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      12-26-2014, 01:04 PM   #1
zipphreak
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Dealer free car wash scratches car

I went into the dealer today to get a 2nd stage brake light malfunction error checked out. Turns out they think it was the brake force bulb so they replaced it, if it comes back might need to replace the lamp assembly..

But that's the good part of the story. They did a free wash when they were done with the car. I went out to put my bag in the trunk, and i noticed tons of sideways scratches in the trunk, bumper lip, rear side panels, doors, hood. It was a pretty sunny day here in New England so you could see everything quite clearly. There were parts that were worse (denser scratching) than others, and you can tell they used a wash mitt that was dirty and they were not cleanly rinsing it. Just flopping it back into the same dirt/grime that was coming off the car. Really? Who trains these guys.

I went back into the service manager, and he was on the phone. But asked if i had a problem with the car, and I said yah they scratched the shit out of the car.... Then he threw off an attitude, and said well i can't just drop everything. I never said too! Someone else overheard and grabbed the detailing manager and brought him over after a few minutes of waiting.

Then the detailing manager comes over, and I let him know the details of what I was mad about. The car was still dirty and the entire car had a bad amount of scratching from a bad wash. We went out to the car and instantly you can tell the car was scratched up, you could see every line since the sun was out blaring on the black sapphire metallic paint. Best part is one side of the car, and wheels were like half-assed cleaned. I guess no light's in their shop

I basically flipped out on him since this is unacceptable in a few words, while he tried to diffuse the situation. Ultimately, I really never want them to touch it again. But they have to fix the scratches as it is a complete mess and lazy workmanship. They are responsible for messing it up, and they have to fix it. He also insisted that they have someone properly wash the car before I leave. Although I was pretty hesitant on this, I let them take it and clean it up. Obviously knowing that I'm pissed and I'm actually going to look at the car!

While I was waiting the detailing manager pulled the kid out that did the shitty job, and everyone else in the department to show them the poor job that they produced and to highlight the neglect. He sent the kid home that day, and told me he got a warning if he does it again he'll get fired..

I also scheduled an appointment in a week to have them really detail the car to remove the scratches. Hopefully that will be the end of my story.

1/5/15 to be continued.

How would you have handled this, would you have done it differently? Why don't dealerships take any accountability in there departments. Why do departments (ex. Service) blame other departments for shitty work when they are the same Dealership/company, and service is the one that is client facing..

BMW of Newport
1215 West Main Road
Middletown, RI 02842

Last edited by zipphreak; 12-26-2014 at 01:41 PM..
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      12-26-2014, 01:32 PM   #2
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Nothing new, I always skip car washes during service
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      12-26-2014, 01:39 PM   #3
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NOBODY washes my car except my detailer or myself
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      12-26-2014, 01:58 PM   #4
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The fact that you have to say no wash says that the dealer is not accountable for their actions. If you can't trust the dealer for a car wash, why would I trust them for an oil change or brake job for that matter. It's a completely avoidable experience and I don't think the real answer is put "NO-WASH" on my customer records. This is what the service adviser wanted to do. As if your doing me a favor that I am the asshole customer that checks that the quality is to BMW standards,not MY standards. Every time they scratch it, they have to eat $xxx.xx dollars in time/labor to repair the car back to normal standards. If this happens once, twice, 5 times with multiple customers you will start to see some action as it starts eating away at their bottom line. I would imagine that many people just don't notice it, especially if it's not a black/darker color
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      12-26-2014, 04:14 PM   #5
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Car finish scratched at dealer threads.
How should an owner handle this?
a. find own detailer and have dealership pick-up the tab.
b. have dealer correct
c. stay and watch
d. fingernail test
e. isopropyl swipe after detail ( chk for colored waxes )

Zip, I think you handied the situation just-right.
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      12-26-2014, 04:41 PM   #6
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Take a printed sheet of paper in large type that tells them not to wash the car.

Maybe something like this should do it:
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      12-29-2014, 11:34 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zipphreak View Post
How would you have handled this, would you have done it differently? Why don't dealerships take any accountability...
Fellow BSM owner here. The dealership is under strict instructions NEVER to wash my car. I put printed instructions on the dash as a reminder. Broke my CA's heart to re-deliver my car, after ED, still covered with rail dust. I wouldn't let them near it. They buggered up my buddy's 128i in same situation.

The folks who wash cars at dealerships are usually entry-level. Many car owners don't check their finish all that closely for micro-scratches, ever.
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      12-30-2014, 08:14 AM   #8
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If you are worried about the fine scratches that can be cause by a "free" car wash why would you get it done?

Do you think they are going to spend a lot of time on a "free" car wash? No they are going to clean as much of the major dirt off your vehicle as quickly as possible. After all it is free.

Also, you have one of the colors which these very fine swirl marks etc. are very easily seen.

My dealer always asks upon turning my vehicle in if I would like it washed or not.

I usually don't worry about those small scratches because some were already there in the first place from road dirt whipping across the vehicle as you drive. I will also take my car and since they did the majority of the work I will do my own full wash, clay bar, polish and wax on my own.

Another tip if you think your car is gonna come out of their detail shop looking as if it came from the factory save your money and your blood pressure put in your own labor.

If you want something done right and to your standards do it yourself or find a very good professional detailer. After all they do it for a living.
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      12-30-2014, 01:51 PM   #9
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Sorry to read your dealership did damage to your car's finish. Hope you get the issue resolved and move on. It's a minor problem that you don't need to spend to much grief over as there more important issues in life to experience than this.
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      12-30-2014, 02:24 PM   #10
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I talked to the dealership, and decided to go with a pro detailer in the Boston area. I just don't trust that the dealer is going to fix it to my standards. The dealer is going to cover the cost of the job, roughly $350. The good news is this guy is legit and has many reviews/recommendations on autopia.com and autogeek.com. He is also a certified installer of Xpel Ultimate, which is a clear bra solution. Kill two birds with one stone.

