Why is Auto Detailing So Expensive?

Why is auto detailing so expensive?

The question of high price auto detailing seems to surface all the time. Detailers are constantly posting phrases on their social pages like “don’t say I’m expensive, just say you can’t afford me”. This just goes to show that the conversation is being had; the conversation of why auto detailing is so expensive.

Of course, “expensive” is a very relative term, so I’ll get into numbers a bit later into this blog, more importantly, we’ll begin with looking at “value”.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve lost countless jobs due to client’s perceiving my prices as “too high”. But all in all, I don’t think that I am expensive at all, not compared to some other local competitors, however my value is high, due to my 17 years of auto detailing experience and certification status. Yes, that’s a thing, I spent two weeks in Huntington Beach California studying the art of auto detailing, paint reconditioning and ceramic coating application. And for many years afterwards, the other graduates of this program got together annually to learn from each other and help one another grow. There is a lot of value in someone that understands and has mastered their industry, and that’s what I want to address in this post.

Since the pandemic, and even a bit before, I have noticed a huge influx of auto detailers going into business for themselves, and that’s a great thing! Small businesses are the heart of local economies and allows personal flexibilities for owners and their families. The biggest concern I have with these new technicians is, they witnessed other professionals doing it, be it online or in person, while making good money and think to themselves “hey, I can do that too”! Without realizing that most of these professional detailers have been at it for years, going through certification programs and dealing with the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship. So off they go, to Autozone and Walmart to pick up a water hose, sponge and a bucket, pack their daily driver with some random cleaning products, print some business cards, make a website and now they are “professional auto detailers”.

So while the tenured professional detailers are charging an average of $500 for a standard detail package and up to $2,000 for a complete detail and ceramic application, these newbies jump on the bandwagon of high pricing and immediately charge these exact prices, and sometimes higher! I see this all the time, and although I’m all for new businesses, this has really dissolved the idea of “professional auto detailing”. Customers can’t tell the difference between a true professional or a newbie, until of course the work is done and they realize the technician pulled up in their personal vehicle, spent 2 hours on their car and charged $500, only to realize afterwards they they used harsh products like acid that burned through their wheels and windows. Many of these newbies also do not carry business insurance, so resolving issues like this can be a nightmare (I’ve seen it)!

Of course, no one starts on their path as a professional, and I highly encourage folks to try new technicians. Give them a chance to learn and grow, but be weary of high prices. If their price does not match their value, walk away.

When it comes to selecting a professional technician, be sure that they are vetted in some kind of way. Here are a few tips when selecting your auto detailer:

·             Use your network: Ask your family, friends and neighbors about their experiences with their detailers. Or ask your mechanic or your body shop.

·             Do your research. Visit their online presence like sites, social pages and reviews.

·             Look for certified technicians. This was rare when I first became certified, but now there are many certified technicians across Northern California.

·             Ask questions. Ask technicians about insurance, references and their professional experience.

·             Start small. If using an unfamiliar technician, start with a simple detail before jumping into the full paint recon and ceramic coating job.

Spending money for auto detailing should include the same amount thought process as buying a nice suite for a job interview, or buying a new car, or even buying your groceries. You want to shop at a place that has value! Value can encompass a few characteristics such as professionalism, experience, knowledge, presentation and yes, a price that reflects this value.

Now, let’s address why true professional auto detailing can be so expensive.

A true professional has experience. Nothing can compete with knowledge of the industry. When you pay top dollar for a professional to work on your car, you are not paying for a few hours of labor, you are essentially paying for years and years and accumulated knowledge, where the technician will not only make your car look good, but they will understand the condition of your paint, taking keen notes in order to provide an adequate evaluation, using the proper products and machinery for the job and the ability so resolve issues when they arise. These professionals take the time to become certified, but also surround themselves with other professionals across all auto industries, increasing their knowledge and building relationships. This knowledge finds it’s way into the final outcome and experience for the customer.

Inflation. Unfortunately, like everything else, detailing products are getting more expensive. But that’s not all. Insurance has gotten more expensive, city tax and licenses have increased in price and fuel is a huge expense for mobile technicians. Everything is getting more expensive, and service providers are not exempt from this, forcing technicians to increase their prices.

Understanding prices in the auto detailing world.

Obviously auto detailing prices vary from company to company, but most, including my own, run a program like the following:

·             Basic clean and protect packages: These packages include interior and exterior services at different levels of intensity. For instance, our Express package, starting at $179 is great for a maintenance service but does not include a deep clean of any sort and takes around 2 hours, while our Ultimate, starting at $499, includes a deep clean of the interior and revitalization of the exterior, taking around 5 hours.

