# How much time for a full valet?



## ColCol (Jul 13, 2014)

Hi guys. From one valeter to many others, how long does your typical full valet take? That's full safe wash including all the door shuts etc, dry, engine bay cleaned, full interior clean, shampoo seats, clean windows inside and out, de-tar/fallout and full body polish. I know how long it takes for me to do a proper job, I'm interested to know the average time across the board and I will get back to you all for the reason why I'm asking later on. It will make some of you laugh. Thanks


----------



## M4D YN (Nov 24, 2007)

5 hours


----------



## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

Think you need to be a sponsor to advertise your business as your avatar ..


----------



## Clean ocd (Mar 29, 2014)

tbh dude theres no actual time as every clients different also some are easy to clean others are harder , some aren't that dirty others are very bad so that changes the time spent


----------



## ColCol (Jul 13, 2014)

Not advertising my business. Didn't know it put that on there. Removed it now. Thanks


----------



## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Everything you said would take me about 6 and 1/2 hours.


----------



## ColCol (Jul 13, 2014)

I know each vehicle differs because of how soiled it is etc, I was just confirming an average time. There is a competitor knocking out valets for £30 mobile... Yes £30...It takes him an average of one hour, yes one hour to complete supposedly a full valet... Engine bay, door shuts, inside car and out, polish n everything!!!! Just not possible!!! He is getting custom but how he is bodging all that in an hour and getting repeat custom is beyond me??? Any comments are welcome


----------



## ColCol (Jul 13, 2014)

It takes me 3 to 5 hours for a proper job done.


----------



## cossiecol (Jun 29, 2014)

People like that always get found out in time! it goes back to the old saying, "you get what you pay for".

In short I wouldn't be overly worried about this competitor.


----------



## ColCol (Jul 13, 2014)

He is pulling the wool over their eyes somehow looking at his reviews. Even with a helper, I don't know how he does it to be honest in one hour? Even if you are good at bodging!!! I've even confirmed how long it takes and what you get for the money with a mystery shopper enquiry so to speak. Thanks for all your comments all


----------



## Kirkyworld (Jan 12, 2014)

It would take 6-9 hours depending on how bad it was but I'm not a pro valeter I'm just an amatuer wash monkey


----------



## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

If there's a couple of you then it's easy to do a valeters version of a valet in an hour. Wash, swirl dry, slap the polish on. Quick Hoover and done, woo hoo


----------



## Toto (Oct 6, 2014)

as someone else said all cars are different size leather cloth do the seats need washing or not its little details scrubbing pedal rubbers etc all cars are different .


----------



## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

An one hour turnaround will appeal to some customers, not the sort that will go round with a magnifying glass, horses for courses.


----------



## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Kirkyworld said:


> It would take 6-9 hours depending on how bad it was but I'm not a pro valeter I'm just an amatuer wash monkey


I'd say 6 - 9 hours is a very good standard, I wouldn't say you are a wash Monkey.


----------



## ColCol (Jul 13, 2014)

No I'm not. I always try my best to do a top job.


----------



## ITSonlyREECE (Jun 10, 2012)

There are more than a few valet companies like that near me in south Essex. If he can do it in an hour then good luck to him and the owners of the cars he works on. Quantity over quality.


----------



## Jag 63 (Nov 21, 2014)

Last time I gave my exterior a good going over it took me 5 hours. So with the engine bay and interior I would say for me 7-8 hours.


----------



## stumpy90 (May 13, 2014)

If theres no machine polishing involved...... a full decon and valet would take me around 6 hours.


----------



## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

As above.
A proper full valet can take upto a week ( but for a proper full valet you are looking wheels off, 3 stage machine etc etc )
But as already said every car is different and takes as long as it takes to do it properly.


----------



## InfinityLoop (Feb 11, 2013)

If I came to a job at about 10am I'd expect the earliest to leave if it was a proper job no interruptions 6pm 

If he is doing 1 hour valet it will be the speediest hoover in the world, wipe down inside, jet wash the shuts and the outside, dry and done.


----------



## dubber (Oct 2, 2011)

You cant put a time onit imo. Depends on the condition/size etc. 
Perfection takes time.


----------



## Ultra (Feb 25, 2006)

All that lot in one hour :lol::lol:


----------



## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

I think people get mixed up with what people call a valet and "detail".

Most customers that get there car valeted know nothing about detailing so will expect nothing less than a clean car at the end. 

For a full valet do most people expect to get there engine bay cleaned..? Im not convinced they do..

You could charge 50 quid for a full valet and take 5-6 hours doing it, squeezing 2 valets in to a days wor giving you £100. Matey boy down the road could charge £30 and take 1-2 hours squeezing 5-6 valets in giving him £150-£180 a day..


