FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Simply put, getting your car detailed means a top-to-bottom thorough cleaning of your vehicle using specialized tools and products.  Car detailing involves cleaning and reconditioning the interior and exterior of the car. The aim of this is to restore the paintwork by eliminating light scratches or swirl marks to make the car look almost brand new like it did when you first drove it out of the shop.  

Inside the car all of the upholstery is thoroughly vacuumed and shampooed to remove stains and dirt. If the car has leatherwork, this is conditioned and scrubbed to remove dirt that is deeply ingrained. Plastics and vinyl are also properly cleaned and dressed. Floor mats and carpets are pressure washed, dried and conditioned. Lastly, the interior glass is also cleaned and polished.

Absolutely! You can always drop off a vehicle the day before or at night. We have a yellow key drop box in the back of the building right by the office door. All you need to do is park your car in our parking lot and drop the keys in the box and you’re all set! If you have any special notes to pass on to us, feel free to send a text message to our office phone 406.580.6204.

Yes! We want you to be able to get your car at any time, even if you can’t make it before we close. If the Detailing Service has been paid for, we can lock your keys in our designated black key lock boxes, set a personal code, and text it to you! Only you can access your car keys this way and your vehicle and keys are safe until you can come by to get it.

Generally, appointments are available within a week to 10 days. Although, during the busier spring and summer months, you should plan on as far out as a month or more in advance. If you are going out of town with shorter notice, you can check with us if we can work it into our schedule and have it clean, dry and meticulously detailed for you when you get back. We have a large facility and can keep your car safe while it is visiting us. Our short-term storage is safer and less expensive than Airport Parking, but subject to availability. 

Most of our services can be completed in one full day. For our one-day appointments, with an early drop off by 7:30am, the pick-up time is between 4 pm and 5 pm. Our 2-day appointments (afternoon spots) however have the later drop-off time at 10 am. The afternoon sessions generally require the vehicle to stay inside our shop overnight for carpeting & upholstery to dry thoroughly. The next morning, we complete the exterior (if applicable), final inspection, assembly and finishing. pick-up time for our 2-day spots are between 10am and 1pm the next day, depending on package selected. We always call when the car is about to be ready!

 We unfortunately do not have a ride service any longer, due to COVID-19. But we have an easy solution for your transportation needs: you can get a Swissdetail Loaner Car to drive while your vehicle is staying with us. We have our own fleet of Swissdetail rental cars at a low rate of $35/day with 35 miles & fuel included. All cars are disinfected between uses. Longer distance (like Big Sky, Livingston, Manhattan) possible upon request for an adjusted rate of $50/day with unlimited miles and we ask for the vehicle to be returned fueled up. Rental cars are only available with a scheduled detailing service. 

We are highly successful at removing all types of stains from all sorts of materials. In most cases, the entire interior of your vehicle will look like new again. Food based stains such as: Soda, sauces, ice cream, grease, oil and ground in dirt are seldom a problem for us to remove. Some of the problem stains that may not be eliminated completely are red food dye (like in red beverages), paint or glue. If the interior is very heavily stained and you want all stains completely removed, we may be required to add an extra charge to the flat rate package for additional time and specialty chemicals. 

 Bozeman is a Dogtown, so we have a lot of practice and special methods for dog hair removal. But depending on the fabrics in your car and how old it is, there is only a certain amount that can be removed safely. We call it the 95%-success. We work in the interest of the car because there’s only so much stress you can put the fabric under before it starts to frizz out or show excessive wear from brushing and vacuuming. So, it’s a balancing act to do the best without doing harm. For a 100% dog hair removal (like for people with allergies) additional time might be needed! Please inform us of specialty needs. 

We hand wash and dry a car only if it is listed on the service you chose. We do not automatically wash every car that comes in, because a thorough hand wash takes about 1 hour and not everybody wants to spend the money for that. But we’re more than happy to add the wash for the list price to any Interior Package, just let us know when you schedule your service. 

Yes, we are the EXPERTS when it comes to restoring and correcting the paint finish of vehicles. We evaluate the present condition of the paint and then use the precise tools and proper techniques to make your paint amazing to look at and shine better than new. Our methods are adjusted to the needs and expectations of the customer as well, whether it is for a car show winner or your daily driver, you will be “swirl free”. Price upon inspection of vehicle, please come on by for a free quote.

Depending on how deep it is, often a scratch can be polished to eliminate it or at least minimize the appearance. It is hard to diagnose until we can get a good look at the scratch, so drop by and we can evaluate it and let you know what needs to be done. Sometimes it might need to be “touched up” with the matching paint to protect the panel if the scratch goes down to bare metal. Although touch-up won’t look perfect, we are very good at using a very minimal amount. We try to save you from having the whole panel painted whenever possible. Touch up services only provided upon request and if paint is provided. 

We chemically decontaminate every vehicle we perform an Exterior Detail package on. We only use a clay bar treatment before the polishing if there is heavy contamination found (like paint overspray) that could not be removed with our other decontamination process which is generally gentler on the paint than the clay bar. 

 We are very successful at removing smoke odor from interiors. The key is thoroughly cleaning every surface inside the vehicle including the seats, floor mats, carpet, door panels, headliner etc. Wiping, scrubbing, extracting, rinsing, each component is necessary to leave the surfaces clean and fresh, removing the odor causing tar/nicotine residue rather than covering it up. Even the leather cleaning and conditioning will assist in purging the buildup of tar and nicotine. After intense cleaning and drying, we install the Ozone machine to remove the odors left behind by these stains. and let it run in the interior for several hours (8-10, preferably overnight) to circulate the ozone in, around and through components that can’t be accessed with our cleaning procedures such as HVAC air ducting. You should plan on leaving the vehicle here for about a full day and a half. We also recommend getting the Cabin Air Filter replaced before you bring the vehicle in for the cleaning service.  

We are trained and certified in automotive reconditioning and therefore focus on cars and pick up trucks only. We detail from Classics to brand new, work truck to high end weekend cars, daily drivers and kid-or dog haulers. But we do not service any RV’s, ATV, UTV, Semi trucks, Boats or Farm equipment. 

Customers have questions, and we are happy to answer them! If we encounter a question frequently, and believe other clients will benefit from an answer they can find here, we will be happy to add it.