a few questions on car detailing (inside, outside, engine shampoo... the whole 9 yards):

1. do i go to the same place for car wash and detailing?
2. how often should i get my car detailed?
3. where shall i go to pick a shop? (online directory or yellow pages?)
4. or can anyone recommend a good place in the Lower Mainland
5. how to SAVE... where's the best deal (best job)...

hmm... that's good to start... thank you!!! this is my first time... just a bit

Best and cheapest, (and can't complain about the job) is I do it myself. This is hard work, and once you have the tools and know the tricks of the trade, is actually quite enjoyable on a slack day.

Meguiar's makes a great line of waxes and polishes, can't go wrong there. If you just quickly spray the engine compartment everytime you wash the car, it won't need the engine shampoo.

Would never pay to have someone touch my baby, so can't tell you any deals.

those are my thoughts, not yours....I'm....

jed

Like Jed, I use to do it myself, but for the exterior, I can't anymore. It takes too long. My car is black, and it takes about 4 hours+ for me to wash/wax/polish my car, and that's with a one step wax process, not 3.

So last summer, I got the exterior detailed for the first time. I decided to go with the "You get what you pay for" approach. What a mistake. I paid an absolute fortune for it by going to this place which apparently does exotic cars. When I got the car back, it did look good. No streaks, no wax marks, etc.... But then when I got home, I noticed that when the buffed down the wax, the brush they used hit the rubber around the windows and scratched it... Now scratched rubber really shows...
Also, underneath the spoiler, they wore the paint down to the plastic. So it doesn't really show unless my hood is open, but still. So overall, I wasn't impressed at all. So in my opinion, price has nothing to do with it. Go with reputation. Don't blindly pick a shop, ask around for recommendations.

As for my interior, I always do that myself. For one thing, I keep the inside of my car clean (it still looks new) and to armor all my dash and treat my leather only takes an hour or so and I only need to do it once or twice a year.

Bubu, no questions asked, Bashir's in Richmond is the ultimate bestest thumbs up! They are on Minoru Boulevard, basically across from the DMV, just down the street from Richmond Centre. They are sooooo good there, and they also do a ton of community service stuff like donating services to charity auctions and school raffles. You can read some of the letters praising them as you watch your car being washed.
I think that they charge about $125 for a complete head-to-toe wash and detail, but there are always coupons available in the Richmond papers (just tell the girl at the desk that you don't live in Richmond but know about the coupons--she's really nice and may offer you the deal).
I was introduced to them because they used to operate out of the back of Lansdowne Saturn-Saab-Isuzu (I am a loyalist), but grew so much they had to get their own place. Everyone I know swears by them, and I really believe that they are honest and treat their workers very well (despite the scummy nature of the job, the workers remain constant).
If you do go there (and I don't see why you wouldn't), let us know what you think, as I really believe that they are deserving of the publicity.

wow! good info from everyone!!

to start.. i must say i've learned a lot by doing a little bit of research online.. and of course... your valuable suggestions!

i went online and checked all the info on "how to detail a car".. and learned a few tricks "doing it yourself"...

and yes.. the prices i've looked at are $$$$$$$$$$.. but i guess there's nothing i can do about that..

since richmond is only 30min away from here... i might give Bashir's a try...(thx HadEnough)

it's a 3 yr old car.. never had it DETAILED b4.. so i'll get it done professionally this time... fyi, it's been an extremely clean car..

hmm.. will update you guys once i get it done

Some good comments about this topic.

Does anyone know of a good one in the Toronto Area?

How about some of the larger shops/franchises like Ziebart, Tint King, etc.?

Thanks.