Why do people not take care of nice cars?

IMO, people can do what they want, I usually don't say nothing direct, but will hint at it. Just recently my father in law bought a 2014 Silverado, 18k miles, in pretty good shape. I can tell he really likes it and is excited about it. Two weeks ago on a Friday evening I was in my drive way about to start on my usual weekly wash, he stopped by. I did a walk around his truck and he pointed out a few light scratches, very easy to get them out. We talked. I asked him to do me a favor, "Please keep it out of those automatic car washes". I then extend an offer to correct the paint, wax, seal, even coat the paint, whatever he wanted, all on my time and dime. Told him if he ever wanted to wash it, just stop by he can use anything I have. He has keys to my home and garage.

All I asked was to show him the towels which are labeled for use, explain a few basic things. Still haven't heard from him about it, probably never will. With his last truck he took it to the Swirl O Matic almost daily cause he got a membership. And his last truck was swirl city. His truck was clean, but looked like hell!
 
LEDetailing said:
She will take it to the car wash twice a month for the first few months. Twice a month will turn into twice every six months and soon that new Subaru will just be another car to her.
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You've pretty much described 95% of the population.

My brother with his '15 M6, and he's already talking about trading in for the latest. My sister-in-law with a loaded Land Cruiser, already full of junk and the season hasn't changed yet. The neighbor and his MDX. He kept up with me for the first two weeks. Now it's soiled with bug splatter and bird poop that sit for days on the hood.

The excitement evaporated as quickly as the new car smell. It's quite normal. We're the crazy ones.
 
I don't mind these people at all.

I park beside them all the time, makes my car look better.

It was so cool when I parked at a pub in the wrong spot, the bartender announced over the PA "would the owner of the clean and shiney Grand Prix please move his car".

I immediately raised my hand and told him "no problem, I'm on it"
 
Just got back from a car show and it made me think of this thread. I noticed something about the cars with the nice paint. Their chrome and wheels were polished, tires dressed, engine bays cleaned, interiors were immaculate, and about half had swirls in their paint.
 
Some people just don't care others don't know any better. There's a guy at work that keeps asking me about my car. He says it always looks so shiny! I told him I use 3 buckets to wash it. At first he thought I was crazy but kept asking questions. I gave him the links to a few videos and he came back to me saying he'd been washing his car wrong for years and had no idea. He's planning on getting lots of new supplies. :)
 
Very few people care for how their cars look. They just trade them in every 5 years. My truck is just as clean if not cleaner then it was new. Aside for scratches from hunting. The paint is great. Interior is like new etc. I get people thinking I just bought the truck from being how clean it is. The look they have when I say it's 1.5years old and it has 65k miles. Of HARD miles.

. I have one Client that since new, his two vehicles get washed weekly by me. Car is over a year old with 27k miles and the paint has ZERO swirls. It's only had Rinseless washes and about 2 traditional washes. Interior and exterior is flawless. Him and his wife both said I ruined them. They can't stand it if their cars aren't clean. Their friends all comment about their vehicles.



I truly think that everyone that has a filthy car, just doesn't care nor have the will power(lazy) to keep them clean. They would rather just sit on the couch or sleep in.



But honestly. I stopped caring about everyone having filthy cars. I just care about mine.
 
Jomax said:
Very few people care for how their cars look. They just trade them in every 5 years.
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I keep a car until it *makes* me get rid of it. And cars sure last longer than they used to.
 
BudgetPlan1 said:
I keep a car until it *makes* me get rid of it. And cars sure last longer than they used to.
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We actually need people to neglect their cars. It keeps the car industry prospering. If everyone cared for their cars like we do, a lot less new cars would be sold.

I agree 100% about the cars being built better. I do love resto-mods for this reason. Like the originals better, but who daily drives a 30-100 year old car anyways:)
 
The way I think about it is that imagine you make $35k a year and drive a modest sedan. As a non detailer car owner, you drive the car to and from work and other essential tasks you need to do daily. The car is merely a tool to get a job done and as long as it works, it's all good. Now imagine you make $300k a year and drive high end coupe which is considered nice to most of us. You have the same mindset but with a different price tag. It's all the same but with a different salary and price tag. Regardless of how much someone makes, the routine of life is relatively the same although it varies.

