New car detailling

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dizzyheights

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Hi there,

I will be picking up my new A3 Sline Sportsback in March and I am thinking about booking a new car detail. I mistakenly agreed to the life shine, but I'm not convinced the dealers are the best people to apply this. What's sort of budget should I allow for someone else to do the new car detail and has anyone else managed to let the detailer work on the car before handover at the dealership? My dealer is Leicester Audi.

Thanks
 
From the quotes I've got for A3 it's around £250 for gtechniq treatment (C1 body & G1 glass coating + some tyre and wheel treatment) - I will probably ask that detailer to add Gtechniq Exo (extra layer of protection, but has to be applied while C1 is still drying).

If you want Gtechniq or similar treatment - you probably have to take it to a detailer after you pick up the car. As far as normal detailing go - you have to check with your dealer, I know that some of them would facilitate a detailer coming in - but mine wouldn't.
 
I've checked with my local detailer and he said I should ask the dealer not to touch the car (although they should remove the transport protection) and I should take it straight to him after pickup. He's quoted about £850 worst case based on his experience with other audi's with a min of £500. The upper number assumes some correction needed. He said he's had two RS's brand new and both needed correction. I'm amazed people accept this to be honest but I suppose the excitement at pick up could mean you miss something.
 
£850!! Someone's pulling your leg Lozzer.. I will expect my S3 to be pretty darned good with dealer prep alone.
 
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lozzermo said:
I've checked with my local detailer and he said I should ask the dealer not to touch the car (although they should remove the transport protection) and I should take it straight to him after pickup. He's quoted about £850 worst case based on his experience with other audi's with a min of £500. The upper number assumes some correction needed. He said he's had two RS's brand new and both needed correction. I'm amazed people accept this to be honest but I suppose the excitement at pick up could mean you miss something.
Click to expand...

I've had 3 new Audis and the lad who sorts mine out reckons Audi paintwork is one of the best finishes to work with, he has contracts with a few dealerships in our area and applies the autoglm products for them.

I'm not sure how much he gets from VW etc per car but he only charges me £40 to apply the life shine to mine and then I get a full valet whenever I want for £15! £850 seems way over the top, a detailer not far from me charges £439 for the full gtechniq treatment.
 
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The S3 isnt worth an £850 detail, thats the sort of money you would spend on a garage queen not a daily driver.

Id guess around £250 for a decent treatment. I have Autoglym on my last car, and its not bad, although not worth £500. I was offered it for £250 on the S3 but I fancied giving the car a wax myself, cost £40 for Autoglym HD Wax and a few hours to put on a couple of coats. Car looks good, not as good as a pro detailer, but super shiney and water beads perfectly.
 
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Cumbrian_bob said:
The S3 isnt worth an £850 detail, thats the sort of money you would spend on a garage queen not a daily driver.

Id guess around £250 for a decent treatment. I have Autoglym on my last car, and its not bad, although not worth £500. I was offered it for £250 on the S3 but I fancied giving the car a wax myself, cost £40 for Autoglym HD Wax and a few hours to put on a couple of coats. Car looks good, not as good as a pro detailer, but super shiney and water beads perfectly.
Click to expand...

I also think that 800 is ridiculous - ill be using this detailer in Weston Gtechniq | System Clenz Valeting & Detailing Weston Super Mare - you can see what's included in the £250 worth of treatment.
 
You can do it yourself for less than £60! Just buy some clay, polish, iron remover, wax or sealant, micro fibre towels and you're done!
 
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MA3RC said:
You can do it yourself for less than £60! Just buy some clay, polish, iron remover, wax or sealant, micro fibre towels and you're done!
Click to expand...

what if the car has swirls in them?


I bought a new car last year in march, had it delivered to the detailer on the back of a flatbed direct from the dealer, they where instructed not to wash the car or i would reject it, i also told them not to make silly holes in the bumper for the plates as i would be sticking them on.

Price was £280 + 80 for exo V1 at the time for a new car detail, this also included the g techniq window treatment.

here is the link to the car - Drayke Fields | Specialist Vehicle Detailers & Valeters - Archive: Silver Mini Cooper SD

Trups
 
t8ups said:
what if the car has swirls in them?


I bought a new car last year in march, had it delivered to the detailer on the back of a flatbed direct from the dealer, they where instructed not to wash the car or i would reject it, i also told them not to make silly holes in the bumper for the plates as i would be sticking them on.

