Cryptic crossword clue
Cleaning car, see beer can on top of gearbox 8

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word VALETING

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Cleaning car" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case cleaning car = valeting.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does VALETING mean?

VALETING verb
  1. To serve (someone) as a valet.
  2. To clean and service (a car), as a valet does.
  3. To leave (a car) with a valet to park it.

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