so if it takes you 4 hrs, id say 100 bucks is too much to be charging. id go 80.

Dagooseisloose

iTrader: (1)

I would charge 100 bucks but if someone brings you a higher end car like a porsche or jag charge em a little more.