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The differences between car detailers and automotive detailers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a car detailer has an average salary of $29,125, which is higher than the $28,357 average annual salary of an automotive detailer.
The top three skills for a car detailer include shampoo carpets, clean windows and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for an automotive detailer are work ethic, cleanliness, and customer vehicles.
| Car Detailer | Automotive Detailer | |
| Yearly salary | $29,125 | $28,357 |
| Hourly rate | $14.00 | $13.63 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 11,302 | 37,088 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 62% | High School Diploma, 51% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A car detailer is responsible for providing auto cleaning services, following clients' specifications within internal guidelines. Car detailers organize the interior and exterior features of the vehicles, performing cleaning and disinfecting operations with utmost safety by adhering to the organization's procedures. They also inspect the engine's condition, recommending possible solutions to the clients to improve the vehicle's optimization and high performance. A car detailer must have excellent organizational and communication skills, especially on adhering to clients' special requests to ensure customer satisfaction.
An automotive detailer typically works at car shops and dealerships, where they primarily focus on the upkeep of a car's interior and exterior. Their responsibilities revolve around understanding the clients' needs and preferences, cleaning the vehicles according to protocols and client requests, scraping off dirt, coordinating with paint technicians and mechanics, operating devices and machinery such as vacuums and buffers, and adhering to timelines and budgets. Moreover, an automotive detailer also monitors the inventory of supplies and handles calls and correspondence.
Car detailers and automotive detailers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Car Detailer | Automotive Detailer | |
| Average salary | $29,125 | $28,357 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $36,000 | Between $22,000 And $35,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | CarMax | Mars |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Retail |
There are a few differences between a car detailer and an automotive detailer in terms of educational background:
| Car Detailer | Automotive Detailer | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 62% | High School Diploma, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Automotive Technology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between car detailers' and automotive detailers' demographics:
| Car Detailer | Automotive Detailer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.4% Female, 13.6% | Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.9% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 4.3% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |