Case Study: 2008 Ford Mustang

Today’s case study is a 2008 Ford Mustang, in Burgundy Red.

The client was looking to sell the car, which he hasn’t driven in a while. He had no special request, just to make the car presentable for a quick and profitable sale.

I picked up the car from the client’s residence, in Downtown Vancouver, and brought it over to my shop in the Cathedral Place building.

Quite typical for a car sitting outside in the Pacific Northwest climate, there was green moss all over the front hood, rooftop, and the trunk lid.

Although it may look like “ordinary dirt” at first glace, when left unattended for a long period of time, the moss attaches itself firmly to the exterior of a car, making it very difficult and tedious to remove. (Sometimes, it even damages the clearcoat beyond repair.)

Aside from the moss, the exterior of the car had just layers and layers of dirt build-up.

The interior was in no better shape either, and it was full of dust, dirt, and debris. (If you’d like to see what our interior cleaning process is like, go here.)

The seats had even a few set-in stains, which turned out to be beyond our help.

The client had chosen the entry-level package, looking for an inexpensive thorough clean and refresh.

Given that the car had not been cleaned in years, the mid-level package would have been more appropriate in this case, but the improvement was nevertheless dramatic.

After a few hours of solid work, the car looked 10 times better than before.

In my opinion, the client added a minimum of $1,000 to the selling price with a modest investment of just over $200 (because of a First-Time-Customer Special Offer).

A clean car looks well maintained in the eyes of a potential buyer, and gives less reason for price negotiation.

(Selling or buying a used car? Returning a lease? Consider having it properly cleaned by Clean My Car)

This story has a bit of a funny ending (which also contains a lesson…)

Three days after the appointment, the client calls me, and says:

“Hey, Alex — Today we took a closer look at the car, and noticed, on the driver’s side door, a long scratch that appears to have been poorly covered with paint. Do you know anything about that?”

After picking up my jaw off the floor, I had to repeat this just to make sure I got it right:

“So, in a nutshell, what you’re asking is if I scratched your car and then tried to cover up the scratch with paint?”

The client:

“Yes, I guess that’s what I’m asking…”

Me:

“The answer is no. As much as I’d love to help, that is not something we did. It was there before, just covered in dirt. Now that the car is clean, it stands out.”

The client apologized for asking the question, I assured him I understand his reaction, and that was the end of the conversation.

Here’s why I find this funny, and a lesson in the same time:

1. I failed to establish trust. Had the client trusted me 100%, he would’ve never thought of suspecting me of such doing. Building trust with my clients is my job, and I didn’t do this properly.

2. I have insurance. And I pay a lot for it. A lot. Had I scratched his car, I would’ve simply taken responsibility, and fixed it properly using my (overpriced) insurance.

3. Fixing a scratch takes time. You’d have to order matching paint from the car dealer, using a paint code specific to the car. This takes about a week. I only had this client’s car in my care for 4 hours.

4. I’m a terrible liar. I stutter and turn red when I try to lie… I despise lying and liars. Lying takes a ton of effort, because you have to remember every lie you told, and maintain it. It’s exhausting. I couldn’t have done that to my client’s car, and then delivered it back to him with a straight face.

In conclusion: If you’re thinking about using my service, but you don’t trust me 100%, we’re probably both better off if you find someone else. Really.