Someone tell me what detailing your car mean? From my understanding it when you give your car in to a shop and they buff your paint to remove all kinds of stuff INCLUDING....water marks, swirl marks and scratches( that are not deep). Am I correct?

If so then the F*CKERS at Atlantic Infiniti stole 150 bucks from me! I picked it up this past friday after leaving it to them for a week...i was away. If my definition is correct, I had expected all water marks, swirl marks and scratchs that can be taken care of to be taken care of. When I picked it up the car looked good....now that I think of it they probably only waxed it and said they detailed it. Regardless I didn't say anything b/c I figured maybe I'm wrong.
I went on a few web sites that do detailing and the cars they show are impeccably shiny and clean.

So someone please tell me if I am in the wrong or right with this subject.
Thank you

 

Come on everyone, I need answers.....

 

Detail is a loose meaning of having your car cleaned very well, to my understanding.
They should list exactly what your getting...shampoo floor mats, carnauba car wax, wash engine, etc.......
If you paid $150 I would expect them to do a real good job and have them remove all the swirls. Just call them and complain, tell them your not happy with the job they did, and they need to get it right.

Goodluck man!

 

It depends on what you ask them to do and what you pay for. A detail can be a simple as a wash and wax or as involved as a wash, clay, abrasive polish, glaze, sealant, wax with paint touch ups, interior cleaning and stain removal, you name it. For $150 at a local detailer, depending on the condition of the paint (this is very important) you could expect a wash/clay, abrasive polish (one pass), and a sealant or wax. That's about 3-5 hours of work. If your car was in good shape paint wise this would likely remove most of the swirls/cobwebbing and leave the car looking clean, reflective, and wet. If your car was in moderate to poor shape it would look better, but the swirls wouldn't be totally gone, that takes 2, 3, 4, sometimes more passes with an abrasive.

Most detailers, when they do their "full service" detail, will charge something like $250-$400 and will usually guarantee the removal of any clear coat surface defects, and can probably do some chip repairs too. An example (I did this myself, but could have got it done for ~$350) would be this:





to this:







It's possible they just washed it and polished or waxed it with a polish/wax with oils and fillers that would fill the swirls but would only last until your next wash. This isn't uncommon, but it can be shady if they are doing it to purposefully decieve you. Next time you want a detail check out autopia and ask for local detailers. You're almost guaranteed to get a better job from a pro. detailer, and at a better price

 

Guys thank you sooooooooooooo much. I had asked them if they would take of swirls and light scratchs and they were like yeah yeah. F*ck Atlantic Infinit, I don't have the energy to complain besides I'm sure they will give me some bull**** answer. I'll just chalk this up to a learning experience....

I am not sending my car again to those F*CKERS.

Thanks again

 

Ya, stuff like that happens unfortunately. They may have just used a glaze to make it look good knowing it would come off after the first few washes. If you ever need a reputable detailer in your area seriously ask over at Autopia. The folks that post there will point you in the right direction.

 

Sorry to hear what happen .. but if you want your car "detailed" you don't go to a car dealer ..... You go to a place that only details cars ... Good luck .. I'm just getting my business going myself .. I would offer ... But I have 15 cars in line waiting .. again good luck

 

I detail professionally and I have found that in this business you generally get what you pay for. If you spend a couple hundred you'll probably get the job you want done. However the way I break it down for my customers is that they get a base package, interior thoroughly cleaned and a wash and wax. If you want coats of polish (i.e. remove swirls, scratches, etc) that will be extra. If they are using an abrassive polish then you will want them to take their time and do it right which almost always means two coats minimum. If it takes time and they run a good business this will definitely mean more money too. We also offer extra's like clay bar, glazes, carnauba waxes, extra coats of wax, chemical polishes, etc. Someone I know, knows i do detailing and passed along an ad he got on his windshield. $75 for wash, polish, wax, interior cleaned, of course I laughed. Either this guy makes no profit or more likely he does a **** job. Again good detailing takes time and that usually means increased prices.

 

Hey Darknight, next time you want to get your car detailed you may want to check out Detailing Dynamics. They're in Mineola.

If you do a search on the web, you can find countless references to how good their work is.

It doesn't come cheap though, be forewarned.