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      10-12-2010, 09:01 AM   #1
STurner
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Pissed and need advice.

okay.
there's a 1 series i've had my eye on for a few days now over at my local dealership, so i went in to buy the damn thing as it just would NOT stop hypnotizing me. It was black sapphire w/black interior. I had a doctor's appointment early afternoon so I came in around 10 and told them to get the car ready and wrote them a 25k check, and told them i would be back after my appointment to finalize and finish all the paperwork.

Well I came back around 2pm, and saw they had the car all cleaned up and looking good, but when i got closer i noticed the clearcoat had been swirled HORRIBLY, all over the hood, sides, roof trunk.. hell everywhere there was paint.. needless to say i was SICK. Like i don't understand how they can have a detailer who is capable of this level of incompetence.

I explained this to my salesman, and showed him.. He tried to be dismissive and shrug it off, saying all black cars look like this but i was like no, go look at the black vette i rolled up in. i told him i wasnt buying the car now bc in my eyes it had been ruined. Sell it to someone who won't notice.

I had him order me a car instead, exactly like the one that got swirled. And i told him that when it came in not to let anyone touch it. I had him shred the check i'd written earlier and wrote him the 1500 deposit check instead.

Now im having second thoughts... the nearest dealership is 120miles away.. but i'm thinkin that's not so far. And I'm wondering if perhaps i shouldve just ordered my car from them instead.

Do you think if i told them to cancel the order they'd refund my deposit? If so I'll make the calls and get my car ordered from the further dealership. Also who do i report this sacrilege to? There's no reason they should have someone working there who does this to these cars.

There were two other cars that had been detailed and looked to be awaiting pickup or whatev that had been desecrated similarly. Im not talking light swirls either, this was BAD.

Last edited by STurner; 10-12-2010 at 09:05 AM.. Reason: spelling
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      10-12-2010, 09:09 AM   #2
ES BMW
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Never let a dealer detail your car if you care about it. They normally use the same supplies on all the cars and the dirt builds up on the cleaning surface and scratches everything it touches.

There's no guarantee that the further dealer won't do the same thing. Your best bet is to request that they do not clean the car before you take delivery.
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      10-12-2010, 09:11 AM   #3
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I'm not sure as it varies dealer to dealer, but I always make sure that my deposit is refundable before placing it, and I ALWAYS put deposits on a credit card. That way if they fail to refund it if the deal goes sour, I can open a dispute through the credit card company.

My advice... cancel the check through your bank, and then call the dealer and tell them that the deal is off due to their incompetent detailers.
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      10-12-2010, 09:12 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by My E90 View Post
Never let a dealer detail your car if you care about it. They normally use the same supplies on all the cars and the dirt builds up on the cleaning surface and scratches everything it touches.

There's no guarantee that the further dealer won't do the same thing. Your best bet is to request that they do not clean the car before you take delivery.

Yeah I told the salesman as much. I'm not gonna hold my breath though. Hopefully I can be there when it's delivered to the dealership.
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      10-12-2010, 09:21 AM   #5
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i personally take pride in washing, waxing, detailing etc. my own car. if swirl marks are a deal breaker, maybe you should special order a car from germany and give detailed terms on how you want the dealership to handle your vehicle when it arrives. i know a guy that did that with his e92 335i.
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      10-12-2010, 09:45 AM   #6
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I did PCD and highly recommend it. You have to get yourself to Greenville but you then get a night at the Marriott, dinner, breakfast, and a great fun morning driving their cars around on the test track followed by lunch, and delivery. All for free! You also get a plant tour and a hot lap in a M5 with a race car driver at the wheel (all the instructors at the PC are race car drivers).

European delivery also looks like something to check out. 6% off if you pick it up in Munich and then take it to the freight forwarder for delivery here (at your dealer or the Performance Center).

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      10-12-2010, 09:51 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maxnix View Post
3 days in TX to cancel? Ask.

I recommend Performance Center Delivery. They don't add swirls and you will have a great time. You can choose this anytime before the car is shipped.
My PDC experience ---Good, BAD, Better --

Good -- I picked up my 128i sapphire black at the Performance Delivery Center- What a blast.

BAD - They did a bad job of prep and swirled the finish. During the delivery you never get outside to see the car in direct sunlight. It was a couple of days before I got a good look at the car.

Better - Came home and showed my swirled finish to my CA and he has arranged for me to take the car to a local detail shop I used in the past --at the dealer's expense. They will get the finish to look like day one.

