I usually wash my car every weekend and wash/wax almost ever 2 months, but lately I haven't been able to do it. I got my windows tinted and they had business cards for this place that details cars. They hand wash and wax, remove road tar, stains, clean tires, clean and condition the leather, shampoo the carpets. So thats exterior and interior detailing for, get this a whopping $50! Sound good? Everyone else I talk to spends more than that it seems.

 

all that stuff they do.. you can do it for probably 40 bucks in products and you can do it many times..
paying for washing the car is ok
but for detailing.. i wouldnt let anyone touch the car.. since i know the car like the back of my hand and they dont..

 

if you're willing to spend the money and not the time then go for it. a good detailing takes time and experience, and if you're not up to spending a massive amount of time on your car, then $50 is a great deal for that work.

 

However, you also have to consider how much work has to be done to the vehicle. The longest step on an exterior detail can be the polishing step and that can be dependent on how swirled/neglected the finish is. The interior can be the most difficult.

 

it took me 2 hours just to clay my car last time and an addition 3 hours to polish and wax..
however now i have a generic random orbital so i'll see how long it takes now

 

There is no way i would let anyone touch my car that charges 50 dollars for a full detail. A full interior job including shampooing, and exterior w/ clay, compound, polish, wax should take atleast 6 hours. This means theyre getting about 8 bucks an hour not including products. Somethings not right here.

 

I agree. $50 for that amount of detail is way too inexpensive. Buyer beware...

 

i agree with that ^^^ thats too big of a deal, if they do do all that, they must (maybe not) must have rookies or ppl who rush the job....ive never detailed yet...going to in a month...but i wouldnt want it rushed....

 

I pay Cdn$130 annually for a detailing, which includes what you specified but also detailing the trunk, the tires and the entire engine bay. I question whether they clay the exterior. My car was diamond coated and leather protected before I bought it new and I know the products they apply are not cheap. I typically have white residue in cracks etc. that they never leave behind the way they use their orbital machinery etc. Plus, a lot of these detailing places will wet sand, cut polish or use some other miracle compound to get out scratches, particularly if you bring them to their attention. I also get them to clean up black marks on the headliner left by opening and closing the sunroof.

 

Not a bad deal at all. I wouldnt worry about everybody thats saying they must be inexperianced or do a bad job. They arent polishing or claying and thats by far the most time consuming part detailing so theres no reason why they couldnt do everything you mentioned in 2-3 hours. Just becuase it takes someone on these forums a long time to detail their car doesnt mean its going to take a professional detailer that long. Also im sure they buy all their supplies in bulk which makes a huge difference. Just for example, at my work we get 50 gallon drums of wheel cleaner for about $40 where most of you probably pay $2-5 for just one quart. I say go for it and let us know how it turns out.

 

I work for a detailing shop and with 2 guys workin we can do a car in about 3 hours, that includes hand wash and dry,bug and tar removal, road paint removal if neccesary, wheel and tire cleansing and dressing, complete interior cleansing, dressing and shampoo, and wax/cutting/clay whatever is neccesary to make the outside look its best..that ranges anywhere from $90 to $110 depending on the vehicle..it would be $90 for a maxima

 

That's only $15 per hour per employee, plus you have to consider the cost of the location, utilities, advertising, other overhead, insurance, and all of the supplies and equipment. How you can make a profit doing it for that price? Around here I have paid $195 for the same work. That was at a high-end carwash that had a big detailing bay.

I'm not saying I LIKE to pay that much; I'm just wondering how anyone can do it more cheaply, unless they're working out of their truck as a mobile detailer.

 

$50 is TOO LOW. If they can quote $50 for a full interior detail and wash/wax, they don't know what they're doing. What if they encounter a really stained interior? They're going to lose a lot of money on that job. Either this place does a really ****ty job with the poorest quality products available, or they'll be out of business in a month.