For us detailers though, it's a matter of discipline. Whether we drive what's considered to be a beater or a high end sports car, we set ourselves to a higher standard in how we keep our possessions. It's not a negative connotation against those who don't because maybe they keep a flawless sports card collection or a stamp collection. It's all relative to each persons interests but definitely an interesting question. Just my thoughts though.
 
Im a car lover. I think that how you keep your car is a reflection on you. I also like new cars .I cant afford new cars , so if I keep my car like new, I can fool myself into thinking that I still have a new car. I know its only in the mind.
 
gibersot said:
The way I think about it is that imagine you make $35k a year and drive a modest sedan. As a non detailer car owner, you drive the car to and from work and other essential tasks you need to do daily. The car is merely a tool to get a job done and as long as it works, it's all good. Now imagine you make $300k a year and drive high end coupe which is considered nice to most of us. You have the same mindset but with a different price tag. It's all the same but with a different salary and price tag. Regardless of how much someone makes, the routine of life is relatively the same although it varies.

For us detailers though, it's a matter of discipline. Whether we drive what's considered to be a beater or a high end sports car, we set ourselves to a higher standard in how we keep our possessions. It's not a negative connotation against those who don't because maybe they keep a flawless sports card collection or a stamp collection. It's all relative to each persons interests but definitely an interesting question. Just my thoughts though.
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I wholeheartedly agree with this post. This could not be more well-said or true.

We who care about what we drive are the slim minority.

DETAILERS LIVES MATTER!! :dblthumb2:
 
Isn't it funny that we can walk past a car & can't help but look for swirls & other imperfections. I think the DDs of everyone here most likely look better than others "well cared for" cars. I get comments often on how good my 2005 Tundra with 100000 plus miles looks. It is justification for the effort put into it,that & I like it to look good.
 
It's my experience working on Exotics almost exclusively that when the term "paint correction" is mentioned it is almost universally unknown or misunderstood. I did a tech session on paint correction for the local established British car club. Around 25 people showed up. I had slides prepared of before/after shots and then did a demo on a Ferrari with trashed paint. I've gone to car shows where I struck up a casual conversation about removing paint defects-some people even seem to get a touch offended like I'm trashing their car( I'm very careful in my approach, complimentary). These are car people- been around cars, into cars and they don't know what's possible when it comes to paint. Maybe if you had some before/after pics on your phone, this works well for me, I even take my iPad to events to show what can be done. Pictures do speak a thousand words.
 
6 months ago I was washing my white Altima with a truck brush and Dawn dish washing detergent. Then, I bought a Black car, a 2013 BMW 650i Xdrive GC. I looked up cleaning products on the internet and found this site. Now, I have done paint correction with my Flex 3401 (Das Original!) and a 3" GG RO. I have car shampoos, swirl removers, finishing polishes, wax removers, tire gels, iron removers, and a 2 foot stack of MF towels. I have spent more on car detailing products in the last 3 months then I have in my entire life. And I LOVE it! My wife says I am sick and need to get out of the garage more.

The best part about detailing a black car is that I can spend hours on it on Sunday, and by Monday afternoon it needs it again. I know I saw someone here say "Black isn't a color, it's a career." Truer words were never spoken.
 
andy0902 said:
The worst part about detailing a black car is that I can spend hours on it on Sunday, and by Monday afternoon it needs it again.
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Black car owner fixing your post :xyxthumbs:

I read, on another forum, a post about taking care of cars. Someone said he details his leased vehicle a couple times a year. Someone else asked why anyone would take care of something that "is not theirs". I responded, that as a driver of a leased car, I still want to drive around in something that is clean, and that I can take pride in.
After spending a month with VERY little time to do non-essential chores, I can understand how a car can get neglected. And I no longer see a nice car and ask why it's not clean. Sometimes life gets in the way.
 
I truly believe that people that don't
take care of their nice cars should
have their vehicles impounded; and
then, shortly afterwards, they should
be summarily, and publicly, executed.

:rant:


Bob
 
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