So I am going to detail an 05 escalade, I havent seen the car in person yet but I'm expecting it to be fairly dirty. the car is his wifes and from the sounds of it he's not to concerned with swirls or anything just a basic wash clay and wax, and mainly focus on the interior and getting it cleaned up. I will probably do a thorough interior and carpet scrub. I quoted him a price in the 175-200 range. I'm not too quick and figuring it'll take between 10 -15 hours, but he said I have it as long as I need it, but since I probably wont be doing any correction that wont be to big. So does my plan sound about right and pricing. Any comments or critiques would be helpful.:shead:
It really depends on your location. Some places you can charge more for the same amount of work, it just depends on where you live and/or the location of where you're doing the work.
Well the big detail shops around here are charging between 150 -170 for full exterior and interior. I dont know what type of quality they do but I am assuming that its in no way a very meticulous job they said it was full interior and carpet shampoo , and the exterior is a full wash, polish, wax, and wheels. Theres no way I can compete with that price for my customer, but I am not ashamed of my pricing, but man does that seem cheap. I am located in southern mass if it makes a difference and theres still some snow on the way so I probably wouldnt reccomend a decent swirl removal as it would be a waist of time and money in my personal opinion, but i do what the customer wants.
As long as you're comfortable with what you're charging for the amount of work you're planning to do, you should be fine then. You just have to consider how many hours you're going to put into it and how much you'll get for it (rate per hour). It would be a good idea to ask your client want they want to be focused on the most so you could address what they want and then work on the rest of the vehicle.
might want to work on your work time. 10-15 hours is a bit much for a clay and wax including interior. as for the price seems reasonable since you're doing the interior. are you dressing the interior plastic or conditioning the seats?
:agree: it takes me 10 hours to do a full clay/wash/1-step polish+interior. 15 hours for a multi-step (usually 2-3). And I'm on the lower end of $/hr and I know most customers wouldn't want to spend $400-600 just for a wash/wax/interior :shrug:
the estimated time might be a little much , but I like to allow myself a good block to make sure I'm not rushing it. As for the interior, yes I will be cleaning all plastics and leather, and protecting and conditioning them.
i took 10 hours washing (engine bay included), claying and waxing a trashed white civic, but i also steam cleaned the interior and left it spotless along with some dressing. just to give u an idea. everyones methods are different but you should try to keep things within a reasonable time period. when u get delivery of a car you need to look at it and think about how long each step is going to take you depending on how bad it is. just my 2cents
I think that's cheap in my opinion. I've done my friends Escalade it took a lot of work. I've done what you are describing and it took me 11 hours total. I am kind of slow and a bit meticulous myself, so timewise you should be close to this. One piece of advise: bring chrome polish! I was polishing chrome for longer than I was prepping paint on the one I did. If they have the chrome wheel option, prepare to spend about 2-3 hours on the wheels alone. They are notorious for chrome pitting and oxidation and if they weren't properly taken care of (which they rarely are), chances are you won't be able to get them perfect. My friend was able to take his in to the dealership and they replaced all the wheels for him for free! The rear hatch is going to be covered in stuff bonded to the paint. Escalades push air and create a big low prassure zone behind them which sticks everything from the road to the back of the car. I'd use a medium clay for this area since it will be very hard to get off with a fine clay. ALso, you'll want to bring a ladder of some sort. It's hard enough to reach the middle of the roof when you are at it's level, much less on the ground. Good luck!
