Indicative price bands
| Service | Small / sedan | 4WD / large | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wash and interior vacuum | $80 - $140 | $110 - $180 | Maintenance between details |
| Full detail, inside and out | $250 - $450 | $350 - $600 | Most popular service |
| Pre-sale detail | $280 - $480 | $380 - $650 | Includes engine bay presentation |
| Interior mould treatment | $250 - $500 | $300 - $650 | Extraction plus antimicrobial; severe cases more |
| Paint correction, single stage | $450 - $800 | $600 - $1,100 | Usually a full day |
| Ceramic coating | $800 - $1,600 | $1,100 - $2,200+ | Includes required preparation |
Figures are indicative for Cairns in 2026 and are not a quote. Final pricing is confirmed on inspection, before any work starts.
What actually drives the price
Size matters less than people expect. Condition is the real variable.
A three-year-old garaged sedan that gets washed fortnightly is a straightforward job. The same model that has spent three wet seasons parked outside at Redlynch, with mould through the vents and cane dust bonded into the paint, is a fundamentally different piece of work - and it is the hours, not the products, that you are paying for.
The specific things that add real time: interior mould, pet hair, smoker residue in the headlining, sand ground into carpet, and any paint defect work.
Why the cheapest quote is usually the most expensive
Detailing is almost entirely labour. If one quote is half another, the difference has come out of hours somewhere - usually preparation.
That matters most with ceramic coating. A coating is transparent and bonds for years, so it locks in whatever is underneath. A cheap coating applied over unprepared, swirled paint seals those defects in place - and removing it later costs more than doing it properly would have.
Getting a real number
Call (07) 4064 9518 and describe the vehicle: make and size, roughly how long since its last detail, whether it lives inside or outside, and anything specific like mould, pet hair or a scratch you want looked at.
That is enough for a realistic quote over the phone, confirmed when we see it. If you are weighing up whether to spend the money at all, is detailing worth it covers the cases where the answer is no.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a full car detail in Cairns?
For a mid-size sedan in reasonable condition, a full interior and exterior detail typically lands between $250 and $450. Larger vehicles and 4WDs sit higher, and a car that has not been detailed in years will sit higher again because the work is genuinely greater.
Why can you not quote over the phone?
We can give you a band, and the table on this page is that band. What we cannot do is commit to a firm number for a vehicle we have not seen, because condition drives the labour far more than size does. Two identical cars can be a two-hour job and a two-day job.
What makes a quote go up?
Mould, pet hair, heavy smoker residue, ground-in sand, cane dust bonded into paint, and any paint correction. Each of those adds real hours rather than a small surcharge.
Is ceramic coating expensive?
It is the largest single line in detailing, usually $800 to $2,000-plus, because most of the cost is the paint preparation underneath rather than the coating itself. A cheap coating almost always means preparation was skipped, which is the part that determines the result.