(Richmond, VA) Interior detailing needed

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effgee

New member
First things first ... howdy everyone!



I recently bought a "new-to-me" 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee and would like to get rid of the "traces" the previous owner left on the cloth seats ... they're not necessarily filthy but there's definitely quite a few unsightly stains. Methinks I'm also going to need a bit of "consulting" as to what can be done to prevent recurring stains - there's a TSB (technical service bulletin) from Jeep that talks about this problem in a bit more detail ... link (PDF file, 111kb).



I'd most grateful for any names/recommendations/pointers/etc. you guys could provide.



Cheers + thanks in advance!



:)
 
welcome to autopia, what are the stains like and what products supplies do you have on hand? if we know this we can help you a little better. and of course pics, we do love out pictures here.. But welcome to Autopia, soon enough youll be an adict lik the rest of us lol
 
calgarydetail said:
welcome to autopia, what are the stains like and what products supplies do you have on hand? if we know this we can help you a little better. and of course pics, we do love out pictures here.. But welcome to Autopia, soon enough youll be an adict lik the rest of us lol
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Hi Calgarydetail, thanks much for the friendly welcome!



And right away ... apologies for phrasing my first post rather oddly (note to self: "Do not hit the 'submit post' button after 11pm" :D). What I meant to say was actually that I am looking for someone to detail the interior of my Jeep for me - for one because I'm no good for anything that goes beyond the scope of a regular car wash/vacuuming job and secondly because work doesn't leave me enough time to care for my car as well as I'd like to.



In that sense, the only "product supply" I have on hand is my wallet/credit card.



According to the local yellow pages, there seem to be quite a few detailing shops in the Richmond area but I'd much rather go by the recommendation of someone who actually has some experience in the field.



:)
 
brwill2005 said:
Check out Carpool Detail.
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Thanks for the tip brwill2005! I had actually driven past their West Broad location before and thought it was more like a "regular" car wash - I'll definitely stop by there on Monday.



:)
 
um no ofense but carpool on west broad induced many swirls on my 02 evo. i didnt know what they were at the time. i had a yearly pass. they wax with a very week spray wax and i even use to pay extra for a complete interior and they didnt even get my pet hair out. just one guys opinion, but keep in mind they do not spend much time on a vehicle.

not to mention the "detailers" are teenagers who are paid min wage. youd probably be better off ordering a few products and trying yourself or having a pro look at it.
 
VaSuperShine said:
..., but keep in mind they do not spend much time on a vehicle. not to mention the "detailers" are teenagers who are paid min wage. youd probably be better off ordering a few products and trying yourself or having a pro look at it.
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Uh oh, that's exactly what I don't want - "assembly-line" detailing. The 2005 Grand Cherokees with cloth upholstery have a problem in that the fudgepickles at Jeep used a fabric that has some kind of "chemical coating" on the inside which, when wet (e.g., rain drops or even from a person sitting on it and sweating), causes watermark like stains to appear on the surface of the fabric. The technical service bulletin from Jeep I linked to in my initial post talks about that in a bit more detail.



What I need is someone who knows what he/she is doing to give my seats a "deep cleaning" to get that crap out and, if at all possible, "seal" the whole shebang with some kind of protectant a la Scotchguard.



What do I do now, where do I go?



:)
 
gbackus said:
I think forum member tdekany is in richmond, might want to PM him.
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Unfortunately (for me, that is) he's in Fairfax, VA outside of DC ... on a weekday that's almost a 2hr drive, one way. Not sure that'd make too much sense for him since he could almost "finish up" another customer in the time it'd take him to drive down here and back up to Fairfax.
 
Wow. Maybe that person should not have won Professional Carwashing and Detailing's award for "Detailing Person of the Year". Apparently there is a Carpool Carwash, and a Carpool Detailing center next door. I saw a picture of her and her staff and none looked to be teenagers.
 
Well, I stopped by four shops here in town yesterday ... one I didn't go inside because the outside of the shop looked, uhm, a little run-down, in the scond one the manager (?) seemed rushed and made me feel like I was being a nuisance, the third one seemed surprised that someone who owns a car as cheap as mine could possibly want to have it detailed and then there was Carpool, where Gina (the manager) was quite friendly, looked over my car and was quick to give me a price for the work I needed.



So far, so good, dropped the car off this morning and will get it back this afternoon - am curious how it turns out. I'll report back with my experience, hoping that it'll help others looking for detailling services in the Richmond area.



