I pay a detail guy that comes to my house $30, tip included to wash the hell out of my truck, inside and out. If I did it myself it would take me 2 hours or more plus supplies. Do I come out better doing it myself? Whats the average cost of supplies to detail a truck?

 

Its not about cost, its the satisfaction.

 

I would not let someone else come with in 100 feet of my truck to wash it. Noooooooo nooooooooo.

 

Please God.....Dont let RockPick see this thread

 

Hey, it could BE rock that comes to his house...



Anywho, your seriously in the hole after a few washed. You can get a lot of supplies for $90... and when you do it you get better and faster at it.

 

As long as he does excellent work than pay it.

 

If he does as good, or better job than you would then its worth it. Also you have to take your time into consideration. How much time per hour is are you worth. I do spend 2-3 hours on washing and cleaning the truck. I make much more than $30 per hour but its still satisfing...but if someone did it for $30.00 and did it to my satisfaction...I would do it only when I couldnt find time to do it myself.

 

I'd pay. I hate the washing but don't mind the waxing & stuff.
'course I'd watch him like a hawk!

I agree there is a satisfaction with doing it yourself, but time is important as well. Go for it.

 

NOBODY will ever come that close to my truck. I'll wash and wax her all by myself. I'm just as protective of my truck as I am of my wife. OMG I hope she doesn't ever read that. I trust nobody with the exception of some of our F150online.com readers. Now if its RP I'd watch him like a hawk. He has secrets I'm sure he's holding back on. Something about those Shady sunglasses he wears to disguise his true intent

 

Me? Secrets? Never.



I'm for hire... lol!

 

First and foremost... $30!??! I'm glad that guy isn't in my market. I'm not sure I'd ever have a customer at that price (yes, that's a good deal) but, I suspect you get what you're paying for... and, actually, it might be a good thing because all of the paint that he/she screws up might come to me for assistance.

While I may be wrong, I don't recall EVER seeing a 'good' detail for less than... well, around $100 or more (typically much more depending on the paint condition etc..) (although I've charged less for friends and family)...

While I don't have the time to spell out all of the things that you should look for in a good detailer, one of the most important things is his/her attention to detail and their passion. Anyone can smack a coat of wax on a vehicle... it takes a true enthusiast or professional to make it look stellar.

Further, I've seen some 'professionals' make a situation MUCH worse than good. Take this lid for example:





Those were instilled by a guy at the plant who was supposed to be trained in running a rotary buffer... Just look at the quality in the job he did. I really wish I could get a class on the Makita from this guy... Nice job huh?

Now, after a little bit of work with the right products in the hands of a person who knew what they were doing...



The swirls/pigtails/scuffs weren't 'covered up', they were REMOVED.

While I know your truck isn't in that condition, my point is to simply state that you're probably getting what you pay for... If it really doesn't matter to you, I say pay the guy $30 until you're blue in the face... but, if you're looking to save $5 by doing it yourself, you're not doing it for the right reasons in my opinion...

A $30 detailer would NEVER be near my truck. Ever.

You asked for an opinion... mine is above. Email or post if you have any questions...

RP

 

Even if the price was $15.00 I'd do it myself -- not because of the money but because it's something I love to do!

What a great way to spend a Sunday evening -- out in the driveway, shining up your baby, and watching the sun go down. I look forward to it all week long!

 

I've been paying a guy to wash, and wax my cars for a couple years. My health was too bad till lately to do it. I'm feeling better, so I washed, waxed etc. my two trucks in the last couple days.

Looking at the 'toad' my red tracker, it hasn't looked that good since it was new. Paint is battered, but that's on a towed and offroaded 5 year old truck. what do you expect.

My F-150 looks better than new. Much better.

I wasn't getting ripped off, and the guy needed the money. But you can do one H of a lot better job yourself. It's your truck.
Carring about it is half the battle.

Not reflectiong on you Rockpick, and if you were local, and I could afford you, well your a REAL PRO.
Your tips are fantastic.
Thank you.
Chris

 

I understand and totally agree on where you're coming from. After reading back through my post there, I may have come off slightly 'wrong'.

In short, there's absolutely no problem going with someone else to do the work; I don't want to sound like there is. I'm just worried about quality and techniques and products and everything else when it comes to a $30 detail. It may be kick-butt... if it is, you're getting the best bang for the buck that money can buy...

On a 6-hour detail, he's making 5 bucks per hour (and that includes tip?!) Maybe he only spends two on it... I dunno.

It's absolutely not all about money to me as I don't have a 'fee schedule' for my regular clients. By doing this, I'm able to save them money and only charge the clients that really need 'serious work' on their paint more for the additional work. If they just need a wash and wax, I don't see charging them for a wash/clay/polish/polish/(maybe another polish)/Wax/Wax. Ya know?

Just thinking out loud I suppose...

RP

 

Just curious, how much do you charge for a full detail service RP?