There are a lot of misconceptions about car detailing out there.
The two we see most frequently are that 1) auto detailing is only a luxury and 2) you can do just as good of a job at home for far cheaper.
First off, auto detailing is far more than just a luxury; to read more on that, read our blog post from last week where we just covered why you should make the investment in having your vehicle professionally detailed regularly.
In this post, we’re going to be addressing the second of these misconceptions: that you can do professional-quality car detailing at home yourself for a fraction of the cost.
While it’s true, you can look up a YouTube video and attempt to detail your car yourself and maybe even do a half-decent job, it’s very risky. The push for DIY over the last few decades, while great, has led to people attempting jobs are far better left up to the professionals. Car detailing is one of those jobs.
Why do you need a professional?
Certified car detailing technicians have at least five years of experience (Certified Masters have ten), most likely participate in continual training, and have insurance to protect themselves and you, should anything go wrong with your vehicle during the detailing process. These professionals are not only highly skilled and trained, but they also have protection for damage you wouldn’t be covered for at home.
Time
Look, we’re all busy. It can be difficult to find the time to take your vehicle to traditional detailers, let alone put in the effort to do it yourself. Mobile detailing technicians, like those at Mobile Detailing Pros, will come to your home or office building and detail your vehicle (car, truck, motorcycle, boat, RV) for you; you won’t even have to leave your couch or desk. If you don’t have the time to keep up with regular detailing services, you won’t have the time to learn how to detail your vehicle yourself, let alone do the very minutely detailed, time-consuming, and focused task of actually detailing the vehicle.
Proper Care
If you’re doing the detailing yourself, you might lack the time and/or patience to give the task the attention and care it deserves. When you leave it to the professionals, you’re getting their highly trained and skilled eye, as well as they’re expert skill and know-how of both auto care and detailing practices. As mentioned earlier, in addition to knowing what to do, these professionals also have insurance policies and companies backing them up, meaning you won’t have to make up for any mistake they might make, however unlikely. If you’re doing it at home, you have a higher chance of making mistakes and no safety net to help make up for it if you do make one.
Professional Know-How
Certified Detailing Technicians have spent time, money, and brainpower learning and training so they know exactly how to handle whatever detailing problem comes their way. They’ll do exactly what’s needed without overdoing it, which is important when you’re dealing with these harsh-in-excess cleaning chemicals on something as precious as your vehicle.
While, yes, it is possible for you to detail your vehicle yourself, the risk greatly outweighs the reward. Your vehicle is quite a large investment on which you depend very heavily; the risk is just too great. Leave it to the professionals and save yourself the time, money (in the long-run), risk, and potential heartache.
This article is great!
You made a good point on how you should leave car detailing to the experts since if there’s anyone knowledgeable on how to make your car shine, that would be them. My uncle wants to drive his muscle car to the party he’s invited to, but after not using it for months it now looks weird. I’ll suggest that he reach out to a professional who can detail it for him.