A car owner calling for a one-time detail asks a simple question: what does this cost? A dealership moving dozens of units a month needs a different kind of answer — one built around volume, consistency, and predictable monthly billing rather than a single invoice. Understanding how dealership detailing pricing works helps a store budget reconditioning and prep costs accurately and decide what to pass along as F&I add-ons versus what to absorb as standard prep.
Retail Pricing vs. Wholesale Dealership Pricing
Retail customers booking through our detail packages pay per-vehicle rates starting at $70, scaled to the package and vehicle condition. Dealership pricing works differently. Because AMP'D services a consistent, recurring volume of vehicles on-lot rather than one-off appointments, we structure dealership accounts around wholesale, per-unit rates that are lower than retail and billed on a consolidated monthly basis rather than invoice-by-invoice. That structure is the foundation of our dealership services program.
What Drives the Per-Unit Rate
A handful of factors shape what a dealership pays per vehicle:
- Monthly volume — the more units serviced on a recurring basis, the lower the per-unit wholesale rate
- Service scope — a maintenance wash-and-detail costs less than a full reconditioning pass with paint correction
- Vehicle type — standard cars and trucks versus RVs, motorcycles, or boats in inventory
- Add-ons selected — ceramic coating and window tint are typically quoted and billed separately from core detailing
- Scheduling — a set recurring visit schedule is more cost-efficient than irregular, on-demand requests
Where Ceramic Coating and Tint Fit the Budget
Ceramic coating and window tint are usually priced and billed separately from core detailing because they're most often sold as F&I or front-end customer add-ons rather than blanket lot prep. Ceramic tint starts at $225 with up to 89% infrared heat rejection and up to 99% UV block; carbon tint starts at $150. NanoPro ceramic coating is available in 3-year, 6-year, and lifetime options. Dealerships typically set a wholesale cost for each tier, build in their own margin for the customer-facing F&I price, and have AMP'D install on the same lot visit as standard prep — no separate trip, no separate invoice chasing.
Reconditioning Adds Variability, Not Guesswork
Trade-ins and auction purchases don't arrive in identical condition, so reconditioning costs vary more than routine maintenance detailing. A unit needing full paint correction and deep interior work costs more to prep than a trade-in that just needs a standard detail. A clear wholesale rate structure — rather than a quote-every-time model — lets a dealership's reconditioning team estimate prep cost per unit before it even hits the queue.
Why Consolidated Billing Matters
Beyond the per-unit rate itself, how a dealership gets billed affects how easy the relationship is to manage. Chasing down individual invoices from a detailer for every trade-in, delivery prep, or F&I add-on install adds administrative work that doesn't scale as volume grows. Consolidated monthly billing rolls all of that activity into one statement tied to a set wholesale rate structure, which makes it far easier for accounting to reconcile against reconditioning budgets and for management to see cost per unit across the whole lot at a glance.
Getting a Quote for Your Lot
Because every dealership's mix of volume, vehicle types, and service needs is different, AMP'D builds wholesale pricing around each lot rather than a flat published rate card. We work with dealerships across Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Riverview, Wesley Chapel, and the broader Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Manatee, and Polk county markets to set per-unit rates and consolidated monthly billing that fit actual lot volume.
Want an accurate wholesale quote for your dealership's volume? Contact AMP'D Auto Detailing or call 813-394-5136 to get pricing built around your lot.