$65,000 Camaro w/ all the options, especially the DISO!!!

zmcgovern45

zmcgovern45

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So Mike's recent article warning the general public to be cautious about having a dealership touch your paint was fresh in my mind when I went to the dealership with my friend last night.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/66855-don-t-wash-car.html

We were there to check out a truck that he was hoping to purchase and he wanted me to inspect the paint prior to him buying the vehicle. I used my handy dandy PTG, brinkmann, and eye balls to thoroughly inspect the paint and needless to say the salesman was more than interested in what the heck I was doing. Unfortunately the truck had already been "detailed" by the dealership and had it's fair share of holograms. I pointed them out to the salesman and asked if he knew that his detail shop was actually damaging their cars and to my surprise, he responded with "Yup, It doesn't surprise me". He told me he let them work on his Corvette and it doesn't look great either (but when I quoted him to fix it he was no longer interested in having it corrected haha!).


Annnnyways, back on topic... after some long, drawn out negotiating, my buddy ended up buying the truck, and while he was with the sales manager doing some paperwork, the salesman that had been watching me inspect the truck wanted me to look a Callaway Camaro and a Callaway Corvette.

For those of you who don't know what Callaway is or simply think it is the golf company (like I did! until last night), here is some quick info...
wikipedia said:
Callaway Cars Inc. is an engine design company that is known for its modification of Chevrolet cars, the Corvette sport cars in particular, especially their twin-turbo kit that became a dealer option and their record breaking Corvette Sledgehammer car.
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The salesman wanted to show me these 2 cars in particular because, as he put it, "I don't think I can sell them with the paint being in as bad of shape as it is right now". He was not joking... the term hammered comes to mind. These were brand new, 0 owner, never even test driven vehicles! Blew my mind.

Anyways, I snapped some pics of the Camaro on my way out of the dealership to share with you guys. I have worked on a few new cars and a number of low mileage cars, but this was the worst I have seen for a brand new, and very expensive car!.. let me know what you think!

2011 Chevy Callaway Camaro (supercharged) - Sale price of $65,XXX

-Swirls, Water Spot Etching, Bird Bombs, You name it!







^I apologize for the mediocre iPhone shots, but you get the idea.

*Other notes: The salesman told me he has seen their guys drop their "rags" on the ground and simply pick them up and continue wiping down the cars on numerous occasions. He also admitted they typically just spray the cars down and then wipe them off instead of a proper wash.

So for anyone planning on purchasing a new car, I would recommend a very thorough inspection or possibly only accepting a brand new car that was just delivered and has not been "detailed" yet.
 
Italian Guy said:
So they letting you fix the Callaway cars?
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He asked me if I thought they could be fixed... I left him with my business card, told him to visit my website to see what I can do, and ensured him I could make them look amazing. We'll see what happens.
 
Nice post. Yep dealerships can be pretty rough. It's about profits not quality. Detailers are at the bottom of the list especially when anyone with a rag and a bucket of water can wash a vehicle.
 
zmcgovern45 said:
He asked me if I thought they could be fixed... I left him with my business card, told him to visit my website to see what I can do, and ensured him I could make them look amazing. We'll see what happens.
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Just make sure they pay YOUR price if they agree to hire you to fix these cars.
 
TimmyG said:
Just make sure they pay YOUR price if they agree to hire you to fix these cars.
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I'm not holding my breath for the call... especially when the salesman was so surprised at the price I quoted him for a 2 step correction on his personal car. If they would like me to work on them, they will not receive any preferred pricing. My time is quite limited now days, so I consider it pretty valuable. :xyxthumbs:
 
I used to wash cars as a lot boy at a lincoln mazda dealer and this was before I knew anything so Im sure I was instilling plenty of swirls back then but there was also a company of asian guys who would come by every week and bring a pressure washer with a long hose and spray all the cars down. I think they just let them sun dry too. Waste of money if you ask me. I was there 5 days a week 8 hours a day and all I did was pull cars and wash them and quick detail cars that were sold.
 
Yup, unfortunately most dealerships aren't interested in properly maintaining and preparing their vehicles.
 
zmcgovern45 said:
Yup, unfortunately most dealerships aren't interested in properly maintaining and preparing their vehicles.
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I would say they aren't interested in paying someone enough to care. $9 hr doesn't get you much skill.
 
Yep, those pictures are terrible!
I work at a dealership and the way I detail at work and at home are worlds apart. Although my dealership has happily adopted the two bucket method there are still miles to go to get to a proper job. Time is way too valuable to a dealership to do a proper job :p
 
At this point,I believe those cars are "wal-mart" specials. If you get the job I am sure you will make the Camaro name proud again! :)
 
Wow I can't believe they treat those high end special edition cars like that.
 
I also work at a dealership and our prep department also consist of a few random ppl off the street with no prior detailing experience. They also are paid very little and are rewarded on speed, not quality.

But dealerships are a business, and they are there to make money,not to provide perfect paint. 99.9% of customers are just regular people that don't analyze their paint like you guys do. What you guys charge to detail a car is what these guys make in a week, "detailing" 100+ cars.
 
Lim3 said:
Oh I'm aware. I went to a Bentley, Maserati dealer and every single car there has swirls.
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It's a shame, but unfortunately it seems the credentials for "dealership detailer" are not related to the sticker price of the car.

All in all, proper detailing and maintenance take time - time is money to dealerships... so cut corners where most people will never notice.
 
zmcgovern45 said:
....... wanted me to look a Callaway Camaro and a Callaway Corvette.

For those of you who don't know what Callaway is or simply think it is the golf company (like I did! until last night).....
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OK I know I missed this the first time around. Also know it's a bit late for a reply, but.....

Seriously Zack? :eek:
You recognize Callaway as golf company, and you are into cars! (You are into cars aren't you?) But you have no idea what a Callaway conversion is? Really?!?! :rolleyes: Just ribbing you brother. ;)

How about Hendrick, or Lingenfelter, or Hennessey, or SLP?
Actually Hendrick is a trick question as it's a joint venture between Hendrick and Callaway. These guys have been building Vette's since I was in my 20's.

I used to work with a guy that had a Callaway turbo in his BMW. Then after I left there and went into business for myself he had a buddy that was a big Alfa guy (had an Alfa Romeo shop) and that was the first bi-turbo I saw that was a Callaway design. That was in 86, about a year after I started the business.

Then that guys girlfriend had a Maserati bi-turbo in the mid 90's. Turned out she was a regular customer because that POS would break down all the freaking time! :laughing: I used to kid her that my kids needed new shoes less often than that car broke down so she kept my kids in new shoes. (And anyone that has had two kids, 5 years apart, knows how fast they grow and how many shoes you have to buy!!!) :dblthumb2:


You know about Roush, yes? Saleen, Steeda, Shelby perhaps? ;)
Steeda isn't exactly a household name, but they make some killer parts. They actually make some 20" rears, 11" wide that'll fit 315/35's into the rear wheel wells on a 1½" dropped Mustang over a bbk (big brake kit) and everything will clear, WITHOUT pulling the fenders! :D Heck I know this and I'm not even a Ford guy for crying out loud. :laughing:
 
rmagnus said:
Nice post. Yep dealerships can be pretty rough. It's about profits not quality. Detailers are at the bottom of the list especially when anyone with a rag and a bucket of water can wash a vehicle.
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THIS.

Plus, when you're paying 17 year olds $8 an hour... things tend to go downhill FAST.

Every time I went to the dealership to have my free oil changes performed, I made it VERY clear NOT to wash my car, and detailed it usually before arriving, so they got the "hint" pretty clearly. Haha. One time, I taped a note to the rear view mirror that said "no wash." Hey, I'm the customer, and it's my $30,000 asset, NOT theirs - and I don't want to spend 8 hours fixing their poor workmanship leaving behind swirls and water spots.
 
cardaddy said:
OK I know I missed this the first time around. Also know it's a bit late for a reply, but.....

Seriously Zach? :eek:
You recognize Callaway as golf company, and you are into cars! (You are into cars aren't you?) But you have no idea what a Callaway conversion is? Really?!?! :rolleyes: Just ribbing you brother. ;)

How about Hendrick, or Lingenfelter, or Hennessey, or SLP?
Actually Hendrick is a trick question as it's a joint venture between Hendrick and Callaway. These guys have been building Vette's since I was in my 20's.

I used to work with a guy that had a Callaway turbo in his BMW. Then after I left there and went into business for myself he had a buddy that was a big Alfa guy (had an Alfa Romeo shop) and that was the first bi-turbo I saw that was a Callaway design. That was in 86, about a year after I started the business.

Then that guys girlfriend had a Maserati bi-turbo in the mid 90's. Turned out she was a regular customer because that POS would break down all the freaking time! :laughing: I used to kid her that my kids needed new shoes less often than that car broke down so she kept my kids in new shoes. (And anyone that has had two kids, 5 years apart, knows how fast they grow and how many shoes you have to buy!!!) :dblthumb2:


You know about Roush, yes? Saleen, Steeda, Shelby perhaps? ;)
Steeda isn't exactly a household name, but they make some killer parts. They actually make some 20" rears, 11" wide that'll fit 315/35's into the rear wheel wells on a 1½" dropped Mustang over a bbk (big brake kit) and everything will clear, WITHOUT pulling the fenders! :D Heck I know this and I'm not even a Ford guy for crying out loud. :laughing:
Click to expand...

I'm familiar with the typical mustang couterparts - ie Saleen, Steeda, Shelby and the likes. Mostly because I have had several friends with Mustangs.

I have always been into the import scene more than anything and don't know much about the domestic market. I am familiar with Lingenfelter now, but only because I just inspected a Lingenfelter Corvette a couple of weeks ago.

Always learning new things :dblthumb2:
 
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