Why should you get your car detailed? 

Posted March 13, 2018 by Chris Blaisdell, Onsite Detail

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Why should you get your car detailed? 

Asking “why should I get my car detailed?”, is a very loaded question with a whole variety of answers. The answers would be different for each person’s individual vehicle. I would also have to take into consideration what each person is trying to accomplish with the detailing. So instead of trying to answer to every possible situation or circumstance I will give some general and basic answers to the question, “why should I get my vehicle detailed?”. 

What are you trying to accomplish with a detail on your car? 

Everyone has a different reason why they might be thinking about getting their car detailed. Some reasons might be; 

• • Just bought a new or used vehicle 

• • Trying to sell or trade in a vehicle 

• • Wanting their vehicle to look good or feel nice 

• • Wanting their vehicle to be sanitary 

• • Getting rid of odors or stains 

• • Wanting to protect their vehicle 

This list still does not include everyone’s possible reason for wanting a detail but includes the most common ones we hear from our clients. 

Keep it Clean and Protected 

The two main reasons most people get their vehicle detailed are; 

• • to maintain the cleanliness inside and out 

• • to keep it protected from damage such as oxidation, etching, stains, etc.  

Cleanliness 

Vehicle cleanliness can be subdivided into many categories. Everyone has a different level of comfort with cleanliness but regardless most of us enjoy driving a clean car. Not only

does a clean car feel good but it actually helps hold the value of the vehicle much longer. Everyone from time to time has a need for a good cleanliness and sanitation detail. Especially those of us who are daily drivers or those of us who have little ones or pets who ride with us often. Our interior can really get trashed and we need to  do an interior detail at least a few times a year. It’s also very important to keep the exterior clean and detailed to avoid corrosion and other possible damage. 

Protection 

The other very important reason to get a vehicle detailed is to keep it protected, especially the exterior. We live in Utah. We have hot dry summers and freezing cold harsh winters. The heat and cold, the sun and ice, the wind and other elements really have it in for your vehicle’s exterior. Without proper cleaning and protection your vehicle has little to no chance of withstanding the elements. Oxidation, cracking and other things will wear away your clear coat and exterior metals, rubbers and plastics.  

There are many options when it comes to exterior protection including waxes, sealants, coatings and even dressings. These are all products that we can use to help extend the life of our vehicle exteriors.  

As with the exterior, the interior of your vehicle has many options for protection as well. Including but not limited to coatings, dressings, conditioners, fabric protections, etc. All of these products can help with the longevity and appearance of the interior of your vehicle. 

Looks of Your Vehicle 

For a lot of people their vehicle is a point of pride and/or a large investment. For those of us in these shoes we just want our vehicle to look its best. We want the paint to shine like a mirror. We want the tires to look clean and crisp. We want the windows streakless and the chrome to pop.  

Its drives us crazy to see nice cars, or any car for that matter, that does not look as good as it could. I know as a detailer this is definitely true. For many having a clean car is very important to make impressions as they may drive clients around or have their business name and logo on the exterior. 

Regardless of the reason why you want your vehicle to look good, if you are not detailing it regularly it will eventually get out of hand and be too late to keep it in tip top shape. 

The Pre-Sale Detail 

The goal with a pre-sale detail is to get the car in its best shape to sell quickly and for more money. Most people do not even want to consider buying a car if it does not look decent. I’ve heard that on average you can add about $300 to $600 to the sale price of a vehicle with a good detail. Obviously, this all depends on the vehicle and other possible issues with it. We had a client years ago that took a very dirty truck into a dealership to trade it in. They low balled him an offer. He decided he would have us give it a thorough detail and took it back to the same dealer who then offered him a whopping $4,000 more on the trade in value! Needless to say, he was thrilled. 

Ridding the vehicle of odors or stains 

Getting rid of a bad or undesired odor can be very frustrating. There is a myriad of products and procedures to help your vehicle smell better. Many people purchase a vehicle that has been smoked in. Other instances may include a milk spill or pet accident. I think we can all agree that driving in a vehicle with unpleasant odors in no fun and to rid the vehicle of that is a legitimate reason to have it detailed. 

Removing stains actually falls under the “cleanliness” reasoning and the “looks of your vehicle” reasoning. Although not all stains can be 100% removed, most can be significantly improved.  

By Chris Blaisdell, CD, from Onsite Detail

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