One of the questions most frequently asked by detailers is "how long should it take to detail a car?" This is a very loaded question for many reasons. The old saying "time is money" is very true. If you can get the job done in a shorter period of time, your profit will be higher. If the job takes an hour or 2 longer your profit will obviously be lower. Let's look at some factors involved regarding time and how long it may take to complete a detail.

Many factors to calculate
Some detailers are more thorough than others. Some have more skill, and some have better equipment. Also some customers demand absolute perfection, while others are looking for more of an express type of detail. As you can imagine, this makes judging the time factor very subjective, at best. You need to narrow things down a bit to gain a better understanding of time needed to detail a car.

Before you can say a vehicle should be detailed in 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, etc., you need to identify several factors to gage time. It's not possible to arbitrarily assign a time duration for any vehicle. Let's examine some of the many variables that influence how long it will take to detail a car.

1. How many operations are included in the detail? Some detailers will include more operations in a detail than others such as engine cleaning and dressing, interior dressing, full compounding or even wet sanding, and more. Obviously, with more operations in the detail, there will be considerably more time spent.
2. How old is the vehicle and how has it been kept? Generally an older vehicle will be more of a challenge to detail than a very new vehicle in relatively pristine condition, and therefore the job will take longer.
3. What color is the car? Black will always show more imperfections than any other color. Therefore, black cars will generally need more time and more buffing steps to look good. When compared to the time it would take to detail a white or silver car to get the same results, there will be a big time differential.
4. What color is the interior? Light interiors show more dirt and stains than dark interiors. A light interior will always require more time and effort to recondition.
5. How big is the vehicle and how large are the painted surfaces? A small 2 door convertible should take considerably less time than a quad cab truck. Also, the amount of trim items and obstacles a vehicle has will increase the time spent on it.
6. What are the customer expectations? Do they want a show-car like detail, or do they want a nicely cleaned up vehicle for a fair price?
7. What climate and area of the country are the vehicles driven in? Do you constantly get vehicles driven in snowy conditions where the cars are always filthy and splattered with road salt? Do you work on vehicles from farm areas, or areas where they are always driven on dirt roads? Or, do you work on vehicles from warm weather climates that have limited amounts of rain and beautiful roads?

All of these variables will affect the labor time of your details. It is important not to worry about an "average" time. Concentrate on how much time you need to properly detail a vehicle, based on the variables mentioned, for each and every job.

While it is important not to spend too much time on any particular vehicle, you still must do a great job. If all that matters to you is time spent and not the quality of the detail, you will lose customers. However, if you concentrate on achieving a show car detail on all cars, and you are not being paid accordingly, you will lose money on every single job. Again, don't worry about an "average" time. Worry about what the customer wants done, and how difficult that vehicle may be. By considering these variables previously mentioned, as well as what the customer wants done, you can properly determine a time range to properly detail that particular car!

You may be wondering why I keep mentioning these variables that affect time, and concentrating on what each customer wants and each car needs. The reason is that these are the key factors for determining the individual price for each detail. I don't look at average time, and I don't have average or set prices. I talk to each customer and look at each car individually to determine a labor time and then a price for that particular vehicle.

The problem with "averages" is that you will win sometimes and lose sometimes, based on these "averages". If goods or products are being sold such as a television, a car, products, equipment, etc., there is a set price. The profit is based on the percentage above the cost that the product is sold for. The labor to sell that product remains virtually the same; therefore the profit on each sale is based solely on mark up and remains constant. However, when a service is sold, such as detailing, there is labor time involved that varies from one job to the next. To realize a profit, the labor must be accurately calculated so that the service is completed in the allotted time. Exceeding the allotted time reduces profit.

I've had to overcome my dealership background and dealership mentality when it comes to labor and pricing. Service departments in dealerships often have a pricing menu for services such as oil changes, wheel alignments, brake jobs, tire rotations, and other services for which there is a fairly universal labor time from vehicle to vehicle, regardless of age or model. This pricing system works here because there is little variation in what needs to be done. However, in detailing it is more difficult to determine an "average" labor time because of the many variables mentioned earlier. All vehicles will vary in what they need to look their absolute best. Some cars need 3 hours of labor, while some cars may need 5 or 6 hours of labor, or more. Why should you win on some vehicles where you can meet or beat the "average" time placed on it, but lose on the others because they are more challenging and will take longer to work on. Unfortunately, you may lose more than you think because some vehicles will need more labor intense operations to make them look their best. Many customers think that basic detailing services will fix all cosmetic problems. But we know this is not true. If you are fixing the more challenging problems on the more challenging vehicles for the "average" time or price, you will lose.

Every vehicle should be evaluated before a price is given. Evaluating a vehicle allows you to determine the labor time on that particular car and ensure you will allow yourself enough time to do the job correctly and still make money. If you use a menu pricing system and go solely on "average time", you are setting your self up to lose more often than you win. A 3-month-old silver coupe will generally not need the same service as a 3-year old black SUV that transports children every day. If menu pricing, or "average time" is used in this instance, the price may be too expensive for the owner of the 3-month-old silver coupe and the customer may simply decline because of the expense. The menu price may be too low for the work required to detail the 3 year old black SUV. In both scenarios, the detailer has lost a profit opportunity. If every car is fairly evaluated, and every customer is properly interviewed to assess his needs, you will create more of a win-win situation. You will allow the customer with a fairly clean vehicle to buy the service at a reasonable price, and still realize a profit. This creates a scenario in which more people are buying the service, including those who may not have if the service were menu priced. The outcome should be win-win for everyone.

The best, and in my opinion, only way to price detailing services is to look at and carefully examine each and every car prior to booking the job. It is important to ask the customer what he wants, but is it equally important to tell him what the car needs to look its best. From there you can determine a labor time and price it accordingly.

Ok, you still want to know how long it should take to detail a car. There are still additional reasons why there is no easy answer to that question. Even after knowing all the variables regarding the condition of the vehicle, what the customer wants, and what you generally will include on your details, there are still other things to evaluate.

• You still need to consider individual characteristics of the detailer himself, which will affect time.

• How good is his skill and knowledge? A smart, skilled detailer will generally be able to detail a vehicle faster with as good or better results than a novice or unskilled detailer.
• How efficient is the detailer in completing the job, and what are his working conditions like? Some detailers just work harder than others. Some are in better shape and some have a better environment to work in which aids in decreasing the time spent on the detail.
• What kind of equipment and products is he using? A detailer that employs good equipment and great products and knows how to correctly use all the newer tools, technology, and great products available, will be able to detail a vehicle faster than a detailer using outdated and "old school" methods.
• How aware of time is the detailer? A detailer should always know exactly how long he is taking to get the job done. If prices are being based on a 4 hour labor time, the detailer cannot drag out the detail to 5 or 6 hours or more. He needs to be able to meet or beat the time set to complete the job to consistently make money. By being unaware of time spent, a detailer is really hurting himself and losing money by taking too long to complete the job.

As you can see there are many variables that go into figuring a time to detail a vehicle. Detailers will always want to know "how long it should take". But until many factors are determined and calculated, talking about time is actually a waste of time.