----------



## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Not this argument again
There is NO difference between valeting and detailing detailing is an americanism for valeting because they call a valet someone that parks your car. 
At the end of the day its car/vehicle cleaning simple as that.
There is only one way to clean something and that is properly. you wouldnt half wash the dishes would you or only do the face of a plate and not the back? Same thing applies to cleaning a car


----------



## Blueberry (Aug 10, 2007)

AllenF said:


> Not this argument again
> There is NO difference between valeting and detailing detailing is an americanism for valeting because they call a valet someone that parks your car.
> At the end of the day its car/vehicle cleaning simple as that.
> There is only one way to clean something and that is properly. you wouldnt half wash the dishes would you or only do the face of a plate and not the back? Same thing applies to cleaning a car


I would disagree. There's more than one way to clean a car - valet or detail. Most people clean or valet their car. Detailing is at a much higher level going to the endth degree to get the car just right, every little nook and crannie done and more. Most valeters would not even get close.


----------



## Kirkyworld (Jan 12, 2014)

AllenF said:


> Not this argument again
> There is NO difference between valeting and detailing detailing is an americanism for valeting because they call a valet someone that parks your car.
> At the end of the day its car/vehicle cleaning simple as that.
> There is only one way to clean something and that is properly. you wouldnt half wash the dishes would you or only do the face of a plate and not the back? Same thing applies to cleaning a car


I'm not sure I agree either. Valeting=cleaning/protecting that's it. Detailing=paint correction, then maintenance of as near to perfect paint as you want/can do. So different cleaning methods etc. A great example is the AS valeters course that still runs today uses sponges to wash paint and never once mentions swirls in 2 days.


----------



## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Whilst there may be more than one product, more than one method etc etc there is ONLY one result clean and clean has to be clean not leave bits in the corners or one two miss a few. Clean is clean there is no varient on clean you dont have 
Had a go
Sort of clean
Clean
Super clean
Cleaner than new
The idea of valeting a car is to put it back to as near FACTORY ( not showroom ) condition as possible


----------



## dubber (Oct 2, 2011)

AllenF said:


> Not this argument again
> There is NO difference between valeting and detailing detailing is an americanism for valeting because they call a valet someone that parks your car.
> At the end of the day its car/vehicle cleaning simple as that.
> There is only one way to clean something and that is properly. you wouldnt half wash the dishes would you or only do the face of a plate and not the back? Same thing applies to cleaning a car


Correct, if your cleaning it. Then why miss things.
If your doing it properly then do it!!!


----------



## APS (Sep 15, 2014)

Back to the original question, if it was me, the full weekend.
Because by the time i'd had a coffee, been distracted by DW world, fixed something the missus has broken, got side tracked by the noise no one else can hear on my car..........


----------



## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

If your doing it properly then is it valeting or is it detailing. If your cleaning it to factory standards. Is it valeting or is it detailing.
Simple answer its cleaning it 
Call yourself what you like including Dr of vehicle feculence removal and optical clarity rectification


----------



## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

I think your missing the point AllenF


----------



## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

No im not zetec
It just makes me laugh when you read " gave car a quick detail took me three hours" i just have to smile at it ..three hours so they cleaned a quarter of a wheel then


----------



## Clean ocd (Mar 29, 2014)

AllenF said:


> No im not zetec
> It just makes me laugh when you read " gave car a quick detail took me three hours" i just have to smile at it ..three hours so they cleaned a quarter of a wheel then


3 hours for a quarter of a wheel are you serious :thumb: think you need to look at what you are saying even the dumbest of people can clean a whole car in 3 hours


----------



## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Well have an attempt at it.
Find jack handle
Jack car up
Remove wheel nuts
Try and find locking nut key
Remove wheel
Clean wheel
Decontaminate wheel
Then start polishing wheel
Yup three hours in you done a quarter of it.


----------



## Clean ocd (Mar 29, 2014)

AllenF said:


> Well have an attempt at it.
> Find jack handle
> Jack car up
> Remove wheel nuts
> ...


thats not cleaning a wheel thats something different


----------



## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

I spent 5hours cleaning and protecting 2 wheels

They are wheely clean now


----------



## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

No thats cleaning a wheel PROPERLY
Not 
Unzip flies 
Remove phallus
Urinate on wheel


----------



## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

AllenF said:


> As above.
> A proper full valet can take upto a week .


With this in mind and now having said you would take a possible 12 hours alone on the wheels, I'm curious to know what sort of cost this would be to a customer.


----------



## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

So your now saying that a full valet could not be completed in 3 hours?


