Worthington man begins mobile detailing business

May 1—WORTHINGTON — A Worthington man who gained on-the-job experience in detailing vehicles at two local businesses has started up a mobile detailing unit of his own.

Miguel Zavala's South of the Border Mobile Auto Detailing van has been traversing the town — and primarily within a 35-mile radius of Worthington — in recent months offering interior and exterior vehicle cleaning with a keen eye on the details. He's even had a couple of jobs in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but he charges a travel fee for those requests.

Zavala said his interest in detailing began when he had a car of his own.

"I've always been a big car guy. I've owned a lot of different sporty cars and I've always been very clean with my vehicles," he said. "I've always liked cleaning cars and it made me feel good when it was all clean and shiny."

With the help of an older brother who worked in the service department at the former Marthaler Chevrolet dealership in Worthington, Zavala secured his first job as a detailer and spent nearly two years there working with a detailing team.

Then, another older brother who works as a mechanic at Graham Tire, encouraged Zavala to fill an opening they had there for a detailer.

"I got more experience when I started doing more detail work on my own," he said, noting he was the only detailer at Graham Tire at the time.

As he gained more experience, he began doing vehicle detail work at his house.

"When I was at Graham Tire, we had a courtesy shuttle so customers would drop off their cars in the morning and we'd have to take the cars to their job," Zavala said. "I thought if I wanted to get more business and customers who would stay with me, I should just go to them."

That's when he began working through his idea for a mobile detailing van.

He eventually left Graham Tire and took a different job, intent on making enough money to purchase a van and fully equip it for his business.

He officially started his business four months ago, but the weather is finally making it more conducive for his work, which is often done right in the vehicle owner's driveway.

"I use my own water and electricity," he said. "Everything is ready to go in the van."

Inside the back of the van is a generator that is used to power the vacuum and compressor, and built-in shelving units on the doors house his spray bottles and cleaners. Behind the generator and hoses is a 100-gallon-capacity water tank that supplies what he needs for washing vehicles. He gets his water from the local Culligan business.

"I don't use any of the customer's water or electricity," Zavala said.

"Now, I just need people to trust me," he said of working to build up his clientele.

Zavala offers a variety of detailing packages.

The standard detail includes vacuuming, a quick wipedown of seats and a blow-out of the vehicle's interior, as well as an exterior wash, soap and cleaning of the tires.

A full interior detail, meanwhile, includes shampooing the carpet, steaming the seats, and cleaning out the air vents. This package includes getting the cigarette smell out of a vehicle.

The full interior-exterior detail includes steam treatment, carpet shampoo, conditioning of leather seats or ceramic coating on cloth seats, vacuuming, wipedown, steam treatment on the cup holders and vents, as well as exterior treatments including iron remover, clay bar, ceramic coating, wash and dry.

At this time, Zavala is open for appointments seven days a week.

"I think about people who work the third or overnight shift," he said. "If they ever need a car done on the weekend, I'm there — I'm available."

Zavala said the name of his business is a nod to his Mexican heritage.

"I didn't want to be like everyone else with common detailing names," he said. "I'm going to use something that means something to me."

Zavala grew up in California and moved to Worthington as a high school freshman in 2010. He and his girlfriend, Brianna Kraft, agreed together on establishing the business.

"I needed her support and understanding for the long hours I have when I'm doing detailing," he said. "I enjoy detailing — it's a passion for me."

Zavala can be reached at (507) 370-3163, and promotes his business on Facebook at South of the Border Mobile Detail, and on Instagram as southoftheborderdetail_.