Price was £280 + 80 for exo V1 at the time for a new car detail, this also included the g techniq window treatment.

here is the link to the car - Drayke Fields | Specialist Vehicle Detailers & Valeters - Archive: Silver Mini Cooper SD

Trups
Click to expand...

What then. Have it delivered back to you in a covered vehicle. Put it in a glass case on your drive and just look at it. Surely you don't take it out on those nasty horrible roads with all the rain, dirt and salt and get it dirty and covered in stone chips.

Perhaps even put in your garage (if you have one and actually use it to put a car in) and take out out at weekends and admire it.

Sorry to be so sarcastic but this whole 'detailing' thing makes me laugh. Do you spend as much time detailing you house. A car is there to be driven not just looked at. Yes keep it clean but don't get carried away.
 
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Come on Dave ... have you had a few too many sherries this PM.

A bit of extra attention is important...we don't all have silver cars ;-)
 
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PilotAudi said:
Come on Dave ... have you had a few too many sherries this PM.

A bit of extra attention is important...we don't all have silver cars ;-)
Click to expand...

Why? I suppose if you prefer looking at your car to driving it. The ulimate poser!!
 
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t8ups said:
what if the car has swirls in them?


I bought a new car last year in march, had it delivered to the detailer on the back of a flatbed direct from the dealer, they where instructed not to wash the car or i would reject it, i also told them not to make silly holes in the bumper for the plates as i would be sticking them on.

Price was £280 + 80 for exo V1 at the time for a new car detail, this also included the g techniq window treatment.

here is the link to the car - Drayke Fields | Specialist Vehicle Detailers & Valeters - Archive: Silver Mini Cooper SD

Trups
Click to expand...

You can remove swirls with a bit of elbow grease and a good abrasive polish. Or even buying a dual action machine polisher for sub £100. Then you can maintain your car in the future. But a brand new car that hasn't been prepped shouldn't have any seriously bad swirls.
 
h5djr said:
What then. Have it delivered back to you in a covered vehicle. Put it in a glass case on your drive and just look at it. Surely you don't take it out on those nasty horrible roads with all the rain, dirt and salt and get it dirty and covered in stone chips.

Perhaps even put in your garage (if you have one and actually use it to put a car in) and take out out at weekends and admire it.

Sorry to be so sarcastic but this whole 'detailing' thing makes me laugh. Do you spend as much time detailing you house. A car is there to be driven not just looked at. Yes keep it clean but don't get carried away.
Click to expand...

Or you could simply put it in a 'large, strong plastic bag'
;)
 
t8ups said:
what if the car has swirls in them?


I bought a new car last year in march, had it delivered to the detailer on the back of a flatbed direct from the dealer, they where instructed not to wash the car or i would reject it, i also told them not to make silly holes in the bumper for the plates as i would be sticking them on.

Price was £280 + 80 for exo V1 at the time for a new car detail, this also included the g techniq window treatment.

here is the link to the car - Drayke Fields | Specialist Vehicle Detailers & Valeters - Archive: Silver Mini Cooper SD

Trups
Click to expand...

Also gtechniq G1 only costs £16. takes an hour to apply properly. It's just having the confidence to try the things for yourself
 
Anarch said:
Or you could simply put it in a 'large, strong plastic bag'
;)
Click to expand...

Cut some slots in the bag and you might even be able to drive it. I suppose you could also cover it in cling film. Some friends who had a classic car used to cover the front in cling film when the drove the car to classic car shows. I can see the sense in that for a classic car that you are exhibiting at a show or other event but not on an every day.
 
I paid £225 for correction, Gtechniq C1 + Exo, C5, T1, and I1 on the interior from a well known detailer, who did an excellent job.
 
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audi upgrades
Sounds like they rounded the price up!
 
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I'm a bit of a detailer and while there's many products out there to make us enthusiast the job easier to do, you just got to trial and error with many products to see which one you like. If you got the cash to pay someone to detail your car then go for it, I mean its obviously nicer to see a shiny clean car rather than a dirty unloved car.

I know people think its silly to pay good money for a detailer, to treat a car, polish to remove swirls and protect it, but in the sun if a car is properly looked then it shows in its money. I can mostly do most things on my car and I do enjoy it when I've spent X hours on it and look at the result myself.