----------



## Blueberry (Aug 10, 2007)

AllenF said:


> No im not zetec
> It just makes me laugh when you read " gave car a quick detail took me three hours" i just have to smile at it ..three hours so they cleaned a quarter of a wheel then


I agree with that comment Allen. That isn't a detail however a full blown correction detail is NOT a valet. 😊


----------



## Steve (Mar 18, 2014)

"Valet" 4 hours....


----------



## Steve (Mar 18, 2014)

Dougnorwich said:


> I spent 5hours cleaning and protecting 2 wheels
> 
> *They are wheely clean now*


HAHAH BOOM BOM BOM

Seriously.

You spend at least 4 hours on the wheels..

But your special..


----------



## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

A valet can be done in that time
A FULL valet ( read detail ) could not no
S63 do the maths


----------



## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

Tough one that I've oftern wondered how anyone does a full valet in 3 hours 

By the time I've done a full decon pre wax then lsp I'm over 3 hours easy and I've not even started the inside


----------



## dubber (Oct 2, 2011)

Ffs!!! Lets get back on track. :wall:


----------



## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

A full PROPER valet is a detail FFS
It takes that to get paint depths and mask up AT LEAST


----------



## Clean ocd (Mar 29, 2014)

time to get the pop corn out getting interesting here


----------



## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

Dougnorwich said:


> Tough one that I've oftern wondered how anyone does a full valet in 3 hours
> 
> By the time I've done a full decon pre wax then lsp I'm over 3 hours easy and I've not even started the inside


But the difference between your idea of a full valet and somebody elses full valet might be totally different. Some people dong care about picking up the odd swirl and a bit if fallout on there wheels.

If they did im sure they would be into detailing and do it themselves. Thats why they get sonebody else to VALET there car for them.


----------



## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

AllenF said:


> S63 do the maths


I could do the Maths very easily, but it all boils down to what you think you're worth per hour, for someone with your vast experience I'm guessing at a minimum of £30 per hour. On that basis a full five day week valet/detail/clean at 8 hours per day would work out at £1200.


----------



## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

AllenF said:


> A full PROPER valet is a detail FFS
> It takes that to get paint depths and mask up AT LEAST


A proper valet is not a detail!!!

Detailing includes machine polishing, correcting paint, wet sanding, wax or sealant applied to paint etc etc..


----------



## s29nta (Mar 9, 2013)

APS said:


> Back to the original question, if it was me, the full weekend.
> Because by the time i'd had a coffee, been distracted by DW world, fixed something the missus has broken, got side tracked by the noise no one else can hear on my car..........


keep popping in the house to check football scores,watch the start of the grand prix(sundays) to see if there is a big off on the first corner, chat to bloke from down the road who shouted you can do mine next!, check out the blond chick who has just walked past,then think **** i got no glass polish left so shoot of to halfrauds and end up baggin up on 3 for 2! get back home go back on dw to post in what detailing products have you bought today, back to the car finally and now its raining! so can take Ages for me:thumb:


----------



## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Zetec-al said:


> A proper valet is not a detail!!!
> 
> Detailing includes machine polishing, correcting paint, wet sanding, wax or sealant applied to paint etc etc..


We are in england therefore read full proper valet NOT detailing 
Lets justvagree to disagree because the term detailing has been around in uk for what fifteen or twenty years. Before then you were a valeter simple as that


----------



## APS (Sep 15, 2014)

s29nta said:


> keep popping in the house to check football scores,watch the start of the grand prix(sundays) to see if there is a big off on the first corner, chat to bloke from down the road who shouted you can do mine next!, check out the blond chick who has just walked past,then think **** i got no glass polish left so shoot of to halfrauds and end up baggin up on 3 for 2! get back home go back on dw to post in what detailing products have you bought today, back to the car finally and now its raining! so can take Ages for me:thumb:


It's why i've bagged a nice garage to use in April to do a full 4 day valet, no detail, no sorry car clean, oh wait i mean super dooper valet but not a detail so that i can be in the dry and not disturbed. Can't wait!


----------



## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

We are talking about NOW though. Not 20 years ago.

If i went and paid dor a full valet id expect nothing more than good clean, inside and out, door shuts and so on.

If i paid fora detail i would expect a lot lot more carried out over a dat or two. Imcluding machine polushing and sealing the paint with a coating or some sort.


----------



## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

a full valet to me is wash, shampoo seats / clean leather, exterior polish, dress all plastics inside and out. anything more, even claying, is going further than a valet


----------



## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Well clean hasnt changed its definition in the last twenty years has it?
Its either clean or it isnt if it isnt then it has not been either valeted or detailed.
The word detailing just hikes the price by 300%

Its all about the attention to detial


----------



## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

AllenF said:


> We are in england therefore read full proper valet NOT detailing
> Lets justvagree to disagree because the term detailing has been around in uk for what fifteen or twenty years. Before then you were a valeter simple as that


Must agree when I was a nipper it was you took your car for a valet not a detail

But then there was no macdonalds when I was a kid just a wimpy selling a curly sausage.

