who gets their car detailed once a week?

[ElliesMomma]

one of my friends does. she did say it was on her husband's business account. but still. i know she is rich, but that says a lot about just how super rich, don't you think? once a week?? my husband thinks i heard wrong, but i clarified when i heard (i asked, she answered, i repeated, once a *week*?? she said yes.) has anyone else ever heard of such extravagance?

[aturnbg]

No.  I'm not even sure what 'Detailed' really means?  Like washed, waxed and vacumed?  yahhhh.... never had it done other then by myself or husband.

[changingseasons]

I used to detail my own car once a week back when I was single and childless- I liked my car to look nice. So yeah- if I had the money, why not? I don't have the time to do it anymore. And it could sure use it once a week these days!!

[RooRooDog]

I have a friend that details cars for a living, and he seems pretty busy- guess it happens more than you think!  Although, my thoughts were the same as yours when I first met him- people pay for this?!??

He did my car once for free, and as far as I could tell, he just vacuumed it really well, washed the outside, and then covered every square inch of interior plastic with this not-so-great-smelling oil product.  My floormats and dashboard are both plastic/rubber so they were included in the oiling.  For the next several months my feet were sliding around and everything placed on the dash- phone, coffee, food- would be in your lap in seconds.  

[zebra15]

Yes the full service car wash places around here are busy all the time.  My car sure could use it but, then again the car would probably be dirty with in a day or so.  Or heck I'd be so embarassed I would clean the darn car before I took it there.

I think 'detailed' means more than a wash and vacuum, windows etc.  Detailing includes all the nooks and crannies, waxing, more of a drop off the car and come back later.

[ElliesMomma]

around here, a detailing costs about $150. so this is a *weekly* thing, that's $600/month keeping the car clean. wow-sa.

[Jane]

For a regular update type detail, it's $30 for wash, wax, vacuum, dust and glass clean.  I see a lot of people doing that every couple of weeks or so.  

A "it's for sale" detail where they remove the seats is about $100-$200. 

I used to do a wash every saturday.  Up early - dishes from the whole week, laundry, wash and vac car, back in to change sheets.  Ha!  I am not so organized now. 

[sunnysandiegan]

I had a car detailed once....right before I was going to sell it privately. It was worth every penny and then some. I got more than the highest blue book price for that car. It was worth it, but I was surprised how easy it was to sell being so clean and shiny. The buyer even commented on how clean and shiny it was. It was a 10 year old Toyota Corolla that had over 100,000 miles on it.

Never had another car detailed before or after. That time was a "low level" detail that cost in the range of $30-50. I don't recall right now, but I did the math on the car sale and that detail was worth several times it's cost. I knew this particular place because I had taken a boss' car there for a higher level detail and it was $100+. That wasn't even the high end. This place always has a car waiting, too.

We run our cars through a Costco car wash once in awhile for $8. Just an exterior cleaning, but far better than any other of its kind. And, once in awhile, we take them to a hand-wash place close to home that does inside and out for $10-13 (depends on coupon). About 4-6 times a year total.

We cannot wash them where we live (strict water usage due to near-constant drought issues) and the car wash places recycle the (gray) water. Since we basically live in the desert on the ocean, they get so filthy people have written in the build-up of the car at DH's work. LOL (He parks on the street in a VERY crunchy area. You'd think these folks would NOT want car-washing.) The Costco car wash is on our way home from camping, so that is when we do it. Dirt campgrounds + foggy mornings = layers of gunk that takes a chisel to remove.

Also, though, I love having a clean car. I was so bummed when we could no longer wash our car. I didn't waste water doing it, but that wasn't the issue. It was the cost of water. Period. Water rates have gone up sooooo much! Anyway, I would pay to have my car clean more often. I do the inside (dust and vac) and keep it clutter-free. It is the outside I have to go elsewhere to get done. I just don't get to it very often.

[ChristyMarie]

The only way I can see this being needed is a limo service.

Because, really, how dirty can you get your car in a week?  I have mine detailed once a year, that seems to be enough.  And it is a PITA because it takes them about 2 hours so you have to either drop it off or wait forever.

Unless she's talking of the full service car wash where they vacuum, clean the mats and wipe down the interior.  That is about $30-40 here and yeah, whenever I get the car washed I get that package.  But it only takes about 15-20 minutes.

[ilovemygirl]

OMG! Where I am detailing means exactly that ... details. They vacuum and clean and polish every inch of the car both inside and out. It takes an hour or so and costs over $100. I've never even considered having it done. We opt for the regular $10 wash the outside of the car once a year when the spring comes to get all the salt and snow slush off the paint from the winter. Maybe twice a year dh will vacuum the inside of the car for me in our driveway with our home vacuum. 

I can think of worse ways someone could spend their money but it does seem so incredibly wasteful. Even if you have lots of kids eating in the car everyday, how can your car get dirty enough to need detailing that often? Maybe she's saying detailing but really means just a quick wash and vacuum?

[JudiAU]

I get the car washed maybe four times a year and detailed once a year. And I live in LA which is a car culture. But I know people who get there cars detailed at least once a month...

[honeybunmom]

Hah!  Um, I haven't even washed my car in years.  And, apparently, my mom noticed and gave me a blank check for Christmas to get it detailed at the dealer's in the spring.  That is definitely an extravegance in my book.  And there are levels of detailing that I have seen.  Some over $250.00.

