A rough schedule
- Most daily drivers: a full detail every three or four months, about once a season, with washes in between.
- Kids, dogs or a long commute: every month or two. That's where the inside gets bad fastest.
- Garage-kept and lightly driven: twice a year.
- Winter around Peoria: wash the salt off every week or two, whatever else you do.
The season matters as much as the number. If you only detail twice a year, do it in the fall before the salt and in the spring after it.
Signs it's time
- The inside of the windshield has a haze that glares at night or into the sun.
- Crumbs and hair in the seat seams that the gas station vacuum doesn't reach.
- Sticky cup holders and console.
- A smell you've stopped noticing until someone else gets in.
- Paint that feels rough under your hand after a wash. That's bonded grit, and a clay bar takes it off.
- White salt rings on the carpet.
What to do between details
None of this replaces a detail, but it stretches the time between them:
- Keep a small trash bag in the car and empty it when you get gas.
- Shake out the floor mats once a week.
- Wipe up spills the day they happen. A fresh spill is a wipe; a week-old one is a stain.
- Wash the outside every couple of weeks, and every week in salt season.
- Park out from under trees when you can, and wash off sap and bird droppings the same week. Left longer, they can etch the clear coat.
When a monthly plan makes sense
If you want the car clean all the time, a plan costs less per visit than booking one-time details, and the next one is already on the calendar.
Monthly plan
A full detail every month, $105 to $155 a month depending on size, compared with $175 to $255 for a one-time Full Detail. The monthly price stays the same whatever shape the car is in. It's month to month with no contract, your price doesn't go up while you stay on the plan, and plan members get first pick of times when the calendar fills up.
Seasonal plan
Four full details a year, one each season, at 15% off each visit: $149 to $217 a visit. We remind you when the next one is due.
| Size | One-time Full Detail | Monthly plan | Seasonal plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | $175 | $105 a month | $149 a visit |
| Medium | $205 | $120 a month | $174 a visit |
| Large | $225 | $140 a month | $191 a visit |
| Oversized | $255 | $155 a month | $217 a visit |
Both plans are billed to a card, so the cash price doesn't apply to them.
When a plan doesn't make sense
Be honest about how often you'd really book. Twelve monthly visits on a medium car come to $1,440 a year, about what seven one-time Full Details cost. So the monthly plan is for people who want the car clean all the time. If a detail every season is enough, the seasonal plan is the better fit.
If the car is garage-kept and only comes out on weekends, twice a year is plenty, and one-time details are the better deal. And if you're not sure, book one Full Detail, see how long the car stays clean, and decide from there.