600 Quid Detail !!

[horgantrevor]

good point

Not many people will go out and buy a wax that costs £300 but they will pay £25 for me to use mine and keep the paint sealed and protected for a few months.


i do my own detailing i spent at least 1 hour and a half on one wing last week on the c36 in the garage looked amazing but takes time and i know why it costs so much

time , know how , experience , material , and enjoying the result

i see peoples faces when i drive by in a 16 year old w202 amg and they look at it and smile or comment on how well that car looks for age

my c240 is 744 silver and that detailed shine like diamonds in the sun always draws attention

 

[mikec32]

Oh yes we all take a set of halogen lights round honest bob's used car emporium don't we

No but they are mimicking the sun, and most people buy there cars in the day. I know I'm in the trade but I couldn't buy a new car with swirl marks from front to back, it just makes it look knackered.

 

[moonloops]

That pic sums it all up really

If you was buying a car and there were two next to each other, same spec - which would you prefer, paintwork on the left or paintwork on the right ?

No but they are mimicking the sun, and most people buy there cars in the day. I know I'm in the trade but I couldn't buy a new car with swirl marks from front to back, it just makes it look knackered.

We aint all got OCD

 

[mikec32]

We aint all got OCD

Well if you going to spend in excess of £25,000 on a new car and don't care what it looks like in the sun, enjoy being mugged off.

There is no argument here, some like there car perfect and some don't. Quite surprised though this thread is going on in an enthusiast club.

 

[saorbust]

Speaking as someone who has paid £600, for these services (I will not say to who) I can see both sides of argument. I was not happy with the result, despite the considerable reputation of the detailed. In fact it was so bad it made me go out and find out how to do it, specifically for Mercedes paint.

Over the past five years I practised and built up to using all the correction tools and polishes, creams, etc used by the trade.

I can now, detail a car. It takes time, practice and technique to do it, and it costs a fortune in equipment and product. I never let anyone clean my car except me because I know the effort needed to maintain the finish.

I think detailers are skilled and talented as a trade, and what they do requires a lot of knowledge. I wouldn't dream of under estimating the time it takes because I know, and heaven knows what it would cost should it go wrong.

So the £600 I spent made me learn more about the trade. I guess my only comment would be that if the trade spent more time talking about technique I would appreciate it. I would only now use one if ihad no choice and only after a lot of questions.

Fancy videos and pictures make me admire the work, but it's the person you use that counts.

And what of that fabled detailer I used? Still in business doing well. Perhaps it was an off day. Who knows.

 

[billywhiz]

Well if you going to spend in excess of £25,000 on a new car and don't care what it looks like in the sun, enjoy being mugged off.

There is no argument here, some like there car perfect and some don't. Quite surprised though this thread is going on in an enthusiast club.

And some of them are 'It's only a car' > when really it has to be a Merc and some of them in excess of 50K - Well why did you buy it ? "It's a nice car' > Want me to damage your paint ? " Oh go on then, here I'll pay you a fiver for doing it" > thank you for that, please come back every two weeks so I can add more damage.

It's only a car argument? Why not just buy a Ford etc then? Because keep damaging the paint and not caring about it and it'll be worth just as much !

 

[moonloops]

Well if you going to spend in excess of £25,000 on a new car and don't care what it looks like in the sun, enjoy being mugged off.

There is no argument here, some like there car perfect and some don't. Quite surprised though this thread is going on in an enthusiast club.

Thing is people are not being "mugged off", they simply do not care about the 99th percentile OCD lacquer polish. I suspect 99.9% of car buyers don't even look at the paint other for marks, dents and scratches.

As for being "enthusiasts", yep we are, enthusiasts about prestige/modern/fast/ unique forms of personal transport. As I have said before, if I wanted something to polish and show my mates it would be made by Chippendale.

 

[billywhiz]

. I suspect 99.9% of car buyers don't even look at the paint other for marks, dents and scratches.

Sorry Moonloops > that statement is twaddle. Sounds like you'd be happy to buy any condition car - Theres a nice E55 on the bay - engine / interior ok but bodywork is knackered - I'll send you the link...

 

[fatdazza]

Can any of the "detailers" get rid of this hologram from my car?

I bet it was R2D2 (a regular poster on this forum) who put that holgram on your car

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Please read people's posts carefully and if you are unable to understand them, please do not then try to cover your ignorance by then offering a lame excuse of "it was a general response". The right thing of course would be to apologise for your mistake. Manners maketh man

Apology accepted.

 

[moonloops]

Sorry Moonloops > that statement is twaddle. Sounds like you'd be happy to buy any condition car - Theres a nice E55 on the bay - engine / interior ok but bodywork is knackered - I'll send you the link...

The bodywork isn't knackered if it "needs" a detail..

If you think the statement is twaddle please come forth with independent stats/survey results from car buyers..

 

[moonloops]

I bet it was R2D2 (a regular poster on this forum) who put that holgram on your car

Well spotted

 

[billywhiz]

The bodywork isn't knackered if it "needs" a detail..

If you think the statement is twaddle please come forth with independent stats/survey results from car buyers..

Err most people who have bought cars on this forum or any other enthusiast site - at the same time - since you stated the intial percentile fact - please come forth with independent stats/survey results from car buyers who don't check.

 

[billywhiz]

Or how many cars at a dealers are scratched, dented or marked. Not many as all the SMART repairs are carried out as is any paint corrections. Buyers these days are demanding cleaner 2nd hand cars.

 

[moonloops]

Err most people who have bought cars on this forum or any other enthusiast site - at the same time - since you stated the intial percentile fact - please come forth with independent stats/survey results from car buyers who don't check.

You can't provide evidence for something that does not exist

 

[moonloops]

Or how many cars at a dealers are scratched, dented or marked. Not many as all the SMART repairs are carried out as is any paint corrections. Buyers these days are demanding cleaner 2nd hand cars.

Correct, buyers want clean cars - not detailed cars..

 

[billywhiz]

Correct, buyers want clean cars - not detailed cars..

And not cars with marks, scratches & Dents in.

Bingo you answered your own query - fully detailed cars was not part of that sub discussion.

I'm glad we agree

 

[russb]

ive just been called to a well known dealership to detail a lesser sized 4x4 Rav 4, yeah Rav 4, your general joe bloggs motor for those that want 4 wheel drive without the bulk...it has been sold but only because a detail has been promised on it....its a 59 plate i think and its a worse state than some 10 yr old motors....but the only way it will be sold is to have it detailed...customers want more bang for their buck and what better way than treating probably the 2nd most expensive thing you will own to a make over....

i will dig a pic out of a RR that was done by a so called detailer in the sheffield area...i think it will open a few eyes as to what really goes on with little knowledge....

 

[moonloops]

And not cars with marks, scratches & Dents in.

Bingo you answered your own query - fully detailed cars was not part of that sub discussion.

I'm glad we agree

I suspect 99.9% of car buyers don't even look at the paint other for marks, dents and scratches.
Sorry Moonloops > that statement is twaddle.

Is it?

 

[billywhiz]

Correct, buyers want clean cars - not detailed cars..

As per your statement. yup it is