·             Upgrades: Some detailers include these in their basic packages, but most offer them as upgrades to their basic packages. Here is a list of upgrades that can increase prices:

o   Paint protection: paint sealants, ceramic coating, PPF, vinyl

o   Paint reconditioning: a 1-step polish (included in the Ultimate package), can remove minor imperfection from the paint such as light swirls and water spots, but for a more perfect finish, a professional auto detailer can offer full recons that include more aggressive measures to remove heavy imperfections like compounding and wet sanding. This can include windows too.

o   Additional services: engine compartment cleaning, headlight restoration, trim restoration, wheel polishing and convertible top care can all incur additional costs.

o   Heavy contamination: there are things that we see as technicians that we have to charge for as they take so much extra time to address, such as pet fur, sand, sap or overspray contamination, heavily soiled upholstery, mold and particular odors.

o   Cross-selling: Professional auto detailers will have relationships with other professionals in the automotive world and may have options for window replacements, dent repairs, body work or wheel repair.

Here is an example of what I see a lot in my business:

Customer wants our Standard package, or middle tier (our most popular package). Cost is $299 for a small, two-door coupe, like a BMW 430i or Mazda Miata, but they have a third row Chevy Tahoe. That’s two more windows, three more doors and door jams, a whole other section of seating including cup holders, gauges, knobs and vents, and a hatch area. Not to mention the need to go up and down on a step stool 10-15 times. This bumps price to $375. They just got back from a trip with their two dogs and have a fair amount of pet fur, bringing price to $425. The vehicle is parked outdoors and they want some protection that is better than wax, but they don’t want to pay the high price of ceramic so they opt for the sealant upgrade (a good 9 months of great protection). Now price is $585. Should they wish to tip, final payment can up be upwards of $650/$700 for this particular job. To some this price is outrages, but for those that appreciate value, professionalism and convenience this is a no-brainer.

Professional auto detailing is certainly not for everyone and there are options available for those that are not concerned with these key elements, but like everything else in our economy, if you are willing to pay for value, you will need to take some time to search for it. If you happen to be looking for professional auto detailing in Sacramento, I’d be happy to take a look at your particular needs and get you into our auto detailing facility in downtown Sacramento, or put you in touch with one of our mobile technicians.

Do you need ceramic coating on your car?

That seems to be a very common question in the professional detailing world right now, and there’s so many varying answers depending on who you ask. 

Ask a detailer who partners with a coating company and they’ll say your car can’t live without it and you’d be a fool to not apply it. Same goes for any dealerships, or as I call them, Stealerships. These folks are glad to take your money and promise you a lifetime of protection from their “exclusive” magic potion. 

Ask a detailing newcomer and they’ll tell you that ceramic is unnecessary because they don’t know how to apply ceramic coatings and they’d rather not deal with the uncertainty. 

And surely there are thousands of other blogs that’ll help guide your decision on whether to go with ceramic coating or not. Some that will break ceramic products down to a molecular level! You won’t get any of that scientific jargon here, all I’m going to do is provide scenarios of when ceramic makes sense. 

How did we come to have ceramic coatings?

There are level of protection in the car care world, and it starts with carnauba. Carnauba wax has been around for ages, but it wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century that they started using it to protect a car’s paint. It was the go-to product until synthetics hit the market in the 90’s, blending carnauba with polymers and other fillers. This allowed the wax to create better bonds with the painted surfaces, creating longer lasting protection. Typically, a carnauba paste wax can last up to 6-12 weeks if maintained properly where synthetic blends can last 3-4 months. 

Then science came into the picture with the introduction of silicon dioxide based products in the early 2000s, but mostly for commercial use. Companies like Cilajet were using the technology for aviation for years before other companies jumped on the bandwagon to develop their own products for cars, trucks and SUVs. These so-called sealants became all the rage with professional detailers and dealerships as this product can keep a car’s paint protected for 6-9 months. This is still my go-to protection for most of the cars we do. Sealants offer the best bang-for-your-buck deals. 

