1meantransam

iTrader: (8)

hey i just started detailing cars around the area here for 100 bucks a car and i think it sounds pretty reasonable, and so do all the people i have lined up here to do soon.. i did my first with a black eclipse here last week and he LOVED it and its also what got me alot of other people wanting me to do theres just from seeing his... i posted pics but they didnt come out good for the size i had maybe ill post later... but what i need to know is if im leaving anything out or if theres and helpful advice from other detailers here
heres what i do

Engine bay with pressure washer and simple green.
windows inside and out
carpet, vac if good shampoo if DIRTY
wheels, cleaning chrome up or what ever they have ALSO tires and wheel well
car wash and wax
all upholstry
underneath of car as best as possible
few little things (taking dents and scratches out as best of ability)
All that for 100, from what i understand is thats pretty cheap, but it seems everyones good with that price...

ANY ADVICE,TIPS or anything that can help??

99zee

iTrader: (4)

Sounds good. $100 is a great deal for the customer. Everybody says my prices are cheap, but I'm happy with it. I am always busy. Its not my full time job, maybe thats why I still enjoy it! All I have to do is say no. It doesn't take long to get a good rep. Good Luck

1meantransam

iTrader: (8)

yeah i have a full time job so its nice to fit 3-4 cars in on the weekend and get a quick 3-400 bucks you know

SPECIALIZED STAINLESS

iTrader: (15)

What do you do to take out dents and scratches?

1meantransam

iTrader: (8)

depends on dents and location i can try and pop it or pull it, scratches i mean more of a removeable blemish, not a scratch into the paint

Tropi-Care Jason

iTrader: (4)

Pricing can vary greatly depending on a lot of factors such as vehicle condition, size, etc...

Feel free to PM me or catch me on AIM and I'll discuss my pricing in more depth with you

I would also highly recommend adding clay bar to your list, but not for $100

For a fbody/vette for $150 I would do the following:

Wash and Clay Bar
Clean Wheels and Wheel Wells
Clean Door Jambs and Trunk Jambs
Dress Rubber and Plastic Trim
Tropi-Care TC3 Paint Sealant
Tropi-Care Tire Dressing
Tropi-Care Plastic Polish (if necessary)
Clean and Condition Leather
Clean Glass
Clean Interior
Interior Fragrance Spray
Spot-Clean Carpet (if necessary)
Vacuum and Brush Carpet

scratch/swirl removal would be additional from there

ArcticZ28

iTrader: (14)

If you're able to do 3-4 cars in a weekend, then $100 is a reasonable charge because you are doing a simple wash/wax/clean. If you were spending 6-8 hours on each car using a clay bar and polishing it to a completely swirl/scratch free finish, then I would charge more. My only advice would be to take it easy on the pressure washer. You can easily fubar stuff with that much pressure. All you really need is some simple green, a brush, and a hose with the end off of it.

Gipraw

iTrader: (10)

My biggest suggestion would be to not do under the hood with a pressure washer. You are just asking for trouble, and the first time you have an issue, and have to replace a $1000.00 computer, you are going to kick yourself in the butt.

Use a rag, and some hand work under the hood.. don't pressure wash.


And for everyone that is going to jump in here and say "I pressure wash under my hood all the time with no problems" .. Don't. there is a difference between screwing up your own ride, and a customer's ride ..


also .. I would offer a couple different price levels .. what you are currenly doing .. then maybe a step up .. polish and wax, or clay, polish and wax .. something like that ..


just my two cents..

jamesSS

^^^^ i agree. you dont want to get anything wet under the hood that isnt soposed to be. no customer is going to want a a shiny polished ride that wont start. i also agree on having several different prices. if you do good quality work, your rep will grow with you. good luck.

lt1_man

He man Iam in the same boat as you. I detailed a friends ride for free and now his dad wants me to do his. How did you start getting more customers though. Was it most through word of mouth?
-Brandon

Ling_650vette

iTrader: (1)

If you're in/around a college, put flyers up. Lazy *** college kids want their **** detailed, and dont want to get wet. If they bitch about $100 tell 'em thats just a full package, if you want "just" a wash - $25.

Or put an ad in the paper for a week or two. But you'd be suprised after a couple of good full details what word of mouth can do for you, even for a "weekend" business.

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

yep i get lot's of people wanting me to detail their cars. mine's black and they always tell me how clean and nice lookin' it is and ask me where i get it detailed. i tell them i do it. A trick for ya... do you use armor all much on the interior or engine bay? If you want the shine under the hood use a little tire shine as it doesn't attract dirt as much and spray on the bay area. Then to get rid of the excess us some compressed air and spray away all the extra. You can also do that with armor all on the vents and getting in the cracks on the interior. Everybody is surprised how i keep the engine bay so clean. i also concur with not pressure washing under the hood. It knocks stuff loose and puts water where it wouldn't normally go with an average rain.

thmass6

iTrader: (2)

Definitely stop with the pressure washing. Any degreaser will work on an engine with a hose. I'd advise against simple green simply because it's rather expensive. You want to maximize your profit, and there are plenty of equally effective degreasers out there for way cheaper. I always use Mean Green, that stuff's great and cheap as hell. I'd also advise against advertising that you remove scratches and dents...especially dents. Some scratches will come out with a simple polish/buff anyway, so that's a given. But, some guy is going to hear that you do a full detail and remove dents for $100 and he's going to bring you a car that's got hail damage and expect you to get them all out. Body shops get a ton of money for dent removal so I'd say if they want that done, that should be an additional fee. I used to detail cars for about 5 years on my own like you are doing, and you get a lot of people that expect you to perform miracles on a car. If the car's got no clear coat left or there's holes in the upholstery, etc, there's nothing I can do about it. Just remember, you're not restoring the car to new, you're cleaning it as best you can. Any other problems are not your's!

LT1_Hawk

iTrader: (1)

you really will be surprised....my dad opened a sterndrive repair shop on the side after 9/11 (he worked for american and took a big pay loss)....that repair business started in our garage, then we built a shop on our property, and now he owns a boat dealership...he only advertised for a few months in the beginning because he got so much work, he didnt know what to do with...if u do a good job and do it right they will leave feeling like they got a good deal, you will most definitely get more customers fast

1meantransam

iTrader: (8)

yeah word of mouth, i have about 15 people wanting me to do there cars now

1meantransam

iTrader: (8)

and for the pressure washer i only did that once and was wondering about all that, so recently its just simple green and a light wash where i sprayed at, when i learn to clay bar ill offer that and charge bit more, i got the clay bar kit but i just gotta practice a bit.

thmass6

iTrader: (2)

There's nothing to the clay bar, you can't screw anything up. Just keep spraying, rubbing, and kneading the clay until all the spots and junk come off. When you notice it getting harder to remove spots, knead it some more to give the clay a fresh surface and repeat...

1meantransam

iTrader: (8)

you cant screw anything up?? i thought it would eat threw the clear coat or something??

ArcticZ28

iTrader: (14)

negative. Clay bar just takes the surface contaminants off the paint. The worst thing you can do is have too smooth of a finish.

1meantransam

iTrader: (8)

wow, im going crazy on it this weekend lol