what questions should I ask a detailer

enog24

enog24

New member
I have more than a few to choose from. They all live about 80 miles from me so I would either have to drive to them or have them come to me.I want to have my cars done on a regular basis. Are there any specific questions I can ask to determine the kind of work they do? One obvious one is references, but I dont know what elese I should ask. Thanks



I had a mobile detailing company do my black Lincpln Zephyr. Charged me $90 for wash, clay, polish, wax, and engine. He did nothing at all for the light swirls and was done in less than an hour. I am not too happy with the job he did.
 
Wow, did all that in an hour? I'm impressed. I am curious though what is

it about the job you are not happy with?
 
Most detailers won't give you an estimate until they see the car. Or they will quote for basic services, like wash & wax. Clay, swirl removal, and beauty wax would be additional charges. When they arrive, show them the swirls and ask if that can be removed.



Just make sure you agree on the work to be done and the price before the job is started. That way you won't be surprised.
 
usdm said:
Wow, did all that in an hour? I'm impressed. I am curious though what is

it about the job you are not happy with?
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when he saw the car he said he'd get "most if not all" of the swirls out. He did nothing for them at all, other than that, the engine looks good. I doubt he even clayed the car. I dont mind paying for having work done, but I would like it to be done right to save me the trouble of finding someone else, or what'll probably end up happening, just learn myself and do my own cars.
 
tod071 said:
Most detailers won't give you an estimate until they see the car. Or they will quote for basic services, like wash & wax. Clay, swirl removal, and beauty wax would be additional charges. When they arrive, show them the swirls and ask if that can be removed.



Just make sure you agree on the work to be done and the price before the job is started. That way you won't be surprised.
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yeah, I guess I learned the hard way the first time. The swirls are very light, and I know they are from the dealership washing it improperly. I tried Scratch-X on a few areas and it helped a little.
 
Maybe you could ask him what products he uses and what kind of pads and methods or machinery. It's honestly tough to find a good detailer.
 
sumdude said:
yeah, I guess I learned the hard way the first time. The swirls are very light, and I know they are from the dealership washing it improperly. I tried Scratch-X on a few areas and it helped a little.
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Ha ha, that's how I got started. I used to be a strictly Zaino guy and used a professional to prep the paint for me. Then, I thought about a pc, bought one, played with it, and found that I could do a better job myself. After about $3000 worth of products/machines, Insurance, business investment, I have my own detailing service!



In your case, you should have questioned the job as soon you saw it wasn't right. Should have told him that it wasn't what you agreed on and either finish it or re-negotiate the price.
 
sumdude said:
I have more than a few to choose from. They all live about 80 miles from me so I would either have to drive to them or have them come to me.I want to have my cars done on a regular basis. Are there any specific questions I can ask to determine the kind of work they do? One obvious one is references, but I dont know what elese I should ask. Thanks



I had a mobile detailing company do my black Lincpln Zephyr. Charged me $90 for wash, clay, polish, wax, and engine. He did nothing at all for the light swirls and was done in less than an hour. I am not too happy with the job he did.
Click to expand...





References are good, as are pic's. I barely wash a car and engine in under an hour.



Good thing is he brought you to this site. Learn to do it yourself, if you have the time.
 
The $90 offer was a sign that he was not overly professional. Most can't wash/prep a car in under an hour. I am guessing he used a one step type of product. Engines take only a few min. to make them look good if done correctly. Glad you liked how that turned out.



I would look for cleanliness of the shop, organization, attire, etc. Instead of photos, which I can make horrendous cars look good from certain angles, ask for any formal training, years in business, affiliations, etc. Is he/she going to hand scrub your interior, or use an extractor? Does he/she use a Sear's bought Waxmaster, or a professional machine? That said, it doesn't mean he/she is qualified to use one. I see greasy tire dressing on cars all the time. When I do, my eyes go right to the paint. Many times I see really bad polishing jobs (darker paints). I have seen such bad work that I can't bring myself to ask the owner where he had his car done because I feel sorry for him.



The high end work I had always started with a conversation first- often meeting with the customer- not to work at all, just to meet. If ANY person is willing to quote you over the phone, I would hesitate. Most detailers I know do not quote ever over a phone, or post prices. We've been burned too many times by false information and then end up eating our words on the quote.



80 miles is no jog around the park. Ask around your network of friends and business friends. Where are their cars being done? Heck, no services within 80 miles? Sounds like a business opportunity to me!!! :)



Good luck, Rob
 
A 1-step product used correctly can do wonders on a lightly swirled up finish and add a decent amount of protection too on a $90 detail. It sounds like there could have been a bigger problem with the finish that needed much more than 1 hour to correct. I take longer than 1 hour just to properly prep/wash a car, better yet detail it. Types of products & pads really might not play into how good or professional one might be, but how they use them is. If a finish is properly prepped, corrected and sealed, the products used to get there aren't really important. If people are super concerned with how their car might look, have the detailer do a portion up front to see if you like it.



