Dealer Car Wash

[1013mm]

Originally Posted by yandyr

Holy crap! they did that to your car?

Fortunately not mine, but unfortunately for him...
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255930

[dmboone25]

+1 on the no dealer wash, especially for people with JB and other dark colors.

On my E92, which was JB, I had had the car for about three weeks--it was cold as shit out (being February) and I couldn't wash it myself. Even though I swore I would never give in, I took it to the dealer for the free Saturday car wash....man the thing was dirty, and I just couldn't stand it.

So, you probably can guess what happened...the wash is a hand wash, but it is perfomed by high school kids. Well the kid washing my car dropped his mitt....right in the area where they were spraying excess snow, dirt, and other shit onto the floor....so he got a nice sized, pointy rock stuck in the mitt...didn't wash the mitt out....and took 4 huge swipes across my hood....the result was 4 scratches, in nice half circles, that covered 60% of the hood's length....EACH....all the way thru the paint....sigh.....

Needless to say, it was a horrible experience. My dealer buddies felt terrible because they know how anal I am--so they buffed.....then wet-sanded.....then eventually had to repaint.

At least if you do it yourself, you can't be pissed at anyone else. So I just do it myself. Kind of relaxing, really.

Oh, and I go with a post-it on the steering wheel and a handshake from the SA that no one will wash it.

[pit1]

Just had oil service done yesterday. The dealer has washed it in the past and it came back ok, so I didn't bother to say anything this time. Though I was nervous because she was pretty dirty.

My wife and I were eeking at the CPO E92 sitting out front, wondering how they could try to sell a car with such severe swirl, even my wife noticed, and she's usually oblivious to it.

Needless to say, 10 minutes later my car pulls around the corner and I do the normal walk around. The doors are covered in Swirl Marks, those swirl marks I spend afternoons avoiding and eliminating. I'd just washed it last week so I was certain they were NEW. I politely talked it over with my SA, and he was more than supportive, understanding and gracious. They'll give her a buff next time I bring her in. I know I could take care of it myself, but I don't need to waste hours fixing it.

They contract an outside company, same company overloaded the engine dressing on delivery, leaving drip marks for months. So I've had my doubts. In the end though, I couldn't be happier with the service I've gotten thus far, they've always pulled through. So my SA and I agreed it'd be wise to request NO WASH from here on out.

[Justin]

Originally Posted by Coach

+1 on never letting the dealer wash your car.

To the op. Are the water spots on your car any worse than water spots you get from rain? Having to "Spend the weekend" detailing your car because of water spots seems odd to me. If my 1 gets rained on(ie. water spots) I usually spend an hour washing it and all is good.

I suspect the water spots will come out pretty easily, although if left to bake in the sun they can etch the paint. Jet Black gets mirco-marred just by looking at it, so it might take the buffer to make it perfect again.

[xbook]

Originally Posted by jzhang

Seriously do you want to deals with this?

That picture made me throw up a little in my mouth. I want to cry after seeing that picture

Bob Smith MINI in Calabassas, CA did a similar number on my girlfriend's pristine BRG MINI Cooper S/ They ended up having to pay thru the nose to get the car back to an acceptable condition.

Word of note, never take your vehicle to Bob Smith. Terrible dealer.

[Midgad]

^that's just how mine looked!!
Do agree that darker colors are more prone to carwash FU's.
...btw, my dealer did a great job with the washes for the first 7-8 times, but #9 was

Dont let em keep it any longer than they havta.

[jeremydgreat]

Originally Posted by BlackjackMulligan

For those of you who say we're crazy for not wanting a free car wash, well just remember you get what you pay for!

I don't know about you, but I think $37,235 pays for a few washes.

[and 1]

Originally Posted by jzhang

Seriously do you want to deals with this?

wow F his L

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by jeremydgreat

I don't know about you, but I think $37,235 pays for a few washes.

Cool, let us know how your expensive car washes at the dealer turn out. Preferably, with pictures in the sun.

[Innovative Detailing]

Please read this thread that I posted on the 5POST.................

As a professional detailer who has been in the industry for over 23 years, I do not reccommend dealer courtesy washes or high volume car washes. These types of washes as you can see from this thread, are the butchers and the hackers that destroy those gorgeous black cars on our roads today.

http://e60.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197674

Just like the dentist will tell you, you only get one set of genuine teeth, the same goes for your paint. You only get one OEM paint job, so take the best care of it that you can so it will shine for a long time.

Dave @ Innovative Detailing

I tell my customers when they have their vehicles serviced at the dealer to take a grease pencil and draw a circle on the front window. Write the word "NO WASH" and draw a diagonal line thru the circle. They will see this and they definately will get the picture.

[IDBMW]

The have NO WASH in my records at the dealer. I always bring it in clean so that helps them remember and I can check for damage. I even make sure they do not buff or wax the car when it arrives at the dealer new. I take it home and do the full clay bar and Zaino prep on it.

I have to laugh about cagekicker’s free carwash. Last summer I was at a stoplight and saw a High School Cheerleader team having a car wash which said free car wash (really a donation of course). They were laying the towels out flat to dry on the blacktop picking up dirt and rocks. Then they would take the towels from the blacktop and wipe cars.

And I never take my vehicles through an automatic car wash. I bet there could be some serious wheel damage in an auto car wash not to mention the swirl marks.

I mostly use the wand car washes or do it at home in the warmer months. I can spend $2.00 and do it at lunch. It only takes about 20 min to wash and dry at the wand car wash. That is about how much time you would stand and wait for an automatic car wash.

[Justin]

Well, as I figured, it was much worse than just water spots. 15+ hours later of washing, buffing/polishing, and waxing and it's looking good. There are still a handful of scratches I couldn't get out with the polish I have. Not sure if I'm brave enough to tackle them myself. They aren't too deep, but I'm hesitant to get too aggressive since I'm still kind of a newbie to detailing. Any suggestions from the experts are welcome. In reality, you can't see them.. unless you're trying really hard, but it still really bothers me that they're there. The jet black clear coat is sooo soft, it's unbelievable. Anyhow, a few pics of the remaining scratches to warn those of you still okay with the dealer washing your car...

[Innovative Detailing]

These remaining scratches are very simple to correct using a Rotary polisher followed up with a DA polisher. If anything all that would be left is very minor scarring

Contact a reputable detail shop in your area, make sure you check for reviews on citysearch or the BBB

Dave @ Innovative Detailing

[BlackjackMulligan]

Jet Black is simply a different beast.......there's no doubt about it. I don't want to sound like a broken record but I've never experienced paint this soft.