Why Does a Full Car Detail Cost So Much?

The short answer: a full detail is several hours of hands-on work on one car. At Polish & Go, a Deep Full Detail is $165 for a sedan (about 3 hours), $185 for an SUV (about 3.5 hours), $190 for a truck (about 3.5 hours) and $220 for a van or minivan (about 4 hours). Most of that time goes into the interior.

Here's where the time goes, why the inside costs more than the outside, and how to compare quotes fairly.

How much should a full car detail cost?

A full detail should be priced by vehicle size and the work included. Our Deep Full Detail is $165 for a sedan, $185 for an SUV, $190 for a truck and $220 for a van or minivan.

Package names vary a lot between detailers, so compare what's included rather than the word "full". Our Deep Full Detail includes everything in our Deep Interior Clean (hot-water shampoo extraction, salt stain and spill treatment, leather cleaning and conditioning, odour neutralization) plus a full exterior wash and decontamination, clay bar treatment and a paint protection sealant. You can see each package side by side on our services page.

For a full price table covering every package, see the cost section of our complete Milton detailing guide.

Why does a full detail cost more than a car wash?

A wash cleans the outside surface in minutes. A full detail cleans the inside and outside by hand and takes about 3 to 4 hours per vehicle.

The time is the biggest difference. On our current schedule, a Deep Full Detail takes about 3 hours for a sedan, 3.5 hours for an SUV and 4 hours for a van. Divided out, our price works out to roughly $53 to $55 per hour of hands-on work, and that has to cover the products, the equipment and the travel to your driveway as well as the labour.

The work also isn't the same kind of cleaning. A detail includes things a wash doesn't try to do: pulling dried salt out of carpet, extracting spills from seat fabric, and removing bonded contamination from paint with a clay bar. Our post on why mobile detailing beats automatic car washes compares the two in more detail.

Why is interior car cleaning so expensive?

Interiors take the longest. Fabric has to be shampooed and extracted, crevices cleaned by hand, and every surface treated differently. Our Deep Interior Clean alone takes 2.5 to 4 hours.

Our deep interior times, by vehicle: about 2.5 hours for a sedan, 3 hours for an SUV, 3.5 hours for a large SUV or truck, and 4 hours for a van. Here's where that time goes:

• Salt. Winter salt stains are one of the problems we see most often on Milton cars, and stain removal is included in our Deep Interior Clean. A vacuum only lifts the loose salt; the white rings in the carpet need to be dissolved and extracted. Our guide to removing winter salt stains from car carpet walks through why.
• Crevices. Debris packed into seat rails, console gaps and door pockets is another of the most common things we deal with. It comes out by hand, one gap at a time.
• Sticky spills. Candy is the third. Once it's stuck into seat fabric or carpet, it has to be loosened and lifted, not just wiped.
• Different materials. Fabric gets shampoo extraction, leather gets a gentler cleaner and conditioner, and plastics and vents get steam. Our steam vs shampoo extraction guide explains why both are used.

Salt is worth dealing with, not just for looks. CAA North & East Ontario warns that road salt causes rust and corrosion in a car's nooks and crannies, and that a stiff brush can grind salt and sand into the paint. That's why the slow, careful methods take longer than a quick scrub.

Why does an SUV or van cost more than a sedan?

A bigger vehicle has more seats, more carpet and more paint to clean, so the job takes longer. Our Deep Full Detail goes from about 3 hours for a sedan to about 4 for a van.

That extra hour shows up in the price: $165 for a sedan, $185 for an SUV, $190 for a truck and $220 for a van or minivan. Condition matters too. Heavy pet hair or a lot of ground-in salt can add time, which is why our booking flow lists extras like pet hair removal separately. You see your price in the online booking before you confirm.

How do you compare car detailing quotes fairly?

Compare the same work, not the same package name. Check what's included, how long it takes, and whether the price you see is the price you pay.

A few questions to ask any detailer, us included:

• What exactly is included? Ask whether carpet and seat shampoo extraction, salt stain treatment, clay bar and paint protection are part of the price. Our post on interior vs full car detailing has a short checklist.
• How long will it take? A full detail done in under an hour isn't the same service as one that takes three or four.
• Is the advertised price the full price? Canada's Competition Bureau says advertising a price that can't actually be paid because of added mandatory fees, known as drip pricing, is misleading. Fixed government charges such as sales tax are the exception. Optional extras you choose, like pet hair removal, are a different thing from mandatory fees.
• Do I need a shop or a mobile service? If you have a driveway, mobile saves you the drive and the wait. Our shop vs mobile comparison covers when each one makes sense.

When is a cheaper package enough?

If only the inside needs a refresh, or only the outside needs a wash, a smaller package costs less and takes less time. A full detail makes sense when both need real work.

We offer a Light Interior Detail for regular upkeep, a Deep Interior Clean when the carpets and seats need extraction, and an exterior detail on its own. Prices for each are on our services page. If you're not sure how often you need each one, our guide to how often to detail your car in Ontario has a simple schedule.

Book a full detail in Milton

Polish & Go is a fully mobile car detailing service based in Milton, serving Campbellville, Oakville, Georgetown, Halton Hills, Burlington, Mississauga and Brampton too. We work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. Book online, read our FAQ, or call 519-835-5580.