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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Wash, Wax, Detailing and Cosmetic protection/repairs > a $1200 detail is rediculous right?



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      05-18-2008, 08:55 PM   #67
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 328i View Post
Unless you're paying big bucks for a show car level paint job, preserving oem paint is the best option if possible. For $1,200 you can maybe get a macco respray job, I bet that will look great, not to mention most body shops won't able to finish off the paint to look perfect anyway, because they just use filling glazes. I'm also sure your friends Aston Martin doesn't require as much work as this car, or at least I would hope that it has been well maintained.


I think it's kind of funny how people will say that a high quality expensive detail is too much money, but many of them will buy after market parts for the same amount that won't nearly make as much of an impact on the cars value, especially when it comes to resale.
that comment should not have been taken seriously. but yes, i dont think 1200 is good value for detail. depends on teh total value of the car. Preserving the factory paint is utmost important step of ownership. I take good care of all my cars for this reason instead of waiting to spend thousands on details. I believe in clear bras (i know some don't) but i don't believe detailing should be costly unless it's full restoration of an exotic or vintage.
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      05-18-2008, 09:55 PM   #68
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      06-09-2008, 06:25 PM   #69
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Wondering if the OP has an update? How did this turn out?
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      06-09-2008, 07:35 PM   #70
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After all the input, i made up my mind to cancel on the expensive quote. I felt really bad canceling a few days before but, well, it's business, and my money.

I ended up going with a company that spends time with a local forum in the same way that John1c has LA/OC pretty well claimed as his in the California sub-forum. I explained my thoughts about my paint. What I was looking for. I shared the same pics with him that I shared with yall. And, it ended up being in the range of 300+.

It was 2 guys, about 4 or 5 hours. It was mainly scratch repair and buffing/waxing. My verdict is... I'm not happy with what I got. The places where the 300+ dollar detailer used touch-up paint look, well, not good. There just kinda boogered on there. The spot where I had the bird crap discoloration is all fixed perfect. The surface swirls are gone, but there were still noticable swirls in the paint when they were finished. Maybe swirl isn't the right word. Shallow clear-coat scratches? And, there are other places on the paint, where there are small freckles of discoloration probably because I let bird doo sit for too long. The original $1200 guy said he would get all that out. The $300 dollar guy didn't get paid to do that.

In retrospect, I desire the expensive detail. The less expensive one felt more like a wash + quick buff + wax + vacuum then the "repair" that I know I wanted. But, that said, I can't justify the $1.2k price tag and I don't have the energy to do it myself and do it right.
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      06-09-2008, 07:42 PM   #71
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I can see not getting a perfect touch up for 300+ especially since touch ups are difficult to do right in the first place. But having light swirls left over shouldn't be the case, sorry to hear you were disappointed with the detail, sounds like he wasn't able to get the last step right.
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      06-09-2008, 07:51 PM   #72
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Its just so frustrating because there is this emotional attachment in the appearance of the car. I'm back to where I was that the car may look flawless to my brother or mother, but to my eyes (and yours), it's no where near its potential.

One thing that is making me feel better is that even the unsold E92 M3 at my local dealership has swirls in the paint. And, everyone at the muscle car shows has them too. Even the guys with the crazy custom paint. Makes me think that perfection can't be the goal any more. Attainable goals...
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      06-09-2008, 10:18 PM   #73
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Quote:
Originally Posted by satakal View Post
After all the input, i made up my mind to cancel on the expensive quote. I felt really bad canceling a few days before but, well, it's business, and my money.

I ended up going with a company that spends time with a local forum in the same way that John1c has LA/OC pretty well claimed as his in the California sub-forum. I explained my thoughts about my paint. What I was looking for. I shared the same pics with him that I shared with yall. And, it ended up being in the range of 300+.

It was 2 guys, about 4 or 5 hours. It was mainly scratch repair and buffing/waxing. My verdict is... I'm not happy with what I got. The places where the 300+ dollar detailer used touch-up paint look, well, not good. There just kinda boogered on there. The spot where I had the bird crap discoloration is all fixed perfect. The surface swirls are gone, but there were still noticable swirls in the paint when they were finished. Maybe swirl isn't the right word. Shallow clear-coat scratches? And, there are other places on the paint, where there are small freckles of discoloration probably because I let bird doo sit for too long. The original $1200 guy said he would get all that out. The $300 dollar guy didn't get paid to do that.

