Brake dust removal on a Lexus wheel
Baked-on brake dust off the face and spokes, tire dressed.
Detail packages
Mobile car detailing in Houston
The inside and the outside done properly, wherever the car is parked. Two packages, priced by vehicle size, with the figure confirmed before we start.
- Price
- From $149
- Availability
- Same-week appointments
- Where
- Home or office
A full detail is the inside and the outside of the car done properly in one visit, at your house or your office, while you get on with your day. There is no drop-off, no waiting room, and no losing a Saturday to it.
We run two packages. Basic is a thorough clean that resets the car. Premium adds a deep interior clean and puts protection back on the paint. Both are priced by vehicle size rather than by how long we end up being there, so the number you are quoted is the number you pay.
What does a full detail cover?
A full detail is the outside and the inside in one appointment. Exterior hand wash, wheels and tires, every piece of glass inside and out, then a full interior vacuum and wipe-down. Premium adds wax and sealant on top of that, at one flat price by vehicle size.
Exterior hand wash
Washed by hand, not by machine. Automatic washes are the single biggest cause of the swirl marks people later pay to have polished out, because the same brushes drag grit from the car in front across your clear coat.
Wheels and tires
Wheels get cleaned properly and tires are dressed. Brake dust is hot metal that bonds to the wheel finish, so once it has built up it stops being something soap can lift and starts needing dedicated work.
All glass, inside and out
Every window, mirror and the windshield. Interior glass picks up a film off the dash off-gassing in Houston heat, which is what causes that haze you only notice driving into the sun.
Interior vacuum and wipe-down
Seats, carpets, mats and the trunk, plus the dash, console and door panels. On Basic this is a thorough clean. On Premium it is a deep clean that goes after what is worked into the fabric rather than sitting on it.
Wax and sealant, on Premium
Premium finishes with an exterior hand wax and a weather-proof sealant. That is the layer that takes the UV and the contamination instead of your paint doing it, and it is the main thing Basic does not include.
How do you know when a car is due for one?
Four things usually tell you. Water has stopped beading on the paint, the finish feels rough under your fingertips, the interior smells even when it is tidy, or it has simply been more than three months. Any one of them on its own is enough to book.
Water stops beading on the paint
If rain sits in flat sheets rather than pulling into beads, whatever protection was on the car has gone. From that point the paint is taking the sun and the contamination directly.
The finish feels rough to the touch
Run the back of your hand over the hood. Paint should feel like glass. If it feels gritty, that is bonded contamination sitting in the clear coat, and washing will not remove it.
The interior smells even when it is tidy
Smell lives in the fabric, not on the surface. Once it is in the carpet and the seats, tidying does nothing and only an extraction will shift it.
It has been more than three months
In Houston, three months of sun, humidity and airborne contamination is enough to undo a detail. Cars that live outside need it more often than garaged ones.
A wash removes what is sitting on the paint. A detail removes what has bonded to it.
Fifteen minutes and cosmetic, against a couple of hours that resets the condition of the car. That is the whole difference, and it is why the price is different.
Our work
What does the difference look like?
Every pair below is one car, photographed at the same angle before we started and after we finished. Drag the handle across any of them to see the change. Nothing is staged, retouched or shot in a studio, and each one links through to what was actually wrong with that vehicle.
How does the appointment run?
You book a time and tell us the vehicle size. We arrive with our own water, power and equipment, confirm the price with you before anything starts, and about two hours later it is finished. You do not need to be there for any of it.
- 01
You book a time and a vehicle size
Price is set by size, so a sedan, an SUV and a three-row van are three different numbers. You get a confirmation with the arrival window.
- 02
We arrive with everything
Equipment, product, power. You do not need to prepare anything beyond making sure we can get to the car.
- 03
We confirm the price before we start
If we see something that changes the figure, you hear it before any work happens, not on the invoice. That is the whole point of quoting on arrival rather than after.
- 04
About two hours later it is done
Basic runs one to two hours, Premium three to five. Every job finishes with a fresh floor mat and a steering wheel cover left in place.
What will a detail not fix?
Three things. Deep scratches your fingernail catches in have gone through the clear coat and need correction rather than cleaning. Heavy swirl marks come back as soon as a wax wears off. Torn or burned upholstery we will clean thoroughly, but we do not repair it.
- Deep scratches. If your fingernail catches in it, it has gone through the clear coat and no amount of washing or waxing will remove it. That is a paint correction question, and sometimes not even then.
- Heavy swirl marks. A wax fills them briefly and they come back. Removing them properly means machine polishing.
- Torn or burned upholstery. We can clean fabric thoroughly, but we do not repair it.
- Odours with a source still in the car. Smell that has soaked into padding under the carpet needs more than a surface clean, and we will tell you that when we see it rather than take your money and disappoint you.
Questions
What else do people ask about detail packages?
These are the questions that come up on the phone most often about detail packages, answered the way we would answer them if you called. If yours is not here, ring the number at the top and ask. We would rather tell you now than have you find out on the day.
How much does a full car detail cost in Houston?
A Basic detail is $149 for a sedan or coupe, $179 for an SUV or truck, and starts at $210 for a large van or three-row. Premium is $299, $339 and $379 for those same sizes. Price is by vehicle size, not by how long the job takes.
What is the difference between a car wash and a detail?
A wash removes what is sitting on the surface. A detail removes what has bonded to it and works on the interior properly. A wash is fifteen minutes and cosmetic. A detail is a couple of hours and it resets the condition of the car.
Do I need to be home?
No. Most customers leave the keys or leave the car unlocked and carry on with their day. We only need safe access to the vehicle at the time you booked, and we let you know when it is finished. If something needs a decision partway through, we call you rather than guessing.
How long does it take?
Basic runs one to two hours on a normal car. Premium runs three to five because of the interior deep clean and the wax. Heavily soiled interiors take longer and we tell you that when we see the car rather than afterwards.
Is Premium worth the extra over Basic?
If the car lives outside, yes. Premium adds a full interior deep clean instead of a vacuum and wipe, an exterior hand wax, and a sealant. The sealant is the part that keeps working after we leave, which is what makes the finish last rather than looking good for a fortnight.
Do you detail leased or company cars?
Yes, and end-of-lease is a common reason people book. Getting the interior back to condition before an inspection usually costs a fraction of what a lease-end cleaning charge does. The same applies to a company car going back to a fleet, where the deductions work much the same way.
Booking, payment and bad-weather questions are answered in the full FAQ. Anything specific to your vehicle, ask us directly and we will tell you whether this is the service you actually need.
What else do people book with this?
These are the services customers most often add to this one, usually because the same appointment can cover both and the second costs less in time than booking it separately later. Each one is priced on its own, and we will tell you if adding it is not worth doing.
Where do we do detail packages?
Anywhere inside the Houston metro, at your home or your office, because the whole setup travels. Pricing is by vehicle size rather than distance, so an address out toward the edge of the radius costs the same as one downtown. Pick your area below for what we see there.
Across the Houston metro. Same price everywhere inside the service area, because we charge by vehicle rather than by distance.
Book detail packages
Tell us where the car is parked and we come to you. Packages from $149, most jobs about two hours.