Labor is the costly part of any detail. How much is your time worth to you? A good thorough detail takes parts of several days for cure times alone, the swirl removal is 4-6 hours all by itself.

 

It all boils down to whether or not you enjoy cleaning up your car.

I've met a few people in the past, that simply hate to take care of their car--unless you're one of those people, bite the bullet and grab a PC starter kit!

 

The Lowes 7336 PC, adpater plate with two pads, two levels of polish, an LSP with a few MF's won't run you $400.

 

I got my 7336 at lowes for $59. There are deals out there if you look. That and a pinnacle starter kit = $130. I don't know about several days with modern products. I think there are enough quality products that don't require super long cure times that an excelent job can be done in a day or less.

 

what exactly is the difference between the 7424 and 7336??? one comes with a sanding pad and one with a polishing pad? im trying to find the best deal out there.

 

Same exact unit, one has a different counter weight IIRC. I have the 7336 myself. Got it for $59 at Lowes. Before you ask, I alread checked and they are sold out

 

A 'full' detail takes me an entire day (8 hours), plus an hour or so the next day to apply wax on top of a synthetic. I wouldn't expect the same level of care from a detailer and I wouldn't expect the same results because of it. I trust few people to touch my cars, and the paint is completely off limits