Take today for example, it was pouring down with rain but with a friend and his unit and i managed to seal my back wheels with G-Technique C5 wheel guard. Not sure if i applied it correctly but its definitely something I want to do again and get right for my front wheels. The product clams to protect up to 6 months so will see in the next coming weeks how it holds up.

Anyway to the OP to his thread, get a proper detailer to do it as most dealership hire some rookie to prep cars. At worse they can actually inflict more damage and swirls on the car!
 
pat15312 said:
Having mine done mid-feb, costing £900 inc VAT
Click to expand...

WOW!!
If you pay that you are either stupid or loaded !!
I do my own detailing and can spend hours on it and is defo worth doing or getting someone to do it for you but that price is utterly ridiculous.
You should be paying NO more than £400 for a new car detail unless the dealers have swirled it to f**k and needs proper correction.
I think you should seriously rethink this one mate!!
 
The paintwork was ****e, the dealers tried their very best to ruin my new car! Undergoing full paint correction, actually reasonably priced considering the cost of the materials and number of man-hours going into it.
 
J6YAK said:
WOW!!
If you pay that you are either stupid or loaded !!
I do my own detailing and can spend hours on it and is defo worth doing or getting someone to do it for you but that price is utterly ridiculous.
You should be paying NO more than £400 for a new car detail unless the dealers have swirled it to f**k and needs proper correction.
I think you should seriously rethink this one mate!!
Click to expand...

Or both
 
pat15312 said:
The paintwork was ****e, the dealers tried their very best to ruin my new car! Undergoing full paint correction, actually reasonably priced considering the cost of the materials and number of man-hours going into it.
Click to expand...

That's not good news I'm sorry to hear that but £900!!
Audi should be covering some of that if they handed you a new car as bad as that!!
 
J6YAK said:
That's not good news I'm sorry to hear that but £900!!
Audi should be covering some of that if they handed you a new car as bad as that!!
Click to expand...

Their attitude was shocking, basically said I'd signed for it so they didn't want to know...
 
Personally I've never been bothered with detailing my cars but I can see the attraction. The trouble is that with all the wet weather we've been having I can't see the point of doing anything else other than giving the car a good wash and some wax protection as the car will quickly become dirty again if you use it as it is intended to be used. I use Autoglym's wet wax for that as it is quick and easy and can be used on all of the trim without leaving any residue behind.
Perhaps if I had a garage then I could spend more time on it...
 
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Anyone have any recommendations for detailers in/around London? Am picking up the new S3 from Wimbledon Audi in a fortnight and figured it may as well get some proper love before I break it in :)

Some of the high-end detailers - Topaz, Elite, etc. - actually seem quite reasonable on a new car detail (£4-500 inc vat) but interested to hear any thoughts/recommendations.

Cheers

Nathaniel
 
cuke2u said:
Personally I've never been bothered with detailing my cars but I can see the attraction. The trouble is that with all the wet weather we've been having I can't see the point of doing anything else other than giving the car a good wash and some wax protection as the car will quickly become dirty again if you use it as it is intended to be used. I use Autoglym's wet wax for that as it is quick and easy and can be used on all of the trim without leaving any residue behind.
Perhaps if I had a garage then I could spend more time on it...
Click to expand...

I find AutoGlym aqua wax perfect for the fortnightly wash. It's quick and easy to apply and looks great. Beading lasts for about 10 days by which time I'm usually about ready to wash it again. I like my cars looking clean and shiny, but could never justify having them detailed because as soon as it got dirty again (which in this weather / country would be the first drive) I would just be kicking myself at the money wasted.
 
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Yes that's the stuff, couldn't think of the name, a good product and easy to use...
 
A good protection detail can actually mean that you spend less time washing cars, with the car still looking good!

For example, modern nano coating, polymer technology sealants - which bond to the clear lacquer, are very often hydrophobic and leave a very very smooth finish.

Meaning that less dirt, mud, etc. will adhere to the car, and the car stays looking good for longer. And when you do come to clean it - you can practically snowfoam the car, leave it 20 mins (in the case of Magifoam), then power wash off. Any subsequent two-bucket wash with a mitt reveals very little dirt left on the car!

The time between washes? For me, Phantom Black, - 3 months in the winter, and it still looks reasonable (it won't win any show n shine prizes).

The polymer sealant technology (eg: G-Tecnhniq, Zaino Z2, Menzerna PL) works.
 
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Hello Nate!

I'm currently sat a few hundred metres away from you, in MediaCity!

I'll wave lol!
 
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