[mommaof3boz]

some of the "detailing folks" even use qtips to get to crevices

[BetsyS]

Around here, the detailing is the $150 type, too.  I don't know anyone who would even need that once a week. 

Back when I was really young, fresh out of college, and had a new car, I got mine cleaned every 2 weeks.  But it was the $20 (back then) version, where they wash the outside, vacuum the inside, and wash the windows.  I was dating someone who thought this was necessary, and I succombed to the pressure.  LOL.  When I broke up with him, I stopped doing that.

These days, I do wash and vacuum my car about once a month.  I use our local place.  Carwash for $4 (drive through), and it has free vacuums.  It's highly worth it to me, because their vacuums are so much better than mine at home.  Plus, my kids think it's the best thing ever. 

[Knittin' in the Shade]

I think she probably means the wash-wax-handvacuum that lots of car places have for $30-40 a week, more of a maintenance cleaning than true detailing. MIL used to have that done weekly to her (company) car, which was paid for by her company (with a company credit card, so she didn't even pay it and get reimbursed)  it was mandatory for her to do it; she was in sales and clients occasionally travelled in her car, so the company felt it was vital to present a meticulously clean car. perhaps this is a similar situation?  I can't imagine she's really have a true detailing done weekly - not only is that an obscene amount of money, that's a significant amount of time without her car each week.

I do a lot of driving with 4 (messy) boys in the car, and I'd love to be able to do the maintenance cleaning each week, but I'm satisfied with doing the drive-through auto carwash for $6, and they've got free vacuums for you to use.  I do that about once a month.

[stephbrownthinks]

Originally Posted by Knittin' in the Shade 

I think she probably means the wash-wax-handvacuum that lots of car places have for $30-40 a week, more of a maintenance cleaning than true detailing. MIL used to have that done weekly to her (company) car, which was paid for by her company (with a company credit card, so she didn't even pay it and get reimbursed)  it was mandatory for her to do it; she was in sales and clients occasionally travelled in her car, so the company felt it was vital to present a meticulously clean car. perhaps this is a similar situation?  I can't imagine she's really have a true detailing done weekly - not only is that an obscene amount of money, that's a significant amount of time without her car each week.

I do a lot of driving with 4 (messy) boys in the car, and I'd love to be able to do the maintenance cleaning each week, but I'm satisfied with doing the drive-through auto carwash for $6, and they've got free vacuums for you to use.  I do that about once a month.

I was thinking the same thing. Where I live there is a wash & detail place. You can buy single washes, coupon booklets for 10 discounted, or an all-you-can-go for a month pass. There is the "detailing" which is like $150 plus dollars, then their "detailed wash" where they wash and vacuum, do the windows, tires, and clean the plastic and windowshield. I bet that is what she is talking about. I used to have that done every 3 or 4 weeks for around $24 each time. If I had more money I would ABSOLUTELY do it every week. I love having my car clean and it takes me forever to do a good job by myself.
 

[surrogate]

i had a former daycare parent who got her car FULL DETAILED ($150) every week.

however she would not pay for formula for her child when she needed extra, and she pitched a fit about sending a $6 pack of wipes once a month....so I terminated her lol.

Some people have their priorities all wrong.

I havent even WASHED my car in a year...i cleaned it out awhile back and found things growing lol

[gumshoegirl007]

I've only ever had my car detailed once.  We bought a new vehicle in 2008 and after the winter, we wanted to get all of the salt that was mooshed into the carpets out.  And all of the sand and crud that the kids had deposited in the back seat.  It also didn't hurt as it's a good year if we clean the car even once.  The dealership quoted us $125 for it, but when we got the car back, they tried to charge us $225!  I balked and got the original price, which I still thought was quite pricey.  That being said, for the one week post-detailing, the car had never been cleaner .  With the high cost, we opted not to have the car detailed in the spring of 2009.

Perhaps I'll skip the detailing this time and go for a cleaning like the other posters had suggested.  It's winter, cold, snowy and not possible for me to clean the car now.  Having looked at the disaster in the backseat again, it may be worth it to have the car cleaned before we install the car seat in preparation for the baby's arrival.

There is a big difference between detailing and cleaning, in my opinion. 

ETA: I think getting your car detailed once a week would be ridiculously expensive and time consuming (it takes 4-6 hours!)

[averysmomma05]

I live on a dirt road (2 miles) and my husband and I have been sharing a car. Finally, next month he will have his OWN truck (so excited!) and I can have my car back. I fully plan to take it to get it detailed inside and out,fully etc the works done because it is a gross MESS right now and anything I do to clean it doesn't help he trashes it back. I also want to get any traces of cigg smoke from him out my seats gross. (No, he doesn't smoke inside the car but it is on his clothes,etc when he comes in the car and I hate it! So, no it won't be a every week thing to get done but I do plan to maintain it after that with the 11.00 wash they offer which is do the floors,wipe inside down,windows,and wash it, dry it.

[Juvysen]

money aside... who has *TIME* to be waiting around for their car to be detailed once a week?  Seriously?  Trying to figure out how I'd deal with scheduling that in makes my head hurt... and I'm an AT HOME MOM!  There's no way we'd be sitting around waiting for it, but it gives me a headache to try and figure out a way to get us all somewhere else and then back...   Yeah, no.  Thanks, but I'll keep the dirt.