America on the March again........

So car care takes as long as you want it too take, or I'd guess if it's your business as long as it makes you money and gives you a good margin like everything in life there's always chances to sell upgrades and add ons

Woukd you like to go large with that


----------



## APS (Sep 15, 2014)

personally, the difference is one that has been made up to distance ourselves (anal car cleaners) from the "have a go hHarry" who has set up as a valeter because he has cleaned a car once and thinks its an easy way to make money.

In practice their really shouldn't be a difference between a Valet and a Detail, except for one is English and one is indeed American. However, in reality there is such a MASSIVE difference between good valeters and bad valeters, we have adopted the word Detail to express a greater level of care, time and experience. I don't think this is wrong by any means. I just wish it wasn't an American word.


----------



## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

AllenF said:


> Well clean hasnt changed its definition in the last twenty years has it?
> Its either clean or it isnt if it isnt then it has not been either valeted or detailed.
> The word detailing just hikes the price by 300%
> 
> Its all about the attention to detial


No it hasn't changed, you are correct.

You have just said valeted or detailed..so your now saying there is a difference between the two?


----------



## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

So back to the question, "How much time for a full valet?"


----------



## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

so if clean means clean, which you say, if i wash my car tomorrow, its clean.

if i pay a detailer £500 to spend a week on it, its exactly the same? clean?


----------



## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

Ian i couldn't agree with you more.


----------



## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

8 hours inside and out got to be a day, no paint correction though


----------



## APS (Sep 15, 2014)

"Its either clean or it isnt if it isnt then it has not been either valeted or detailed."

I think by this he means if it isn't clean, it isn't clean..... and therefore hasn't been valeted or detailed.... whichever word you use.


----------



## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

Shaun said:


> So back to the question, "How much time for a full valet?"


This means no spam / off topic / pointless posts please guys..


----------



## Kirkyworld (Jan 12, 2014)

Soul boy 68 said:


> I'd say 6 - 9 hours is a very good standard, I wouldn't say you are a wash Monkey.


I really appreciate that, I've been cleaning cars 25 years but now it's just one of my hobbies. I've learnt so much on here and like to think I could make a half decent job of a valet if I had the car for the day but I'm no pro.


----------



## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

For those who missed it

So back to the question, "How much time for a full valet?"


----------



## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

Dougnorwich said:


> 8 hours inside and out got to be a day, no paint correction though


It all depend...

Are you talking about decon, claying, polishing by hand, waxing..? as that is more than valeting in my eyes.


----------



## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

Locked for a moment so people can see what i put, the detail/ valet argument has been doe done death of numerous occasions and has nothing to do with the topic so please keep on topic when opened.


----------



## stumpy90 (May 13, 2014)

To put it simply.... There are so many different stages and standards of detailing it's hard to say how long it would take. Some of the pros on here take days... Some of the weekend worriors like me take a few hours. 

How long is a peice of string.


----------



## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

Agreed it's like buying a sandwich meal deal, what crisps hot or cold drink

Different peopke run 100m differently 

It's the offering that determines the time I'd say


----------



## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Size also plays a big part
No way you could do say a daf xf in three hours


----------



## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

6 hours 18 minutes and 32 seconds on average.


----------



## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

A good valet with full shampoo of the interior would take me 6 hours I recon/ half a day a minimum. As its been said though every car is different. Being mobile it also depends on whether I can get my van close to where I'm working too. Quite a bit of equipment to lug around and if I can't get my water from the van it can take even longer. 

Dog hairs = game over. YOur day is gone. Lol

Also, simply being able to machine polish or even clay a car does not make you a detailer. Let's face it 75% of the forum can machine polish. Especially with the new age DAs available making it dead easy to leave a good finish without too much risk. The guy I bought my car off was a detailer. Polish residue everywhere. Scratches. Only good thing was the immaculate interior. Being able to revive worn parts, and get everything better than new, removing bolts and cleaning them, getting in every single nook and crannie and paying attention to the DETAIL makes you a detailer. Having said that, there are some damn site good valeters who do better jobs than some detailers...


----------



## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Dog hairs aint that bad. With a decent prufit brush
Horse hair is worse its like wire wool stuck in the seats.
Over greasing of door shuts is my pet hate.
Weather also plays a big part.
Hot sunshine is actually worse than freezing cold ( as most mobile guys will agree )


----------



## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

, if anyone wants to genuinely help the OP then feel free to PM him.


----------

