Aloha Car Care

[Ex-Rolla]

I've been looking around for a place where they would clean your car inside and out. I was recommended by a friend to check out Aloha Car Care (http://www.alohacarcare.com). I was told that they do a great job detailing the car. Everything from door jams to engine shampoo, waxing etc.

Anyway my friends car was cleaned today and i must say, i'm really impressed. the paint looks brand new and interior was literally spotless. Best of all, they do house calls.

I have a scheduled "cleaning" session tomorrow @ 8am, so once the job is done, I'll be sure to tell everyone what i think, along with providing some pictures. In the mean time, take a look at the site and you'll have a general understanding of how they work.

Edit: I'm getting the "Diamondhead" treatment becuase my car is filthy (diamond head includes the 3 products above) and added the high speed polish for an additional 20 dollars. I beleive our car will be considered a small car... not sure though

[Flagrum_3]

Let us know what they classify our car as and your perseption of their work after you get it done, their prices seem reasonable and if they do work as shown in their pics its more than reasonable.


_3


.

[Ex-Rolla]

Before anyone asks, i'll be adding pics soon ;)...

Alright, here are my impressions... Interior work was fantastic!!! the guy was literally on the ground scrubbing the carpets with a brush. then using a wet vac, cleaned the soap/water out. Dash was cleaned, seats were cleaned with a very mild soap/water solution. My seats are leather, so the cloth was not too damp because we all know leather/water don't normally mix. they cleaned all the trim peices, carpets, door jambs (sp?) and trunk. I have a tendency to drive with my window down a bit all the time, so the headliner was a little dirty. I asked if they can clean it and sure enough they did and did not charge anything additional..

Overall, the interior was in immaculate condition when they were done.

Couple of things that could have been added to the interior cleaning, which would have made the service all the better. after cleaning the seat, especially because they are leather, it would have been nice if they used some conditioner on the seats. just enough to give it a nice feel. Also, a couple of small areas were missed (i even miss it). only one that comes to mind is right below the handle that adjusts the position of the front seats... not a big deal though.

I was happy with the interior cleaning, and i will be using their service again!

Now on the the exterior... again, pictures will come :)

First off, the car was washed with hand, then dried with hand... after the wash the car looked really clean (the exterior was clean even before they washed it, so i didn't notice too much of a difference). Inside of each rim was scrubbed with a soft bristle brush and a cleaning solution. removed all the break dust that had accumulated of the years. Outside part of the rim was cleaned with a soft cloth to prevent scratching the clear coat i guess. tire dressing was a thick liguidy solution, which as of today is still shining nice and bright.
Exterior wash and dry was good, but it's something that i can and normally do anyway...

Exterior Hand wax (included with Diamondhead)

When i asked them, they said that they always use turtle wax waxing products, simply because it makes the car really shine and for a simple hand wax/buff, it tends to reduce swirl marks best... again, this is without using high speed buffer and compound. They also mentioned that it's the easiest to use because it comes off relatively easily. the use of turtle wax and the benefits could be debated, but i figured they know what they're doing... Anyway, in the end, the cars shine was great. I have indigo blue, or purple or ink whatever it's called and the colour really came out. It's something that i can do, so in the future, i probably won't request that service.

They advised against an engine shampoo, because after it's done, even though they cover major electrical componets, the car should sit for a day to fully dry, which i couldn't do because i had to go to work. My engine bay wasn't that dirty anyway so i agreed.


Overall, i was very happy with the service. They arrived at my house 15 minutes early (7:45am to be exact) and they were done within 2 hours. The van they drive has the company name in vinyl along with contact info which adds to the professionalism. Access to a hose and an electrical socket is required for the vaccume and presure washer. In the future though, I'll probably stick with the "Hawaiian Insider", which is interior cleaning/shampoo/detailing... i can do the exterior.

our car is considered "small".

I did not use want the Pre-wax Paint Cleaner, rubbing compund or the high speed polish, nor did i ask for a price. maybe in the fall i'll get it done to prepare for winter. If the work they did on the interior is any indication, i think they would do a good job on the outside.

If you any questions, please ask! ohhh and total charge was $145 cash.

EDIT: Thanks for the reminder majic... Pics are below.... Keep in mind it's been a week since the cleaning... and my camera phone sucks

http://ca.geocities.com/mp3master@rogers.com/11052007121.jpg

http://ca.geocities.com/mp3master@rogers.com/11052007122.jpg

http://ca.geocities.com/mp3master@rogers.com/11052007124.jpg

http://ca.geocities.com/mp3master@rogers.com/11052007125.jpg

http://ca.geocities.com/mp3master@rogers.com/11052007126.jpg

[majic]

just to nit pick ... ;)

no discount for not doing the engine shampooing?

[Ex-Rolla]

majic - It crossed my mind, but considering my friend that drives those small infiniti cars (not sure what model... it's older) was charged for the Medium size, i decided to keep my mouth shut :)

[xg3]

i made an appointment with them for next week, doing 5 cars at once...

will let u guys know how it goes.

How many ppl came to do your car?

[majic]

:ttiwwp

[Ex-Rolla]

i made an appointment with them for next week, doing 5 cars at once...

will let u guys know how it goes.

How many ppl came to do your car?

2 people...

I would hope in your case, they bring a few more people lol...

[xg3]

So we got this done last week... 6 cars..
took 2 days...

overall: it was a great job... i would say 7/10

Few things i would complain about...

When I asked why wasn't the rims on the M5 cleaned, they said we didn't request it. I think it would been pretty obvious.

They are not very detail oriented. Interior detail cleaning, is not quite the entire interior, i would expect the glove compartment to be vacummed at least.

Water stains on the glass.

If you compare it with other car detailing that charges $300.. sure its alot more affordable, however it is substitute for perfection.