Thanks guys!

 

Well, I mainly do the neighborhood vehicles but this one turned out nice. It's an '02 Suburban that has seen nothing but occassional quickie car washes and never been hand washed or waxed since new. This was literally a whole day and I mean whole day of washing, a few clay bars, polishing the nice wheels which had been terribly neglected, lots of Meguires products (like swirl remover, plastic restorer, and many others), a huge dirty pile of microfiber towels, and 2 coats of Meguires NXT. Turned out pretty good I think (especially with a nasty old torn up black paintjob) and now I have a frequent repeat customer over the summer. Heres some pics, didn't take any before pics but this thing was very nasty and dull. Just proved the quality of Meguires products to me. Also included a full engine compartment, inetrior (detail and shampoo), and undercarriage cleaning:

 

Heres my dads '03 F150 FX4 last summer after I spent a day + on it...it wasn't very pretty to start with either. Nasty interior...apparently I don't inherit my vehicle cleanliness from his side of the family...lol! Looked great when done though:

 

I only detail my own vehicles, so I guess this would have to be it......

 

I do our own vehicles also but do alot of the neighborhood vehicles on weekends to make extra cash...people pay generously for a high quality detail. Heres my Ranger all cleaned up that I traded in on the F150...miss that little truck...4.0, Tuner, gibson exhaust, K&N CAI, Explorer leather/power seats, 2/3 lower, Mustang Bullits, 255/50/17s, rear sway bar, etc. etc....too much to mention.



The wifes '07 Mercury Mariner



My new truck doesn't look to bad cleaned up either...this is 2 weeks ago:

 

curious... How much do you guys charge to super detail a car like this?



I just don't see the point in washing my truck anymore because I spend a lot of money/time on it then i drive it one place and its dirty again with bugs on it and dirt... :\

 

Uh, you don't think our vehicles get dirty? I live on a dirt road. It's a lot of work but the end result is great and I take pride in what I've got so I want it looking it's best.

 

I got $150 to do that Suburban the first time and the guy was happy to pay it. I've washed and waxed it many times since then but it's so much easier now that it got that initial thorough cleaning. My families vehicles are free...usually covers birthdays and stuff. A clean car is better than a birthday card anyday! Obviously I don't charge the wife....lol! I usually charge about $100 for a wash, clay, and wax depending on the size of the vehicle. An extra $25 for an interior cleaning and shampoo. You'd be suprised how much business I get during the summer just from word of mouth. It's pretty cheap really. An entire day of work for $100 doesn't make me a ton of money but it helps.

Yeah, my vehicles get dirty too but don't stay that way for long. Both our own vehicles are daily drivers and get driven in snow, rain, everything. Like Thumper said it's a matter of pride. I pay for our vehicles so why not keep them looking their best and extending their life by taking great care of them.

 

I would have to have to agree with Thumper on this as well. There is no better feeling than having someone get into my truck and ask if its new. Then see the look on there face when I tell them its an 04 with 70k on it.

 

i guess you guys told me what I already knew... me and my buddies use to go wash our cars when it was rainy out... you gatta either be a complete clueless idiot, or someone that loves your truck








in my sig is a picture of it clean

 

I don't mind investing the time and money in keeping my vehicles clean... that investment pays for itself when you go to sell the vehicle, not to mention the personal satisfaction that comes in owning/driving a detailed vehicle. I always smile when I see another clean vehicle (I'm not talking about a car that was washed, but one that was detailed), even if it is a 1991 Geo Storm.

As my signature shows, my truck also gets dirty. I am still prefecting my dirt, bug, dust, scratch and idiot resistent paint addative, so in the mean time I have to go through the effort of cleaning as needed.

 

What I've found is that you can reach a point with vehicles where there simply isn't enough time available to keep them all looking like you want. In my family we have (4) vehicles:

- 1997 Ford Ranger (my daily driver)
- 2005 Ford Escape (my wife's daily driver)
- 2005 Ford F-150 (garage king)
- 2008 Ford Mustang GT (garage queen)

With a young son now around to keep me busy, I've had to really step away from my expectations on detailing my vehicles.

Until I purchased my Mustang, my Ranger was garage kept and fully detailed (wash, clay, polish, wax, etc.) twice a year. With consistent care, the paint and interior looked like a brand new vehicle. But now with the Mustang in the stable, my Ranger has been demoted to the driveway, and gets washed and detailed far less than it has been accustomed to. I am sure this reduced care will begin to take a toll on it's aesthetic appearance in a rather short period of time. I'm not happy about it, but there simply are not enough hours in the day to care for it the way I used to.

The wife's Escape is garage kept and will continue to get a full detail twice a year to keep me in the wife's good graces.

The F-150 and the Mustang are my "babies", are never driven in the rain or inclement weather of any kind, and are driven very few miles each year. As such, even with a random detail every year or so, I can keep them looking the way I would choose, although depending on when you stop by you might see either one or both quite dusty in my garage.

So to make a long story short, don't feel bad if you can't be a detailing maniac, as it is a big commitment of time and energy that you can't always meet depending on where you are at in your life!

 

I can attest to the fact that you can bring in more money when it comes time to sell your vehicle if you take care of it like a lot of us do in this section of the forum. I was able to get $30,000 out of my 2006 F150 with 22,000 miles on it. I know I had a lot of money invested into it but a lot of dealers don't care too much about that. The $30,000 was more than what I paid for it brand new, too !!

 

Sorry for the ****ty picture. 2006 Bentley Continental GT.

 

Dan, what products did you use on that Bentley?