Saying sorry to my poor car...

[Veee-dubber]

Morning Ladies & Jellybabies...

I have owned my GT Sport for about 8 weeks now, I absolutely love her but I've neglected her something rotten since owning her in regards to cleaning, or should I say lack of it!!

I know this is awful of me and with the time of year I should be doing the exact opposite as I do in the summer months where you will barely see me without a sponge or poloshing cloth in my hand! I think that a combination of the terrential rain, crappy roads, new job and in general my hectic lifestyle has meant that I... well just haven't cleaned her! - no excuse I know!

Anyway I want to make it up to her and start fresh so thought I would get her professionally valeted at WaxWorks my local (and only to my knowledge) professional valeting company. Im just wondering what to opt for and what I should expect to pay roughly if anyone is able to offer their advise?


* please don't suggest I do this myself... I can't valet to save my life, I don't have the time, patience, know-how or means to do so... 



Thanks Guys! :)

[Saintsteve]

Depends how far you want it cleaned... You could pay as little as £50, or as much as £500 for correction work..

[RedRobin]

I know this is awful of me and with the time of year I should be doing the exact opposite as I do in the summer months where you will barely see me without a sponge or poloshing cloth in my hand!

....Never ever use a sponge!! They collect grit and other small particles which can easily scour your paintwork - It's simply not worth the risk.

Instead use a real sheepskin mitt and waffle cloth. Meguiar's are typical good products.  

[john87]

Just as a guide, I paid £200 for a fellow member to give my car 'the works' which included a reasonably intensive swirlmark removal polish...

Interior  - leather cleaned/treated, dash & plastics cleaned & dressed, windows cleaned, carpets vacuumed

Exterior - Snowfoam/degrease, iron-x treatment, wash, clay, corrective polish, wax, seal (inlcuding alloys) tyre dressing applied.

Was well chuffed with the result, but since I've had it done I've struggled to find the time to wax the car again (1 year on) therefore the car now picks up dirt very easily.. it is difficult to keep on top of this if you're working most of the time and combined with the dark and drizzly weather and lack of a garage  

[torque777]

I haven't waxed mine since August , but I clean it as often as I can , and when dried off use a quick detailer to finish off , only tskes 45 mins start to finish , always use a wash mit and very good drying towel

sent using my own fingers

[stealthwolf]

As above, depends on costs. Full on correction should be around £500+ but that's probably overkill. Enhancement detail is cheaper and basically means they thorough decontaminate the car, run a machine polisher over it which will improve the paintwork and then use a wax or sealant. They should be able to do similar to the wheels, clean the door shuts, treat the plastic and rubber trim. Interior usually costs extra.

Ask what's involved. Have a look other detailing companies (on here there's Miglior, Midlands Car Care, Detail My Ride). Look at what they offer for the money. Don't be bogged down in the details of this place does 24-steps, this one does 100. Majority are the same and you can make up steps if you wanted to.

In all honesty, it's worth it IMO. It costs more to do it yourself unless you plan to invest time, energy and equipment and it is a lot easier to clean and keep clean thereafter.

[Rhys_Gti]

i tend to do mine once a yeah with a full enharncement detail and protection.  cost is around £300 depending on wax options and other add ons etc.
i use Ti22, and the time James spends on the car is exceptional for price, oftern i end up waiting around with him as he isnt quite happy with a certian part and wont let it go until he is! and the result is fantastic.  Reakky makes any future work i do my self so much easier to keep the paintwork in top condition.

look around see who seems like they close enough for you etc.  Price in some places may also depend on current condition of the paint and the the extent of scratch removal you want them to go.

I would highly recommend it even if you do love detailing like myself or or not!