What is car detailing and its cost?

Car detailing involves a meticulous cleaning and restoration process that aims to give your vehicles a like new finish or even sometimes exceed. Car detailing is the process that goes much further than a typical wash and wax job and typically involves the entire inside and outside of your vehicle.

Car detailing also is known to help restore color depth and clarity of your car paint or interior. Detailing is also going to help remove any stuck on dirt, grease, stains, or imperfections resulting in a like new or brand new finish. 

Car detailing can cost quite a bit of money so it’s important to know what you’re getting. 

The cost to detail a car will always vary, but below I’m going to help you understand why. 

What factors affect car detailing costs?

Car detailing is such a broad term and there’s so many different services available, that’s why the cost isn’t a set price. Some common detailing price hikes include:

1.Packages and levels of detail:

Many detailing shops will either charge by the hour or charge by packages. Detailing packages being the most common. Packages can come in multiple varieties and offer different services. Usually it’s graded by a good, better, best, and ultimate package. 

Some packages will be for the exterior only, some will be for the interior only, and some packages may include both. This is also known as a “full detail”. Packages will range from different features as well, some may include a wax job after a wash, and some other packages may include a paint correction. 

2.Condition of your vehicle:

Your vehicle's condition plays a major role in the cost of car detailing as well. Vehicles that have many small scratches, have sun faded clear coats, or have completely trashed interiors are going to take significantly longer. As the old saying goes, time is money. When your boss asks you to stay after work, you don’t typically work for free, you get overtime. 

If you keep a well-maintained car, then your detailing services will usually cost less. Getting a regular car wash will also help keep your vehicle clean for less intensive detailing procedures. 

Also, an old car versus a newer car will typically cost a little more as well. Paint has changed a lot throughout the years and certain paints require certain treatments.

3.Size of the vehicle:

Depending on the size of your car or truck is also going to play a huge factor in the cost of your detail. Larger vehicles like suvs will take longer as there are more products that are going to be used.  Smaller cars cost less due to less product consumption, and are less labor intensive. It’s important to communicate to your car detailer the size of your vehicle. 

How much you pay isn’t completely dependent on vehicle size, but it definitely has a large impact. This in turn increases your cost of the average detailing procedure for larger vehicles like a truck or suv. 

4.Location/Weather:

The location will also play a major role with how much you plan to shovel out for a quality detail. Local competition, average living costs, years in service and reputation will all drive a different cost factor. 

It’s incredibly important to make sure you do your research first rather than bring your car into any shop. Shortcuts during a detail are unfortunately often done to save money. My motto is quality over quantity, but not the entire world is on board with that mindset. 

Average Cost of Car Detailing

As I stated before, detailing can be all over the place ranging anywhere between $50-$500 for a single detail. The average price is going to vary greatly. 

Most of the time shops are going to offer packages, below is a typical package program you might see at some local shops:

• Basic Package
• Mid Grade Package
• High Grade Package
• Ultimate Package

 While I can’t give you exact specifics, I can at least give you insight of what I’ve seen over the many years of dealing on the average cost of getting a vehicle detailed. Here’s some common auto detailing services and packages and why they vary in price:

Basic Package: The starting price range typically ranges between $50-$100 but may vary in price. This usually includes a basic exterior and interior wash, window cleaning, and general fabric/leather seat cleaning. This is great for someone that keeps up on their vehicle and doesn’t leave it dirty. This is your most basic car wash. 

Mid Grade Package: This usually includes a more in depth cleaning and typically costs between $100-$300. These packages usually include everything in the basic package and includes the interior. The mid grade package usually adds tire and wheel cleaning, interior dressing/conditioner, and light scratch removal. This is great for customers who haven’t had a good deep cleaning in a while and want to get closer to that factory look again. Keeping up on routine car washes usually make this package a great choice!

High Grade Package: This offers an additional level of cleaning and will typically include everything in the mid grade package. The higher end packages usually adds polishing and waxing, tire gloss, and fabric/leather conditioners. This is for customers who want to keep a clean looking vehicle that basically looks like it just came off the lot. This usually runs between $300-$400 and is usually the go to for pet owners. Services like removing pet hair can cost extra, so make sure you are up front with your detailer. 

I’ve detailed numerous vehicles to this day and the most frustrating thing you can hear is “it’s not that bad” only to see a completely trashed vehicle. Obviously your costs will be higher at that point and you want to make sure you’re getting the best results while getting your car looking great again! Almost like it just rolled off the lot!

Ultimate Package: The ultimate detailing package, usually combines all 3 of the lower tier packages together but now adds ceramic coat (which is a paint protection product), floor mat cleaning, wet vacuuming/stain removal, and steam cleaning to sterilize the inside of the vehicle. This is also known as a complete interior detail. Some shops also will include the engine bay and headlight restoration in this package as well.

