Paint Protection @ Clear Bra of Herndon, Virginia (VA)

About The Owner

Founder & President, Randy Coffey At the age of 13, Randy Coffey designed his own self service car wash, and had even found a location to build his dream. The only thing stopping him was the cost of the property. $1.2 million! Quite a bit more than expected, and a lot more than the young Mr. Coffey's allowance could afford. Despite the setback of the outrageously priced property, he did not give up.

Several years later he purchased a new Monte Carlo SS, and kept it very clean. The car was so clean in fact, that people began asking Randy who cleaned his car. When he told them that he did it himself, they wanted him to clean their cars too, and they started paying him to do it.

In the summer of 1987, when he was 18 years old, Mr. Coffey registered "Mobile Auto Detailing", got a license to do business, purchased about $250.00 worth of equipment, a pager for communication, and the business was started. He put all of the equipment in the trunk of his car, buckets, brushes, chemicals, and his buffer and started going to people's houses to clean their cars.

Mr. Coffey worked various full time jobs through the years, such as structural iron works, supervisor at a price club (Costco), bartending, and supervising the front office at a local Giant Food. In the summer of 1994, he obtained a contract with a local car dealership detailing cars. Mr. Coffey quit his job at Giant Food on September 24th 1994, at which point Mobile Auto Detailing became his full time job. People said that he was foolish for making such a move right before winter, but he was determined.

In March of 1995, the first company van, a 1994 Chevy Astro van, was purchased. He loaded the van up with a water tank and pump, a generator, a shop vac, a steam clean shampoo unit, a buffer, some chemicals and supplies, and a tent. After having a custom paint job put on the van, the first completely contained mobile unit was on the road. For the next 4 years, Mr. Coffey worked 80-100 hours every week to expand the business and establish a name that stood for quality in the detailing business.

In December of 2000 Randy expanded the services of Mobile Auto Detailing and bought the automotive division of Sharp Details, formerly of Vienna Va. and Alexandria Va. December of 2001 Randy purchased DA's Custom Car Care located in Herndon, VA from Roy Captain.

In 2002, Mobile Auto Detailing had 8 employees, 7 mobile units, and a shop located in Chantilly, Virginia. They have an established name and reputation, and are currently the oldest and largest "mobile" detailing company in Northern Virginia.

In May of 2002, Sharp's Detail, Detail Authority and Mobile Auto Detailing all merged and are from here on known as Detail Authority. In November of the same year, the Herndon location was expanded to over 5000 square feet so that we could also provide services like Window Tinting, Spray On Bed liners, Bumper Repairs and more.

Company Background

Started as a part time business and hobby in the summer of 1987, Mobile Auto Detailing grew and established a name for itself by providing quality work. We understood that busy people don't have the time to take their car to a shop, drop it off, find a ride from and back to the shop, nor do they have time to sit and wait.

In 1994 Mobile Auto Detailing became a full time business, and in March of 1995 the first completely self contained mobile unit was put on the road. Through the years business increased, employees were hired, and more mobile units were added. Our 5th mobile unit was added on in August of 1998. In 1996 we opened our first shop in Chantilly Virginia,and a second shop in Arlington in 1997, so that we could offer more than just the regular detailing services that we provided with our mobile units. We outgrew the shop in Chantilly and in February of 1998, we relocated to a larger shop, which is our current location, and closed the shop in Arlington.

In December of 2000 in our quest to continue expansion we purchased the auto division of Sharp Details, a quality local detailing company.

In December of 2001 Mobile Auto Detailing expanded even further by purchasing DA's Custom Car Care in Herndon Va. DA's is now operating under the name of Detail Authority, located at 617 Carlisle Drive in Herndon, VA. You will receive the same great services at both our locations and on our Mobile Units. We are now able to offer more options and convenience for our customers.

In January of 2002 Mobile Auto Detailing added a full time paint touch up technician to operate our mobile paint touch up unit servicing both locations, also doing work on-site at the customers home or office. Feel free to look at our Before and After pictures to see what we can do for you.

As Mobile Auto Detailing Inc. increased in size and our clientele grew, we realized that people wanted more than just traditional detailing. As a result of our customers asking for different services we now provide a wide variety. In addition to traditional detailing, we also offer paint over spray removal, installation of wood trim kits, Authorized cellular phone and phone accessories, odor removal, pin striping, pinstripe removal, and much more. We also offer services for cleaning flood damaged vehicles, paint less dent and door ding repair, undercoating, rust proofing, and fabric protectant.

