"They're nice cars these - seriously practical, I like it"

 

His eyes popped open in disbelief when I showed him the boot lol.

 

Anyway - real purpose of the post, got our office PA's fella out to give the car a bloody good clean inside and out ... and asked him about doing a clay bar and protection job on the exterior, he's quoted me £200 - since I've never actually had that done before, can any of you fine chaps tell me if that's a decent price or not?

 

Ta!

Claying your car is easy, as is adding protection.

I was given a quote for detailing my car once, I nearly spat out my cuppa, then went and spent a lot less on my opwn products after spending a good few hours (or was it days ) reading up how to do it all myself.

Just a thought.

If you are paying for a quality detailer with a good reputation and LIABILITY INSURANCE the quote should range from £150 to £300 per day in my experience, depending on how much work they are doing on the car.

 

Yes, it's a lot cheaper to do it yourself.

It's also quite satisfying.

 

But for various reasons some of us use detailers and just pay.

 

A clean and clay bar should be around the £180-£200 mark in my experience.  More if they get the machine polisher out.

I bought my own clay bar, all polish etc and borrow a machine polisher from a mate when it needs doing.

If its full paint detail £200 is not bad IMO.

Cheers guys. I appreciate the "do it yourself" approach and normally I would agree but I have neither the space (terraced house without a private driveway!) or time to do it I'm afraid. Tempted to get it done at that price, it'll probably be after the national meet though which is a bit of a shame

As soon as I booked in for the national meet I booked two days with my detailer in the week before so the cars will be shiny.

Which probably means we'll have a light shower the day before!

Nice!

Any news on the yellow peril?

Thecko - make sure you search around for detainers or ask baker21 for a recommendation near you.

Nice!

Any news on the yellow peril?

 

Yes, it's on that thread.

It's either waiting for a boat or has been aboard for a few days.

Week or so and it'll be here.

Full valet done - my car is now nice and shiney again  until one of the Ellesmere Port seagulls craps on it again that is :(

 

Thecko - make sure you search around for detainers or ask baker21 for a recommendation near you.

 

Will do fella. There's a convenience factor involved with the guy I've just used today as I can reach him easily through our office PA - but it absolutely would be silly not to get a few other quotes first and compare them!

 

 

Week or so and it'll be here.

If you do it yourself, as an alternative to clay barring, wash and dry the car, use tar remover to get rid of grime then spray the car with a contamination dissolver such as Iron X and rinse. Car is then ready to polish and wax. No need to clay, after all it was designed to remove overspray, not dirt and many people end up scratching their car when claying. The more touchless stages in the process the better. It will save you a lot of cash.

I feel like I might have to start charging more.  lol.

 

I would feel quite guilty charging £200 for a full machine polish (what I would normally call about 8 hours work)

I feel like I might have to start charging more.  lol.

 

I would feel quite guilty charging £200 for a full machine polish (what I would normally call about 8 hours work)

 

£25 per hour self employed with all the costs including insurance seems fine to me.

True, I suppose with me only doing it on an extremely part time basis, I couldn't justify £25 an hour.

 

I have looked into liability insurance but it's simply not cost-effective unless I was doing much much more, and I simply won't be.  I refuse to.

I feel like I might have to start charging more. lol.

I would feel quite guilty charging £200 for a full machine polish (what I would normally call about 8 hours work)

He did say it would be about 8 hours work to be fair, description he gave sounded reasonably thorough.

Plus he does it for a living so I trust him and other detailers to do a better job of it than I would ;-)

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Just make sure he has insurance to cover your car.

That seperates hobbyists from professionals due to the cost, it could save you a lot of hassle later too if you are in the small percentage that needs it.

I am getting mine fully detailed the week before Gaydon, then back in the garage till the drive up,  estimated 15 hrs work, so as you can guess it includes the paint swirl removal & am looking forward to seeing results.

Just make sure he has insurance to cover your car.

Will do, suppose that's to cover needing a respray in case of being too abrasive and things like that?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Will do, suppose that's to cover needing a respray in case of being too abrasive and things like that?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Exactly.

If they screw the paint up, you may need further work or a respray.

Exactly.

If they screw the paint up, you may need further work or a respray.

Not had a chance to have another chat with him yet but on his website it does say "fully insured". Wonder if I could negotiate a discount for putting together a better website for him

Booked in for the 26th. So will be done before the national meet after all.