Car Cleaning and Valet Checklist

Who this is for

A full valet in the order that stops you doing the same panel twice. Outside first, then the inside, then the boot and the bits everyone forgets, with room for your own steps.

Anyone valeting their own car, people getting a vehicle ready to sell or hand back, and households sharing a car that nobody quite owns.

What this helps you track

• A running order that works from the top down and the outside in
• The inside jobs, including the ones nobody enjoys
• The boot, the spare and the places rubbish collects
• The finishing round — glass, mirrors, plates, bins emptied
• Which jobs were done this time, so the next one can start elsewhere

How to use it

1. Write the vehicle, who is doing it and the date at the top, so a car shared between people has a record of when it was last done properly.
2. Work down the outside list first and leave the wheels and the glass until the panels are done, or you will be cleaning them twice.
3. Move inside: clear everything out before you start, then work through the list from the top of the cabin down to the mats.
4. Do the boot last, including the spare wheel area and whatever has been living under the parcel shelf.
5. Cross out what your car does not have and write your own items in the margin — a roof box, a dog guard, a towbar cover; on screen you can add them to any list.
6. Anything you found that needs attention — a stone chip, a worn wiper, a warning light — belongs on a note to whoever books the garage, not on a tick list.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What products should I use?

The sheet names none, and it will not. Paint, trim, leather and screens all have their own requirements and your vehicle's handbook is the place to look. This is a running order, not a method.

How often should a car be valeted?

That depends on the car, the weather, the roads and whether a dog travels in it. The sheet records what was done and when, and leaves the timing to you.

Does it cover a car being sold or handed back?

It covers the cleaning side of it. Take the inspection and condition side to a proper inspection sheet, and take photographs — a hand-back dispute is settled by pictures and dates, not by a tick list.

Can I use it for a van or a motorhome?

Yes, with items of your own added. A load area, a roof and a habitation space each need their own lines, and the browser version lets you add them.