Detailing Auto Detailing and Concours

Should I detail my car b4 selling?

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Old Sep 17, 2008 | 10:03 PM
  #1  
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Default Should I detail my car b4 selling?

I was wondering if I should get a full detail and clean my engine before I sell my car. It is a white 2001 Honda Accord v6 with 100100 miles. Good condition. Let me know whether I should get a full detail or not.

What is the average price for a full detail w/ cleaning the engine.

Thank You
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Old Sep 17, 2008 | 10:13 PM
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ive seen them goin for up to $150. i think you should detail your car, but do it yourself. CLAY BAR!!! its great. you can skip waxing since your selling it. basicly just clean it inside and out. but forsure clay bar it.
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Old Sep 17, 2008 | 10:24 PM
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Default Re: (sfcd5)

what is clay bar?
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 02:50 AM
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Do you want to come off as a great seller?

Full tank of gas and a detail goes a long way. Never know when it could come back around to help you out.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 03:58 AM
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Default Re: (Anthai)

clay bar pulls all the crap off of the car's paint and after you clay bar it you should use a cleaner wax and a sealer wax
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 04:04 AM
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Default Re: (YeuEmMaiMai)

Yeah when I bought my car the car was clean but the tank was like on E. I was like damn. I picked it up at night and made it home with the gas light on. That was a jerk move. He wanted 2k for it and I talked him down to 1500. That's what helped me deal.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 05:00 AM
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Default Re: (gqstatus05)

I'd agree with everyone else.

Take a day and really clean out the car. Give it a quick coat of cleaner wax on the body and on the rims. Remeber to get into the door jams as well. Give the interior a vacum and wipe down the dash good.

You should be good to go.

Good luck!
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 06:02 AM
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Default Re: (NGUSPEED)

Thanks yo, yea I'll invest $140 to get my car cleaned. I'm looking for Lexus IS 300 2002.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 06:36 AM
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Default Re: (Anthai)

Definately clean it. Do it yourself save money, wash, wax, atleast a half tank gas.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 07:24 AM
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Default Re: (jdmeg6b18b)

Idk if i'd detail it. Well... I damn sure wouldn't pay someone else to do it. But you should definately clean it yourself. I usually wouldn't worry about the engine, not unless you've got like a swapped civic and part of the sale is the clean *** engine in there or something.

But definately, vacume it out, wash down all the door panels and dash boards, and then wash and wax it. Also, they got this stuff I always spray on my tires, makes them look nice and shiny black. I'd get some and use it. May take a few hours all together (it should be a few if you take your time and do a GOOD job) and then fill up the tank.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 07:27 AM
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Default Re: (sfcd5)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sfcd5 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ive seen them goin for up to $150. i think you should detail your car, but do it yourself. CLAY BAR!!! its great. you can skip waxing since your selling it. basicly just clean it inside and out. but forsure clay bar it. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Have you actually seen a car that has been properly clay-barred? It has literally no wax and looks like complete ****.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 07:30 AM
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Default Re: (Ed 341)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ed 341 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Have you actually seen a car that has been properly clay-barred? It has literally no wax and looks like complete ****.</TD></TR></TABLE>

exactly. you will need to wax it when finished, but the paint will be smooth and waxing will be easy
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 07:44 AM
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You can do the engine bay yourself. Pull the battery out and put a baggy over your ECU box. Hose down, cover in simple green, let sit, spray with simple green again, lightly scrub anywhere you can reach, rise, and dry as much as you have access to.

little detail like that goes a long way because it makes you look like you take THAT much better care of your car than everyone else.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 07:51 AM
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Default Re: (SoCal EJ1)

Spend the $150 on the detail, it's a lot of work. Put that $150 on top of your selling price. Detailing your car will make the sale easier, heck you could sell it for a higher asking price and make money off that detail.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 07:54 AM
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Default Re: (austinkli)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by austinkli &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Idk if i'd detail it. Well... I damn sure wouldn't pay someone else to do it. But you should definately clean it yourself. I usually wouldn't worry about the engine, not unless you've got like a swapped civic and part of the sale is the clean *** engine in there or something.

But definately, vacume it out, wash down all the door panels and dash boards, and then wash and wax it. Also, they got this stuff I always spray on my tires, makes them look nice and shiny black. I'd get some and use it. May take a few hours all together (it should be a few if you take your time and do a GOOD job) and then fill up the tank.</TD></TR></TABLE>

+1

The odds of someone even NOTICING that you did all that stuff seems kinda slim to me.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 08:52 AM
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Buyers may not always notice how clean everything is, but they ALWAYS notice what's dirty.

How many of you look for all the negatives you can when buying a car? I know I do.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 10:55 AM
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Default Re: (perpetualburn)

Everyone always talks about the OUTSIDE of a car when talking about detailing. The interior is what a detailer spends the most time on and there is a lot of steps to a detail that can't be done unless you have compressed air, an extractor, steamer, and other tools. Extracting/steaming the carpets and cleaning & dressing the plastics will have 10x the effect of simply vacuuming out the carpet and cleaning the plastics. $100 for a wash and interior full detail should net most car sales at least $100 more than without doing a full detail. Just wax the car yourself unless the swirl marks are out of control.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 02:05 PM
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When I bought my MR2, it was kind of dirty and almost devoid of gas. I still bought it because the colour is extremely rare.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 02:13 PM
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Default Re: (gqstatus05)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gqstatus05 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yeah when I bought my car the car was clean but the tank was like on E. I was like damn. I picked it up at night and made it home with the gas light on. That was a jerk move. He wanted 2k for it and I talked him down to 1500. That's what helped me deal. </TD></TR></TABLE>

You can't be serious, lol. He dropped it down 500 just cause the car had no gas? lol. Most people that set their price on a car at 500 dollars more than what they initially are trying to get for the car.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 04:33 PM
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My coworker said selling a 2001 honda accord v6 100,000 mi for $7k is a rip off, its in good condition too, I've seen ppl posting it for way more around $8k. Let me know if I'm on the right track?
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 04:37 PM
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Default Re: (Anthai)

internet connection + blue book website = win
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 04:40 PM
  #22  
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Default Re: (FalkenSiR)

That's what i'm saying KBB, he wasn't even trying to hear it...cheap guy i guess
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Old Oct 17, 2008 | 07:08 PM
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jay leno once said that spending $100 on a detail could net you $1000 in the final sale. Of course, that's dealing with slightly more expensive cars, but mint paint could show potential buyers that the car has been taken great care of.
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Old Oct 17, 2008 | 09:51 PM
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Default Re: (alexisthemovie)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by alexisthemovie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">jay leno once said that spending $100 on a detail could net you $1000 in the final sale. Of course, that's dealing with slightly more expensive cars, but mint paint could show potential buyers that the car has been taken great care of.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Very True
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Old Oct 20, 2008 | 03:35 PM
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IMO take a good day or 2, detail everything!
Day1:
Interior (remove the seats.)
Engine Detail
Wheel well cleaning / dressing
Car wash(that way the next day, you don't have to worry about water drips.)

Day 2:
Wash
Clay
Polish
Wax/Seal

If it is a decently clean car to start with you would be amazed at how fast the car will sell. In fact if you had all the small dings removed (about $100-125 for the whole car), it would probably go within a week at the right price. You know everyone out there is looking for a clean car. I would probably do the detailing myself and get a pro to take out the door dings. But it all depends on how motivated you are on selling this car.
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