# Mobile valeting pricelist



## Hondahead1991 (Feb 19, 2011)

Hey I'm currently gathering up equipment to start my own business for mobile valeting/detailing but when it comes to the pricelist Its not good and I would really appreciate if someone posted up or sent it in a private message their pricelist so that I have an example of what mine should be like or even how to start mine off.

Also I'm 19 and sort of new to all this how much roughly do you fellas think it would be for detailing insurance for me?

Thanks


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## R0B (Aug 27, 2010)

how much do you currently charge for work you have undertaken?

Reason i ask is i assume you have done x amount of cars so on the basis of that you need to decide how much your time is worth and factor in how long it takes you to do the different services you will offer,product costs ,insurances, van runnng costs etc etc to form a basis of your price list.


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## Hondahead1991 (Feb 19, 2011)

Nobody has got me to do a full correction yet because im haven't actually started my business yet but I charged a neighbour last week 15 for a wash, Hoover some srp and egp and that was it.. Obviously because I'm only startin I want to be cheap to be competitive to my competition and get customers


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

Ah, another wannabe valeter for the summer....

Do what others have done and research. Work out your overheads (vehicle costs, product use, insurance cost etc), then possibly check what those in your area (and surrounding areas) are charging, and then figure out how many cars you'd expect to do a day/week, ad how much you would like to take home.

No-one is gonna give it to you on a plate, let alone PM you their business plans/price lists.



edit: if you've done no correction work yet, you can't expect to charge. You will have to do freebies, and do a LOT of them!


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

also need to look at others in your area... someone detailing/valeting in london, might be able to charge more than someone where i live for example...

generally speaking, north of the border, the prices arent so expensive (as us scots are too tight to pay the higher price :lol


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

damn -mat- you beat me too it, telling him to check what others charge in the area..

also £15 for a wash, hoover, srp and egp sounds okay to me..... more than i would charge my nieghbours but not someone i didnt know (i however like my neighbours lol)


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## R0B (Aug 27, 2010)

Hondahead1991 said:


> Nobody has got me to do a full correction yet because im haven't actually started my business yet but I charged a neighbour last week 15 for a wash, Hoover some srp and egp and that was it.. Obviously because I'm only startin I want to be cheap to be competitive to my competition and get customers


with all due respect i feel you are some way off being able to set up a mobile detailing business simply for the fact that you havent done a single correction yet and charging £15 for that will see your new venture fold in record time mate as yuou will make zero money,some further thinking is required here and a lot more experience required i would suggest,no offence:thumb:


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## Hondahead1991 (Feb 19, 2011)

I've done correction on my car and family cars but never for money that's what I meant, also it was a neighbour that I do like and get on well with that's why I only charged 15, and I've seen loads of 'wannabe valeters for the summer' on this but I was looking to do it as a full time job not something to do in the summer. Alot of you fellas are from England so I didn't think you would have mind telling me your price list, I'm hardly gunna be competition for you, advice appreciated tho because thats what this threads about


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## ak07 (Dec 4, 2010)

Cheap does not make you competitive. It makes you cheap


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## David.S (Dec 27, 2009)

Dont be to cheap
You charged £15 
how long did it take you
how much fuel did it cost getting there ( i know it was next door )
cost of materials
cost of running van
insurance
etc etc

take all things into account

Dont go to cheap all you will do is **** of everyone trying to make a living 
also you will be working for nothing and may be better of working at tesco


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Hondahead1991 said:


> also it was a neighbour that I do like and get on well with that's why I only charged 15, a


only £15? for a wash hoover hand polish and seal with autoglym i wouldnt expect to pay more than £15 to be honest...


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

as we're in England, we charge English prices....

Seriously, no-one is gonna run the business for you, so do some research yourself. There are a few detailers on here from Ireland, how about checking what they charge, then check what the local hand car washes charge. Spend a day driving around, and make notes of their pricelists. Only you can do that.


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

You can't charge prices from other parts of the UK, they are all different...

You will need to find what the market is next to you...which means doing leg work....

At the end of the day, charge what you need to cover your overheads per wash, and money for your self to live on....

No-one can help you with this....and not trying to be nasty or negative, but if you can't work out what you should charge or what you are worth, then I would have a rethink about your plans....

Detailing is a great whimsical idea that many people get during the lighter, sunnier months, but if you have little experience, can’t work out your costs and prices, then you need to take a step back before it bites you in the bum!



For your products, add up what they have all cost you....try and work out how many washes this will last, and you have your first costs – product cost per wash.....

Next, take all the other stuff, van, petrol, insurance, equipment....add all them up (for the year) then divide this by the number of washes you want to do.. is it 5 a day, 7 days a week... 1 per day, 4 days per week etc... This is your overhead cost per wash...

So now you have product + overhead costs per wash.

Next add on how much you want to make, remember this is your “pay”, but you also have to pay back tax, accountants, any other business expenses.... you could divide this by the hour to get an hourly rate for your work.....

Add them all together and you have your basic total costs per wash.... these just need a bit of tweaking for each stage you offer...

e.g. products(basic wash) have cost you £500, and you expect them to last for 100 washes, then your price is £5 per wash

Overheads will cost you £5000 for the year, and you think, on average you will do 4 washes per day, 5 days a week (1040 per year), then your cost per wash is £4.81

And you want to “earn” £10 per hour, and a basic wash takes 30 minutes, so this will add another £5 to your price....

Total basic wash: 5 + 4.81 + 5 = £14.81

:thumb:


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## Dan J (Jun 18, 2008)

As said above etc you need to do research in your area,

valeting and detailing full time is totally different from doing yours week in week out and your neighbours car,its extremely hard graft, the fact you have no experience is going against you in a big way tbh, experience will get you far, 
maybe think about doing a course first and then set up.


