Express Detailing

Express Detailing services have been offered by fixed site car washes for many years. Typically the customer purchases the very basic car wash and usually within five to ten minutes their car has been washed, vacuumed and dried by air blowers. The total wait was only about 10-15 minutes at most unless there was a very long line of cars. If you purchased an express detailing service your vehicle was moved to a designated area of the car wash to be waxed and or interior cleaned. Next, the vehicle is quickly prepped for the removal of tar and bugs and then machine polished with an orbital polisher like a Porter Cable or Cyclo. If the detailing center is staffed properly two detail technicians will tackle this and be done within 15 minutes. So the entire wait for the wash and machine wax was only 25-30 minutes and cost about $40-$60. Not bad at all! The car really did not even need to be 100% dry because true express waxes can be applied and easily removed even if the car still is somewhat wet, this saves even more time. I operated an express detailing business at an automatic carwash several years ago and typically on Saturdays and Sundays our detail staff would provide express detailing services to 30-40 vehicles of each of those days. At an average ticket of about $65 we would generate well over $2200 just providing express detailing services each weekend.

In addition to express detailing exterior services we would also provide interior express detailing services which would include “express interior” and “express carpets.” The average time to complete either of these services is about 15 minutes. So if the customer purchased an express wax and an express interior both components of the vehicle were serviced at once and the total wait time was about 30-35 minutes. Of course larger vehicles like vans and large SUV’s would take slightly longer, but you charged more! We had a good hot water carpet extractor to quickly clean soiled carpets and mats and used compressed air with soapy water and towels to wipe down dashes, door panels, and consoles. Our express interior service was basically cleaning of the components I just mentioned. We also applied a vinyl dressing to the components we cleaned and used a good non streaking glass cleaner to quickly clean windows and mirrors. The average cost of an express interior or express carpets is about $15-$30 per service. At least half of all customers purchased one of the express interior services in addition to the express wax service. This is how I derived the average ticket of $65 in the paragraph above. Today with detailing tools like the Tornador Air/Water Tool an express interior service is quicker with better results.

If you own a fixed site car wash and only offer complete detailing services you may be missing the big picture here. If you aggressively decide to promote express detailing services to your regular car wash customers you could generate a response of at least 10%. Let’s say for conversation sake you wash 300 cars per day on the average. You can realistically up-sell one out of every ten customers an express detailing service. That’s 210 express details per week, 10,920 express details per year or an extra $43,680 in gross revenues annually based on a $40 average express detail price. Even if you only up-sell 5% of your car wash customers that is still an extra $22,000 that you would of never had. Sure you will have additional labor and supply cost to factor-in but your net profit is quite high for express services. Total labor and supply costs on an average sized car receiving an express wax and express interior should only be about $12 at most, the rest is profit!

If you operate a mobile auto detailing service you may want to consider working a deal with a local fixed site car wash that does not offer detailing services and provide express detailing services during the weekends. The car wash customer would purchase a very basic exterior wash and vacuuming service from the car wash and then you would provide express detailing services after the car has been washed and blow dried. Most car wash owners would welcome this idea because they know a polished or waxed vehicle looks great coming out of the car wash tunnel. Meaning if the car wash customer is a regular customer of the car wash and comes back a few times within your express wax service it will look great after it has been washed and make the car wash service a better value for the customer. It is a win-win situation for all parties. You will have to compensate the car wash owner for every vehicle that you provide your express detailing service. As a good rule of thumb usually 25%-30% of the revenues generated for the day would go to the car wash. You will be supplying your own products and work force. You will need to have garage keepers liability insurance, orbital polishers, a hot water extractor, Tornador Interior Cleaning Tool, and some basic detailing chemicals and supplies. If the car wash property does not have any bays for you to work in you may have to bring a canopy and work outside. These details should all be worked out before you start providing your express detailing services.

If you own and operate a mobile auto detailing business or a fixed site location you must seriously consider offering more affordable, quicker detailing services similar to express detailing services on your own. Of course you will not be able to wash the vehicle as quick as an automatic tunnel wash but you can still offer express-like detailing services and generate $75-$100 per detail. It will be imperative that you educate the customer before and explain the difference between your “Express Detailing Services” and your “Complete Detailing Services.” Some detailing operators are calling their new line-up of express services “Mini Details” or a “Spruce Up.” Your complete detailing service may typically take 4 hours and generate $150-$200.Your newly offered “mini details” will take half as long to complete and you will generate half as much revenue BUT with today’s slower economy you may be able to fill up your appointment book with many “mini detailing services” instead of relying on booking $200 complete details. Many detailers that are offering these mini detailing services are quite busy because they have adapted to the market conditions and are reaping the benefits. Being a successful entrepreneur today you must be flexible and make strategic marketing and operational changes quickly to keep your business operating and profitable.

Many old-time detailing professionals have been forced to address this express detailing issue by adding express detailing services to their service menu. This will appease their customer's desire for quick and affordable detailing services between quarterly or semi-annual complete detailing appointments. Sometimes this cannibalizes complete detailing services but if done properly it can bring in new customers who will eventually try the real thing. Once they do they will be hooked forever! By letting your customer's experience a complete detailing service you will build your complete detailing customer base. Not all vehicles will be eligible for an “express exterior” or an “express interior” service, but most will be. Paint finishes are very resilient today. If the paint finish has been kept clean and given regular attention today’s products and tools should be able to assist the detailer with providing quick services with superior results. As long as the interior isn’t totally trashed a Mytee hot water extractor and Tornador can quickly and efficiently clean the interior to like new while removing most stains, grime and odors.

So here you have many opportunities with express detailing and mini auto detailing services. To fill the void that you may have right now with your auto detailing shop, mobile detailing, mobile car wash or fixed site car wash business these opportunities awaits. Detail King can assist you with everything you need including guidance with purchasing the correct equipment, tools and express detailing products you will need along with training and on-going support. We have even recently developed an Express Auto Detailing Business Package with just about everything you need to get started for under $1500! These new service offerings can generate additional revenues that you may not be getting now. If you are thinking of opening an auto detailing, mobile auto detailing, or mobile car wash business, offering express detailing services are critical to your success. Detail King features many top-shelf express detailing products including express waxes, polishes, and express wash and wax liquid sealants. Please contact any of our staff members to learn more about offering express detailing and mini detailing services to your client base.