re: Most You've ever paid for a car detail

$550. The reason being wad my normal detail guy who is awesome got a corporate job. The place I went to restores cars, and the wax detail is the final part of the restoration process. It was not a car detailing business. The owner told me he has high prices because his skilled laborers cost more money than Joe Blow.

I decided to go with him mainly due to the trust factor and them being reputable. They did a great job.

Fortunately, my original guy came back into the biz and is mobile. His last job cost me $300.

0. Try not being so lazy next time.

Most I ever paid was $140

$450.

H2O on Jefferson.

All depends on the work done. Sometimes a detail is just a fancy wash, sometimes it's full on paint correction. Never paid myself but have done the work myself. Bought the tools, the materials and the right towels/microfiber (e.g. Zaino edgeless tagless). $700-800 is a pretty normal quote for an involved paint correction, here's an example of what I did to get it cleaned up correctly:

- Wash 1
- Decontaminate/iron-x the body and wheels
- Full pass over car with claybar
- Wash 2
- Tape off all plastic trim, grill, lights etc
- Full pass over car with heavy cutting compound to remove major swirls and lovely holograms in black paint
- Full pass over car with minor cutting compound to even out clearcoat and remove last minor blemishes
- Full pass over car with a sealant/wax
- Remove tape, clean up windows

That took about 8 hours, felt rushed and haven't even touched the interior or engine bay yet. Granted it was a bit slower than a pro as I was still learning some of it. No way I would do this for less than 600-700 myself, even for a friend or family it's work.

Guy I know who details for a dealership charges me $20 for inside and out plus another $10 if I want a coat of wax. He uses all the dealership products and equipment. Wheels, tires, ac vents, floorboards, door jams, EVERYTHING. I just drop it off in the morning and I have it back noon at the latest. Comes back looking brand new, every time.

Look on Groupon. They usually have good deals in every major city.



SIAP.

Crovetto's mobile detailing. (985) 492-0337

He services the Northshore.

When he had his shop he offered ceramic, and it literally looks like a brand new car. The coating is so slick.

He may offer that still but has to take your car as it sits overnight.

Very trustworthy.

This guy is doing it ALL WRONG. What you don't realize is he is applying wax over bonded contaminants in your paint so essentially the wax is doing nothing to protect your paint. I guarantee you that your vehicle needs an iron remover and also a good clay bar treatment on it. You will see more gloss and shine and with the bonded contaminants(acid rain, traffic film, pollutants) removed then with a clean paint your wax/sealant has something to 100% bond to.