Posted on May 3, 2020.

To most people, detailing your car is either A.) a waste of money or B.) a waste of time.

It’s an unfortunate train of thought because it results in a lot of cars being neglected and a lot of detail businesses without custom.

I think we can all agree that the condition of someones car can tell us a lot.

A car that’s caked in dirt or has a cluttered interior normally reflects poorly on the owner. We’d probably assume they live a cluttered and chaotic life.

Whereas a clean car that’s in great condition may make you believe that the owner presents well and cares for themselves and their possessions.

The main reason to wash your car is to keep up appearances, however, there’s also many more that you may not have thought about.

Why Detail Your Car? Here’s 10 Reasons

As someone that loves his car and takes pride in how it looks, I have to say I’ve never really thought about needing encouragement to detail my car.

If you’re on the fence about spending money on a professional detail or even becoming a hobbyist detailer, here are 10 reasons to detail a car.

1. Protects Your Investment

I’m sure as you were growing up you’ll have been told on numerous occasions to “take care of your toys” or objects that you own. Your car should be no different.

The car is very possibly the most expensive possession that you will 100% own in your lifetime.

Odds are you’ve spent hours and hours slaving away at work so that you can afford a car and now that you’ve got one, you’re not going to take care of it?

Detailing is like any other form of car maintenance. Frequently washing your car will prevent your paintwork from fading and cleaning your interior will ensure that it continues to look brand new.

Whether you’re paying for a professional detail or doing it yourself, regularly detailing your car will help to protect your investment, keeping it looking the same way as it was when you first fell in love with it.

Providing you use the correct wash techniques and detailing products, there are only benefits that come with detailing your car.

Of course, the most obvious negative is having to spend money for a detail, however, if you’re interested in doing it yourself you can learn more about car washing here.

2. Increased Resale Value

When it comes to buying or selling a car there’s a list of factors that contribute to its price.

Regularly detailing your car will not only preserve the condition of your car, it will indicate that you’ve also taken care of the rest of the car.

When a buyer comes to view your car and it’s completely clean, it gives them confidence you’ve cared for the car. Sometimes it could even be the deciding factor.

In general, a clean example of a car will fetch a higher price, it will also sell quicker and buyers will be less inclined to try and haggle the price.

You’d be surprised how many times people I’ve seen people ask for a $10-$50 discount because the car needs detailed.

3. Increased Safety

For most, when thinking about reasons to detail your car, safety is probably the last reason that enters your head, but hear me out.

Every time you wash your car, you wash the windshield, windows and wing mirrors. Not only that, you’ll also wash all of the lights and blinkers.

Regularly cleaning the windshield and wing mirrors will offer enhanced clarity and allow you to make split second decisions easier when driving.

After washing, if you were to apply a sealant or coating to your windshield you’d also see improved water beading. This means that the water will run from your windshield a lot quicker taking any dirt and debris with it.

Depending on the level of detailing undertaken, you may even find benefits in the lighting department.

Over time, your headlamps will become scratched up and sometimes even cloudy. This will decrease visibility and also make your car look ugly.

Getting your headlights restored will not only rejuvenate the cars look, but also make it safer to drive at the same time.

If your headlights are already in factory condition, you can use coatings to prevent the need for restoration down the line.

4. Protects Your Car

As briefly touched on in the first point, detailing offers an insane amount of protection for your car.

There are an incredible number of products and processes that are designed to keep your car looking exactly the same as it did when you drove it off the lot.

For the exterior, you have many different finishing options. You could use wax or sealants, which are short-term protectants or you could opt for a ceramic coating that can last up to 5 years.

Wax, Sealants & Ceramic coatings will work to protect the paintwork of your car from the environment.

They offer hydrophobic qualities, additional UV Protection, some even claim to prevent and heal minor scratches.

If you do have a valuable car and want to protect the areas prone to damage from road tar, rock chips, and paint scuffs, you could get a detailer to install paint protection film

When it comes to the interior, there’s a lot of options for that too.