During the order process for my care I explained to the CA that "swirl free" was a requirement and he assured me that would not be a problem. I was impressed he took care of the problem with no pressure. Face it the guy preparing your car does not care....better to take it to a professional or do it yourself.
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      10-12-2010, 10:05 AM   #8
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The fact is, high majority (98%?) of owners don't know or care - just look at all the nice cars going to prof detailer for paint correction on the forum. Keeping car swirl free is just not high on their priorities. As long as everyone else perceives the car is clean (when they drives by), that's all that matters.
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      10-12-2010, 10:38 AM   #9
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This is why I changed my order from black to Alpine White.
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      10-12-2010, 11:09 AM   #10
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Black is hard to maintain, I have a black 135i vert

Quote:
Originally Posted by STurner View Post
okay.
there's a 1 series i've had my eye on for a few days now over at my local dealership, so i went in to buy the damn thing as it just would NOT stop hypnotizing me. It was black sapphire w/black interior. I had a doctor's appointment early afternoon so I came in around 10 and told them to get the car ready and wrote them a 25k check, and told them i would be back after my appointment to finalize and finish all the paperwork.

Well I came back around 2pm, and saw they had the car all cleaned up and looking good, but when i got closer i noticed the clearcoat had been swirled HORRIBLY, all over the hood, sides, roof trunk.. hell everywhere there was paint.. needless to say i was SICK. Like i don't understand how they can have a detailer who is capable of this level of incompetence.

I explained this to my salesman, and showed him.. He tried to be dismissive and shrug it off, saying all black cars look like this but i was like no, go look at the black vette i rolled up in. i told him i wasnt buying the car now bc in my eyes it had been ruined. Sell it to someone who won't notice.

I had him order me a car instead, exactly like the one that got swirled. And i told him that when it came in not to let anyone touch it. I had him shred the check i'd written earlier and wrote him the 1500 deposit check instead.

Now im having second thoughts... the nearest dealership is 120miles away.. but i'm thinkin that's not so far. And I'm wondering if perhaps i shouldve just ordered my car from them instead.

Do you think if i told them to cancel the order they'd refund my deposit? If so I'll make the calls and get my car ordered from the further dealership. Also who do i report this sacrilege to? There's no reason they should have someone working there who does this to these cars.

There were two other cars that had been detailed and looked to be awaiting pickup or whatev that had been desecrated similarly. Im not talking light swirls either, this was BAD.
Swirl marks disappear after a good wax job. Black tends to show everything (including fingerprints) so I would not obsess over it. Although I would wonder why the dealer would choose a sub standard detailer.

It is inevitable that on all cars, you will develop fine scratches over time. Black just shows it more.

But I feel you pain. The delivery of the car is about as important as enjoying the car over time. Tell the dealer to pay for a detail that you know for sure does a good job.

Happy motoring!
Fancyfl1ght
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      10-12-2010, 11:15 AM   #11
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If you like the car and it has all the option you want, I do not think it is worth to hassle to cancel the purchase..

Ask them to give you a 200 discount so you can take it to a professional detailer.. or let them throw something in the deal like a free performance part installation. you know anything that is around the price of a good detail job..

Just mt $0.02
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      10-12-2010, 11:17 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fancyfl1ght View Post
Swirl marks disappear after a good wax job. Black tends to show everything (including fingerprints) so I would not obsess over it.

Happy motoring!
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      10-12-2010, 11:21 AM   #13
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too bad bmw discontinued sparkling graphite metallic, it's a dream to detail
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      10-12-2010, 12:17 PM   #14
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If you do not want ED or PCD and the one on the lot is what you want, I agree with the "get them to fix it" suggestions.

On the other hand, if you want a new one, why not do at least PCD or possibly both ED and PCD? The drive back to TX is pretty long but in a nice car, it would at least be more enjoyable. If you fly in, you may also want to know that Charlotte is about 1.5 hours away as is Columbia, SC. If you get a cheaper airfare than Greenville, it might pay to rent a car and drive the last ~100 miles. I made the Charlotte to PC drive a couple weeks ago for M school and it is really easy. A couple miles to the interstate and then just get off at the right exit. I will do Columbia to PC Sunday for an autocross. Again it almost all easy interstate driving.

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      10-12-2010, 01:13 PM   #15
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The PCD delivery is definitely something i'll consider. A swirled clearcoat is not, the only way to get that out is to do it right, take down the clear past the marring and reclear OR temp fix it by applying a decent glaze. I'm a perfectionist I suppose and am in no mood to do or have either done on a new 40+ thousand dollar car. :/

I'm not hurting to get another vehicle I was just thinking about suprising the wife by replacing her volvo with a car i know she'd enjoy.

When i say swirled i'm not talking a light swirling due to negligence.. it looked like they buffed the damn thing with 2000grit sandpaper lol.

I'm just sad that this happened and if it's 3 days to cancel the order in TX i'll give them a call tomorrow, I might actually wait for the 135is or M1, I'm undecided.
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