Monterey Bay Auto Spa prepares luxury cars for Car Week
By Joyce Kim
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MONTEREY, Calif. (KSBW) — As Car Week approaches on the Monterey Peninsula, Monterey Bay Auto Spa is putting in long hours to ensure supercars are ready to impress at the event.
Charles Black from Monterey Bay Auto Spa said, “You see them on TV, you see them on commercials, and it’s like, I touch that car. Like I detail that car. It’s, it’s a blessing.”
Car Week draws the rarest, most expensive vehicles in the world, and before they hit the show floor or the streets, many of them make a pit stop at Monterey Bay Auto Spa.
Anthony Grijalva said, “These cars are art. Everybody tends to make it the way they want it, and you’re in your car more than you’re in your bed.”
Monterey Bay Auto Spa is a luxury auto detailer, and they’ve been polishing, buffing, and detailing supercars for five years now.
Black said, “The next ten days we’re going to probably be doing 18-hour days. We have big contracts with Hennessey Performance, Bristol Motors, Porsche USA, Porsche North America, and we’re going to be dealing with a lot of cars.”
This will be their fifth Car Week, and the event alone brings in 40% of their yearly profit. The company will be working 18-hour days this upcoming week, prepping cars that range from $100,000 to multiple millions.
Black said, “You get nervous working on them, for sure. Because you got to make sure that the owners are happy at all times and make sure that their car is taken care of, and make sure that they have their trust in you when you’re touching these high-end cars.”
It’s a meticulous process involving microfiber cloths, ceramic spray wax, and hours of hands-on care to ensure every curve shines.
For Car Week, detailing costs $250 for an exterior and an extra $100 for the interior and exterior, taking anywhere between 20 minutes to 2 hours. Black said, “Yesterday we did 17 cars. Yes, we got five vans running every day.”
Monterey Bay Auto Spa’s clients are happy to support the local business.
Dodi Khalil from Dodi Auto Sales said, “They’re high quality. They care about their cars and they will do the job differently. I mean, you always pick up what you feel comfortable with, but they’re all doing a good job in our community.”
While the crowds come for the horsepower, for these two guys, it’s about craftsmanship. Once Car Week wraps, the cars leave, but the satisfaction sticks around.
Grijalva said, “We get to do all kinds of nice cars that we don’t normally even see, on top of meeting people that are amazing and just make it even much better.”
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