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      09-14-2012, 04:11 PM   #1
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Michigan Detailer

Any one knows good detailer in Central Michigan?

Near East Lansing would be preferred.
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      09-14-2012, 04:13 PM   #2
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Someone needs to make a sticky. These threads are popping up everyday
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      09-14-2012, 04:38 PM   #3
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Someone needs to make a sticky. These threads are popping up everyday
The closest quality detailer even remotely close to you is Todd Cooperider in Ohio. No one near you comes close to the work he puts out.
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      09-14-2012, 05:02 PM   #4
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Marc @ Auto Lavish
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      09-14-2012, 05:09 PM   #5
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Marc @ Auto Lavish
OHHHH good call. He does awesome work
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      09-14-2012, 06:51 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bame_E92 View Post
Marc @ Auto Lavish
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Originally Posted by rjd598 View Post
OHHHH good call. He does awesome work
And another one.....


Marc is one of the industry leaders, listed in DuPont Registry and authors articles for a prominent online retailer, alongside Todd Cooperider. The quality of his work is without question.
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      09-14-2012, 08:17 PM   #7
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Auto Lavish might be great, but those prices are more than I'm ready to pay.

I have an independent guy come to my house to do my cars. He does nice work and his prices are extremely reasonable. I like that he does the detail at my house. That means that I can get my car cleaned up and sealed for the end of the season, roll it onto the lift, plug in the battery tender, put the cover on and put it to bed for the winter as clean as can be.

If I couldn't use my guy anymore (and he's not taking new customers and has been talking about getting out of detailing ) then I'd go with these guys:

http://crystalcleanautodetailing.com/

They're local to me, I've heard a lot of good things and their rates aren't usurious.

I recommend you find a local car forum/club and ask people who they use. Get a number of reviews and you'll find somebody you can trust to take care of your car for you.
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      09-14-2012, 09:05 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by Parkanzky View Post
Auto Lavish might be great, but those prices are more than I'm ready to pay.

I have an independent guy come to my house to do my cars. He does nice work and his prices are extremely reasonable. I like that he does the detail at my house. That means that I can get my car cleaned up and sealed for the end of the season, roll it onto the lift, plug in the battery tender, put the cover on and put it to bed for the winter as clean as can be.

If I couldn't use my guy anymore (and he's not taking new customers and has been talking about getting out of detailing ) then I'd go with these guys:

http://crystalcleanautodetailing.com/

They're local to me, I've heard a lot of good things and their rates aren't usurious.

I recommend you find a local car forum/club and ask people who they use. Get a number of reviews and you'll find somebody you can trust to take care of your car for you.
That is fine if you are not ready to pay it but listen to this...

He is a PRO. He deserves a PRO salary. Pro salary should be in the $65-75/hr range.

If you have a problem paying that for PROfessional service then get a weekend warrior to do it. He is in the business to make money, remember that.
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      09-14-2012, 11:26 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mikenap View Post
And another one.....


Marc is one of the industry leaders, listed in DuPont Registry and authors articles for a prominent online retailer, alongside Todd Cooperider. The quality of his work is without question.
+1 for Marc
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      09-15-2012, 07:25 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bame_E92 View Post
That is fine if you are not ready to pay it but listen to this...

He is a PRO. He deserves a PRO salary. Pro salary should be in the $65-75/hr range.

If you have a problem paying that for PROfessional service then get a weekend warrior to do it. He is in the business to make money, remember that.
As I said, those prices are more than I'm ready to pay to have my car detailed. In case the OP feels the same way, I gave him some alternatives. If you think $460-630 is reasonable for a "light exterior polishing," I don't mind you paying it.

Also, I don't doubt that he's in the business to make money. $65-75/hr is $135-156k/yr. In the midwest, that's a lot of money. For what it's worth, the guy I used worked professionally as a detailer for a few years before he decided to become a "weekend warrior." Also, the guys at Crystal Clean are definitely professionals with nice facilities and they manage to do great work for a lot less.

In summary, go where you want. I just wanted to give the OP an alternative to the very high-end options he was seeing in this thread.
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      09-15-2012, 12:45 PM   #11
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+1 for Marc/Jacob and the AutoLavish Crew.

I've had them work on 6 of my BMW's over the past few years and I'm continually impressed with the absolutely awesome job they do. I've worked with many detailers in the past before I was introduced to Marc through a coworker of mine (the Yellow NSX featured on their site), and none of the other detailers came even remotely close to the quality of the work Marc and the AutoLavish team have done with my cars. If you are looking for the best high-end detailer, look no where else!

They did a 40+ hour wet sand job on my Jerez Black '08 E92 M3 in late 2010, they've detailed my '02 M Coupe and lately my '12 335is last week - ALL done impeccably.

The M3 Before/During (Quarter Panel vs. "OEM" Orange Peel on Door):






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Last edited by xdarwin13; 09-15-2012 at 12:55 PM..
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      09-15-2012, 02:45 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xdarwin13 View Post
+1 for Marc/Jacob and the AutoLavish Crew.

I've had them work on 6 of my BMW's over the past few years and I'm continually impressed with the absolutely awesome job they do. I've worked with many detailers in the past before I was introduced to Marc through a coworker of mine (the Yellow NSX featured on their site), and none of the other detailers came even remotely close to the quality of the work Marc and the AutoLavish team have done with my cars. If you are looking for the best high-end detailer, look no where else!

They did a 40+ hour wet sand job on my Jerez Black '08 E92 M3 in late 2010, they've detailed my '02 M Coupe and lately my '12 335is last week - ALL done impeccably.

The M3 Before/During (Quarter Panel vs. "OEM" Orange Peel on Door):
Any thread on the 335is write up? I remember when they did your m3 but this forum never got to see a thread
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      09-15-2012, 07:51 PM   #13
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Marc @ Auto Lavish
+2 Marc - Auto Lavish
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      09-16-2012, 09:52 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Parkanzky View Post
As I said, those prices are more than I'm ready to pay to have my car detailed. In case the OP feels the same way, I gave him some alternatives. If you think $460-630 is reasonable for a "light exterior polishing," I don't mind you paying it.

Also, I don't doubt that he's in the business to make money. $65-75/hr is $135-156k/yr. In the midwest, that's a lot of money. For what it's worth, the guy I used worked professionally as a detailer for a few years before he decided to become a "weekend warrior." Also, the guys at Crystal Clean are definitely professionals with nice facilities and they manage to do great work for a lot less.

In summary, go where you want. I just wanted to give the OP an alternative to the very high-end options he was seeing in this thread.
Those numbers are a bit misleading. The business might make that much per year, but I doubt any single detailer does. Factor in the cost of supplies, insurance, gasoline if they are mobile, towels, etc. and it should be obvious that a huge chunk of that goes to overhead. On top of that, in many areas it's a seasonal business so during certain times of the year, you can't count on a 40hr work week. For quality work at the highest level, someone SHOULD be able to make a good living from it, but not close to those numbers you listed.

That being said, there are always options and in the end it is your car and your money. If you find results you are happy with for less, great. Nothing wrong with that at all!
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      09-16-2012, 10:20 AM   #15
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He said that a "Pro salary should be in the $65-75/hr range." To me, that implies that he means the professional doing the detailing should be getting that. Auto Lavish actually charges $90/hr for their services if you go to them, so there's some room for overhead in there...

But you're right. You pick the option that works for you and you go with it. Which is why I wanted to give the OP a couple of less expensive options to choose from.

I'm happy with the detailing I get done for a fraction of that $90/hr, but I'm probably just riff-raff...
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