[AJ56]

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

So you cannot compare their services & charges with the ones you provide. Yes its true there is an audience who can spend $$$ on detailing, however the mass market consumer will shy away from spending this kind of money. I normally do wash and wax after every 2-3 months, so going by your rates, my quarterly car spa routine budget will be twice that of my car servicing budget

Yes very true, no two shops are the same in terms of the time they put in and products used.

It’s the same for my own cars, I spend way more on detailing and paint protection every year than I do on annual servicing, and this is after the fact that labour is free for me

But this is where the beauty of a pro ceramic coating comes in, over a 2-3 year period it works out much, much cheaper than getting a wash and wax done every 1-2 months, plus you get better water repellency and protection.

Originally Posted by R2D2

Just so you are aware, from my experience, no detailer in Pune uses RO water (bore well water used).

If the total cost of offering this service was 1380 and price charged was a measly 1600 or so per wash, it would certainly not make commercial sense.

My car generally gets extra attention because of a few reasons including my monitoring of the work plus my bonhomie with the detailer. I want to try out Turtle Wax though I really wish 3M came up with a Meguiars franchisee system instead of the low end 3M stuff which isn't half as impressive as their premium brand.

Not just Pune, no detailer in Delhi-NCR (to my knowledge) uses distilled water either. Blasting soft paint with hard water (1000+ TDS) at 2000 psi is never a good idea and can lead to pitting in the clearcoat. And when someone is spending thousands on paint correction it makes no sense to save that odd 450 and risk it. You also get thicker foam and your pressure washer lasts much longer.

Not every service in a business has to be profitable to make commercial sense, it’s offered at cost as a convenience service for people wanting basic maintenance cleaning. It’s also good marketing for us as it gets people through the door where they can often see other cars being coated/polished and this helps convert them.

I wouldn’t put Meguiar’s over 3M if we’re talking brand hierarchy. Neither would I classify 3M as a premium brand by any stretch, it’s decent quality but nowhere near the best. Look at at this way-

You have the super cheap brands like Motomax, Wavex, Formula 1, no name Chinese brands, etc. these are roughly equivalent to your entry level cars like I10, I20, City, etc.

You have standard brands like Meguiar’s, 3M, Turtle, Armor All, etc. these are equivalent to mid segment cars like Camry, Accord, C Class, Superb, etc.

You have the luxury/high end brands like Carpro, Gyeon, Wolfgang, Stoner, Koch Chemie, SystemX, Feynlab, etc. these are equivalent to flagship cars like an S class, 7 Series, XJ, A8, etc.

Finally you have the ultra/best money can buy category with brands like Kamikaze, Zymol, Swissvax, etc. targeted at the rich Pebble Beach Concours crowd. These are equivalent to cars like a Bentley Continental, RR Phantom, etc.

I might add that just like with the car examples I’ve given, the differences between the last two categories is minor at best, and in some cases the flagship brands actually do better. Just like how an S has a better looking/more feature packed interior than a Continental or Phantom.

The Indian detailing market is moving up slowly, 15 years ago even the standard brands like 3M weren’t popular, now it’s a mix of standard and high end ones. In the future it’ll be a mix of the high end and ultra categories.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by AJ56

You have standard brands like Meguiar’s, 3M, Turtle, Armor All, etc. these are equivalent to mid segment cars like Camry, Accord, C Class, Superb, etc.

The Indian detailing market is moving up slowly, 15 years ago even the standard brands like 3M weren’t popular, now it’s a mix of standard and high end ones. In the future it’ll be a mix of the high end and ultra categories.

I'd agree with you on most of what you said in this post. Back in the '90s and early 2K it was the ubiquitous F1 it was passable by todays standards but back then compared to waxpol and similar it was a dream.

I have used both 3M and Meguiars extensively over decades and found Megs products to be superior. Then shifted to Collinite 845 and Marque d'Elegance 915, very good for the money too.

I used to frequent a US detailing forum (autogeek, I think) frequently back in the days but I guess have put it on the backburner because living in a flat, and of course age, put restrictions on what one can do including using a pressure washer (I have a Bosch). I now leave the detailing to the 'experts'. I have used Aquatint's services and they are/were very good. The car hasn't been detailed since 2018-19 and needs some TLC now.

There's a guy who is willing to do a ceramic coating on my car but given its age I am not sure.

[varunswnt]

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

Do inform us in case they reopen ! I noticed some new detailing centers on Nagar road towards Kharadi - Wagholi section. Maybe I will try them out and post a report someday.

There is another popular one near Novotel hotel on Nagar road near Viman nagar.

https://brotomotiv.in/

Address : Lane No. 1, Right Turn, Kapil Nagar street, Behind Water Tank Road, Wadgaon Sheri Rd, opp. Novotel, Pune, Maharashtra 411014

If you try them, then do review them. With your first hand experience on detailing at various places, your views on them will be more credible.

Disclaimer: I have no experience with them, but do follow their Youtube channel once a while.

