Just heard on a US show.

Who details a car at 5 in the morning?

Details? A quick glance at OED brought the answer.

detail, v.1

Draft additions September 2008

trans. N. Amer. To clean (a motor vehicle) thoroughly.

1981 Los Angeles Times 21 May ix. 9/2 The proposed auto center..would be used for detailing cars imported through the port before trucking them to dealer showrooms.
1988 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 17 Oct., When we get through detailing your car..it’s cleaner than the day you bought it.

This one passed me by. Is it a common term in the States or something only car buffs would use?

It’s a pretty common term in the US.  You don’t have to be a car buff to be familiar with the term (but non-car-buffs don’t necessarily go to the trouble of having their cars detailed very often).

What Svinyard said.  I’m familiar with it but don’t use it myself.

Very common in Australia, too, since the eighties at least.

Any of my fellow Brits know if it’s used in the UK? I could easily have missed it here too.

trans. N. Amer. To clean (a motor vehicle) thoroughly.

It’s used regularly at almost every car wash these days. But you pay extra, of course.

aldiboronti - 30 November 2012 05:35 PM

Any of my fellow Brits know if it’s used in the UK? I could easily have missed it here too.

It’s completely new on me (a Brit).

To Leftpondiands and Downunders who understand this term: does detailing involve just a thorough external clean or is it inside too? If the latter, we Brits would talk about car valeting.

does detailing involve just a thorough external clean or is it inside too?

Yes, inside too.

Not heard either here (north east England) or in South Africa.

If the latter, we Brits would talk about car valeting.

I like this! But how do you pronounce “valeting.” I’m guessing just as it is written. We leftpondians would pronounce “valet” as “val aye” (as in “A, B, C” to use lh’s example in “forever and ay” in the Lincoln language thread). But since I’ve never heard or seen the word “valeting” I wouldn’t have any idea.

Val-et-ing. But I would employ a val-eh, not a val-et.

val-eh-ing, but I admit it’s not the prettiest of words to pronounce.

cf fileting, I suppose.