About our Mobile Units

Mobile Auto Detailing Currently operates 6 mobile units. We will come to your home, office, or almost any location where your car is parked, and provide you with any of our services.

Our detail units are equipped with everything needed to clean your car. We have water tanks installed in all of our vans, along with generators for electricity. With specially designed pressure washers and filtered water, to prevent spotting, we have all the equipment necessary to safely clean your car to keep it looking it's best all year around. Mobile units are even equipped with tents to pull your car under so it can be properly waxed or even kept out of a light rain. All of the chemicals and machines we use to keep your car looking like new are high quality professional products, and are safe for your car finish.

Our mobile services also include cellular phones and hands free kits. These kits we can mount and install in your vehicle contain an external antenna and microphone to make driving safer while using your mobile phone.

We also have paint less dent repair (PDR) which is the removal of door dings without repainting the vehicle. This is a great service because it does not damage the factory paint job, (repainting is the last thing you want to do), this process is done by using different tools which are different lengths, diameters, and have different tips. With these tools the dent can be slowly pushed back out to it's original position without damaging the paint. This process is considerably cheaper, and can be done in one day as opposed to the 4 to 14 day wait in a body shop. By using this process to repair your door dings you do not have to go through the aggravation of the paint not matching, or finding flaws or defects in the paint. Another problem of having the car repainted is finding over spray on the rest of the car or having problems with the paint a couple of years down the road.

Here are some of our most commonly asked questions about our mobile service:

Q. Will my car be cleaned by a mobile unit as well as it will be in the shop?

A. Yes! All of our mobile units have almost as much equipment as our shop. Each mobile unit has approximately $40,000 invested in them, with everything needed to do the job properly.

Q. Is there a price difference if I bring it to the shop, as opposed to having mobile service come to me?

A. Yes! There is a small price difference. The difference is minimal when you consider the extra effort it takes to come to you, and the time that you are saved by not having to drive it to the shop. Our detailers have to arrive at work at least one hour before your appointment, and set up their detail unit. They then have to drive to your location, for sometimes up to an hour of travel time. Upon arrival they then get in touch with the owner of the vehicle, get the keys, find the car, and move it to a location where it can be detailed without inconveniencing anyone. Once the vehicle is parked next to the van, the detailer then has to unload and set up all of his equipment for the job. After detailing your vehicle, he then has to clean up the area, pack up all the equipment, reload it in to the van, and finally pull the car back to the original location, and locate the customer to return the keys. You must also consider the weather conditions that they must endure sometimes to complete the job. We hope you understand all of the extra time and effort that it takes to bring this service to you, and we trust that you agree that the higher charge is very small for all the extra work, not to mention convenience and time saved.

Q. What happens if the weather is bad that day?

A. We will give you a call in the morning, and we will either reschedule your appointment, or we can bring your vehicle back to our shop. Although harsh weather conditions sometimes stop or slow our progress, we always try to complete the job.

Q. Do I need an appointment?

A. Yes! To insure proper time is devoted to your vehicle, we have only a specific amount of openings each day.

Q. How long does it take to detail my car?

A. We schedule morning and afternoon appointments depending on the services you request and the type of vehicle. Obviously it will take more time to do a big truck than a small car, so we have to allow for this if you have a larger vehicle. Most of our appointments are made at 9:00am or 1:00pm.

About the Shop

Our shop is located at 617 Carlisle Drive in Herndon, Virginia, just off of Elden Street.

At our shops we provide a full array of detail services, from a simple hand wash to a complete detail, and many in between. We also provide many specialty services such as paint over spray removal, odor removal, and paint less dent removal. We are also equipped to install wood trim kits as well as cellular phone hands free kits. Along with these services we can also provide undercoating, rust proofing, paint sealants, and fabric protectant, as well as adding or removing pinstripes to enhance the look of your car.

The two most frequently asked questions about the shop are:

Q. Do I need an appointment to bring it in to the shop?

A. Yes! As with our mobile service, we like to insure that proper time is devoted to your vehicle. So that we can do the best job possible, we have a limited amount of appointments at our shop every day.

Q. How long does it take at the shop?

A. We like to have the cars at the shop by 8:00am and we will have it ready by 5:00pm. In certain instances we can work around difficult schedules, but most generally we try to keep normal office hours.

You may meet our staff.