Cleaning, recycling and disposal

How to become a vehicle groomer and cleaner

Official title: Vehicle groomer and cleaner

Also called: Vehicle detailer, Vehicle service agent, Car cleaner, Car groomer

Vehicle groomers and cleaners wash cars and other vehicles and clean their interiors.

Main tasks

Wash cars and other vehicles
Vacuum and clean inside of vehicles
Clean door edges and rubber trims
Remove scratches from vehicle surfaces
Steam clean engines
Check oil, water and tyre pressure
Move and park cars safely
Pick up and drop off cars

How to become one

You usually learn on the job to become a vehicle groomer and cleaner. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Other requirements: a driver licence.

See the full Tahatū profile

Pay · Past change

Median pay: $55,000 a year, a TEC estimate before tax.
Upper: $82,000 a year
TEC shows pay for this job by the hour: median $26.44 an hour.
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Decrease (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.

Who does this work

About 2,200 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).

Questions people ask

How do I become a vehicle groomer and cleaner?

You usually learn on the job to become a vehicle groomer and cleaner. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Other requirements: a driver licence.

How much does a vehicle groomer and cleaner earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $55,000 a year, before tax.

Has the number of people working as a vehicle groomer and cleaner grown in New Zealand?

It has shrunk: TEC records a decrease in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026