I've been detailing my own cars and the cars of friends and family to professional quality for years now. I've recently been playing with the idea of starting somewhat of a small business out of it.

I can be mobile, but feel I can do the best job in my own personal space.

I cover all aspects of professionally detailing the exterior:
Wash
Clay
Polish
Wax

interior:
vacuum
shampoo
(working on getting a steam cleaner if business works out)

I will degrease and pressure wash engine bay at your own risk. (some cars can have this done without a problem, some can't)

I use all Sonus products. A new super high quality line of detaling products. My polisher is the Porter Cable 7424 which will NOT burn your paint.

I'm thinking of starting the complete detail at $99; will also do hand wash only for $15. So stop taking your car to those crappy car washes and ruining your paint with swirls and scratches and let me know if your interested!

email me at alberto600s@aol.com

I'm located on LI, NY.

Will you be applying for a business license and insurance? A license will give you credibility and insurance is a small investment to make for the protection it will give you if anyone ever decides to try to sue you. $99.00 is low for the services you're offering. Will you be able to afford to stay at those prices after your overhead is sutracted? If you truly detail at a professional level why sell yourself short? If the work is quality then you should be paid properly for it. Just a few things to think about. I hope it all works out for you and that your business is a success. :)

Will you be applying for a business license and insurance? A license will give you credibility and insurance is a small investment to make for the protection it will give you if anyone ever decides to try to sue you. $99.00 is low for the services you're offering. Will you be able to afford to stay at those prices after your overhead is sutracted? If you truly detail at a professional level why sell yourself short? If the work is quality then you should be paid properly for it. Just a few things to think about. I hope it all works out for you and that your business is a success. :)

Well I'm still in my senior year in high school so I use my garage.. just planning to provide the service as a side job until I go to college next year. As far as a business license and insurance, I probably will get once I have a few customers other than family and friends; which is also why the price is so low, to get a few customers.

Thanks for the advice though.

You need to sit down and determine what your monthly expenses will be. From there you need to determine how much profit you want to make a month. Add the two numbers together, then divide the total by the standard number of working hours in a month. Now you'll have your hourly rate that you can charge customers. Depending on how much you expect to pocket, you may price yourself out of the market, or my be too cheap, which will make people question the quality of your work. You should call around to some competitors to see what they charge.

As for running the business out of your home, be careful you don't peeve off the neighbors and get yourself reported. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but running a business out of your home (depending on what it is) can be frowned upon.

If you are truly professional you'd used a rotary polisher.

Not to bag on you but that's all we use because if used correctly, it will yield top notch results.

which is also why the price is so low, to get a few customers.

Starting out with cheap prices isn't a strategy I'd recommend. That will ultimately just get you cheap customers who won't return if you raise your prices. Set your prices competitively with others offering similar services and out perform them.



If you are truly professional you'd used a rotary polisher.

Not to bag on you but that's all we use because if used correctly, it will yield top notch results.

A rotary will offer outstanding results, but there are plenty of professionals who don't use them (even though they can).

i went with $175 for a full detail. i did detailing on the side. since the season is now over i'm laying low. you're young so you should have the energy to keep up with this. not to say that i'm that old (25). i have just found that my family/friends car's have been neglected. *which is why i'm taking next season off.

good luck to you though. i hope it all works out! :)

-mike

thanks for the good wishes..
the porter cable is supposed to be the best polisher/buffer out there

the porter cable is supposed to be the best polisher/buffer out there

It is probably the best polisher for those who can't or won't use a rotary. It's an excellent tool and very safe (but pretty mild).

russo513, good luck I would tend to agree with most of what the board members are saying, you are selling yourself short for all that work.

I would say in our area you should be doing exteriors for no less than $125 and that's without paint correction. Also if you are not doing so quoting over the phone or a menu will get you in to trouble. I've done this as well before and have gotten into trouble.

Also if you are doing the numbers and volume and also doing paint correction you will be killing yourself if you are only using the PC, step up to a high speed and you will be cutting down time and your results will be much better!

Good luck! :)

One thing to remember is that in the end, your clients value the final result of your detailing job and not how much money they saved. I know how much work is involved in doing the job right so definitely price your time and effort accordingly. Otherwise, you are better off investing your energy elsewhere.

One thing to remember is that in the end, your clients value the final result of your detailing job and not how much money they saved. I know how much work is involved in doing the job right so definitely price your time and effort accordingly. Otherwise, you are better off investing your energy elsewhere.

Gold!

99 is really low. i charge about 180 for a 1 stage polish and interior wipe down. If you're working on bimmers, add some time to that too because it's pretty hard to level it down to perfection. Good luck with it, make sure you have time though.

some good information in the thread.

ive been toying with the idea myself - but limiting the detailing for neighbors & family friends. thanks for the good wishes..
the porter cable is supposed to be the best polisher/buffer out there

its the best... for the casual detailer and do-it-yourself types. this is because it can give good results without running the risk for causing serious damage.

professionals use rotary polishers because they are experienced enough to handle a machine with the abilty to cause paint damage, and since they are getting paid for theit time, they need to be able to get results faster than a PC would give them.

IMO Using a forum is hardly close to running a business. Professional Quality and running Professional Business are entirely different aspects. Decide on your rates, your customers, and your business aspect.

If you are truly professional you'd used a rotary polisher.

Not to bag on you but that's all we use because if used correctly, it will yield top notch results.

My first job I ever had was detailing car when I was 15 now 36 I dont do it for a living anymore.There are alot of different technecs using different chemicals,tools and water pressure.I must say I dont always feel that using a rotory buffer is the best all the time.I have both styles of units and I only use the rotory when I encounter a car in horrible condition.Today I have 3 other cars besides my own that I do detailing on all BMWs Its a car enjoy bringing best out of,I do it for the enjoyment today and not the $$$$$
Good luck and choose your cars wisely

I only charge 100 dollars for family members. Everyone else is around 175$-200$ depending on what aspects they would like me to work on. Selling yourself short is the biggest mistake you can make. Also being somewhat of a kid, those prices will land you in hot water. It shows you know your work is average. This is a buisness where age does not matter, results do, and until your 100% satisfied with your results...dont start any sort of buisness.:)

when i first started detailing on the side, i charged about $120-140 for a full detail... as the list of cars done started piling up, so did the hours... i then realized i was working for 8-10hrs for $120... now i tell all my customers, $150/6 hours... which is $25/hr and is very fair... i'm very flexible with my pricing since it's mostly word of mouth customers and they're all very understanding, but i will sell my sell short
i would definitely charge more, but then again, by full detail, you might be going over the whole car 1 time with the PC and a polish, meaning you won't take out much if any deeper scratches, just swirling...

in short, imo it's better to charge per hour... it's not bad to give an estimate of $xxx if you have an idea how long it'll take you, but keep it an estimate

good luck

I only charge 100 dollars for family members. Everyone else is around 175$-200$ depending on what aspects they would like me to work on. Selling yourself short is the biggest mistake you can make. Also being somewhat of a kid, those prices will land you in hot water. It shows you know your work is average. This is a buisness where age does not matter, results do, and until your 100% satisfied with your results...dont start any sort of buisness.:)

Exactly. The work shows how much you should be charged. I give friends/family discounts, or members of some forums so they can bring me more customers (if i know at least 2-4 would come), or sponsored cars. As you gain experience, the price should go up accordingly.

I think you are best off with the PC. If people know you are using a rotary wich can burn there cars its harder for them to trust you since your young and you have the potential to screw up. I just the the PC is the way to go.