I will admit, that I do not "detail" my truck. I do keep it washed and clean on the inside however.

My question is what is a good price to pay for detailing and are there any pertinent questions to ask when looking for a detailer?

 

It ill depends on what you want them to do. It could be in the range from 150-300.

I would ask what products they are using and if possible to see any of their previous work. It would be also good to ask clients of the detailer about their feeling about the job the detailer did. (I'm having one of those morning where i can't say what I'm trying say clearly sorry)

 

depends a TON on your location. What I can only get $125 for in my little town is $500+ 200 miles south of here.

Ask about thier procedure and products. Then you can compare that with the sticky for a rough idea.

 

most detailers will not tell you what they use....go by word of mouth, how long have they been in bussiness, and ask to see some work....

they should also explain to you reasonable expectations....the cup of starbucks the old lady dropped in the front seat about 6 months ago or the kids in the back with some cool aid on the tan cloth seats...if they promise they can get it all out of the carpet/seats....they are salesmen not detailers, they are telling you what you want to hear...a good detailer should explain to you what you should expect in your problem areas when they walk around the car with you.

the customer should have a have some reasonble explectation too...a vehicle with over 100k on the ticker and cracked leather seat should not expect it to look like new, and the same with the front bumper that has seen 100k miles and picked up its fair share of rock chips and bugs that ate into the clear for 4 monts prior to the last shell station drive thru wash...

yes some people think if they pay $250-400 for a detail that it will look new again, some cases it can, but that is a rare car


f150 crew cab with minor exterior work, few light surface sratches, start at $350 and go up....

i guess "full" detail is different every where you go....some clean inside and out, some go a step further and clean engine bay, some go step further and clean almost every thing you would not think of...fold in mirrors, clean underside of wiper blade arms, take off tailgate and put back on, under side of hood, inside of wheels, backside of bumpers, running boards....and on and on and on....a good "full" detail on a crew cab with two steps with a machine and one step wax....step one light compound, step two machine glaze, step three wax....interior non shampoo and clean engine starts and $400...that would take about 10 labor hours...two guys 5 hours....thats $40/per hour...the tools they use are not cheap, the shop is not free, the products they use arent cheap, and the light bill is not either. with some carpet shampoo machines running @ $1000 how many jobs for an extra $50 would it take to pay for just that machine????

some people are easy impressed and some are very picky...careful when you shop around, you might just get what you pay for

 

Thanks yall, I appreciate it. Hopefully I will be able to find someone that is good.

 

BBQ Mike

Drive down to DFW and I will do it for 600.00, if you work for NCR make it 6,000.00

 

Sorry, don't work for NCR. At least if I came to DFW, I could see my daughter. She is going to school in Stephenville.

 

here is the prices of the guy i use and he does a great job. "Get it clean right at your home or office"

THE BEST MOBILE AUTO DETAILING IN THE CITY

PRICE LIST



WASH
Cars $25
Small SUV's & Trucks $30
SUV's $35

CARPET SHAMPOOING Carpets Only Including Wash
Cars $20 $40
Trucks $25 $50
Small SUV's $30 $60
Large SUV's $35 $70
INTERIOR SHAMPOOING Carpets & Seats Only Including Wash
Cars $45 $65
Small SUV's & Trucks $55 $75
Large SUV's $65 $85
HAND WAXING One Step
Cars $70
Trucks $80
Small SUV's $90
Large SUV's $100
BUFFING & WAXING Three Steps
Cars $100
Trucks $125
Small SUV's $150
Large SUV's $175





COMPLETE DETAILS (INCLUDES)
BUFF * POLISH * WAX * ENGINE * INTERIOR SHAMPOO
Cars $150
Small SUV's & Trucks $175
Large SUV's $200

 

There have been topics on this before. Try doing a searching.

 

...and, like what was said earlier... your geographic location can and will be a HUGE factor in how much and what is done.

 

More or less in N.E. Climates? How about the sun belt areas? I would think the harsher the climate, the more $ for detailing. Just trying to get an idea.

 

It's really not even dictated by the amount of gunk that you'd accumulate based upon what I've noted over the years... it's more along the lines of what the market is willing to pay.

For example, using Louisville as an example... if you're on the west side of Louisville, a full detail may run you $200 for a SuperCrew.... on the east side, it may run you $400.

Obviously, the same climate... same just about everything, other than socioeconomic conditions. One side of town may roll in a Cutlass Supreme whereas the otherside is in a Lexus or BMW. *shrugs*

Capitalism .... Sad but true...

 

Very true...