What would you suggest if this was your customer?

This is from a post on another forum.This person has just bought a new black Audi Q5,and wants to take better care of it.I am wondering what everyone here would suggest to this person on how to do that? I know what I would do, but I am curious
to see what others would suggest.


I'm just looking for something that will help keep my new car nice and shiny and help protect it from the elements. I don't need my car looking perfect week-in and week-out, but every few months I'd like to do 'something', preferably on the cheaper side since I will be doing it a few times/year.

I apologize in advance for my long post, and here are my 2 questions:

1. After doing anything to a car in the way of waxing, clear coat protecting, etc... does it then HAVE to be re-applied every x weeks/months or else the car starts looking worse than it had before anything was done? In other words, by doing any of these things to a car, does the car start to look 'dull' as the product wears off? Or does it simply go back to looking 'normal' as if nothing was ever done? I would prefer to do something every few months w/o worrying that the car will look 'bad' if I don't maintain it in between.

2. As noted in #1, whatever I do will most likely (99% certain) be done by someone else. That being the case, I've found a few places near me that have good reviews. However, I'm finding that they offer so many different items (i.e. different types of waxes, polishes, sealants...), that my head is spinning. I'm trying to avoid a full-on professional detailing as that seems unnecessary and expensive since my car is new and in great shape, and isn't really something I'm going to pay for once or twice a year. I've read through many of the recommended items on this forum, but of course those aren't mentioned in most of the places I'm looking at (though some do use Mother's & Meguiars). So I'm looking for your thoughts to see if any of the items listed below are worth doing every few months? I assume that I want to stay away from any of the services that are simply sprayed on during the wash itself, but perhaps the services that are done by hand are ok?

This man is conflicted... he wants to protect and maintain the car... and yet he says professional detailing is unnecessary and expensive.. well the news is he cannot want to have all the things he seems to want and not pay ...

My recommendation because he has a black car and Audis are notoriously famous soft paint (at least that is my opinion)

He should have his vehicle detailed (even though new) and a excellent quality sealant applied. After that he should put himself on a maintenance plan to have the vehicle hand washed with a good service provider bi-weekly or once a month to keep it in great condition.

Or hand wash bi-weekly or once a month and every 4 months lightly polish and wax the vehicle. (making sure

The important thing about car care is that owners must be pro-active and part of the process to keep the car looking great for a long time. A service provider can only do so much and if client is not willingly participating in the process the car will reflect this. I do not care how good of a sealant you have on the vehicles surface that car will have spider webbing and problems if not washed properly and with great care.

Quote
concoursgarage
This man is conflicted... he wants to protect and maintain the car... and yet he says professional detailing is unnecessary and expensive.. well the news is he cannot want to have all the things he seems to want and not pay ...

My recommendation because he has a black car and Audis are notoriously famous soft paint (at least that is my opinion)


Many AUDI'S have rock hard paint but this can differ between models