Gallstaff

iTrader: (1)

My car looks pretty good after I put some elbow grease in it, but I don't have the time for that anymore now that I'm living on a college campus now. My paint is pretty decent shape except for a few light scratches on the back bumper and some areas that need touching up on the rocker panel.

I want to get it detailed to have it looking as new as it can without a repaint. I really want to see my car in all its glory but I just can't do that myself. How much, roughly, would a great detail be? Possibly by a person who could get out the paint imperfections I mentioned earlier.

Unstang

iTrader: (26)

Exterior only, you should be able to get it looking good for $100 or so. What color?

DANSBIRD

iTrader: (2)

I dont have a bad ***, but if i did, Id be detailing it myself. sick bastard.


:p

Sanitariumite

I work at a Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge dealership, and we charge $189 for a full detail. That includes a cut, buff, hand polish, shampooed carpets, windows, wheels, under the hood, etc. Since it's a dealership, I'd assume you could probably knock at least $50 off by going somewhere else. Maybe even more if you're just looking for paint treatment.

Detoxx03

iTrader: (14)

I wish I could bring mine somewhere. I keep it clean but like the op don't have the time to do it like I want to. Cleaning my rims and the front window is a pain in the ***

01CaMMMaro

iTrader: (25)

in my opinion there is no badass details... every carwash or dealership ive seen do them is horrible. they charge you out the *** and do a horrible job. IMO spend the $189 on a PC, pads, polish, clay bar, and some detailer spray and learn how to do it. no one is going to be as picky on your own car as you will be so why not do it yourself? i see you dont have the time but you only need to polish about once every 4 months or so.

Sanitariumite

I couldn't agree more. I hate seeing 90% of the cars leave our detail shop when they're "done"... I'm a lot attendant, and I could detail better than 4 of our guys...

vMaster0fPuppets

iTrader: (6)

Detailing shops are a joke. A good detailer is hard to come by, but there definitely out there.

Gipraw

iTrader: (10)

I would disagree with parts of that comment.. (the parts I didn't snip out)

finding someone who will do a good job is difficult, but far from impossible.

Heck .. some of the best detailers in the country live in Texas and hang around in this forum ..

Doing it yourself is always an option, if you have the time, the $$ and the desire to learn how to do it correctly.

Word of mouth is a good way to find someone good, or forums like this, and a few others are also good places to find someone that knows what the heck they are doing, and actually gives a crap about the quality of their work.

Car shows are another good place .. I always leave a few cards on the cars I do at shows .. other guys do also .. talk to the car owner .. see if they have a recommendation of someone.

I woudl avoid dealerships, and most high volume shops . (although some are quite good)

A good detail, with some defect removal, can run you anywhere from $100 to several hundred and up, depending on what is invloved, what level of result you wish to achieve, and the ability of the person doing the work.

.

Reject

iTrader: (24)

just ask the people at high end dealerships to do it for you, i bet they would do a good job since those people are the ones that spends 100 000 on cars....

Gipraw

iTrader: (10)

some of the worst swirls and holograms I have ever had to work on were on brand new BMW's and Mercedes straight from the dealer.

Any idiot can install DISO. not just the cheap car dealers.

Wolfwoodx89

iTrader: (1)

the shop i used to work at charged 315 for a full detail. But we also used the highest quality products we could get, we spent about 8 hours per car, and when we detailed, we really DETAILED, meaning there was not a dirty spot on the car. Not in the wheel well, not in door jams, engine was fully cleaned and shined, and the car was fully claybarred and buffed, and compounded if needed. Hell i remember even taking out the carpet once it was so bad it needed to be taken out to clean right

I miss those days. I remember we even signed a deal with lexus, bmw, and the mercedes dealerships in the area. They wanted nothing but the best, which lucky for us we were.

So i would say its not impossible to find a perfectionist detailist. Its all about who you take it to, and how much time they'll allow per car they do. You cant expect anywhere near perfection, at least from what ive seen and experienced for $150. At least in my area, the going price for absolute perfection on every inch was 300 or so

Gallstaff

iTrader: (1)

I'm totally willing to pay 300 for this. I was prepared to pay closer to 500 anyway. I have enough money, so that's not really a problem. Does anybody know from personal experience where in southern NC I could go? That might be a tall order, but it's worth a shot.

01CaMMMaro

iTrader: (25)

ask around on your area forum and see if anyone knows of a guy that does it privately. there are some guys on this site, I.E. zaino, that does it themselves for some change and do a great job... i was just commenting earlier on taking it somewhere. individuals are always the way to go if you can find someone.

440 rwhp trans am

iTrader: (3)

yeah houston must have a ton. because i know of a few people that do a great job. no places but peope, they come out to your house and spend 2-4 hours cleaning with 2-3 people on it. i spend about 150 per car but i have him do 2-3 of my cars at one time.

01CaMMMaro

iTrader: (25)

heres your man...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PkmZveqyU5E

'Trust'

iTrader: (24)

The thing you have to remember with detailing is that it isn't a cure all. It can help a TON, but if the cars paint/interior has been too far neglected you will not be happy with the results overall. Take a black f-body with the traditional rock-chipped front end, no amount of detailing will reduce those, although the rest of the car would look great. Detailing can certainly make a car look the best it can for its condition, but its not a miracle.

Trent

iTrader: (3)

I've been detailing for a few years now and have run my own small business doing it for just as long and you would be truly amazed at what people expect out of a detail. Everything from "blending in" rock chips???? to making an oxidized car appear new again, to removing 10 year old coffee stains, etc etc.

What most people don't understand is that even though the car will look 100x better when I'm finished, they don't realize that all the flaws that appeared small on the car before, will now be much more noticeable. When everything else looks flawless, those little flaws turn to eyesores.

I charge $120 for a complete exterior detail and $160 for inside and out. As long as someone has electricity and a water spout, I will come to them for free too. I have traveled as far as 2 hours one way to do a demo session or clean up a few peoples cars. That's the dedication and commitment you've got to have when you do it yourself.

Whoever you use, if its a shop, ask to see examples of their work. Ask to watch them detail another car first. See if anyone else you know has heard of them and can vouch for any of their work. If its a smaller place or just one person like myself, ask local groups or clubs or others like that to see what they think. 90% of my business is referrals from other customers and I wouldn't have as many as I do if I didn't do a quality job.

Summer

iTrader: (9)

exactly!! i was typing the same thing until i realize you had the same thing written down. Go to autopia.com and they have a lot of pics and tutorials on how to do..i have seen/heard so many horror stories about taking their cars to dealerships,etc to get fixed and it comes out way worse than it did before. Invest in a porter cable, pads, etc and u will have the skills forever..who knows you might get so good, you will save other people's cars