In retrospect, I desire the expensive detail. The less expensive one felt more like a wash + quick buff + wax + vacuum then the "repair" that I know I wanted. But, that said, I can't justify the $1.2k price tag and I don't have the energy to do it myself and do it right.
I'd call the $300 place and have them fix what they didn't fix in the first place, unless it wasn't part of the original detail (for $300 they may not have anticipated wetsanding chips).

Still, to put it in perspective you could still pay someone else $800 and be under the original $1200 estimate.

Perfection is a lofty word in detailing, but as I originally said I think for $400-$500, judging by the pics I saw you should be 99% there. Touchups can always be found with the right lights, but realistically a good detail, spending ~8 hours on your car, should get it virtually perfect.

Which reminds me - why not have john come do it?
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      06-09-2008, 11:10 PM   #74
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Get a quote from FMinus, next time.
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      08-04-2008, 10:46 PM   #75
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Fa sho, that's alotta money. But in the end, if your happy and looking at your car makes you a happier person, than go for it!
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      08-05-2008, 02:29 PM   #76
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First and foremost, I'd ask the detailer for a detailed description of the job. What steps will he be performing, how much time per step, and how much $$ per step. It's your money that your spending, so you have a right to know. Then you can see if there any issues with his quote. If he's charging 2.5 hours for a wash, or over 1-1.5 hours to clay (for really dirty paint), then you know you're getting ripped off. If the vast majority of his time is going into fixing the stone chips via wetsanding, then just tell him to drop that step. Forget about fixing the stone chips. They are fact of life for a daily driven car. As soon as you fix them, new ones will appear from a couple of commutes on the highway. Learn to live with them, otherwise you will forever be fixing them.

Once you have a reworked and more reasonable quote (time wise), go and see some other detailers and get quotes from them. Ask for references as well.

I'll also add, avoid repainting if you can. Factory paint is not the greatest, but I still think it is a heck of a lot better than having repainted panels. Not necessarily because of the paint itself, but because of the human element. I find most body shops do s*it work, even the ones that come highly recommended. It's never done 100%. At least your factory paint was sprayed at the factory by a machine. Thankfully they don't have moods, bad days, or other jobs to get done before 5pm.

Polish out your factory paint as best you can, and enjoy the shine.
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      08-05-2008, 02:37 PM   #77
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Quote:
Originally Posted by picus View Post
I own Mystery, Vintage, Concours, Concorso, Ital, have a few Dodo samples, 50/50, Vic Wax, blah blah blah; the wax he uses doesn't make a lot of difference. The major issue for you is the paint correction. 95% of the end result will depend on the detailers skill with a rotary. Don't get caught up in wax hype; sure Vintage is rad, but if they screw up the prep it won't matter if they coat it in pure white carnauba picked from trees that bloom every ten years during a full moon; it will still look like ass.
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It's all in the prep!!
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      08-05-2008, 02:44 PM   #78
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I love that. So many people think of detailing as washing a car. You're an RN and need to point out that you don't make $75/hr, so a detailer shouldn't? Is that the inference? Do you pay your mechanic $75/hr? Your plumber? Your roofer? Electrician? I bet you do. The difference is for those trades you need a license, and to detail you don't - which is why there are so many hacks. If electricians were as unregulated as detailers houses would be burning down all over the place. Does that mean detailing is easier? No, it's just that anyone can call themselves a professional. Problem is most of them suck; the same as I'd suck at re-wiring your house.

Detailing at this level is every bit as skilled as being any one of the trades I just mentioned. And before someone rags on me for defending my trade; I spent a long time in school to become an engineer; I make more money detailing then I did working as an engineer. Is that wrong? I don't think so - detailing is every bit as skilled and a hell of a lot harder work.
Detailing is very hard work. It's physically demanding, time consuming, and can be tedious. Based on that, I can understand why detailers charge the rates they do. It is not easy work. Not by a long shot. When friends or relatives ask me to "do their cars", I shudder. This is one reason why it's purely a hobby for me, not a business. I enjoy seeing my own car shine, but don't necessarily enjoy all the work to get it there.
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      08-05-2008, 03:08 PM   #79
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Get a quote from FMinus, next time.
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      08-05-2008, 03:22 PM   #80
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Well even though you didn't go with the $1200 detail, it was minuscule compared to this dude:

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      08-06-2008, 08:37 PM   #81
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It's starts by gauging the customers expectation level there are some area that satakal describe that cant be done like scratches in the bumper into the plastic. chips that need to touched up it's really hard to respond to this can you imagine the end result if the work was done and the $1200 paid i dont think satakal would be happy when i hear situation like this i take it personal. because I am a paint correction specialist with swissvax let's use the money toward fixing the problems like respray the bumper depending on how many chips in the hood fix those things first..
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