# got a car to do in the future, how much to charge



## hodge112 (Apr 19, 2008)

just wondering how much to charge somone that wants there car doing?

they want...a go over with sonus restore, enhance, then final finish

applied with megs g220

claying

and waxing

and just a general tidy up outside really

its on a focus aswell

how much roughly????

cheers


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## laser avant (Feb 6, 2007)

Depends on a lot of factors tbh... is it family,friends or a mop? and how bad is the car? how experienced/confident are you that you will be able to justify a good price? id you have a price in mind?


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## dominic84 (Jan 27, 2007)

Personally I think the easiest method for setting a price is to simply charge whatever you feel comfortable asking for :thumb:


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## hodge112 (Apr 19, 2008)

he says he spent four hours on it last time he did anyhting, but that was 4 months ago apparantly

hes a meber of a forum im on

this would be the first car outside of family, but im confident i could make him happy, and hes seen pictures of my car and says it looks fantastic

didnt really have a price in mind



dominic84 said:


> Personally I think the easiest method for setting a price is to simply charge whatever you feel comfortable asking for :thumb:


good theory


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## PETER @ ECLIPSE (Apr 19, 2006)

looking at your other posts and threads you are still in the very early stages of detailing , so to be thinking of charging anyone at this point i think is way to soon .
have you got insurance incase anything goes wrong ?
not having a dig just giving my opinion


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## hodge112 (Apr 19, 2008)

all opinions are welcome mate, and its a fair point

and no i dont have insurance, but to be fair im not in business doing it so i cant see the point in getting any for one car, althought point taken

how am i really supposed to get any further up the detailing ladder without starting to do other peoples cars, my family aint that close so cant really do anyones except my mum and dads and i do theres anyway, havnt got any friends lol, so cant do theres

im not asking for the world of this guy, just somthing that sounds fair, cant really do it for nothing

i just wanna put it to more products anyway lol


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## paulhdi (Oct 26, 2005)

what about covering your costs at the very least mate?

try and work out how much product your gonna use, based on previous details you've done to your car & your mam and dads, and factor in wear on the pads etc and then see what you come up with. At least then you've covered your costs, and you then have the choice to use it as an 'experience detail' and not charge more, or to charge them a bit on top to cover your time. Dont think the customer could complain at that, mate.

have you got a PTG to check paint levels before you go all out with the g220? at least if you know you have safe levels of paint to work with, you're less likely to strike through.

Paul


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## PETER @ ECLIPSE (Apr 19, 2006)

think of it as a learning curve yes you can do it for nothing , as its you that will benefit from the experience .
as you say you havnt got a lot of cars to practise on , plus you shouldnt be practising on paying customers , get scrap panels and work on them , try different products to see how they react , and find what suits you .


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## hodge112 (Apr 19, 2008)

yeah thats sounds fair good thinking

and also ive been completelty up front with the guy about the experience ive got and that so he does know

i dont have PTG, althought it is on a very long list lol


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## hodge112 (Apr 19, 2008)

peter richards said:


> think of it as a learning curve yes you can do it for nothing , as its you that will benefit from the experience .
> as you say you havnt got a lot of cars to practise on , plus you shouldnt be practising on paying customers , get scrap panels and work on them , try different products to see how they react , and find what suits you .


fair point mate, suppose its all about gettin a collection big enough for every eventuallity

i think im just going to say around £15-£25

does that seem fair?

and ill just state this is to getmmy experience up


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## PETER @ ECLIPSE (Apr 19, 2006)

lol that list will never get any shorter btw , have you far to travel to do the car ?, as paul said just cover your costs , but at least youve been up front with the owner which is a good thing to start BS will only catch you out in the long run


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## hodge112 (Apr 19, 2008)

having just thought about it away from the computer screen your right

ill pm him and say that id be willing to do it for nothing, then once im back off holiday next month im going to get scrap panels galore, and a nice big order from cyc and lock my self in the garage lol

thanks for the advice


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## hodge112 (Apr 19, 2008)

no the car is coming to me so not far at all lol

and i know mines getting longer sound familiar???

lol


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## fraz1975 (Jul 29, 2007)

Good advice there and good thinking by the OP, the owner will no doubt keep you in Bacon sarnies and bung you a few quid - and if hes happy he will advertise for you. Keep getting experience this way and you will learn loads :thumb:


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## PETER @ ECLIPSE (Apr 19, 2006)

with that approach the guy will probably sort you out with something like the amounts you were thinking of anyway , especially if you do a good job


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## hodge112 (Apr 19, 2008)

fraz1975 said:


> Good advice there and good thinking by the OP, the owner will no doubt keep you in Bacon sarnies and bung you a few quid - and if hes happy he will advertise for you. Keep getting experience this way and you will learn loads :thumb:


thats what i thought aswell

cheers for the help everyone


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## joe_0_1 (Apr 7, 2007)

A looooong time ago, I was in the same situation as the customer, I wanted a friend off a forum to do exactly as you say.

I was happy paying him £70, it was his first car outside of the family! 

Say £50 mate :thumb:


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## smiffygas (Jun 22, 2008)

Im in the same boat. It never nice talking about money! I guess you judge the quality of work by how much you paid! Pay a monkey peanuts and all that.....


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

its not easy to build a list believe me! but yes we all have to start somwhere, just not my patch! lol


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## mattjonescardiff (Dec 12, 2006)

Sounds like you're doing a lot of work on the car. Materials alone would cost you £10-£20 and it'll take you at the very least 12-15 hours if you're doing a 3 stage machine polish.

If you've been upfront and told the guy you're fairly new at Detailing but confident to do the work then a reasonable charge is completely justified. Why don't you discuss it with him. I'd say £50 is reasonable.


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