Scorecard · Los Angeles, CA
Mobile car detailing
66/100
How much does it cost to start a mobile car detailing business in Los Angeles? $8,000–$26,000 in Los Angeles, CA, on the figures below.
- Profit
- A
- An LA full detail is $180–$350 and takes 3 hours. Ceramic coating is $700–$1,500 for a day's work. Chemicals run under $20 a car.
- Difficulty
- C
- A California seller's permit, a City of LA business tax registration, and water reclamation rules that forbid runoff to the storm drain. Steam or rinseless washing sidesteps most of it.
- Capital
- B$8,000–$26,000
- A van or truck you may already own, pressure washer and water tank $2,500–$6,000, polishers and extractor $2,000–$5,000, a generator $1,200, and insurance.
Break-even
- The number that has to be true
- 14 full details a month at $260
- Fixed costs a month
- $2,300
- The assumption
- One office park or dealership feeding you repeat cars each week.
Opening for less
All three together take $8,500 off: $26,000 becomes $17,500.
Use rinseless washing instead of a tank-and-reclaim setup
−$4,500
Costs you: Heavily soiled trucks are off the menu
Buy the polisher and extractor used from a detailer leaving the trade
−$2,200
Costs you: No warranty on the extractor, which is the part that fails
Book one commercial account before spending on ads
−$1,800
Costs you: One client can be 60% of revenue, and they know it
How you’d do it
What you need
- A City of LA business tax registration certificate and a seller's permit
- Water discharge compliance: reclaim mats, or a rinseless process
- Garage liability insurance, roughly $1,600 a year
- Twenty photographed cars before you charge $260
First 3 moves
- 1Detail five cars at cost in one office park and leave a card on every windscreen.
- 2Price four LA mobile detailers on the same sedan and note what they include.
- 3Add ceramic coating only after 30 paid details, and train on your own car first.
The hardest part
Traffic. Three jobs a day across LA is two jobs plus two hours in the car.
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