How We Source and Label Our Prices
Every price here is an estimate, July 2026. See how we source prices: a national baseline times a city labor factor, labeled and dated.
How We Source and Label Our Prices
Every price on this site is an estimate. As of July 2026, no city has crossed to measured data. Each figure is a national baseline range times a per-city labor factor drawn from metro wage and cost-of-living data. We label it "Estimated from regional averages." It is a modeled number, not a quote from a detailer near you.
This page is the whole method: how we source prices and what the two labels mean. It also sets out what has to happen before a city moves from one label to the other.
The two labels, side by side
Every price we publish carries one of two labels. The measured vs estimated split is the whole method. We never dress an estimate up as measured data.
Estimated from regional averages | Based on N local quotes in {city} (updated {date}) | |
|---|---|---|
What it is | Modeled | Observed |
Source | Baseline × labor factor | Real prices in that city |
Sample size | None shown | N printed on the page |
Tells you | The band, not the shop | What people there paid |
Cities today | All of them | Zero |
The second label does not exist here yet. That is the cold-start position, said plainly. A site that shipped "Based on 40 local quotes" on day one would be faking a count it never made.
How an estimated price gets built
Our price methodology has three inputs.
A national baseline range. A full detail sits at $150–$300 for most cars. A ceramic coating sits at $500–$2,000 across duration tiers, as of July 2026. We build those bands from published detailer menus and national estimators. Thumbtack's April 2026 figure of $144–$254 is one input. It is not the answer we republish.
A per-city labor factor. Detailing is sold by labor hours. So a metro's wage level and cost of living move the whole band. The five seed metros:
Metro | Labor factor | Full detail, estimated |
|---|---|---|
Phoenix, AZ | 1.00 | $150–$300 |
Austin, TX | 1.05 | $160–$315 |
Miami, FL | 1.05 | $160–$315 |
Denver, CO | 1.08 | $160–$325 |
Seattle, WA | 1.15 | $175–$345 |
Rounding, and what stays outside the multiplier. Seattle runs 1.15 × $150–$300 = $172.50–$345.00. We publish $175–$345, rounded to the nearest $5. The $25–$50 come-to-you trip fee is quoted on its own and never multiplied. A drive across Phoenix is not 15% cheaper than a drive across Seattle.
That is how we source prices for every city we cover today. Those factors are directional cost-of-living estimates. They are not yet computed from BLS metro wage series. That gap is why the label reads estimated.
When a city crosses from estimated to measured
Three quotes. That is the whole threshold.
A city keeps the estimated label until we hold at least 3 real price quotes for it. Two data sources will feed that count. Neither is running yet, which is why the count sits at zero in every city.
Published detailer menus — a posted price on a working detailer's own site, for a named service tier. A "what did you pay in {city}?" panel — reader-submitted prices, each naming the service, the vehicle class, and the month paid. That panel is not built. Today this site collects nothing from you: no quote form, no phone field, no booking form. When the panel ships it will ask for a price and a service, never for your name or your number.
A quote only counts if it names the service tier and the vehicle class. It also has to carry a date inside the last 12 months. "Detailing is expensive here" is a comment, not a data point.
At 3, the page flips to Based on N local quotes in {city} (updated {date}). It prints the N. It reports the median of those quotes instead of the modeled band. Below 3, it stays estimated. We never promote one anecdote to a headline number. That is the trap of pricing a job off one forum thread.
Why every price shows an as-of date
Detailing prices move with labor and product costs. A stale number is worse than no number. It still looks official. So the date sits next to the price, not in a footer.
What | Refresh cadence |
|---|---|
Baseline ranges | Quarterly |
City labor factors | Yearly |
Measured city panels | On each new quote |
Price past 12 months | Re-checked or dropped |
The date lets you discount a number yourself. If a page says July 2026 and you are reading it in 2028, you already know what to do with it.
Who checks the method, and what we are not
A working detailer reviews how we price. That is someone who quotes these jobs for a living and will tell us when a modeled band is wrong in the field. The review covers what a "full detail" includes. It covers the baseline ranges. It asks whether a city price reads fair to someone selling there. This cycle we credit the reviewer by role, not by name.
We are a directory and a lead router. We do not detail cars. We do not employ detailers. We do not set what a provider charges you. Listings and lead handoffs may be paid. We spell that out in our disclosures. We do not warrant any provider's work. Our terms say so.
What this method cannot do
The limits are real, so we own them.
A metro average can miss a specific shop's menu. One detailer three miles from you may sit $80 under our band. Another may sit $120 over it. Both can be fair prices for different work. One factor also flattens a city. Downtown Seattle and its outer suburbs do not price the same. A single 1.15 cannot see that spread.
Prices move between refreshes. A cost jump or a busy season can push a market before the quarterly re-check catches it.
An estimate is never a binding quote. Nothing here is an offer to do work at a price. The only number that binds anyone is the one a detailer gives you after seeing your car.
FAQ
What does "Based on N local quotes" mean?
It means we hold at least 3 real price quotes for that city. They will come from posted detailer menus and a reader-price panel, neither of which is running yet. The label prints the count and the date. No city has it yet.
How often do you update prices?
We re-check the baselines every quarter and the city labor factors once a year. A measured city updates on each new quote. Any price past 12 months gets re-checked or dropped.
Method reviewed by a working detailer. All prices are estimated from regional averages and dated. They are an estimate, not a binding quote. See our disclosures and terms.