- Register your business with BC Registries
- File your municipal business licence (mobile businesses still need one)
- Get liability insurance that covers working on clients' vehicles
- Build your mobile rig: water, power, extractor, polisher, chemicals
- Set package pricing (interior / exterior / full / ceramic add-ons)
- Launch a brand, website, and online booking with deposits
- Turn content into bookings: before/afters are your ad budget
Mobile detailing has the best demand-generation story in the local trades: the work itself is content. Before-and-after interiors, foam cannon shots, transformation reels — detailing content performs on Instagram and TikTok like almost nothing else a local business can post. Attention is genuinely free here.
The failure mode is just as specific: attention that never becomes revenue. DMs asking “how much?”, back-and-forth scheduling, no-shows, no deposits. The detailers winning in Metro Vancouver run the same content but route it to a booking page with packages, prices, and card-on-file deposits. Same posts — completely different business.
What it costs to start
| Item | Typical range |
|---|---|
| BC business registration | ~$40–$380 |
| Municipal business licence | $100–$250/yr |
| Liability insurance | $600–$1,500/yr |
| Pressure washer, tanks, generator | $1,200–$4,000 |
| Extractor, polisher, chemicals, pads | $800–$2,500 |
| Vehicle setup / organization | $300–$1,500 |
| Branding, website & booking | $0 DIY – $3,000+ agency |
| Realistic lean total | $3,000–$9,000 |
Many detailers start with client-supplied water and power to cut early costs, then add tanks and a generator for true go-anywhere service.
What you can earn
Metro Vancouver mobile detailing packages commonly run $150–$250 for standard details, $250–$450+ for full interior-plus-exterior, and $600–$1,500+ once you add ceramic coatings and paint correction. Three details a day at a $220 average is over $13,000 a month in gross revenue. Deposits at booking are what protect those numbers from no-shows.
Mobile Detailing Pricing Calculator
Work out what to charge before you quote your first job. Set the job size, condition and the hourly rate you need to earn, and get a number you can defend.
Open the calculator →Licensing & requirements in BC
No certification is required to detail cars in BC. You need business registration and a municipal business licence — being mobile doesn't exempt you; your home city licenses the business. Two practical compliance notes worth knowing: municipalities regulate wash-water runoff (letting soapy water into storm drains can violate bylaws — capture mats and waterless products are the professional answers), and if you detail at office buildings or condos, property managers will ask for proof of insurance before you set up in their parkade.
Let's name it
“I'm getting views but no bookings — is the market just cheap?” No. The gap between attention and income is a booking system, posted prices, and deposits. Cheap markets haggle in DMs; buyers click a link. Give them the link.
Talk it through on a free callThe 7 steps, properly
01Register and licence
Sole proprietorship (~$40) plus your home city's business licence. Detailing across multiple cities regularly? The Inter-municipal Business Licence may cover you across participating Metro Vancouver municipalities.
02Insure for other people's cars
Your liability policy should reflect that you work on customers' vehicles — discuss this explicitly with your broker. $600–$1,500/yr is a typical range.
03Build the rig in stages
Stage 1: quality chemicals, extractor, polisher, client water/power. Stage 2: water tank, generator, pressure washer — full independence. Don't finance stage 2 before stage 1 is booked solid.
04Package and post your prices
Three tiers plus add-ons (pet hair, ceramic, engine bay). Public prices filter tire-kickers before they cost you a DM conversation.
05Take deposits at booking
Online booking with a card deposit kills the no-show problem that quietly ruins mobile businesses. Clients self-book from your content, your site, and your Google profile.
06Make content your funnel, not your hobby
Every post ends at the booking link. Before/after posts tagged to your city feed both social reach and local search.
07Compound your reviews
Detailing clients are effusive when the transformation is dramatic — ask every one. Reviews plus photos on your Google Business Profile convert searchers who've never seen your content.
The shortcut: launched in about 10 business days
Everything above is doable yourself over a couple of months of evenings. Or you hand us the details on one 30-minute call and we build all of it — registration, licence filing, brand, website, online booking, payments, accounting setup, Google Business Profile, socials, and your service agreement — in about 10 business days, with 30 days of support after handoff. Detailers fit Starter ($997) if you mainly need the attention-to-booking pipeline built — brand, site, booking with deposits, payments. Go Launch ($1,997) to rank in every city you serve and get the first-10-clients playbook.
Mobile Detailing business FAQ
Do I need a licence for mobile detailing in BC?
You need a registered business and a municipal business licence from your home city — mobile operation doesn't exempt you. No trade certification is required. We prepare and file the applications; the city grants approval.
What about water runoff rules?
Metro Vancouver municipalities restrict wash water entering storm drains. Professional mobile detailers use capture mats, waterless or rinseless methods, or work over permeable surfaces. Building this into your process from day one is both compliant and a selling point for eco-conscious clients.
How much does it cost to start mobile detailing?
A lean start using client water and power can be $3,000–$5,000 including registration, insurance, and gear; a fully independent rig with tanks and generator pushes toward $9,000. Most operators stage the buildout from revenue.
How do I stop no-shows?
Deposits. Online booking that takes a card deposit at the moment of booking converts casual interest into commitment — it's the single highest-impact system in this trade, and it's part of every Prontco build.
Can Instagram really replace paid ads?
For detailing, largely yes early on — transformation content earns organic reach paid ads can't buy at your budget. The prerequisite is a booking link and public prices, so attention has somewhere to convert.
Related guides
Launching in a specific city?