[Weaselboy]

Originally Posted by MuttGrunt

I can see how you formed your opinion, but imagine a much younger much less experienced person in your field posting things that in some ways may hurt your image. There's a reason high-end detailers work hard to separate themselves from the pack: it affects their lively-hood.

I have been in that very situation, and always found it more effective to try and politely make my point without insulting anybody.

[MuttGrunt]

Originally Posted by Weaselboy

I have been in that very situation, and always found it more effective to try and politely make my point without insulting anybody.

Understandable and I think we both agree that's the best way to handle things. At the same time, I'm not sure it's always an easy thing to quickly point out things that are wrong, misguided, or not fully accurate without looking defensive. Detailers might be in the service industry, but they're not normally human resource / PR experts

[bretster]

Originally Posted by Envious Eric

Terrible advice!!! your age and lack of experience shows here...stop giving this kind of advice!!!!

Okay, I see how you can judge me as inexperienced but I believe, ego aside, I have a great deal of time behind the buffer doing FULL PAINT CORRECTIONS. I disclosed my age to give MY ADVICE and HOW I got to where I am since I'm basically in his shoes right now. Wouldnt you feel that if it worked for someone it could possibly work for you? And why does my age concern you?

MOST people arent looking for 100% correction. MOST people are looking for MUCH better and closer to new, not showroom new! MOST people are not going to search for the perfect car wash techniques. MOST people are not in search of the best paint correction there is...do you understand that 100% is typically in the $800-$1500 range, if not more????? paint correction is not something everyone has the knowledge to do, nor the time!

Yes I understand people aren't looking for 100% but when you can give customers 100% at prices lower than the average paint correction, isn't that a good way to get customers when you have no overhead? Maybe because I'm young you assume I don't have the skill potential or even the concentration to complete a 50+ hour paint correction but I have, check my work before you judge me.

with that said, and you being only 16-17, with little to no paint correction experience, dont even offer paint correction as an option. What are you going to do when you encounter a guy with a car and its full of holograms that you cant get out with a PC and 85rd??? are you going to tell him its impossible and its normal for black cars to have holograms?

where does it say i don't offer one or I have never performed one? I've had cars where paint was scratched to shits and instead of just compound with M105 and some LC CCS Pads on the PE14 I hopped over to wet-sanding the finish to basically perfect with virtually no imperfections and taking off as little clearcoat as possible. If theres buffer trails/holograms after the compound with the rotary then I'll go over with the flex 3401 or pc to remove those imperfections and work until I get it as best as I can.

Once you make a name for yourself, and start doing 100%/99% paint correction jobs, then start offering it! Telling someone that you do 100% jobs and only giving them 80% jobs only makes the detailing industry look bad. Then that person will not want ever have their car detailed again...

When did I ever say I charged for 100% details and only provided 80%? Assuming I only provide 80% correction because of my age, in my opinion, just isn't fair. Shadow me for a detail and if you point out major imperfections that I couldn't get 100% well then sure then you have all the reason to bash me. I just don't think its fair.

food for thought.....comment as you want?!

if you give a firm price, and you run into trouble areas like scratches on the horizontals, then you are stuck fixing them for no additional cost! I dont know about you but I dont like working for free!!! Thats why most pros you will come across will charge by the hour, not by the job!!!

If working for "free" because I need to get paint perfect means the customer is happy then yes I will work extra to get it done. I don't detail to make money, I do it because I love detailing. I grew up in a detail shop and ambulance warehouse, been submerged in the whole automotive car care world since i left the womb. I have a passion to get it perfect, I'm not in it for the money. Ask any of my customers.

and you dont charge more because you use more expensive products...you charge more because your results are that much better!! just because you use swissvax over chemical guys doesnt mean you can charge 100 more per car. bu the fact you applied a paintwork cleanse before jetseal 109 means you can charge more because you did an additional step that will alllow better bonding with the paint!!!

That part was my mistake, but I meant that you have a right to upcharge for using more expensive, durable products but your pricing is still in proportion to how in depth the detail was.

I know before you guys are saying my ego was getting the best of me and yes it was. When you give advice you reminisce on the journey here and think about the roads ahead of you and how you plan on continuing this. I personally feel and have been told that my success is impressive and I'm proud of my accomplishments and I feel blessed to be even this far in the detail world.

I simply gave advice on how I succeeded, just because I gave advice doesn't mean he's forced to listen to it or run his business after it. Hope this cleared some stuff up

[thetedderbear]

^^ Exactly. The person I was giving advice to is in high school, just like me. I'm telling how I've run a successful high school detailing shop. We aren't pretending to be super detailers like you big dogs. But I also didn't get asked to detail an S65 AMG, and then the same persons SL65 AMG for nothing
Rewind to when you guys had only a few years experience, I bet you were in the same position as us.
Shit, everyone starts somewhere.

[Licit]

Originally Posted by thetedderbear

I also don't give a firm price, but an estimate before I clean.

I give a price for no correction and then offer correction for an agreed upon amount before starting. The more options on price the easier it seems to go.

[x3man1994]

Originally Posted by dday

Two months ago you were asking what products to buy and didn't really have a clue

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=552058

Now you jump in every thread about products and act like an expert, you could use a slice of humble pie yourself.

This is true... But I honestly enjoy helping people out I don't try to claim to be an expert, haha no worries man.

