What Does A Full Car Detail Include

Full detail is not a regulated term, which is why two quotes for one can be hundreds of dollars apart. Here is what the phrase generally covers, what usually costs extra, and the questions that make comparing quotes possible.

• wheels, barrels, arches and tyres cleaned first with separate tools
• a safe contact wash of the whole body
• chemical decontamination for iron fallout and tar
• mechanical decontamination for bonded contamination
• a machine polishing stage to lift gloss and clarity
• door shuts, boot shuts and fuel filler cleaned
• glass cleaned outside
• protection applied to the paint
• trim and tyres dressed to a factory finish

Usually a single gloss enhancing polish rather than genuine multi stage correction. Heavier correction is its own job with its own price, because it can take several days on a badly swirled car.

Ask specifically. This is the single largest difference between two detailing quotes.

• everything removed and mats lifted out
• thorough vacuum including under seats and in the boot
• vents, seat rails, sills, switchgear and screens cleaned by hand
• plastics and trim cleaned rather than sprayed with dressing
• leather cleaned and conditioned, or fabric extracted
• glass cleaned inside, including the top of the windscreen
• carpets finished properly

Most respond well to proper extraction. Some do not. Dye transfer on light leather, long term smoke odour and anything that has soaked through into the underlay may only improve rather than disappear.

You should be told which yours is before the car is booked, not afterwards.

• multi stage paint correction
• ceramic coating or paint protection film
• engine bay detailing
• headlight restoration
• pet hair removal beyond the ordinary, which is genuinely slow work
• odour treatment
• wheels removed for cleaning behind

A genuine full detail is most of a day on a clean car and considerably longer on a neglected one. Anything advertised as a full detail in two hours is a wash with a vacuum.

1. 01ask how many hours the car is allowed
2. 02ask whether machine polishing is included and at what level
3. 03ask exactly which interior surfaces are covered
4. 04ask what protection goes on at the end and how long it lasts
5. 05ask what happens if the car needs more work than quoted

• clear personal belongings from the cabin and boot
• mention stains, smells or damage so time is allowed for them
• point out any paint defect you specifically want improved
• mention recent panel repairs or repaints
• leave the car unwashed rather than running it through a brush wash

It is the right call when the car needs a reset inside and out, or before any protection goes on. If only the interior is the problem, book only the interior and put the money where the work is. Tell Vanta what is actually bothering you about the car and it gets quoted around that.