Neighbors

V

VettePilot

New member
I know we all talk about neighbors here. In the last two weeks I have been doing quite a few cars at my home, which has given my friendly/nosy community plenty of chances to talk to me.



First off, what is the proper answer to - "Hey, how would you like to do my car next?" or the infamous, "Right after you are done, you can come over and do mine." The people around me are cool, never complain when I am working on cars all night (which sometimes they can be loud), detailing multiple cars, or having BBQ's, so I really want to be kind of nice about it. Any suggestions to what is a polite thing to say while getting the point across. A couple of times I almost snapped because I was really into something and they will just come out of the blue.



Second, How many of you can't work in your driveway because someone is always asking to use one of your products. I mean, I don't mind sharing my stuff, for reasons that I don't pay for my products. But it seems like they are always asking to use items. I have offered to give them some, but they say they would just spill them or the like. How do you handle that. I like being the friendly neighbor, but geez, leave me alone sometimes and take the product.



Lastly. Sorry this long guys, this one is purely entertainment factor. Right next door to me, I have a retired couple that is really nice and completely cool (they stood up to when the cops came down my road because I had too many cars at a bbq I had). They have a daughter that just went through a divorce and moved back in with them to help take care of them and get support. Anyway, she is about 38 and attractive for her age (I am 25 and did not think she looked over 30). Anyway, she knows I have a girlfriend, but everytime I am outside detailing, she takes as her cue to come over and offer me dinner and drinks to detail her Black Explorer. Does this stuff happen to anyone else. I mean, it's flattering, but it happens twice a week and I always decline. When I was single, stuff like that never happened.



Thanks for the bandwidth this morning.



Joe
 
For the first question, I usually just laugh and wave it off, they, I assume, are not serious, just take it as a compliment, if they are really serious, they will come ask you in a serious manner.



Two, this has never happened to me, but if it were to, I would probably just lend it according to the cost of the product and how much I have left of the product. If it were my souveran, there is no way I would lend it out, as for the most part, people who havee no clue how to apply products, use a TON of stuff. If it were my Meguiars No 26, Sure, go ahead. If they wanted to use my buffer. :nono I am not going to break it, so I do not want to take the chance of someone else doing it.

Besides, I would never ask to borrow someone elses stuff anyway, unless of course it were something I were interested in buying and I wanted to try it out before I did.



Three, I have no idea. Good luck though.
 
Mostly I wash the cars inside the garage, and if it is HOT out I try to keep the doors half way down. I dont like certin people seeing in that I dont want to.....





But when someone asks one of the questions you added I just tell them "Yea, I can do it. I charge $40 on hour and for your car in the shape that it is in will take me around 8 hrs....." That usually is the last time they ask;)



For the most part I am friends with all my neighbors, But I am the one that is easy to hate. I keep the yard perfect, always out there cleaning or picking up sticks-leaves, and the cars always look good and I am always cooking out on the grill...

I just dont want anyone saying "those young people sure did bring the value down in the Neighborhood"" I think that I have actualy made it go up;) I am 23 (24 tomarrow) and every one around here is in the 50's
 
I have never gotten a date as a result of detailing, wish I did though.



If I did, I'd have so many dates by now :D
 
When I get the standard "Right after you are done, you can come over and do mine" I usually just laugh it off and keep working on whatever car I am detailing.



As far as letting them use things I kinda agree with Rcs476. If they want some Gold Class wash or interior dressing thats fine, but there is no chance in hell I would let them use my DeWalt rotary or my Porter Cable.



As for the girl next door, sounds like she wants you to detail more than just her Explorer. :D Why can't I have neighbors like that. ;)
 
I get my stupid jacka$$ neighboors kid come over and say "you missed a spot". So i wait for him to get in range and turn the rotary on full of compound it splatters all over him. Last time i was detailing a car he came by on his bike and kicked me in the butt while i was bent over doing the rocker panel. I got so pissed off i picked up the power washer and hit him with water full blast, it knocked him right off the bike.
 
NY detailer said:
I get my stupid jacka$$ neighboors kid come over and say "you missed a spot". So i wait for him to get in range and turn the rotary on full of compound it splatters all over him. Last time i was detailing a car he came by on his bike and kicked me in the butt while i was bent over doing the rocker panel. I got so pissed off i picked up the power washer and hit him with water full blast, it knocked him right off the bike.
Click to expand...





OMG, I think I would have drowned him in the wash bucket.
 
Neighbor kids... yes i feel like kicking their butts after I see litlle hands all over the cars but ... I know they'll pick something nastier if I complain, candy is not a challenge to clean of KSG ...
 
Wow, I guess my situation isn't as aggravating as the rest of you. The few kids in the "hood" leave me alone for the most part. I guess the parents rarely let them out of the house. As for a date from detailing, had plenty of offers, just the one lady won't give it up. If anyone wants to come to So Cal., they can take care of that problem for me.



Net time someone tells me their car is next, I'll just mention I would do it for a small sum of money. I just wish I could make it one day without someone saying or asking for something. I like the open areas and leave my garage door open. It's a trade off I guess.
 
My neighbors are pretty cool. They like to see what tools I have to clean the Maxima. But in a nutshell, I don't get neighbors asking me to detail their vehicles (not yet, anyway).



As far as loaning stuff out, I don't mind the cheaper stuff but when it comes to an item like my Souveran, I will balk. However, I am nice enough to tell them where they can get the stuff at or demonstrate it on their vehicle. Case in point, I did a brief clay, AIO, and Souveran Demonstration on the trunk of my neighbor's Taurus Saturday with my mother watching the whole show. They commented on how the car looked and felt after I did that. She asked me where I got the stuff from and I shared it with her.



