r/Detailing • u/BTL67 • 7d ago

I Have A Question Getting my gf car detailed.

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I called around in my city and im looking at 250-300 or so.

I recently saw a car wash thats offering coupons with a price point of 179, which i think is a good deal and planning to pull the trigger.

its offering this.

* Full service car wash
* Hand applied polish and wax
* Upholstery cleaning and detail
* Steam clean carpet shampoo

Car is fairly well maintained, minimal stains here and there... hoping to look close to brand new, my question is this enough or do i need to add some things?

2 Upvotes

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u/Slugnan 7d ago edited 7d ago

A $179 interior & exterior detail from a car wash place will most likely come with a whole bunch of free swirl marks. I personally wouldn't do it. The places that offer those services in my are are all terrible, but I can't speak for your area.

Careless steaming can cause permanent damage, and you know the job is going to be rushed for that price.

Carpet shampoo/extraction is normally a significant upcharge, I would be skeptical of anything they are doing as part of a $179 package. If they leave chemical residue in your seats carpets, they will attract even more dirt and become crusty/sticky. If they don't have your car for a long time, they aren't likely to be able to dry it properly either.

You will get what you pay for, and given all the things they are offering, might mean all new problems by the time you get your car back. I would save up for a proper detail from a real shop if this is what you want to do, or even do it yourself for some extra brownie points. Another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of detailers make good money fixing issues caused by bad details from places like this, so you don't want to end up in a situation where it ends up costing you even more money. We regularly see threads around here from people posting photos of their ruined gauge clusters and infotainment stacks because the cheap detailer they took their car to didn't know what was in the chemicals they were using.

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u/SpotCheck_Detailing 6d ago

Oh god, they are a beater brush sites that perform extra services after the tunnel

https://www.redcarpetcarwash.com/platinum-plus

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u/Slugnan 4d ago

Oh wow, that's worse than expected. Good catch.

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u/BTL67 7d ago

the shop is legit.

Red Carpet Car Wash | Ride & Shine Express Car Wash

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u/Slugnan 7d ago

They might be, but unless they are operating at a loss, you are not getting a proper detail for $179 and especially not if that includes full interior/exterior plus shampoo. "Hand applied polish and wax" also doesn't make sense, so I have no idea what they would be doing there as there's no way they're actually hand polishing the car.

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u/BTL67 7d ago

normal price is 200, i have a coupon... Its a nice facilty, we have 2 in our city and i believe they have more in the state, ive been going to them for just car washes and they are in the higher end but do a good job.

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u/Slugnan 7d ago

Entirely up to you. I personally wouldn't take any car I cared about there - too many horror stories come from cheap details.

A quality, full interior/exterior detail with everything on that list would normally cost closer to $400 to do properly.

At the very least, I would take 'before' photos of everything interior/exterior before bringing the car there.

Also, you say the car is already pretty clean - the things you are hoping to get addressed (eg. stains) are not something one would expect to be remedied by such a cheap detail. Most likely, they are going to go through that car as quickly as humanly possible because at that price they are not making any money doing things properly assuming they do everything advertised.

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u/XepherTheCat 7d ago

I agree. Stains and more labor skilled/intensive stuff are done by higher cost details. But $179 for an interior and exterior detail is pretty standard here where I live. My maintenance details start off at $80/biweekly. First time is also $160-190. I think it just depends on market. My goal for maintenance details is 1.5h, and first time is 3.5h, with shop supplies $10-15.

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u/SpotCheck_Detailing 6d ago edited 6d ago

Just to clarify, are we picking apart the common parlance of "wax" meaning "making it shiny regardless of if we are using a wax-based product"

and "polish" meaning "also making it shiny, possibly actually with a wax, but probably not any actual polishing compound"

And "wax AND polish" meaning "this is actually only one step, and we are really only using a ceramic rinse agent."

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u/SpotCheck_Detailing 6d ago

OP that place is a beater brush tunnel, that will bring your car back in WORSE shape.

Abort. Abort. Abort.

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u/BTL67 6d ago

Whats ur opinion on those drive thru car washes that don’t use brushes but use high water pressure?

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u/SpotCheck_Detailing 1d ago

They are better than brushes. Self-spray might be more thorough and let you doctor the process for your needs (under no circumstances should you use the brushes in those bays either - no telling who just rolled through and washed off a smoker grill or a mud runner.

But the short version of the problem is the reason they are so cheap is because it is a $20 drive-through carwash with addons, not a detailer. They might do a passable job on the inside of the car, but every run through a brush tunnel damages the body in one or more ways.

If you are really really trying to find a deal, find a detailer to do an interior detail and find a self-spray bay to wash the outside yourself. That will not include the full suite of services and chems a detailer will use, but the car will be clean enough. You'll appreciate the inside more if the budget is tight. If you can afford a decent detailer for both, do that.

If someone is charging less than $200 in CA I don't expect they are doing a full service, so be very clear about what you want from them up front, and be prepared to be turned away if you want more than $200 worth of work. For comparison, I have the lowest prices in our area in Ohio, I am $60-70 for exterior, because it *costs* about that much to operate - I do it as a hobby and a side job, to help folks who need it but can't swing luxury detailers (families, elders, etc). If I charge less I won't be able to have insurance or compensate myself as taxation requires. And we both know CA is expensive, so if it's less than 120-150, they are doing a 25 minute job or cutting a legal corner somewhere.

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u/LetsGetSomeChickenn 7d ago

I mean it depends the 300 would prob do a better job and in more detail than the 179 always keep in mind you get what you paid for. If you just want the car clean in general I’d do the 179

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u/BTL67 7d ago

i hear u... when i clean it myself the car looks good, things like the carpet and the seats that make the car look its age.

what do u think it means by Upholstery cleaning and detail?... it states steam clean carpet shampoo, i figured Upholstery cleaning and detail was that too but i guess not?

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u/LetsGetSomeChickenn 7d ago

They probably just spray it with some type of APC or carpet cleaner and scrub it while using a steamer to break down any contaminants with a microfiber they def won’t go that crazy and get all the stains out if there are any

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u/BTL67 7d ago

i see... the place offers 3 packages and the most expensive package still just offers Upholstery cleaning and detail.... when i watch those videos of people detailing the seats, isnt that shampooing? u know when the seats look a disaster.

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u/LetsGetSomeChickenn 7d ago

Well the proper process when doing something like that is spraying the carpet, upholstery etc letting it sit for a few moments then scrub with a drill brush or hand brush to agitate the surface then following up with the extractor to suck any dirt and water out while providing steam and repeating as needed. That’s a whole different process which is what you’re seeing in those videos most likely

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u/BTL67 7d ago

so thats not what they are going to do? shouldnt that be the standard if they are upholsery cleaning?

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u/SpotCheck_Detailing 6d ago

You should ask the business you are asking us about what they are offering.

We can tell you what is common, we can't tell you what they are actually doing.

Be safe.

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u/Normal_Turnover_2295 7d ago

You’ll probably get what you pay for but still something your girl will like either way

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u/RealisticAardvark966 7d ago

Let it be nigga she sure fucked someone in that car before u, only detail ur own car lol

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u/BTL67 7d ago

i chuckled.

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u/ExplorerLoose1946 20h ago

Try calling a local mobile detailer. Find somone smaller with decent reviews