[tsi_niks1989]

I visited the relocated Turtle Wax Car Care Studio near Viman Nagar, Pune for a Wash and Wax service for our Virtus GT. Car had completed almost 8.5K KMs in 6 months and was been washed by a car cleaner guy on a daily basis.

Despite giving tips on how to clean the car correctly along with microfiber cloth from 3M, due to lot of hard water used and improper cleaning method, most places we could make out the swirl marks and hard water sticking through.

So coming back to the washing, we booked an appointment for 4PM evening and he was able to squeeze that in as he had couple of pending cars ongoing. We reached on time and car was completely cleaned from inside first. Mr. Feroz, a very knowledgeable car enthusiast himself inspected the car and I was scolded for destroying the car once he saw the bonnet area full of swirl marks. "What have you done with your car sir?Just remove the person who is cleaning this on daily basis".

"Ok got it, but what next?", he called few of his guys and asked to get the car washed first and then before applying wax do a stage 1 what they do in ceramic.

Car was washed with soft water and he took us to show how he is filtering the water to soften it before washing any car, impressive. After foam wash, only the bonnet area was done stage 1-rubbing and using some compound for a polish and to our surprise after 20min of the job whatever swirl marks existed were all gone(I had got ceramic done just after delivery which helped in not destroying the paint).

Rest of the car was then cleaned and wax properly, Mr Feroz was closely monitoring everything being done. Really happy with the experience and would surely recommend anyone near Viman Nagar or Kharadi area to visit once.
I was charged 1650 INR total for this service.

Adding few pics of the car during and after cleaning, thank you for reading.

[Samfromindia]

Nice job ! They also charged you a bit less than mine. I guess they added the "SUV" tax on my Sub 4M Hatchback on Stilts

[acestormtrooper]

It’s been a couple of years that I have owned a Fiat Linea. Due to Covid didn’t travel much and now, recently did a round trip, Pune – Bengaluru – Pune. Faced a lot of heavy rain on the way back to Pune. Once back, I wanted to get the car washed really well so dropped by at this place, Carbon & Chrome (the same place where Turtle Wax was located on Nagar road, Pune).







Met Mr. Sahil (the owner of the place) and told him that I wanted to get my car washed. He took my car for detailed wash. While the car was getting washed, I was having a look at the work being done there. They are a true detailing studio, Extremely clean!!


The washing bay as well as the detailing studio were super clean and organized.







I enquired with Mr. Sahil about what all do they offer in the detailing scene. He mentioned that right from a wash and wax to, PPF, to ceramic to some super premium coatings like polymer coatings.


My Fiat Linea in for washing







What impressed me is that the guys here did not do a single up selling of their products to me. The regular detailing folks hover around you and scare you that “one must do a coating, car will rust, PPF is the best thing ever” and all of that – Nothing like this was done here.

Once the car was washed, I told Mr. Sahil to do a rubbing polishing on the car as I was impressed with the quality of work being done on other cars. Do note, the paint on my car is damaged at some parts due to bird droppings. He clearly said that this will be visible even after the rubbing polishing. This kind of transparency was kept even before the work started which I found to be impressive. Inspite of this, I told him to go ahead with the job.

Notice the damaged paint patch on the center of the hood - Caused due to bird droppings.






Post wash, the applied clay and got the minute dirt out. Masked the plastic parts and chrome strips. Started the rubbing process. The compound used was from Menzerna (Super Heavy Cut Compound), Menzerna (Final finish for swirl marks removal), Farecla (G360 Super fast compound)









Post the entire process, the car looked fab!!! I was truly impressed by them since the shade of the colour was what it was when the car was brand new!!

His shop floor personnel knew their job really well. One for washing, one for masking while the other applied clay etc. They also cleaned the polishing pads on regular intervals – This is something which I have not seen anyone do. The guys here kept cleaning the pads regularly to avoid the compound dust to spread over.





















Overall rating 9.5/10
Cleanliness 10/10
Transparency in work 10/10
Time committed V/s Delivery 10/10
Cost 8.5/10 (There's always some scope for discounts )
Quality of work 9.5/10

Disclaimer - I have no relation with the guys at Carbon & Chrome. i have paid for the services conducted on my vehicle. They charge Rs. 5000 upwards depending on the condition of the car and size of the car.

[Neomobile]

Originally Posted by tsi_niks1989

I visited the relocated Turtle Wax Car Care Studio near Viman Nagar, Pune for a Wash and Wax service for our Virtus GT

Where is it located? Is it on the papal seminary road, on the left hand side before Ramwadi crossing?

[tsi_niks1989]

Originally Posted by Neomobile

Where is it located? Is it on the papal seminary road, on the left hand side before Ramwadi crossing?

It is on the airport road, next to Elite Tennis Academy. Can set the location to Elite Tennis Academy and you should reach easily.

Address: Sr 231/2, New Airport Rd, next to Elite Tennis Academy, near Town Sqaure, Clover Park, Viman Nagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411014