I know your trying to justify your price but we get the same very very high end quality and perfection from custom shops that work on all sorts of 100k-1mil cars doing full wraps (not prefabs or machine cuts) for less than half the price out here on the east, and they have families too.
Not really justifying anything, don't need to...we have installations that cater to those looking to have great value and those looking to have the highest level of attention to detail as well. The only thing we don't offer is partial installations. Never been a fan of half a hood, or half a fender. IMHO, long term, full front panels are the best value and they look better.
The devil is always in the details, and for us, it's more than just laying down a piece of film, polishing a panel with machine, or applying a coating. It's not just WHAT is executed, it's also HOW it's executed. The marketplace is a great litmus test for what is of value. There's nothing wrong with providing a product/service that can be deemed a commodity, but making it "special" because you and your client are worth the experience. After all, anyone can by an EV...but only a few are fortunate enough to be in a place in life that they can purchase a Tesla and all that goes with it. Consumers are very smart and well informed...as long as you know what you're getting, YOU can decide for yourself if it's worth it.
It's not my place to judge anyone else or put them down for a choice they made, even if I don't feel it's worth it. In the end, it's simply two people getting together. One provides a service, and the other needs/wants it. You can do it with price as your 1st priority, or experience/value as your 1st priority. There a time and place for each to be of priority...when it comes to things like cars and all that go with it...let's face it...emotions and a sense of happiness, even if intrinsic, logic is usually secondary.
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Just to give another point of view here. I keep finding videos of detailers showing off their work, but ignoring little things such as tools hanging off their belt, touching the paint of the vehicle.
A 'Premium' fee doesn't mean the installer is better.
Example of a professional installing XPEL (jump to 10:14):
Another example involving expensive vehicles (Bentley in this case):
So before you spend the money, look at reviews, I would even go a far as asking to watch them work on a car (maybe they have videos on YouTube), even if it's for a few minutes, it should give you an idea if they care about details like that.
Maybe I'm just too OCD about this, but I thought it was worth a mention.
Ok, just read this after writing mine. I'm too OCD for sure, because as a detailer-for-fun, that's just pure torture to me.
You are absolutely right. Unfortunately, in our industry, you cannot decipher from the guy that is truly an "artist" from the guy that has a fancy facebook page that does exotic cars, but is simply doing it for fame/$$$.
Truth is, that's really the case in any industry. Common sense, transparency, and logic usually are a good starting point for finding the right "guy/gal" for the service you need.
Client reviews on trusted places like Google, you divulge your name if you want to leave a feedback, or forums such as this one, are a great place to find quality people.
But someone once told me "just because you can brush your teeth, doesn't mean you're a dentist". And that struck a chord with me. I've been doing this for almost over 20 years and have devoted my adult life to my "career". I feel, along the way, I've earned my place in my industry and I provide a value that can only be appreciated by someone that values time and results. We solve problems...and how we do it, is one of the reasons for our success and why certain clients gravitate towards us.
Is that worth the price we charge, some may say no, but we're not here to please everyone. But for those entrusting us with their cars, money, and most important, their trust, we deliver every time.
As someone above mentioned, it's something trivial to some, but the experience of not worrying about your child washing a car with you. That to me is priceless. Some may tell him...you can just re-paint your car. But how much grief will he experience every time his little girl takes a wash mitt to the paint, not realizing her actions, and him thinking about the inevitable repaint and looking at that car every day. Life's too short. This man has solved HIS problem and he paid a price that he thought was of value to solving HIS problem. That, to me, is the essence of why we do what we at this level.