Now we have ceramic coating options. In a nutshell, these products take silicon dioxide to another level. Your average paint sealant claims to have 5% silicon dioxide mixed into their product. Some ceramic products claim to have 85% silicon dioxide! (though I would take that with a grain of salt). But you get the idea. Ceramic coatings, essentially, are just a more potent cocktail of silicon dioxide. Some brands use a quarts crystal base, and some use a resin product and this is what differentiates the longevity of a coating. Over the counter ceramics are typically 2 year protection programs, where professional grade products that require certified installers apply the product can last up to 7 years. And this is where things get dicey for me. 

Yes, some ceramic products can bead water for several years, but if you’re promising 7 years of protection how can that be verified? Or challenged? And what happens when you have to polish out a fender 2 years in? If you re-apply ceramic on that fender, now that fender has 7 years of protection where the rest of the car has 5 years left? Not to mention, some of these companies promising 7+ years of protection haven’t even been in business for 7 years! Also, every ceramic coating company that offer a 5+ year coating mandates that the vehicle be “maintained” every year for the warranty. This means the vehicle will need to be “topped” with a sealant, which on its own, as mentioned above, can last up to 9 months.

In my opinion, ceramic is just another form of protection, albeit a better and longer lasting one. Sure, some products can bead water for a couple years, but they are not bullet proof by any means. Paint can still water spot, scratch, haze and get rock chips with ceramic coating on the paint.  

So why and when should I apply ceramic? 

Easy maintenance. This is the best reason to have ceramic on your car. Ceramic creates a hardened shell over the paint that does not allow any micro contaminants to embed themselves into the clear coat and is very hydrophobic. This makes washing and drying your car much easier. Especially wheels, we all know how nasty those can get! If coating your car is too much money for your budget, it’s a good idea to at least coat the wheels for this purpose. Preventing pitting in the wheels long term if kept up. 

Aesthetics. Ceramic creates major gloss! If you have a show car and looking to add premium gloss to your paint for show, then ceramic is the way to go. Gloss, or shine, is created by depth in the clear coat. Some ceramic products can actually be measured with depth instruments, which translates into a deeper mirror like finish. 

Longer lasting protection. As mentioned above, ceramics lasts much longer than traditional waxes and sealants, meaning you don’t have to add protection as often. You want to wax your car at least 3-4 times a year. Sealants twice a year (unless the car is garaged and maintained properly, then once a year). Ceramics can be applied every 2-5 years. As long as you properly maintain your car, meaning you are consistently washing it, ceramic can be a great choice. 

Getting a new car. Manufacturers are totally skimping out on the amount of clear coat they apply to cars nowadays. This means less protection right out of the assembly house. Investing in a quality ceramic coating can provide that extra protection, and should you get water spots or haziness in your paint, you’d be polishing out the ceramic and not digging into the clear coat. 

When should I avoid ceramic coating? 

Best protection on the market. If you’re looking for the best protection money can buy, it’s definitely not ceramic coating. It’s PPF, or paint protection film. This will protect your paint against rock chips, scratches, water spots and so much more. PPF can certainly get damaged by these, but you can pull off that damaged film and re-apply as necessary. PPF is very pricey though, even more than ceramic, but if you’re in at $2,000 for ceramic, it’s not too far from the price of PPF. 

Working with a budget. If you have a specific budget, spend it on perfecting the paint. Use that money to buff out imperfection and decontamination and apply a sealant. Sealants are reasonably priced and are great forms of protection. Clay bar and paint polishing can do wonders to keep your paint looking great for as long as you own the car. This too can get expensive, but it’s much more worth the cost, then just washing and applying a ceramic coating. 

Exposure to the elements. If your car is constantly exposed to the elements and requiring the paint to be buffed annually, then ceramic is a waste. Ceramic can be polished off the paint and unless you plan on paying ceramic prices every time you have the paint polished, then it may be better to go with a different protection. This can be avoided by proper maintenance, but if your car is parked outdoors, and you’re one that washes their car once a quarter with dish soap and a terry towel, then I wouldn’t advise ceramic application. 

All in all, I do like what ceramic coatings have done to the industry in terms of adding another form of protection. However, it’s not for everyone, or every situation. I apply ceramic to my personal vehicles, but that’s because I apply it myself and don’t have to pay $1,000+ for it. I also park my cars outdoors, but wash them every week.

Whether you want ceramic coating, sealant, wax or PPF, we can get you what you need in Sacramento. Sacramento mobile detailing has never been easier, and if you want the shop experience we have that too.

So the short answer is yes, ceramic coating is worth applying to your car, but there are certain circumstances where you’d just be waisting your money. Your best bet is to talk to a local professional and have your vehicle evaluated.