mobile detail prices

[Florida Mike]

what are you guys prices for different service (ie. wash, wax, full detail, etc) i'm starting a new business and looking to set some prices... thanks mike

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Florida Mike,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Hopefully some of our regular full-time and even part-time detailers will chime and share a range of prices for what they charge.

[Teak]

Call around to other detailers in your area to check local price points.

Is the business full-time or part-time? What are business goals? What segment of the market are you looking to serve? Do you plan on offering other services?

Eric

[Mike Phillips]

Great suggestions Teak, probably the best suggestions as it's important to know what the market is supporting in a specific geographical location as it varies from place to place.

[Superior Shine]

You need to know what your break even point is and at the very least charge above that. Determine your labor rate then apply it to how long it takes you to perform your detailing service.

If you needed $40 an hour to cover your expenses and to make a fair profit you would charge --

car wash ,1/2 hour - $20
wash and wax, 2 hours - $80
full detail , 4 hours - $160

and so on................

[RDVT4ME]

Superior Shine

Just curious, what is all included in your usual full detail? Any buffing included or is that extra.

[mirrorfinishman]

Florida Mike,

In most cases, a good detailing customer is one that is interested in a high level of quality, not necessarily a low price. One that will understand the value of your service. Maintain a high level of quality and you’ll be able to charge a profitable price for your services.

The price you charge should not be based solely on what the competition charges. It’s good to know what they charge, but I don't think it's a good idea to base your own prices on that fact alone.

In order to cover expenses, make a profit and stay in business you should consider pricing your detailing services somewhere between what you want to make and what you actually need to make.

[Superior Shine]

RDVT4ME,

I don't have traditional packages that most detailers seem to offer. I have seen "full detailing" advertised and after 20 some years detailing I still have no idea what "full detailing" is.

A filthy vehicle that had everything that was needed done to it to restore it to like new condition (buffing, shampooing, etc..)got the full treament I guess, but so does a newer car that needed less work to bring it up to the same standard. Even if the newer car didn't require buffing or shampooing it still had every worked on. So which one got full and which didn't get a full detail. See where
the term "full detail" loses me?


What I do and what I recommend to Fla Mike is to charge for the amount of work needed to do the job.

I seperate my services into four levels, Maintenance, light , medium, heavy, detailig. When I price a vehicle I decide where on my scale (or how much work is required) to clean the interior to our standards. Then I determine where on my scale the exterior fits. Each level has a predetermined price based on the time it takes to complete the job.

example (these arn't my prices, just an example) ---

maintenance -(fixed price that includes interior and exterior)

interior exterior
light $100 light $100

med. $150 med $150

heavy $200 heavy $200


If the inside of a vehicle was determined to be "light"and the exterior "meduim" the I match $100 with the $150 and get the total of $250.

Now to answer your question, maintenance and a light exterior detail gets NO buffing, med gets polishing w/buffer and heavy gets deep cleaning and polishing w/buffer.

[RDVT4ME]

Thanks Joe

That makes sense to me. Kind of what I do. You basically need to asses how much work you will have to do to achieve the results your customer desires.

[Scottwax]

I have a set of base prices, but they are condition dependent. I don't give out a firm price sight unseen. I can give a price range and explain to the customer what conditions will push the price to the upper end of the range I have given them.

Check around your area to see what others are charging and stay above the average. Customers with $50,000+ cars aren't interested in saving a few bucks but they are interested in a high quality job and don't mind paying a little extra to ensure the work is done properly.

Your pricing also needs to be high enough to cover your detailing supplies and equipment, insurance, taxes, etc and to provide the income you feel is worthy of your talents.

My first real high end customer told me when I tried to give him a multi-car discount the first time I did work for him "Never be afraid to ask for what you feel your work is worth." 11 years later, I still regularly detail his cars and his advice still rings true.