Thanks for the tip, brwill2005!



:)





P.S. I think I saw most of the employees working on cars yesterday - didn't look like there were any "$7/hr. teenagers" among them. I am speaking of the detailing shop in the 5000 block of West Broad, not the car wash in the 8/9000 (?) block.
 
ahh gottcha. my bad, didnt know they had a detail shop, dont think they did when i lived there. the car wash part is a joke and i would not recomend you take your car there.
 
effgee said:
Well, I stopped by four shops here in town yesterday ... one I didn't go inside because the outside of the shop looked, uhm, a little run-down, in the scond one the manager (?) seemed rushed and made me feel like I was being a nuisance, the third one seemed surprised that someone who owns a car as cheap as mine could possibly want to have it detailed and then there was Carpool, where Gina (the manager) was quite friendly, looked over my car and was quick to give me a price for the work I needed.



So far, so good, dropped the car off this morning and will get it back this afternoon - am curious how it turns out. I'll report back with my experience, hoping that it'll help others looking for detailling services in the Richmond area.



Thanks for the tip, brwill2005!



:)





P.S. I think I saw most of the employees working on cars yesterday - didn't look like there were any "$7/hr. teenagers" among them. I am speaking of the detailing shop in the 5000 block of West Broad, not the car wash in the 8/9000 (?) block.
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Gina is from Arlington, and lives about 10 min. from me in Fairfax. You will get top notch work from her. Was it $250 for the inside?
 
tdekany said:
Gina is from Arlington, and lives about 10 min. from me in Fairfax. You will get top notch work from her. Was it $250 for the inside?
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It was a little after 6pm when I got the car back last night (= "almost dark") ... add to that the fact that we had dreadful weather, and you'll know why I can't say with a 100% certainty that the work was perfect.



:)



But from what I could see, it certainly looks like Gina and her team did a wonderful job - from the tiny rubber inserts in the door handles to the storage compartment underneath the center armrest and the reversible cargo cover in the trunk - looks like everything got the attention it needed. Carpets and cloth upholstery seemed perfectly clean as well.



My own crap, some of which I had forgotten to take out of the car, was neatly packed inside a Carpool baggie and stored in the trunk. Much to my surprise, they even threw in a courtesy car wash and a tire shine - very nice touch.



And all that for $200 ... <insertbigsmilehere>



I'll do a "close-up inspection" tomorrow (car's gone all day today) and if my initial impression is confirmed (which I'm fairly sure it will), then Gina will have won a repeat customer in me ... need to get the outside done before winter comes.



:)
 
effgee said:
And all that for $200 ... <insertbigsmilehere>
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Holy crap. Not judging their work or cost factors....but If I could charge that for a full interior clean and and wash I woudl be set!
 
Gina believes that detailing services do not have a set value. I believe that is why she goes over the car with the customer to explain the value in the service. Once the value in the service is clearly explained, the price is probably not as much of an issue.
 
Oh like I said I know Im not judging their work. Since its an actual shop and has employees, and lot more cost, I understand the charge and its within reason.
 
01bluecls said:
Holy crap. Not judging their work or cost factors....but If I could charge that for a full interior clean and and wash I woudl be set!
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LOL! Well, I knew going in that the price I'd pay at a shop would be higher than that of a self-employed/mobile detailer, for the very reasons you cited (rent, payroll, etc.). Which is of course not to say that I have a bias either way - as long as the work gets done in a manner that leaves me a happy camper, I could care less whether there's one guy working on my car in my driveway or a team of three folks in a shop. I simply didn't know of any "single" guys (no pun intended :p) down here in Richmond so I got "stuck" with checking out the shops.



brwill2005 said:
Gina believes that detailing services do not have a set value. I believe that is why she goes over the car with the customer to explain the value in the service. Once the value in the service is clearly explained, the price is probably not as much of an issue.
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Agreed. For me it's not so much about the exact $$$ amount but rather about the "perceived value" and the "price worthiness" of the service I am purchasing. If I get the feeling that I'm being treated well, I'll happily pay $200. OTH, if I get treated like an idiot (see shop #3 in my first post on this page), even a $25 expense will leave me rather grouchy.



And personally, I'd rather pay $200 to have the job done right than save $50 and be pissed off when I pick up my car (which btw is not meant as a stab at you self-employed folks, I'm self-employed as well - albeit in a different line of work - and know the drill).



:)
 
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