Valet Your Car – Does A DIY Valet Really Clean Up?

Have you ever taken your car to a local car wash to have a valet? They do a tidy job – there’s no disputing that. But with the average price tag of around £100 for an average size car, for an average clean, it’s not a cheap job. Add in optional extras such as engine bays, seat cleaning and tyre sealing, and before you know it, you’re spent. Literally.

I decided to try and cheat the system – and see if I could get my car squeaky clean without the hefty price tag.

When it comes to your seats – to do a job as thoroughly as the professionals – the easiest way to start would be to buy your very own wet vac. Priced from £140, you can look at these one of two ways. You can skip it and use something else as I did, because I didn’t want to lay out £140; I was trying to valet on a budget, after all!

However, despite their higher price tag, once you have purchased it, you have it – no more outlay, except car shampoo.

I decided to do it without the wet vac – after all, I am on a budget!

The Car

The car in question was a seven-seater Volkswagen Touran. An ex taxi; which means high mileage but a low price, and extremely well kept.

FYI, if you get the option to grab an ex taxi, especially a privately owned one, it’s always worth considering. It is their only source of income, and they only earn when it is on the road; which means they are usually extremely well maintained, fairly new, and get anything and everything they need.  

This car had been sat up for the best part of six months, and apart from needing the battery charging, was in great condition mechanically.

The inside however…. Not so good. The seats had gone slightly mouldy due to the damp and not being used, the roof lining was grubby to put it nicely, and the seatbelts and floors were, quite frankly, disgusting.

The Product

I had ordered Sonax Xtreme Interior Cleaner – two bottles, in case one wasn’t enough (for the record – it wasn’t!). I also ordered a leather and textile cleaning brush, and gave the car a thorough hoover throughout to rid of any loose debris and dirt.

The Sonax Extreme was advertised that it could valet the interior of the car – from plastics and trims, to seats and seatbelts.

After using waaaay too much on the first seat I tried, I got the hang of how to use it. A few sprays, use the brush to scrub it in, leave it to work its magic, before using some warm water and a microfiber cloth to rub off any excess.

Once I had done the seats, I did the door cards, the dash, the seatbelts, the carpets and the roof lining, all with the microfibre cloth.

The Results

After a lot of effort on my behalf, I left the interior to dry and came back to it the next morning. As I opened the doors, the musty smell had gone, and my car looked clean!! The spray had made the trim black and shiny, rather than brown and grubby. The carpets looked new, rather than patchy. And the seats, belts and roof lining had come up a treat! It was like a whole new car. I gave the seats a second go over, and honestly – they looked as good as new.

Overall, aside from the physical manual labour of cleaning, I had spent barely £20, and given my car a complete overhaul. So, thank you Sonax, you are definitely a bargain buy!