This package is good for those who want to exceed the factory look. If you’re looking for that mirror like, deep rich shine, with literally zero imperfections this is the way to go. This package typically runs between $400-$500. 

Please keep in mind these are the general modern day prices for car detailing. They may go up or down depending on the metrics listed above. Long story short you can expect to pay between $50-$500 depending on services selected. Some shops may also offer an add-on like an air freshener or add-on services that may come in different packages. 

Car detailing can get very labor intensive which is why some of these packages seem so high. You will want to get in touch with your local detailer to see what they offer in your area.

If you truly knew how long it takes to detail, you’d know it’s a lot of work but has a plethora of benefits, which we’re about to get into now.

Benefits of Professional Car Detailing

Getting your vehicle professionally detailed offers a ton of different benefits other than just a clean vehicle. Professionals are trained to handle just about any filthy vehicle you can throw at them. 

A professional detailer will understand all the proper steps you take. Cleaning a vehicle is one thing but if you get your vehicle detailed professionally, you know steps won’t be skipped. Your car needs protection and your detailer should give you tips to protect your car from future hazards which brings us to enhanced protection.

Obviously you can detail your car yourself, but if you plan to sell the vehicle, it might be better to get your car detailed by a professional instead.

Enhanced Protection

If you're still with us, you’ll notice above I talked about wax and ceramic coats. These are both forms of vehicle protection products. 

Wax leaves a layer on the top of your car to help protect it from the elements whereas ceramic coats create a chemical bond to the paint to help repel water and contaminates. This helps protect your car from future repairs and may cost you far less money in the long run. Rust is no fun.

On top of that, wax and ceramic coats keep your car looking “wet” and maintain a glossy finish. 

It’s important to never skip these as they will leave your vehicle more prone to harmful elements. 

Most shops will offer many kinds of protection methods. Don’t forget to also pay attention if your detailing package includes interior protection products as well. Your dash panels and seats (like leather) dry out and need moisturizing frequently due to the UV rays of the sun. 

At the end of the day you want a car that looks good and clean, not rusty and messy. Make sure you ask your detail professional if there are further ways to keep your car protected in your current location. 

On top of that, detailing products can wrack up a bill quickly too. Brands like Chemical Guys, Meguires and Mothers all have a wide variety of products but they can get very expensive. Some products are almost $40 for a single bottle. 

Shops can order in bulk and therefore can save money on detailing products which will affect the average detailing price as well.

Better Resale Value

Detailing inside and out will up your resale value as well. Sometimes a detail can take hours on end and we just don’t have that kind of time with our busy lives.

When you sell a car, you want to sell a car that looks good, not completely trashed. Car interiors typically take longer than exteriors because as humans, we sometimes don’t have time to take care of our trash. 

Getting it detailed properly will surely up the vehicle's value so make sure you talk with who you are working with to ensure you’re getting the right detail for the job.

Remember our goal is to restore it to its former factory finish or exceed it. Increase the “wow” factor.

Saves you time

As I stated before, a lot of people just don’t have the time to keep our vehicles properly maintained. I do this for a living so I kind of don’t have a choice. 

Car detailers know that full car detailing takes a long time. I’ve seen details go upwards of 6-10 hours because of conditions and how much of a quality clean the customer was looking for. 

The cost to get your car detailed obviously varies because of everything we listed above, you also know that at a shop they are going to take the proper detailing steps to ensure your vehicle’s interior and your car’s exterior are up to your standards while saving you hours of work.

Getting your vehicle cleaned frequently by the same shop usually means they will also offer discounts like customer appreciation or loyalty rewards.

Final Thoughts and FAQ

As you can see, the price is all over the place for car detailing. Prices based on packages or hourly rates are usually the go to for most detailing shops.

Remember the average detailing price usually ranges between $50-$500 depending on what you select and where you are located. 

I hope this guide helped you all out, have you had a vehicle detailed before? What were your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!

Here’s some frequently asked questions to close out! Have a great day everyone!

FAQ:

Is detailing worth the money?

As a professional, absolutely, we’ve taken vehicles ourselves and cleaned them only to squeeze an extra $500-$1000 on the sale just because the vehicle was cleaned.

Why is car detailing so expensive?

Detailing can get expensive due to how labor intensive and how many detailing products that need to be used.

How long should it take to detail a car?

On average, it takes about 2-6 hours to have a car detailed.

Is professional detailing worth it?

YES! A professional can do so much with a vehicle. Shops have all the tools, knowledge, and products readily available to give you incredible results!

Should I get my car detailed or do it myself?

I would say if you’re up for it, try it yourself! If you need a stunning new showroom shine, maybe hit up a professional shop. Especially for resell value.