about what do you charge an hour?

[spence82]

for the pros that do it full time.to the part timers,how much do you charge an hr?for friends and family,which those are the only ones i do for money latley,15/hr.but my parents cars i do for free lol.

[JuddGA]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

I am not a pro detailer, but I owned a company that repaired office equipment and we did alot of service so I am familiar with hourly rates.

I think there are alot of variables that go into that figure. Bottom line is how much do you want to put in your pocket? $15 hour and you are providing chemicals, pads, equipment, electric, water, towels. See where I am going? Then if you get a little bigger you need to consider travel expense if mobile, insurance, advertising, and any other overhead.

Putting $15/hr in YOUR pocket after expenses seems fair. Calculate your costs, then figure an hourly rate.

Personally I have never given my time or services away for free. My knowledge is what puts food on my table and I expect to get compensated for it.

[Nick Chapman]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

Personally I have never given my time or services away for free. My knowledge is what puts food on my table and I expect to get compensated for it.

You charge your parents? You should be ashamed of yourself!

[jgriesinger]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

$35 /hr... mobile setup $20 for friends and family. Don't get into the habit of not charging enough if you do good work. Word will get around and it will be hard to charge more. Most of my clients are word of mouth and already have a good idea what I will charge. I hardly ever have to deal with hagglers. Dont sell yourself short.... ever!

[Superior Shine]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

$80 hr retail

[JuddGA]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

You charge your parents? You should be ashamed of yourself!

Of course I wouldnt charge my mom........ full price J/K

Seriously I think people get the meaning. When you start giving your service away for free, it lessens the value in peoples mind. Charge more, do a good job and customers will come

[TKDDAD]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

not a professional but I get professional results ....I get $150 -$200 for the job, depending on what they want...about 6 hours average so that works out to $25-$30 per hour...

[TKDDAD]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

$35 /hr... Mobile setup $20 for friends and family. Don't get into the habit of not charging enough if you do good work. Word will get around and it will be hard to charge more. Most of my clients are word of mouth and already have a good idea what i will charge. I hardly ever have to deal with hagglers. Dont sell yourself short.... Ever!

and i completely agree with this statement !!

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

I figure $30 per hour is fair for a novice detailer, provided the end results are on par with what a client would pay someone with more experience. I like the hourly rate as opposed to set "package" prices because it allows it sets customer expectations to the amount they're willing to spend. $60 is a wash and wax, with swirls hidden under a glaze that won't show again until the next car wash. $300 is a high-end, full on 10 hour polishing detail with swirls removed, and the finish sealed and topped with an LSP.

IMO, owners of smaller cars like a Miata should not have to pay the same price as an owner of a full-sized sedan. If it takes you 4-6 hours to polish a small sports car, I wouldn't feel right to charge the owner the same amount I would charge to polish a Chrysler 300C which might take 8-10 hours.

[Golden]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

Very, very rarely do I do a detail that isn't for a friend/family. However, when I do I set it up to where I am putting around $20 per hour in my pocket (after materials cost).

Family and members of my GF's family I charge pure cost, no labor.

[WrightDetail]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

I charge $ 100 for full detail, I take $ 15 off for active military, police and fire

The full detail doesnt include claying...thats an extra $ 50 for avg size cars and $ 100 for full size or SUV and trucks EXTRA !

Have charged $ 500 for semi's rigs !

I also have a donation jar which says to help offset gas, maintenance, repairs of my business vehicle....usually get a 10 or 20 bill in jar for each detail.

[Hemin8r]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

Roughly about $30 an hour and an additional $20.00 fee if I have to travel to the clients place.

[tcope1]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

I agree with what ClearlyCoated mentioned, I think it's a good idea to charge an hourly rate but I think it should be made _very_ clear up front how long the detail should take. That is, the customer should mention what they want done or the results they are looking for. The detailed should explain the processes needed to archive this and also how long these processes take and the over-all time expected. Let the customer know this is a very good guess but that it might take a little longer or a little less time.

You don't want to tell someone your charge $xx.xx and have them think a full detail with paint correction is going to take 2 hours when it really takes 8 hours.

[danny325is]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

about 5 years ago i was charging what worked out to be 50 an hour. But i am in NJ, cost of living and my customers have money. Many of my customers got Full deatils every 2 weeks to a month.

[Innovative Detailing]

Re: about what do you charge an hour?

As a professional who does this for a living, my hourly rate is between $75.00 - $100.00 per hour for detailing and or paint correction issues.

What this includes is the following....

23 years + experience and in business since 1986
Licensed in various cities
Fully Insured with State Farm/Garage Keeper Liability for 2M
Waste waster containment system and County compliant
100% Self Contained
Eco Friendy and service with a smile
Professional and quality detailing products and tools
100% Satisfaction Guarantee

Detailing is not like going to the meat dept at the local grocery store and purchasing ground beef for .99 cents a pound. For me detailing is an art, therefore if you have the right clientel and they care about their vehicle they will appreciate your work and honor your fee. And most of all when your finished and have delivered the final product, they will be smiling from the wonderful job that you performed.