[Envious Eric]

There is just a lot of people giving "budget" detailing advice everywhere these days.

Like the "how much should I pay for full paint correction" threads.
When the answers from members and detailers alike is "$300-$350 max", I am completely dumbfounded!!!! Those people obviously have no idea what it takes to run a legit business, how hard this work really is (both from a technical and physical aspect), and dont understand product cost. Its not $10 spent to per car! Things like washing the pads used, the amount of expensive polishes and the cost of boutique waxes (because they are worth it over the cheap junk sold at the local stores), and the doctor visits for back pain, carpel tunnel, etc all go into pricing a detail out! (there is a lot more to it as well)

I was contacted by someone the other day with an audi. Said he used an abrasive wax and scratched up his hood....well, waxes dont have abrasives in them...so I am thinking he either used a rubbing compound and doesnt know the correct terminology to explain to me what happened, or he used a rubbing compound in place of a wax and doesnt know why it looks worse because he is uneducated but thats what he was told to use...so he asked me how much to sand and wax his hood and trunk lid on his A4. Well, there are at least 3 steps missing between sanding and waxing, so I told him anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on how things correct, how bad the finish is, etc and that would run about 200-250 to do thing correctly. His response "what, someone else told me it would take 10-20 minutes. I can paint the whole car for $400!" My response: "well Im obviously not the guy you are looking for, good luck with your search"

I tried to explain the whole process, what was involved, why you cant just wax after sanding and also why his car looked like it did (without seeing, but knowing what hand applying a rubbing compound only will do to a black car) but he didnt want to hear it, didnt want to spend them money because someone else "told him it should be an easy cheap fix" - just another story about there being so much bad information on the internet.

I just read something posted by someone elsewhere online and it sits true in a lot of cases:
"on a forum, everyone is an expert, but few are experienced" - think about it!

[Licit]

Originally Posted by Envious Eric

There is just a lot of people giving "budget" detailing advice everywhere these days.

Like the "how much should I pay for full paint correction" threads.
When the answers from members and detailers alike is "$300-$350 max", I am completely dumbfounded!!!! Those people obviously have no idea what it takes to run a legit business, how hard this work really is (both from a technical and physical aspect), and dont understand product cost. Its not $10 spent to per car! Things like washing the pads used, the amount of expensive polishes and the cost of boutique waxes (because they are worth it over the cheap junk sold at the local stores), and the doctor visits for back pain, carpel tunnel, etc all go into pricing a detail out!

I was contacted by someone the other day with an audi. Said he used an abrasive wax and scratched up his hood....well, waxes dont have abrasives in them...so I am thinking he either used a rubbing compound and doesnt know the correct terminology to explain to me what happened, or he used a rubbing compound in place of a wax and doesnt know why it looks worse because he is uneducated but thats what he was told to use...so he asked me how much to sand and wax his hood and trunk lid on his A4. Well, there are at least 3 steps missing between sanding and waxing, so I told him anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on how things correct, how bad the finish is, etc and that would run about 200-250 to do thing correctly. His response "what, someone else told me it would take 10-20 minutes. I can paint the whole car for $400!" My response: "well Im obviously not the guy you are looking for, good luck with your search"

I tried to explain the whole process, what was involved, why you cant just wax after sanding and also why his car looked like it did (without seeing, but knowing what hand applying a rubbing compound only will do to a black car) but he didnt want to hear it, didnt want to spend them money because someone else "told him it should be an easy cheap fix" - just another story about there being so much bad information on the internet.

I just read something posted by someone elsewhere online and it sits true in a lot of cases:
"on a forum, everyone is an expert, but few are experienced" - think about it!

Yep I agree with you, that's why I separate correction costs from exterior detail costs. Also the area of the country you are in will affect what people think you should pay as well. "Full details" around here are more a wash, wax and vacuum and don't run over $200. I had to adjust my pricing so that I am as cheap as shops and just do a bit more than they do.

[GE]

I don't know many people that'd want a 16 yr old doing any sort of detailing to their $50k+ car. Props to you though if you can swing it!

[bretster]

Originally Posted by GE

I don't know many people that'd want a 16 yr old doing any sort of detailing to their $50k+ car. Props to you though if you can swing it!

Lol and that's what many family and friends say to me

[Jean-Claude]

/raises hand

At it full time for over 2 years. Pro for 5+.

[ScheerSpeed]

To the OP...

I also make a living detailing... I started sophomore year in High School, and have been doing it since. I'm 21 now and in college and let me tell you... Business is going great!

[Ridonculous]

I've been detailing for 10+ years and learning from experience and forums like this and detailedimage.com and detailingbliss.com, but I've been running my part-time detaling business legit for a little over a year now and it was difficult when first launching, but I now have a few regular clients to fill up my weekends.

I still hold down a regular full-time job, but it's hard to reject calls from people who want services during the regular work week - sometimes I take PTO to accomodate them.

Since you plan on doing it part-time, you just have to be upfront when you're running a part-time business so that your regular clients understand your schedule. One of my clients is a dealership that sells slightly used specialty vehicles. The owner is cool with me coming in every other weekend to work on new cars that came in. Most of the cars have less than 10k miles on them and the owner isn't looking for maximum paint correction, so the service isn't too difficult. Definitely has provided some good additional cash, even though I've given him volume pricing.