Used Cars
Detailing Under the Hood
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Detailing Under the Hood
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Detailing Under the Hood correctly can bring in extra business for a Detail Shop, which often does wholesale detailing for new car dealerships with trade ins or used car dealerships with a never-ending stream of hap hazardly detailed cars from the auto auctions. One thing many detailers do not pay enough attention to is the Battery Box, Battery, cables and terminals. When a car buyer looks under the hood and sees the battery is covered with greenish-white residue they are hardly impressed. When the car does not start either it is a little tough to sell. Also a light film of battery acid on the out side of the battery can be enough to cause a 2% negative charge and slowly drain the battery. You can get an extra ten dollars fo |
If you wholesale detail price is hovering around $65.00 you will find that for an extra $10.00 that most dealers are willing to pay for it. When customers come in on a retail level we often get $15.00 for battery and terminal cleaning. You do not need very many supplies to do this. A plastic terminal wire brush cleaner, a metal brush with a wood handle, air hose, safety glasses, one-half inch wrenches, loctite battery protector and sealer, an empty water bottle with a pot sip cap, one gallon container of distilled water, some solid gloves and some baking soda. A tray to lay your equipment on is also a good idea. If you do this on a retail detail advise the customer that they will need to reset everything afterwards. Clocks, etc.
In a motor home many things will need resetting. First thing to do is to remove battery and clean battery tray with baking soda and water, while this is cleaning itself spray some water on the battery and sprinkle baking soda on it, then dry it off using the air hose or you can spray degreaser on the sides and top of the battery and wipe it off. Then wire brush clean the posts, remove them if you think you need to, and obviously you do not want to touch both posts at the same time. Then spray the battery with rubber dressing and wipe off.
If you have removed posts put them back on. Check water and fill up evenly with distilled water. If it is a sealed battery and you pop the tops, clean underneath before adding the water if needed. Usually they do on used cars. Put caps back on and then re-install battery and then look at the cables to see if they are damaged and if so clip them and re-attach cables after cleaning terminals as close as possible to the ends. If you have to replace the terminals then that is a $10.00 additional cost.
By Lance Winslow
Automotive News
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