Once your car is clean, the question becomes what else is worth paying for. Here is what each add on actually does, what I charge, and when I tell people to save their money.
Run your hand over your paint after a wash. If it feels gritty rather than smooth, that is embedded contamination: brake dust, rail dust, industrial fallout, and tree residue that washing cannot lift. Clay pulls it out mechanically, and the iron decontamination that comes with it dissolves the metal particles chemically.
It matters for two reasons. The paint finally feels like glass, and anything protective you apply afterward bonds to clean paint instead of sitting on top of grit. If you are getting wax or sealant, claying first is what makes it last.
Leather in Southern California takes a beating. Sun dries the hides, body oils and sunscreen work into the grain, and the driver's bolster wears first. Cleaning at $80 per row lifts the soil out of the texture; conditioning at $25 per row puts moisture back so the leather stays supple instead of cracking.
Pricing per row means you can do only the front seats if that is where the wear is. I recommend conditioning about every six months here, which is cheap insurance against a repair that costs many times more.
Wax hides swirls. Polishing removes them. If your paint looks hazy in direct sun, or you can see spiderweb scratches from someone else's wash technique, polishing is the only thing that genuinely fixes it, because it levels a microscopic amount of clear coat rather than filling the damage in temporarily.
I price it hourly at $120, including polish and pads, because every car needs a different amount. Chrome polishing runs $100 an hour for the same reason. I will look at your paint and tell you honestly whether an hour gets you most of the way there or whether the panel needs more.
Hard water spot removal starts at $35 chemically, and if the etching has gone deeper than chemistry can reach, I quote machine polishing per area and reapply wax protection afterward. Sticker removal is $15 on glass and $20 on paint. Headliner stain removal is $20 per area and needs steam. Tree sap is $5 per droplet, and it is waived for my monthly maintenance customers, because a car I keep waxed releases sap without a fight.
Odor is the one people assume is hopeless. It usually is not. Ozone generation runs $150, has to happen at my shop, and normally means leaving the car overnight, and I can shuttle you home if transportation is a problem. Tell me what is bothering you about your car when you call at (818) 797-5396 and I will tell you which of these actually applies.
I am Eric Young. I detail every vehicle myself, at your driveway, seven days a week from 7:30am to 7:30pm. Tell me what your car needs and I will give you a straight answer.