Because of where your dashboard is positioned, the sun could be constantly beating down on it, making the plastic, rubber, or leather fade over time.

Using a dashboard cleaner or trim dressing will add extra UV Protection, helping it stay brand new.

As for your car seats, you’re constantly climbing in and out of those. Whether you want to remove stains that your kids have created or condition your leather so that it doesn’t crack, detailing can help you do it all.

Detailing is all about Cleaning, Preventing and Correcting.

5. Prevents Odors

If you’ve ever climbed into someone elses car and been hit in the face by a disgusting stench, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

There are many different factors that influences how your car will smell. Most of them are a result of using your car and are somewhat unavoidable.

I know that I’m guilty of a smelly car at times. I often leave my work boots in the car overnight and will eat some spicy meals in there too.

My point is, if you’re getting your car regularly detailed, this negates a lot of the smell that may be lurking in your car upholstery or car interior.

Most of the interior cleaning products actually include odor neutralisers which help to make your car smell brand new again.

If you’re paying a professional, a lot of roadside car washes and detailers will even offer supplementary air-fresheners as an act of good customer service.

6. Improved Mental Health

The general take on clutter in your life is that it causes more harm than good.

When your car is cluttered, it’s highly likely that it will take a toll on your mental health.

Having a 90-120 minute commute every day and sitting in a dirty car would make me feel a little down.

I know that when my car was at its dirtiest, I felt dirty getting in and out of it, and sometimes I would still feel dirty for hours after.

Cleaning your car interior does not take long, if you’re someone that is easily affected by their environment, you should definitely de-clutter regularly, with an interior detail every so often.

I’ve also found that doing detailing myself helps to clear my thoughts and distract me for a little while, though sometimes I begin to obsessively worry about my cars deterioration instead…

7. Reflects on you as a person

There are two ways in which a dirty car can reflect on you as a person.

If you’re a professional that turns up to events or even drives a business car that’s covered in dirt, people are going to have an opinion. They’re going to question whether you’re the right person to provide the services that you offer, regardless of your profession.

If you’re just a regular joe, like myself, you’ll probably still find that people judge you based on the condition of your car. I know that I’m guilty of it, maybe it’s because I’m a car guy, maybe it’s because I’m a bit of a twat.

8. Kills Bacteria

While bacteria can be good and bad, I’m sure we can both agree that we don’t need it in our cars.

Bacteria builds up in your car via many different ways. Every person or animal that enters your car will be carrying their own bacteria, everytime they touch something, the bacteria will transfer.

Not only that, but excess food crumbs and liquid in the crevices of your car will catch any airborne bacteria.

Regularly detailing your car will kill a majority of the bacteria in your car so that you don’t have to worry about it.

This is particularly important with the current situation around the world.

9. Limits Allergies

I used to suffer pretty badly from hayfever and the roads I used to travel to work, would completely cover my car in pollen. My silver car was almost yellow.

What made that trip even worse, was the fact that the pollen build would lead to constant sneezing as I drove around. Paying the roadside car wash $10 to clean my car was the best $10 I ever spent.

Another way to prevent allergic reactions is to regularly clean out your car interior.

If you’re constantly driving with animals in the car, the hairs will build up and potentially begin to cause issues for any passengers you may have.

Fair enough, it’s your car, but having pet hairs build up and get stuck to your dashboard and door cards isn’t particularly pleasant anyway.

10. Increased Pride

There are absolutely no questions about cars being a symbol of status. The more money you can throw into your car, the higher value you may be considered.

Another element of pride and status when it comes to your car is how it looks. If you’re constantly driving around in a dirty Ferrari, it’s not going to turn half as many heads as the clean one that’s freshly cleaned & waxed.

Even if your car isn’t the cleanest example, or isn’t the most expensive in the world, cleaning it will show that you care enough about appearance and take pride in what you own.

Original article: https://everydayshowcar.com/10-reasons-to-detail-your-car/