Car valeting price calculator
What to charge for one car, and how many jobs and regular customers it takes to earn what you want. Start from the example numbers, then put in your own.
Price for one car
£63
- Your time £55
- Materials £8
Minutes spent doing one job
Getting there, parking, loading up
What an hour of your time must earn
For one job: products, resin, a share of fuel
To take home £2,000 a month
- Jobs a month
- 39
- 9 a week
- Paid hours
- 72
- 16.5 a week
- Customers
- 156
- on the round
£2,000 to take home + £435 running costs = £2,435 of takings a month.
About 16.5 hours a week of paid work, which leaves room for admin and for growing the round.
Each month, before tax
Per month: insurance, van, kit, phone
From one regular customer
The starting numbers are an example to show the method, not a market price. Time a few real jobs, work out what an hour of your time has to earn (the pricing guide shows how) and check the result against what customers near you will pay.
How the price is worked out
Your time at your hourly rate, plus what the job costs you, rounded up to a whole pound. Nothing is added for luck.
The car valeting year
Busiest in spring and summer, and before Christmas and MOTs. Quietest in winter, and long wet spells. Price for the whole year, not the best month, and check that the quiet months still cover your running costs.
What moves the price in car valeting
- Package: exterior wash, interior valet or a full detail
- Size of the vehicle: a van or large SUV takes longer than a hatchback
- Condition: pet hair, mud and stains need extra time
- Extras: polish, wax, ceramic coating and leather care
- Whether you bring your own water and power
Then set a minimum price per car, since setting up on a driveway takes the same effort for a quick wash as for a full valet.
Questions people ask
- How much should a car valeter charge per car?
- There's no single right figure. It depends on what an hour of your time has to earn, how long a job takes you and what it costs to do. In car valeting, the things that move the price most are: package: exterior wash, interior valet or a full detail; size of the vehicle: a van or large SUV takes longer than a hatchback; condition: pet hair, mud and stains need extra time. Put your own numbers in the calculator, then check the result against what customers near you will pay.
- How long does one car take?
- The calculator starts from 90 minutes on site plus 20 minutes getting there and setting up, 110 in all. That's an example to show the method. Time a few real jobs, including the driving, and use your own average.
- Should a car valeter set a minimum charge?
- Yes. Set a minimum price per car, since setting up on a driveway takes the same effort for a quick wash as for a full valet. If a customer won't pay it, they cost you more in time than they pay you, and the round is better without them.
- How many regular customers does a car valeter need?
- Customers come back every two to six months for regular customers, and many are one-off, about 3 visits a year, so each regular customer is worth that many jobs. The calculator turns the income you want into jobs a month and then into the number of customers it takes. Change the visits a year to match how often yours really come back.
- Do car valeting prices change through the year?
- The work is busiest in spring and summer, and before Christmas and MOTs and quietest in winter, and long wet spells. Cold and wet weather makes outdoor work miserable and it's hard to dry and finish a car. Many traders keep the price steady and smooth the income instead, for example by agreeing a fixed monthly amount with regular customers.
WorkWise Rounds
Keep each customer's price on their card
In Rounds every customer has their own services, their own price and how often you go, and the round plans itself around them.
No contract. Cancel any time.