I realize that the car wash was a mistake, but honestly it wasn't even washed. Everything was still dirty, looked like someone rinsed it, ran a mitt over the left side, hood, and rear, and skipped the whole right side. These guys probably make minimum wage. I found out that the detailing people are actually a separate company that this BMW dealership contracts and they have a building they run out of on the dealer's property.

Ohh and my blood pressure is finally coming back to normal.
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      12-30-2014, 02:33 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zipphreak
I talked to the dealership, and decided to go with a pro detailer in the Boston area. I just don't trust that the dealer is going to fix it to my standards. The dealer is going to cover the cost of the job, roughly $350. The good news is this guy is legit and has many reviews/recommendations on autopia.com and autogeek.com. He is also a certified installer of Xpel Ultimate, which is a clear bra solution. Kill two birds with one stone.

I realize that the car wash was a mistake, but honestly it wasn't even washed. Everything was still dirty, looked like someone rinsed it, ran a mitt over the left side, hood, and rear, and skipped the whole right side. These guys probably make minimum wage. I found out that the detailing people are actually a separate company that this BMW dealership contracts and they have a building they run out of on the dealer's property.

Ohh and my blood pressure is finally coming back to normal.
Did u go to BMW Norwood?

And u going to rick to get it fix?
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      12-30-2014, 03:31 PM   #12
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BMW Newport. Rick/Pete at Unique Car Care in Stoneham.
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      12-30-2014, 03:35 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zipphreak
BMW Newport. Rick/Pete at Unique Car Care in Stoneham.
If u dont mind me asking how much is for the xpel install pricing?
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      12-30-2014, 05:46 PM   #14
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I think it ranges between 1500-2000. Depending on coverage.

you can do different packages depending on how much coverage.

http://www.uccboston.com/detailing-packages/clear-bra/

He had a BMW x3 there they were doing a full frontal wrap on, and you can't even tell it has the bra on it. It's pretty impressive. I just hit 5k miles and i already have more than a fair share of highway rock nicks on the front portion of the hood, and especially the bumper. He can use a product called Dr ColorChip before applying the clear to hide/blend most of these imperfections.

Last edited by zipphreak; 12-30-2014 at 06:03 PM..
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      12-30-2014, 09:07 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zipphreak View Post
I talked to the dealership, and decided to go with a pro detailer in the Boston area. I just don't trust that the dealer is going to fix it to my standards. The dealer is going to cover the cost of the job, roughly $350. The good news is this guy is legit and has many reviews/recommendations on autopia.com and autogeek.com. He is also a certified installer of Xpel Ultimate, which is a clear bra solution. Kill two birds with one stone.

I realize that the car wash was a mistake, but honestly it wasn't even washed. Everything was still dirty, looked like someone rinsed it, ran a mitt over the left side, hood, and rear, and skipped the whole right side. These guys probably make minimum wage. I found out that the detailing people are actually a separate company that this BMW dealership contracts and they have a building they run out of on the dealer's property.

Ohh and my blood pressure is finally coming back to normal.
Definitely the right route! We had a dealer make huge mistakes to a new car this summer, then during the correction, they added new deep scratches. They had the gaul to ask if they can try again! Nope, chose my own detailer and sent them the bill. They were at least big enough to pay for the repair, but I cannot recommend that dealership ever again.
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      01-07-2015, 03:34 PM   #16
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Got my car detailed yesterday, they took the majority of the day to wash, clay, polish out the scratches, and they did a real good job reversing the dealer's handy work. I'd say it's 98-99% of new, and shines better than OEM. There are some extremely hard to see deeper scratches, that you will never notice.

They also put on this stuff called opti-coat on the paint and wheels clear-coat, it's essentially a ceramic clear coat, not a wax or a sealant. So it lives over your existing clear and takes the daily abuse. Will be interesting how this stuff survives the winter here.

They also put on a full frontal Xpel Ultimate Clear Film package. This stuff is 8mil thick, seal healing, it's pretty legit stuff. It's like putting one of the screen protectors on your cell phone, just thicker, and more expensive.

http://www.xpel.com/products/xpel_ul...ction_film.asp

If you guys are in the NorthEast area, check out Rick and Pete at Unique Car Care. http://www.uccboston.com, they are legit. They do all sorts of high-end/Luxury cars.
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      01-08-2015, 12:40 AM   #17
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Glad to see it get fixed right!

Opticoat is some good stuff. Had it on my IS350 and almost 6 months still shines like new after a simple wash.

Not sure if your detailer told you, but mine advised me NOT to wax the car for at least a year. Simply wash, car shampoo, and quick detailer.
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      01-20-2015, 09:04 PM   #18
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I had the same issues after specifically telling the not to wash my BSM during service

They offered to detail but what I received was a half ass polish which left holograms and a heavy glaze to hide the imperfections

I knew because I brought a reputable detailer with me during the pickup after their detail

Now I am fighting with the manager hoping to fund and pay a reputable detailer instead of using their own low quality detailer
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      01-21-2015, 06:46 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by originalgoods13 View Post
They offered to detail but what I received was a half ass polish which left holograms and a heavy glaze to hide the imperfections
I've seen the glaze or colored wax or even heavy sealant used to cover bad buffer work - just thought that was an important comment.
Hope everything gets taken care of.
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