Neighbor kids - They are too busy dancing to the music I am bumping or are playing elsewhere to cause me any mischief.



Neighborhood detailer - We have a guy who goes around to different houses in my neighborhood washing cars. He uses a lot of OTC products. He has even tried to get me to let him do mine (Insert snicker). Yesterday, I introduced him to EF HI and my Viking Tire Brush. When he saw the results, he was :shocked: and amazed as to how clean it got the Vogues on my neighbor's Seville clean. Now he wants me to comprise a shopping list for him. :D
 
For your first question, I had a few neighbors ask me this all the time, than I started telling them, sure I'll even do it for free but I need to dry the car at 100+ MPH after washing it!!! It put an end to it real fast!

I went through a similar problem to your second question, all my friends would want to stop by and wash, wax and sometimes ful deatil with my products. At first I didn't mind but when it started to become a weekly event and they were using more of my stuff than I was I had to quickly put an end to it. I moved all of my high end quality products into my basement and left on the garage shelves the cheap stuff that I used once or kept laying around for my ather's beater car. I kept a bottle of armor all diluted with water as a tire care product (Everyone that stopped by including friends with clean cars wanted to detail there tires with like a 1,000 sprays per tire of the good stuff) Now when they look at the shelves and ask for stuff a tell them I ran around... Funny thing is I have a few close friends who I have since let in on the deal who stop by all the time and never really borrow anything anyway who I see just as often, but I can name about 6 who I almost never see now,,,

I also have the solution to your 3rd problem!!! While I never have gone through this myself...Tell her you know this Ford detail expert who is willing to fly in and take care of her car free of charge for dinner and a warm bed!!! I'll be more than happy to take her off your hands!!!
 
My head must be in the clouds today; I just remembered this. My neighbor kids across the street like to have a "car wash". They charge 3 dollars. Basically when someone drives by they yell CAR WASH! CAR WASH! CAR WASH! Then I come out to wash my car. They see me get the hose out and at this point they're all yelling, Hey Mister! Do you wanna let us wash your car? It's only 3 dollars! CAR WASH! CAR WASH! I was thinking about donating to them a couple of wash mitts and have them go at it with my old beater, and give them tips on how to wash using a two bucket method but I was busy with my baby. BTW, my back seat now has half Z and half Lexol. After the Lexol cleaner, it looked so good, I didn't want to even condition it. But it needed the protection.
 
friends and neighbors asking me to detail their cars used to be a common occurance. I handled each "inquiry" as I saw fit at the time; sometimes I'd say yes if I knew I'd get something for it like dinner or beer, other times I'd quote a price if I was serious about taking the job (that weeds out the silly comments from neighbors), but most of the time I just laugh as if it was a joke which usually it was. I don't see the point in being the neighborhood smart *** - you've got to live there so I'd just be cool about it if it were me.



When it comes to people borrowing my detailing supplies, the answer is almost always NO. The stuff I buy ain't cheap. If they want to try something once I'll usually let them (or do it for them) but I never just hand someone a product. Joe, you're in a different situation since you get everything from work. You might want to provide little samples of product or if work has them, give those out. Maybe suggest if they want to bring their own sample bottles you'll give them some product to try out.



As for the woman next door, a polite but persistent mentioning of how your girlfriend would react to accepting a meal for a detail job usually will put that one to rest. Personally, I don't think it has anything to do with her truck or even you, but I'm sure you suspect that after so many "offers". Gotta play that one cool since she's next door and who knows what she'd say to your girlfriend.
 
That reminds me... my uncle just got his ancient e28 BMW 528e repainted and asked me what to use to protect the new silver paint. I suggested IHG and he asked me if he can try some. I was like, sure, bring the car over... but in the end it ended with him taking the brand-new 16 oz. bottle home "to try tomorrow." I gave him plenty of directions/information on why less is better and he pretended to listen.



When I got the bottle back, it was half-empty.



:rolleyes: :nono
 
LMAO Brian. As for me... i've had good expierences with my neibors. The guy right next door works at a body shop, he said they have a 'clown' detailing for them right now, and he's seen so much of my work that as soon as that guy leaves i get the job. Also his ex-wife who lives there always asks me to do hers. She cleans houses for a living so we worked out a deal, i do her car, she does our house. Then again we have 4 college guys living in on house with no females... so IMO she's getting the short end of that stick.
 
This was not only entertainment, but an honest discussion about things that happen when detailing. Sometimes I felt like I was being a jerk when I would just laugh when they would say their cars next. IF they honestly would say something like...how much would you charge to do my car, it would make it so much easier.



Bret, I don't mind at all giving out products that I have at my house. The problem I have is that people always come over to use mine....even after I offer to let them take it home with them. I think I may just tell anyone who asks, if they really want to clean their cars that they HAVE to take the stuff home with them and keep it. It's usually small sample bottles anyway. Not a big deal about the product, just the constant interuptions during my detailing time(read: alone time).



As for the lady next door, it gets uncomfortable at times. I agree, it's never been about the detailing of her car, but it is the line used to try and talk to me. I need to come up with a good way to diffuse the situation. I swear, if I was single...no problem. Hmmm, I am starting to get ideas about how to take care of it.



Thanks again guys for the honest answers and the entertainment factor. I just felt like osmetimes I was a jerk in my responses. I guess I wasn't though :bounce





Joe
 
My neighbors always walk by and see me washing my car or waxing it, and are like wtf, you spend so much time out here, you're gonna rub the paint off. If I like them, ill laugh at it, if they are nosy and anoyying type, I usually give them the good ol' GFY salute :bounce
 
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