Case Study: 2011 Mercedes GLK350 4Matic
Today’s case study is a 2011 Mercedes GLK350 4Matic, in Gunmetal Grey.
This car belongs to one of my best clients, who works in one of the office buildings in Downtown Vancouver, but lives out in the suburbs. Because of that, she commutes daily for about 2 hours roundtrip.
This car is a dream-come-true for her, as she dreamed of owning one for years, and she recently got it from a dealer in the city, just a few months before. So when she called me in panic, looking to schedule a car cleaning appointment, I knew my mission was going to be difficult, given the emotional attachment my client has for this car.
FREE BOOK REVEALS…
How To Have Your Car Cleaned Properly, At The Lowest Possible Price
Here’s what you’ll discover inside this unique book:
Why I Clean My Car Often, and Maybe You Should Too
Top 10 Costly Misconceptions About Car Cleaning
6 Car Cleaning Rip-Offs To Avoid
How To Choose The Right Car Cleaning Service
The Difference Between Value and Price
and more…
My job was to bring the car back to like-new condition, but it wasn’t going to be easy…
And here’s why.
The new (to her) car was a mess, with a long list of issues…
… During a party hosted at their house, a “friend”, eager to check out the car, spilled beer on the back seat (with friends like these, who needs enemies, right?)…
… Her yellow lab puppy had been going through what she described as an “aggressive shedding phase”, most of it taking place inside the car…
… And, if this wasn’t enough, her 10 year-old son had gotten sick in the car, and explosive vomit landed all over the back carpeting, filling the interior with a pungent, and almost unbearable, smell.
To her credit, my client wiped the area the best that she could to minimize the damage, which also made my life a little bit easier (just a bit, though…)
Clean My Car to the rescue…
The exterior looked decently clean, mostly because my client takes the car to a automated drive-through car wash about once a month. Even with that, there was still a noticeable improvement after the cleaning session was completed.
Quite typical for European cars, the wheels had a ton of brake dust, which made the rims look almost black instead of silver.
The interior was a different story…
Honestly, I almost felt I could make another dog out of all the hair I picked up from the car.
To get rid of the pungent smell — a “delightful” mix of beer and vomit — I had to run the Ozone machine twice: 20 minutes before doing any cleaning at all, and another 20 minutes after all the cleaning was completed.
This ensured the interior smelled as fresh as possible.
(to see our Car Interior Cleaning Process, go here)
The beer spill hadn’t stained the back seat, which I assume is mostly because of the quality materials Mercedes used in assembling this car.
Just like anything else in life, with cars you get what you pay for. In this case, you pay more for a Mercedes than you’d pay for most cars, but you get much better, and more durable finishings.
Pulling the vomit out of the carpet proved to be quite challenging, because by the time my client was able to bring the car in for cleaning, a few days had already passed from the incident, and the liquid had the time to seep thoroughly into the material.
That particular area of the carpet had to be shampooed a few times over, just to make sure I got most of it out, and there’s no fertile ground for bacteria and germs to grow.
The Ozone Shock Treatment also helped with this, as Ozone is capable (in certain concentrations) of killing microorganisms, such as mold, germs, and bacteria. Ozone can also dramatically reduce, or even completely eliminate, pungent odours from tobacco, spoiled food, dogs, or even vomit.
(to check out our Car Interior Sanitizing service, go here)
The “impossible” carpet, with a Velcro-like texture
If your car has such “impossible” carpet, it may not come completely clean and debris-free, no matter how much effort the car cleaner is putting into it.
This wasn’t the case here, as Mercedes typically use higher quality materials than most other car makers.
Quick side note: Many car owners expect an interior in such condition to come out clean with “just a quick vacuum”. This is never the case. Aside from a thorough and extensive vacuuming, the carpets need to be shampooed, otherwise the improvement is minimal at best.
In this particular case, the client followed my advice, and chose the appropriate cleaning package.
A few hours of solid and meticulous cleaning, and my client’s Mercedes is completely transformed…
The interior is now spotless — dirt and debris gone. It also smells fresh.
The exterior has regained its true colour, and it looks (almost) like a brand new car.
My client was super happy with the results. This is what she had to say about it, on Google reviews:
I found Alex on Google and took a chance. As a working parent, and partner to an entrepreneur, cleaning my car on my own was low on my priority list. Alex came and picked up my car from my office, made it look like the day I bought it, and returned it to me, oh so pretty! And this is now multiple times. The last time, I was brought to tears when I sat down inside my impeccably clean car, because he helped me get done one thing that I just couldn’t. Thank you Alex!!!
If you own a Mercedes, and would like to get it properly cleaned and detailed, by someone with experience in the peculiarities of the Mercedes brand, you’re in the right place.
Visit CleanMyMercedes.ca for details.
(On the other hand, if you’re driving a minivan or pick-up truck, our premium car cleaning service may not be right for you.)
Not quite ready to book an appointment right now? Click here to request your Free INFO KIT (including a complimentary $100 car cleaning Gift Card — plus a copy of my book, “How To Have Your Car Cleaned Properly, At the Lowest Possible Price”)