Plain terms for a straightforward job.

The service

Automotive Aptitude (sole proprietor Jaycen Smith, Cerritos, CA) provides mobile car detailing, interior and exterior detailing, paint correction and ceramic coating at your home, workplace or wherever the car is parked, across Los Angeles and Orange County. We bring the water, the power and the lighting. There is no shop and no drop-off.

Long-life coatings need a garage or covered space to cure properly; the booking page tells you when a service needs one.

Prices and quotes

• Prices are published on our Services page and on the booking page, by vehicle size: sedan, SUV and truck. Sedan covers most cars; SUV covers crossovers and mid-size SUVs; truck covers pickups, vans and large SUVs.
• The price you see when you book is the price for the services chosen. The condition of the car can move the final price — heavy soiling, pet hair, mold, biohazards or paint in much worse shape than described — and any extra is agreed with you before the work is done, never after.
• Paint correction is quoted for the specific car after we see the paint; the figures on the site are starting points.
• Our usual run is Cerritos and the cities around it. Further out is fine: travel is quoted before you book and capped at $50.

Booking, deposits and changes

• Bookings are confirmed by text (or email) once scheduled. Book online, by text or by phone at (562) 445-1457.
• Ceramic coating and paint correction bookings take a flat $100 deposit at booking, processed by Stripe. It comes off the price of the job, and if the date has to move, it moves with you.
• All other services take no deposit.
• To move or cancel an appointment, reply to your confirmation text or call us. We ask for as much notice as you can give; we do the same for you if weather or a running-late job forces a change.
• We do not book same-day work for new clients. Same-week is often possible.

Payment

Payment is due when the work is finished, by card or Apple Pay (processed by Stripe), cash or Zelle. Receipts are sent by text or email. Invoices, when issued, state their own due date.

On the day

• Please have the car accessible and, if it is behind a gate, give us the code or be reachable at the number on the booking.
• Remove valuables and personal items from the cabin before an interior service. We are careful with what is left behind, but we cannot take responsibility for loose items.
• Tell us before we start about anything we should know: aftermarket parts, prior paint work or wrap, a known leak, a warning light, a child seat that must go back exactly as it was.
• We arrive inside a 30-minute window and text when we are on the way.
• Keep children and pets clear of the work area — there is a pressure washer, a polisher, hot water and cables on the ground.
• We bring our own water and power. If you offer a tap or an outlet and we use it, that is at your invitation and ordinary household use.
• If we arrive and cannot reach you or get to the car, we text and call; if we still cannot start, the visit is rescheduled and any deposit moves to the new date.
• We may pause or decline work where conditions are unsafe for us or the car, or where we are treated abusively. Rain, extreme heat or wind that would spoil the result means we call to move the appointment, at no cost to you.

Ceramic coatings and the written warranty

Every coating we apply comes with a written warranty and an inspection schedule, given to you at the job. That document — not this page — states the coverage period for the product applied, what it covers, and the maintenance that keeps it valid (including using the coating-care washes it describes). Where anything here and the warranty differ, the warranty governs.

SMS Terms

How we handle your information, including your mobile number, is set out in the Privacy Policy.

Using this website

• The text, photos and videos on automotiveaptitude.com are ours (the cars belong to their owners, who kindly let us show the work). You are welcome to link to any page; please do not copy photos or copy for your own use without asking.
• We keep prices and details current, and Urable, our scheduling software, is the record of a price until our own system replaces it. If a page and the booking price ever disagree, the booking price applies and we will tell you.
• Links to other sites (Google, Yelp, Stripe, product makers) are for convenience; their content and terms are theirs.

Responsibility

We are insured and we treat every car as if it were our own. We photograph the car before we start, so pre-existing condition is documented for both of us. If something about the work is not right, tell us within three days and we will come back and make it right — that is the first remedy, and in our experience the only one ever needed. Our responsibility for any claim arising from a service is limited to the price paid for that service, except where the law does not allow that limit. We are not responsible for pre-existing damage, defects that only surface once a car is properly clean, or issues you did not tell us about before the work began.

General

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, and any dispute we cannot settle by talking is heard in the courts of Los Angeles County — small claims court stays open to you. Neither of us is responsible for delays caused by things outside our control (severe weather, road closures, supplier failures). If any part is found unenforceable, the rest still applies. We may update these terms; the current version is always at this address with its “last updated” date, and booking after a change means you accept the current version.

Contact

Questions about these terms: call or text (562) 445-1457, or use the contact form. Automotive Aptitude, Cerritos, CA.