First off, I forgot my camera so no pics with this story, but it`s a good story.

A customer was looking to trade his vehicle in and needed it cleaned up. It was a late model Ford Expedition XL. A really nice truck with a 2 tone leather interior and a very different blue paint on the exterior. Nice wheels and tires as well. When I got there I had a talk with the owner, he had been laid off from a job that paid him over $100K a year and was now struggling to make $50K. He had 3 kids and needed to get into something more economical with a lower payment. He informed me that at his last run of the dealerships they were only offering him around $18k trade-in value and although $ was tight he needed to spiff up the truck to get more money. I felt bad for the guy so I told him I would do what I could to help.

The inside was trashed....3 kids and a dog....it took me over an hour just to vacuum!! All told I spent over 5 hours inside and out. When I finished it looked awesome, the leather looked new ( vx5000 thank you! ) and the blue paint just popped ( Opti-Seal ). He told me it never looked this good as long as he has had it. I left feeling pretty good about the whole thing. About 3 days later I ran into the guy by accident and he came right up to me and shook my hand, but really hard, like a death grip! A huge smile on his face. He said, " Man I gotta thank you!". I assumed he was happy with his trade in and he let me know I was right. He said he made another run to all the dealerships and ended up trading his vehicle in at the Chevy dealership and got $25K for it!!! ancing Dot: He told me how his family now had a brand new more fuel efficient SUV and $150 lower payments. He could not thank me enough.

Now... can I take credit for all $7k worth of added value?? Not really sure, but it certainly validated my hard work and knowing I had really helped this guy out of a jam was priceless. I was on a high all day and am still wondering if I undercharged by $6,800!!! :biggrin: