How Much to Charge for Car Detailing in the UK

If you're wondering how much to charge for car detailing in the UK, there isn't one answer, and this post won't give you a number. Three published UK price guides give different ranges, and none gives a sample size. Here are the three side by side, why they may differ, one way to work out your own price from your time and costs, and what UK advertising rules say about showing a price.

What do UK price guides say about how much to charge for car detailing?

Three UK guides give ranges that overlap for some services and don't for others. They are price guides from firms with something to sell or promote, not surveys.

Service	Range in each guide
Mini valet	Checkatrade: £35 to £38 AutoTidy: £50 to £80 Exquisite Valet: £55 to £80
Interior valet	Checkatrade: £45 to £68 AutoTidy: £40 to £70 Exquisite Valet: from £60 (called interior cleaning)
Full valet	Checkatrade: £70 to £110 AutoTidy: £80 to £120 Exquisite Valet: £90 to £140

Checkatrade also gives an average inside each of its ranges: £36.50 for a mini valet, £56.50 for an interior valet and £90 for a full valet. Checkatrade calls its figures "ballpark averages" and gives no sample size, so we can't say what they are an average of. Here is who published each guide and what it says about its numbers.

Guide, publisher and date shown	What it says about its figures
Checkatrade cost guide, "Updated 03/26" (March 2026). Checkatrade is a directory where customers find tradespeople (our description). Written by its "Content Team (Reviewed by Alex Peters)".	"ballpark averages". "Data verified by our professional estimators. Estimators are CIOB & RICS members." No sample size.
AutoTidy, last updated 11 September 2026. A UK mobile valeting service that matches customers with approved local valeters.	"for reference only" and "typical costs". No method given.
Exquisite Valet, dated 2 June 2026. A mobile car valeting and detailing company.	"the real, current prices we charge in 2026". Its own prices, not a market survey.

Each guide lists other services too.

Service and guide	Price as published
Basic body wash (Checkatrade)	£15 to £22 (average £18.50)
In and out clean (Checkatrade)	£25 to £40 (average £32.50), described as including "a wash, wax, dry, vacuum and tyre shine"
Exterior valet (AutoTidy)	£30 to £50
Full detail (AutoTidy)	£150+, described as including "machine polishing, scratch removal, headlight restoration, engine bay cleaning, and ceramic coating"
Extras (AutoTidy)	Odour removal £5 to £10. Pet hair removal £10 to £25. Interior shampooing £30 to £50. Engine bay cleaning £30 to £50. Headlight restoration £20 to £30.
Other services (Exquisite Valet)	Its table is headed "From". Exterior wash + wax £50. Machine polish £120. Ceramic coating £150. Paint correction £450.

Why don't the UK price guides agree?

We can't tell. Checkatrade says its figures are "ballpark averages" checked by its estimators, AutoTidy gives no method, and Exquisite Valet says its figures are its own prices. None gives a sample size. This is our own comparison, using only these three pages. For a mini valet, Checkatrade's top figure (£38) is below the lowest figure in the other two (£50 and £55). For a full valet the ranges overlap, but each starts and ends higher than the last: £70 to £110, £80 to £120, £90 to £140. For an interior valet, Checkatrade and AutoTidy overlap (£45 to £68 and £40 to £70). We haven't averaged them, because that would make a number nobody published.

Service names may not mean the same job. AutoTidy describes its mini valet as including "pressure washing, tyre, window, and mirror cleaning, plus an interior wipe-down, vacuum, and rubbish removal". Checkatrade describes its in and out clean differently, as including "a wash, wax, dry, vacuum and tyre shine". We can't tell whether a mini valet means the same job at each firm.

Size and place matter too. AutoTidy says "actual prices vary by location, demand, and vehicle size". Exquisite Valet says a mini valet "starts at £55" on a small car and is "around £80" on a large SUV.

So treat each guide as one firm's picture of a typical range. None tells you what customers near you pay, or what a job costs you.

How can you work out your own price?

This is our own method and our own view. It isn't a standard or a rule. Add up five things:

1. Time: how long a typical job takes, including set-up, driving and clearing up, multiplied by the hourly rate you want for your own time.
2. Materials: what you use on the job, such as polish, chemicals and towels.
3. Travel: what it costs to get there.
4. Overheads: a fair share of the costs that carry on whatever you do that week, such as insurance and equipment.
5. A check: compare the total with what local detailers quote and with the ranges above, and ask whether you can do the job properly at that price.

Whether you add anything on top is up to you. We haven't covered tax, which depends on your circumstances. Here is the arithmetic with invented numbers. They are not market data and not a suggested price.

Part (all numbers made up)	Example
Time: 2 hours at £20 an hour	£40
Materials	£6
Travel	£4
Share of overheads	£5
Cost to cover	£55

Do your prices have to include VAT, and what about call-out fees?

VAT first. GOV.UK says you must register if "your total taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000 (the VAT threshold)" (GOV.UK, checked on 3 October 2026). If you are registered, the ASA's VAT guidance (updated 11 December 2025) says that in ads to consumers "all prices quoted in ads should include VAT in the stated price. It is not sufficient to state a VAT-exclusive price accompanied by information that VAT is payable" (ASA). The ASA enforces the advertising code, the CAP Code.

Now call-out and travel fees. Two of the firms above mention them. AutoTidy says "travel costs are usually included in the price of the valeting package", but "a valeter may charge an extra fee if you are located outside their standard service area". Exquisite Valet says it charges "no call-out fee". Neither the ASA page nor the CMA's price transparency guidance (CMA209) names call-out or travel fees. What they do give is a general rule. The ASA says quoted prices "must include non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that apply to all or most buyers" (CAP Code rule 3.18). It adds: "If it is not possible to calculate the tax, duty, fee or charge in advance, for example because it depends on the consumer's circumstances, the advertisement must make clear that the charge is excluded from the advertised price and state how it will be calculated" (rule 3.19) (ASA, compulsory costs and charges, updated 30 April 2026).

The CMA's guidance, published on 18 November 2025 under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, says: "If the consumer will have to pay the additional charge in order to purchase or receive the advertised product, it is a mandatory charge" (CMA209, paragraph 4.3). The nearest wording we found is about delivery fees. The ASA says: "If delivery charges apply per product and consumers have no option but to pay these to receive the product, this becomes a non-optional charge that must be included in the stated price" (rule 3.18). The CMA lists "delivery charges where consumers cannot arrange for their own collection or delivery of the product being advertised" among mandatory charges. Whether a travel or call-out charge counts as the same thing is our reading, not the ASA's or the CMA's. Our reading is that a charge every customer must pay to get the job done looks like a mandatory charge, and that a charge depending on the customer's address is a rule 3.19 case. This is general information, not legal advice.

"From" prices: we found no ASA guidance on "from" or "starting at" prices in the two ASA pages we opened. The CMA's guidance does discuss "from" prices in places. We haven't summarised it, so read it before you use one.

Should you show your prices online?

We found no UK evidence on whether publishing prices wins more work. If you do show a price, the rules above apply to it.

How does Proofolio fit in?

Proofolio won't set your price. It helps you show your work. Proofolio (proofolio.pro) is a service for tradespeople that works over WhatsApp. You send your job photos, and it sends back finished image cards, captions for each platform, a short video and a portfolio page you can link to. You check them, and nothing posts unless you say so.

Your portfolio page grows with each job, and visitors can send a quote request from it. It doesn't carry a price list, so people ask and you answer with your price. When you tap Finish on a job, Proofolio makes a one-time review link for that job. Reviews show on your portfolio page, and you can reply to a review from your job page. We found no UK study showing that photos or a portfolio let you charge more, so we won't claim that.

See how it works, look at an example portfolio page, or check the pricing. For the photos, read our guide to before and after car detailing photos. For reviews, see Google reviews for car detailers. For the bigger picture, see car detailing social media marketing. Ready to try it? Try Proofolio free: send your first job photos on WhatsApp.