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## sean20 (Jan 17, 2011)

im in a similar position to you and im 21. iv priced up all the insurances that i need and im happy with them prices iv also workt out my costs and how much i need to earn each day to cover my overheads and to earn a wage. 
I then workt my price list out from that and from researching valeters in and around my area to see what they charge and to see what i can offer that they don't or cant.

I was going to do valeting and detailing but then decided that i havnt got enough experience in detailing so thers no point in me offering that service yet. 
I have done quite a few full details but only for friends and family's just to get the experience and iv only charged enough to cover the products that iv used and to get photos of them to start a portfolio of my detailing work which i then plan to ad to my website when im confident enough to offer that service.
As to the detailing a good bit ov advice iv been told a few times is charge what you think your worth.

hope that helps as it is a very hard step to take but good luck and ceap us posted with your progress


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## Hondahead1991 (Feb 19, 2011)

Well I've got loads of experience in the valeting side of things because I've worked in a car wash and done valeting for 3 years now, as for the detailing I'm quite new but I'm sure the years have helped me quite a bit


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## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

You need to get some quick business experience then if your going to throw your all into it.

Loads has been said on here re charge rates - only person who can make the bucks is you - you gotta decide what your services are worth.

good luck with the venture


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## gtlewi (Mar 30, 2010)

The Cueball said:


> You can't charge prices from other parts of the UK, they are all different...
> 
> You will need to find what the market is next to you...which means doing leg work....
> 
> ...


Excellent post with some basic but essential advice, mate:thumb: I only run my valeting business part time and have 2 trade clients (with loads of white vans) and a few individuals and this is exactly how I started working out what to charge I dont make a huge amount but I am building the business slowely and gaining experience of valeting, detailing and business that I couldnt get elsewhere I am lucky that this is a side project for now and still have a decent wage to live on from my full time job, I wish anyone taking the plunge into full time the very best of luck:thumb:


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

Im sorry but saying you have loads of valeting experience coming from a car wash background within 3 years doesnt cut it. You would be better off getting into a maindelaer / trade enviroment to see how its done better than the car washes then learn how to understand the rights from wrongs there and appreciate that with time and experience you will be closer to your goal of starting up and offering a superior service.


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## Royvdbb (Jan 6, 2011)

Hello,

There have been some very sensible things already mentioned on this thread, however I thought I would 'chip in' with my suggestions.

It's an extremely exciting time when you decide to 'go it alone', what with buying up all the equipment, designing the website and choosing your services and appropriate prices. You feel fantastic and have absolutely no doubts that you will succeed and earn good money... but be prepared for when the hard work starts and the reality of having to fill your diary each and every week begins.

Hopefully you're in a fortunate position at 19 when you don't have to worry about a mortgage, big bills etc... but believe you me, I ran a detailing company for four years and my god is it hard work. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but there are far easier ways to earn money, and luckily for me I was only working on one car at a time, I can imagine the 'bulk' valeting end of things is equally / more difficult.

I'm not trying to put you off, but be assured that you have to have the business acumen as well as the valeting skills to succeed. I've known plenty of great valeters and detailers who have failed miserably because they didn't understand or realise what they needed to know in order to run and grow the business. When I was 'professionally' detailing I was a business owner first and a detailer second.

Enjoy it if you do go ahead with the 'full time' option, but be prepared for when the initial 'glow' has worn off.

Roy


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## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

^^ Good post Roy - Reality is another beast indeed :thumb:


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## ACESLAP (Feb 8, 2011)

You will only be remembered for a cheap price for a short time,but you will be remembered for good quality work for a lot longer.


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## guy_92 (Oct 26, 2010)

I remember when I wanted to try valeting etc full time because I enjoyed doing my parents cars, neighbours and family/friends. Then...I got a valeting job at a dealership and the experience and the things I learnt from working there was amazing, it's not as easy as you think!


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## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)

maybe try google and search for detailers in your area, without sounding blunt and uninformative but your best tool is your own initiative and what YOU think you should charge not what others do, at the end of the day we all do our own kind of research....my question is, and it could be taken as a quite serious one, your asking questions about prices, but what will happen when it comes to a website? 

And a lot of pro detailers will know why I ask....


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

I wouldn't worry about what everyone else is charging, I never when I started out valeting, if you offer a quality service and something a little different to the average wash and hoover brigade then you will soon see a client list build for regular maintenance.

It's easy to be cheap, but harder to increase your prices on regular customers.


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## hutchingsp (Apr 15, 2006)

I'd be thinking "How are people going to know that I exist?" before getting too bogged down in pricing tbh.

You can be cheap, you can be expensive, but if nobody knows you're there, the phone isn't going to ring.

I would have thought there's enough valeting websites out there for Irish companies that you should be able to get some rough ideas of costs.


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## rich1880 (May 26, 2010)

I'm happy to help you out here. Look at the time it takes you to complete a job and work out a rough hourly rate then price to suit, also phone a few companies, pose as a customer and ask for a price for a few different services, this should give you a good idea. My colleague has a business and charges the following (he is happy for me to share this)

Exterior Wash - inc wheels, tyre and bumper - £10
as above with a polish by hand £18
As above with a final coat of wax £25
Add the clay process for an additional £15

Interior is £20

Machine Polish is from £80 for a basic polish to £350 for a full correction.

Hope that helps a little but do your research and see how that compares to others in your area. You may be happier and make more money from getting in with some offices and charge a reduced rate for volume and because of the savings you will make on travelling etc.


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