Case Study: 2020 Tesla Model S
Today’s case study is a 2020 Tesla Model S, in Charcoal Grey.
This car belongs to a long-time client of mine, who’s been with me for over 6 years.
This is his second Tesla Model S during this time — the previous one was a 2016 model, and was Silver in colour. I guess it’s true that “Once a Tesla owner, always a Tesla owner”.
Anyways, he bought this new one right in the Summer of 2020, and picked a beautiful combination of a Charcoal Grey exterior with an all-black interior, which is both classy and practical in the same time.
Now, this situation is quite typical for me, as my client and I only met face-to-face once in 6 years — and it wasn’t at the very beginning either. In fact, it was early this year, when he couldn’t drop off his car keys with his office receptionist (because it was closed) as he usually does, and he had to come meet me in the lobby to hand over the keys personally.
Other than that, we communicate via email or phone, and he has no real need to ever see me (or any of my team members) in order to have his car cleaned.
This time was no different. He phoned me on Sunday to arrange an appointment time for the upcoming week.
I always keep a couple of spots available for my special clients, just in case any of them need service on a short notice.
Lesson learned the hard way…
This is nothing to be proud of, but there was this one time in the past, when one of my top clients needed urgent service (because of some milk spilled in the car), and the only way to do it was to cancel an appointment with a new customer.
Needless to say, the new customer didn’t like this one bit, despite my apologies and offer for a free service, and refused to schedule another appointment.
Lesson learned — older clients still have top-level priority in my calendar, but without sacrificing access for other less-frequent or new customers…
Anyways, back to our Tesla Model S…
Even though the car is relatively new (bought back in June, remember?), it was still dirty enough to justify a serious cleaning and detailing session, just to bring it back to a like-new condition.
Which brings me to…
One of the most common misconceptions about car cleaning that I run into frequently is the one that “new cars don’t need to be cleaned”.
Like many other pieces of “conventional wisdom”, this one is absolutely false.
Not only that, but for someone taking it literally, and following it as true, it proves to be quite costly in the long run.
(I talk about this car cleaning misconception, and a few other ones, in my Confessions Of A Car Cleaner podcast).
Clean My Car to the rescue…
I picked up the keys from my client’s office in Downtown Vancouver, and brought the car over to my shop.
Because of a long stretch of good weather we’ve had recently, the exterior was in decent shape, and not terribly dirty.
Even with that, there was still a noticeable improvement after the cleaning session was completed.
The interior was a different story…
When you spend time in a car, especially with other family members, dirt gets dragged inside no matter how careful you are.
(to see our Car Interior Cleaning Process, go here)
We always get better results cleaning a higher-end car, such as a Tesla, which is mostly because of the quality materials Tesla uses in assembling their cars.
Just like anything else in life, with cars you get what you pay for. In this case, you pay more for a Tesla than you’d pay for most cars, but you get much better, and more durable finishings.
The Ozone Shock Treatment also helped with freshening up the interior, 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 Tesla 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 Tesla 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:
Alex takes excellent care of his wash clients. He’s attentive, on time, and pays real attention to detail. My car was returned to me in showroom condition. Highly recommend Clean My Car (which comes to you) so you can continue to attend to your business without long waits, and poor finishing because of time pressures.
If you own a Tesla, and would like to get it properly cleaned and detailed, by someone with experience in the peculiarities of the Tesla brand, you’re in the right place.
Visit CleanMyTesla.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”)