Hey guys! Well I am finally trying to get this detailing business up & running. My dad said I could run it in Troy as a branch off of his business so that way I'd have the huge garage there to work in & I won't rack up the water bill here in Wentzville I think I have decided on the name as The Final Touch since so many people liked it & all. But anyway so I need help with pricing. I want to be fair & somewhat cheap but have it priced to where I can still make a profit somehow. Since my dad is known for the fairest/cheaper prices in the area, I thought I would try the same thing with the detailing thing.

So yeah here is what I just typed up price wise. Note that once I learn how to use a buffer right, I will add paint buffing & headlight restoration to the list. I am also thinking about doing touch-up paint as an add-on but idk, what do you guys think about that? & eventually depending on what kind of cars I get, I may have a engine cover painting section or something like that. Okay yeah so on to the pricing ideas....

Solo Interior Package: $35
· Vacuum
· Shampoo carpets & mats
· Deep seat clean (fabric or leather)
· Complete dash & plastic protector/shine
· Door panels & door jambs (includes underside of door)
· Windows
· Choice of air freshener


Solo Exterior Package: $30

• Hand wash
• Quik wax (add $10 for paste wax)
• Wheels clean/polished (add $10 for wheel buff)
• Tire clean & dress
• Chrome trim polish & rubber
• Vinyl protector/shine
• Windows (add $5 for Rain-X treatment)

(Bronze) Package: $30

• Interior: Vacuum, windows, & choice of air freshener ( add $10 for complete dash & plastic protector/shine)
• Exterior : Hand wash & dry, wheels clean/polished, tires clean & dress, windows cleaned (add $5 for Rain-X treatment)

(Silver) Package: $60

• Interior: Vacuum, complete dash & plastic protector/shine, door panels & door jambs (includes underside of door), windows, choice of air freshener
• Exterior: Hand wash, quik wax (add $10 for paste wax), wheels clean/polished (add $10 for wheel buff), tire clean & dress, windows (add $5 for Rain-X treatment)

(Gold) Package: $100

• Interior: Vacuum, shampoo carpets & mats, deep seat clean (fabric or leather), complete dash & plastic protector/shine, door panels & door jambs (includes underside of door), windows, choice of air freshener
• Exterior: Hand wash, paste wax, wheels clean/polished, wheel buff, tire clean & dress, chrome trim polish & rubber, vinyl protector/shine, windows (add $5 for Rain-X treatment)

(Platinum) Package: $130

• Interior: Vacuum, shampoo carpets & mats, deep seat clean (fabric or leather), complete dash & plastic protector/shine, door panels & door jambs (includes underside of door), windows, choice of air freshener
• Exterior: Hand wash, clay bar, paste wax, quik wax, wheels clean/polished, wheel buff, tire clean & dress, chrome trim polish & rubber, vinyl protector/shine, windows (add $5 for Rain-X treatment)
• Engine bay cleaning

Add engine bay cleaning to any package (except the platinum package) for an extra $20

What do you guys think? Are those fair enough prices? Should I go lower? Should I go higher on some? Should I add any "services" to any of the packages? Also I need new, more cool names so to say, for the names of the packages. That's why they are in (). I kind of wanted a racing theme name thing going on but idk how I'll do that Okay so I realized that I'm asking a lot out of you guys here so I'll stop for now lol. Any help would be awesome! Thanks guys <3

 

how about:
power wheels package
go cart package
nascar package
formula 1 package

i've become somewhat of a expert at polishing headlights lately

seriously, i think that's a pretty good start. but what if customers want you to use their own products? i can be your guinea pig.

 

ooo i like those title names! thanks! u guys are a lot more creative then me lol or maybe i'm just lazy.

ha yeahh i saw that thread on your headlights & all, i meant to comment on it but my net has been all jacked up tonight from the storms hitting us.

own products? sure that's cool, i could most def do that. i use all meguiars stuff besides the mother's ball & other things like windex & rain-x but the majority is meguiars

 

Hey Brittany,

There is one problem I see here. If I was looking at your price list/ packages, I would say "can I get a solo interior, a solo exterior, add wheel buff, and add paste wax!?!? That would be $35+$30+$10+$10= $85 total.

Now I think (unless I missed an important detail) all of the above purchased on a seperate basis would be the same as getting the Gold Package, which cost $100. So essentially, buying everything all at once, cost more than buying stuff solo.

I think it should be the other way around. It should cost more if you added all of the solo's together, and less if you purchased them as a package.

I think your package prices seem very reasonable, but I think you will find that your prices for the solo packages are pretty low. I mean steam cleaning the interior is a pain in the ***, and you are doing that, along with the rest of the interior for $35? I think you should leave the package prices alone, and raise the solo prices so that if you were to bundle all the solos together, it would cost more than if you purchased the WHOLE package. This encourages people to buy everything when they think they can get a discount by purchasing more.

My suggestion:

Solo Interior- $50 (i think that is still really fair for a package that includes steam cleaning interior)

Solo Exterior- $40, add $10 for paste wax, and add $10 for wheel buff.

Therefore, if you were to purchase all of those together, you ended up spending $110 total. But if you just buy the Gold package, it saves you $10.00 and you still get everything.

Oh, and one more thing. DO NOT USE WINDEX on your customers windows. People like myself with tinted windows would literaly not go to you for a detail job because of that. Windex (most windex anyway) has ammonia in it, and anyone with tinted windows wants to stay far away from glass cleaner with ammonia in it. Ammonia glass cleaners is what makes tint turn purple. You need to use a glass clean specifically ment for automobile windows, or a Windex that is ammonia FREE.

 

hmm okay i see what you are saying on those solo prices now. thanks for pointing that out mike =)
well i got tinted windows in my car so i only use ammonia free windex anyway lol & eventually i'm prob look around for a window cleaner that is specifically for car windows.
ohh & one more thing, do you guys think that i should throw in convertible top conditioning & cleaning to any of the packages? or just have it as an add on like the engine bay cleaning?

 

he he looks alot like my packeges n prices it's cool i used/ modified someones too!, u'll get some odd request i just had a guy request decal removal and detail on a 30 ft motor home and don't be afraid to barter it's how u get some of your best customers and will make more money in the end! don't forget word of mouth is an awsome marketing tool also

 

hit up the used car lots if you get in to the rock chip repair for the paint touch up.. I have a friend that does it and he makes a killing he does a car for 75$ take care of 3 towns close by and was able to quit his day job

 

The average detail can last 3-5 hours and range from 100 - 500 dollars depending on the work envolved.

I would also call other detail/ body shops and see what they charge, and ask a few auto dealer shops and ask what products they use. Then get the number for there supplyer, Meguries is a good product but the shine doest last very long.

Here is a websites that gives some good advice

http://thedetailinghandbook.com/default.aspx
http://www.detailingtricks.com/

 

For my windows I use the product Invisble Glass... It works WONDERS! Im not 100% sure but I don't think it has any bad stuff in it!

 

My fiance charges about $75 per hour. You almost need to assess every vehicle and decide what it needs.