WCD - As far as hand scrubbing an interior, would you say that's not the right way to do things? How is quoting a base line price over the phone bad? I wouldn't give a person the time of day if they refused to give me atleast a rough estimate on their detailing services up front. I wouldn't want to waste their's or my time if they came out to me and their pricing structure wasn't in line with my budget (too high or too low).
 
I know I'll get flamed for this post...



The vast majority of mobile detailers are rookies at this business.

The "barrier to entry" is SO low, so we see kids attempting to make a buck, and all sorts of other 'variations'.



To offer some perspective, in our Shop, a complete detail includes everything the car needs, short of touchup paint - which we can do...



The process takes all day long, and we usually a need 2-3 day notice to book the appointment.



We have a fixed location - our 'fixed cost'/overhead is $11,000 per month.

Our guarantee is simple: "If you're not happy, we keep cleaning."



Check our website



Find somebody like us...
 
David,



Sorry if I was not clear. What I was thinking was that I would not give an exact quote over the phone, "Well it sounds like your car is in decent shape so for that model it will be our standard $150 for the detail." Like you stated, "Based on what I am hearing, it may be about $150, but this is an estimate only and upon inspection, the price may go up or down with a cap at $220 for that service." - something like that.



By 'hand scrubbing' I was referring to the countless friends that have used 'detailers' only to have soaked interiors upon delivery. As Jimmy Buffet stated, the entry level cost is so low compared to most businesses that you tend to get untrained and improper chemical useage on paints. The true entry level isn't that cheap if you go by the law and so on, but as we know, most own a truck and figure they are only 1k away from a business.



One detailer I know spends 57k per van with two employees per year- that's his cost! Anything above that is profit for him. That's a good deal of work needed just to make even. His guys get paid vacation, he's totally legal, etc. This is the cost of doing it correctly. Now, if 3 units can operate with 77k per year, than he makes about 60k per year profit, but HE runs the business and it's up to him to get more work and keep up with the phones. That's a bit more than most beginning detailers would want. Most would probably think that 57k gross is making money, but is it?



Thanks for allowing me to clarify as I think we were both in agreement about the quoting.



Rob
 
Truthfully I think finding a good detailer is a hard thing to do. I'm mobile and if I had to find someone to just wash and wax my car I could probably find someone. If I needed any swirl removal and paint correction forget about it. I'd go broke before I could get the job done right. The exception would be if I lived next to someone who posts here. The detailers on this forum are imo the best of the best. If I went down my yellow pages and hired everyone on there to do paint correction. I'd bet money they'd muck it up. I'm confident the vast majority of the time I'd win that bet. I see so much bad work being done locally it's hard for to believe anyone will get their car detailed anymore. I'd ask what equipment and products they use. If they don't answer or can't elaborate more I'd run. If they use a 9" oribital from Walmart I'd not expect anything to be done for swirls. If they used something like a PC I'd ask how long will it take. If they say 1-2 hours I'd run. If they used a rotary they'd have to convince they had the knowledge and skill to use it properly. Truthfully I've never seen a car that someone locally had buff that was done right. 100% of the time after a washing or two you could see the buffer lines. I've never in 17 years washed a car that I knew had been buff and not seen lines. I tell customers up front that I do not remove all swirl nor do I charge for it. I will reduce them but my price doesn't allow the time needed for proper removal. I don't think I've been asked 10 times in my 17 years of business if I remove swirls. I get a lot of interest in individual scratch removal but almost never for swirls.
 
First actual post, but I have been around a while.



I think that most people are also forgetting the other side of that coin. Most detailers are inexperienced. They maybe have one of two skills that they are solid with, and basically "fake it to make it" with the rest.



You can ask a lot of questions. If they will take the time to sit down and talk to you about your car, about what they can do, and be honest with the things that they can't do, then I think you have someone solid. They can give you general pricing over the phone, but until they look at it, and speak to you about your exact expectations, they cant' give you a quote.



Just because I go and look at a car doesn't mean that I will do it, and it also doesn't mean that I can even fix everything that someone may request. If you can get someone who is comfortable telling it to you straight, what you can expect and especially what they aren't comfortable with, that is someone who will stand behind their work. Which is basically what you are looking for.



Oh...and just becuase someone can remove all the swirls doesn't make them a solid detailer. If they can do it while minimizing the damage to your clear coat, that is key. Anybody can throw on some heavy cutting agent and remove all the swirls. The downside is that they will remove all your clear in the process.
 
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