CAR PRETTY service area
Car care for drivers from Merced.
Highway 99 north through the Valley, then across to McHenry Avenue.
From Merced, CAR PRETTY is a straight run north on Highway 99 and then across to McHenry Avenue. It is the longest of the regular drives people make to the shop, which changes how you should plan the visit: come once, and get everything done in that trip.
It also means the car arrives having just done exactly the kind of mileage that causes the problems we are about to fix.
What a long Highway 99 run leaves behind
Extended freeway driving puts everything on the front of the car. Bug splatter builds up across the bumper, the mirrors and the leading edge of the bonnet, and on a hot day it bakes on within hours and begins etching the clear coat. The windscreen collects the same residue, which is why glass that looks fine at noon becomes almost unusable at sunset.
Highway grit comes with it. Sand and stone off the lanes works on the lower panels and abrades the face of headlight lenses, and lenses that have been sandblasted and UV-baked are the ones that look frosted from across a car park.
Valley conditions around Merced
Merced sits in the same agricultural belt as the rest of this part of the Valley, so farm and orchard dust lands on paint and gets into cabins, especially through harvest. Summers run long and hot, and sustained sun is what oxidises clear coat and fades plastic trim on anything that parks outside.
From the start of November to the end of March, after the first real rain, tule fog settles across the whole San Joaquin Valley. A long 99 drive in fog with hazed headlights is genuinely unpleasant, and it is the main reason Merced drivers book headlight restoration before winter rather than after it.
Plan the trip once
Because of the distance, it is worth telling us everything the car needs in one call rather than discovering a second job when you arrive. A full detail plus headlight restoration is a common combination. If the paint needs correcting, doing that and applying a ceramic coating in the same visit saves you the second drive entirely.
The auto repair and smog department is on the same lot, so if registration is due, add it to the same visit and handle it in one trip up the 99.
One location
All work happens at the shop at 4207 McHenry Ave in Modesto, and we serve drivers from Merced. We do not have a Merced location, it is one lot in Modesto, open 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Call (209) 526-8688 before you set off.
CAR PRETTY4207 McHenry Ave, Modesto, CA 95356
Most booked
What Merced drivers ask for
4207 McHenry Ave · Modesto
Tell us what you drive.
Call the shop or send an appointment request for the service you need.