It is just dirty
The most common case by a wide margin, and the cheapest. A Full Package or an exterior wash, no add-ons.
Most cars that arrive expecting correction actually need this.
Almost every car falls out of four tests you can run yourself in two minutes: the palm test on the carpet, the back-of-hand test on the paint, the torch test for swirls, and the door test for smell.
Whatever those four tell you, the base service is the same three choices — interior, exterior, or both. The tests decide which add-ons go on top, and that is where the money actually differs.
Written so you can arrive at an answer without talking to anybody. If the answer is the cheapest option, that is a real result, not a preamble to an upsell.
Do these on a car that has not just been washed. You want it in its normal state.
Open the door on a car that has been shut for a few hours and notice the first impression before your nose adapts. Sour or musty means a source in the carpet or seats. Nothing means your interior is fine and you can stop worrying about it.
Press your hand flat on the carpet and drag it a foot. Grey palm means surface dirt, which a vacuum gets. Clean palm but flat, dull carpet means the soil is down in the fibre and only extraction reaches it.
Wash a panel, dry it, then run the back of your hand over it. Smooth means the paint is clean. Gritty means bonded contamination, which no amount of washing removes — that is decontamination, not a wash.
After dark, hold a phone torch close to the bonnet and move it around. A halo of fine circular scratching is swirl marks. If the paint looks deep and clean, you do not need correction and should not pay for it.
Drag a nail across a scratch or a water spot. If it does not catch, it is in the clear coat and correction can level it. If it catches, it is through the clear coat and correction will improve it rather than remove it.
Nothing from any test: a maintenance wash. Interior findings only: interior detail plus the matching add-on. Paint findings only: exterior plus decontamination. Both: Full Package. Torch findings: that is the correction conversation, and it is quoted.
Sedan pricing. Find your row, add the add-on to the base, and you have your number before you contact anybody.
| What you found | What it needs | Price on a sedan |
|---|---|---|
| Car is just dusty | Exterior Wash & Protection | $100 |
| Interior is cluttered and dusty | Interior Detail | $229 |
| Both, and it has been months | Full Package | $279 |
| Carpet flat and grey, palm stays clean | Full Package + carpet extraction | $279 + $25 per area |
| Visible seat stains | Interior Detail + seat extraction | $229 + $25 per seat |
| Smell that comes back | Interior Detail + odour treatment | $229 + $50 |
| Pet hair woven into the weave | Interior Detail + pet hair removal | $229 + $75 |
| Paint gritty after a wash | Exterior + iron decontamination + clay bar | $100 + $75 + $50 |
| Halo of swirls under a torch | Paint correction, always with protection | Quoted after we see it |
| Trim gone chalky grey | Exterior + black trim restoration | $100 + $75 |
| Headlights yellowed | Any service + headlight restoration | $50 per headlight |
Extraction is capped at $125 on a sedan or midsize and $175 on a large vehicle, so several areas at once never runs away. Midsize SUV and large vehicle bases are higher — the pricing guide has the full list.
The most common case by a wide margin, and the cheapest. A Full Package or an exterior wash, no add-ons.
Most cars that arrive expecting correction actually need this.
A spill, a dog, a smell. The base interior detail plus the one add-on that targets it. See the stain guide.
Different job with different expectations. There is a whole guide on the neglected car.
Spend where a buyer looks, not where the paint is worst. The selling guide has the budget.
Interior first, paint decisions later. See what to clean first.
That is protection rather than cleaning. Sealant or coating — see choosing a package.
We would rather you booked the smaller job and came back than felt sold to once.
Four photos — driver's footwell, back seat, a paint panel in daylight, and the front of the car — and we will tell you which row of that table you are on.
It costs nothing, it is not a sales call, and the answer is often the cheaper service.
More short answers live on the FAQ.
The services this guide is about:
Back to the full guide library.
That is genuinely most of the diagnosis. Send photos if you would rather we did it.