Detailing Collector Cars: Behind the Scenes with Scott of Distinct Detail

Have you ever wondered what goes into high-priced detailing for extremely rare collector cars? Andrew Steele has taken the time to ask Scott Nichols of Distinct Detail the questions needed to find out what exactly goes into the process behind preparing & detailing collector cars for events such as Pebble Beach’s Concours d’Elegance. Distinct Detail has been involved in what’s sometimes referred to as the “Super Bowl” of car shows for six years and counting, having placed nearly 40 cars on the lawn, or winner’s circle, at Pebble Beach.

Distinct Detail is anything if not meticulous either. In regards to what a $100,000 detail entails, Scott states that “everything is based off a client’s budget, to begin with. If the client is really trying to go for first place at Pebble Beach or any kind of shows across the world, there really cannot be any limitations as far as budget constraints…we’ve gone down to fully dismantling cars…literally polishing and cleaning every bit of the chassis, every nut, bolt that goes back in and putting about 500–700 hours in paint correction.”

There are other aspects of such a high cost that may not be considered that take place in preparing and detailing collector cars for Pebble Beach including “travel expenses, maintaining a car at the show, and even hauling a car back…