A Horror Story with a happy ending!

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Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.

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A Horror Story with a happy ending!

I get a lot of e-mails with questions about detailing that would be better if they were posted to the forum but not everyone into car detailing is also a member of our forum. Of course, registering and becoming a member of AGO is pretty easy and this forum is a great resource for helpful information.

Click here to register with the Autogeek Online Discussion Forum



On to the horror story...

I had a gentleman send me an e-mail and a picture telling me of his Horror Story purchasing a new car. When he went to pick the car up it was completely swirled out from the mis-use of a rotary buffer. As you can see the entire car is filled with holograms also called rotary buffer swirls or rotary buffer trails.


DISO.jpg



Here's what he wrote in his first e-mail

I purchased a new car and the dealer gave me a DISO. I've read your posts about the DISO, but couldn't really find anything that explains how to fix it. Can you point me to an article. Even better, can you recommend a detailer in Beaverton, Oregon that I can trust to do the job correctly?
Click to expand...


I went on to explain that when the paint was buffed out the wrong way using the rotary buffer a certain amount of paint will have been removed.

Then, in order to undo the damage, a professional will have to level the surface as that's how swirls are removed. This means removing a little more of the already precious and thin clear layer of paint from the factory.

The jist of all this is that he just purchased a brand new car that after all is said and done won't have all the paint a brand new car should have for they price he paid.

I then put him in touch with a Pro Detailer in his area and here's a follow-up e-mail I recieved...


The detailer you referred me to came out today, washed the car, and figured out why the dealer detailed the car:

Tree sap - all over the car.

Their detail removed the surface sap, but did nothing to solve the problem. When confronted about it, the dealer admitted everything: The car got covered in sap and they tried to fix it with a detail. In spots, the paint is down to 87 microns.

They've agreed to take it back, give me a refund, and then sell me a new vehicle...
Click to expand...



It's sad that too many new and used car dealerships don't know how cars should be properly and correctly detailed, or don't care. I talk about this topic in this article.

The story of 3 H's - Horrendous, Horror Story and Hack Detailers...


I'm glad to see that the gentleman ended up getting a car without a hacked-up paint job, it's nice to see a horror story like this one with a happy ending.


:)
 
3D is taking over. 3D paint will soon be standard on all cars.

Glad he got the dealership take it back. I would have refused to drive it off the lot if I saw my new car like that
 
I am impressed that the dealership took it back as I suspect many dealers would not.
 
Twister said:
3D is taking over. 3D paint will soon be standard on all cars.

Glad he got the dealership take it back. I would have refused to drive it off the lot if I saw my new car like that
Click to expand...

I agree but a lot of times they will use a glaze in an attempt to hide the problem with the mentality of "Once it's off our lot, it's no longer our problem". When we bought our 2011 Regal there was a small scuff on one door and I flat out told them, if they attempt to fix it don't count on me buying the car. Needless to say that even after driving the car a couple days then sitting on the lot waiting for the right deal, they never washed it.

Thanks for sharing this with us Mike. It's a great reminder of what to watch for when buying a car, new or used. :)
 
Taking a rotary with a will pad to remove tree SAP is wrong? Oops.


LOL. At least it worked out.
 
Photochop....ain't know way that was real :nomore:













J/K...lol. That thing was terrible :nomore:
 
I agree with Buddy...good to hear the dealer stepped up and did the right thing. Maybe there is hope for that industry after all. Great article Mike.
 
Someone tell that guy your suppose to wash the car first.....and change out your pad at least every 6 months
 
Wow! He's lucky the dealer stood behind their mistake --after signing the paperwork.
 
I think we need to know what the name of the dealership is for two reasons.

1. So that we can talk to them about firing the "car wash guy" that made that mess.

2. I'm impressed with their customer service. They should get a good review and be recommended.
 
Garry Dean said:
I think we need to know what the name of the dealership is for two reasons.
Click to expand...
Garry Dean said:

1. So that we can talk to them about firing the "car wash guy" that made that mess.

2. I'm impressed with their customer service. They should get a good review and be recommended.
Click to expand...


Really, serious? According to the owner they sold him the car KNOWING it was not right. I'd say the dealership needs to be on the list of "never do business there".

Here is the quote from the owner:

Their detail removed the surface sap, but did nothing to solve the problem. When confronted about it,the dealer admitted everything: The car got covered in sap and they tried to fix it with a detail. In spots, the paint is down to 87 microns.

They've agreed to take it back, give me a refund, and then sell me a new vehicle...

 
mdb917 said:


Really, serious? According to the owner they sold him the car KNOWING it was not right. I'd say the dealership needs to be on the list of "never do business there".

Here is the quote from the owner:

Their detail removed the surface sap, but did nothing to solve the problem. When confronted about it,the dealer admitted everything: The car got covered in sap and they tried to fix it with a detail. In spots, the paint is down to 87 microns.

They've agreed to take it back, give me a refund, and then sell me a new vehicle...
Click to expand...

We can argue about this over opinions, but it would get us nowhere.

I was just saying that I'm impressed that they owned up to it without hassle.

Some would say that the owner should have inspected the vehicle in the sun before he agreed to purchase the vehicle.

Others would say that the dealership tried to hide these buffer trails.

The fact is that most people are not as particular as we detailers are.

I agree that this issue should have been discussed and exposed by the dealership during the sale process.
 
I don't know the name of the dealership, the guy that contacted me never supplied it and I'm not going to ask. Posting info like that could lead to other issues.


The guy that contacted me found me by searching with Google for information on swirls and that led him to my article on DISO

DISO = The Dealership Installed Swirl Option


I'm happy to know that the DISO article led him AutogeekOnline where he could get more information to address the situation.


:xyxthumbs:
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
When confronted about it, the dealer admitted everything: The car got covered in sap and they tried to fix it with a detail.

It's sad that too many new and used car dealerships don't know how cars should be properly and correctly detailed, or don't care.
Click to expand...

I remember walking around a highway dealer's back lot at leftover time, and the cars all the way at the back were parked under trees and were covered in bird poop and tree debris. In that situation it's kind of unavoidable for the paint to be wrecked. At least some of the dealers that do that are smart enough to leave the plastic on.
 
Happy endings like that are always nice to hear. That was some pathetic work with a rotary, especially with the intenet of removing tree sap. Clay it!!!!

There used to be a dealer of used German cars in my hometown (well still, is there to my knowledge) that had the worst guy on the rotary for their details. He was in house. He'd get the paint shining nicely. Oh yes. But he'd always install a ton of DISO's. It was bad. You could drive through the lot and see the carnage on every dark car.
 
Wow that car was bad. Glad to hear the dealership took full responsibility though. That's not something you see every day.
 
wwwwwwoooowwww this guy is definitely lucky. I'm shocked that the dealer took it back and gave him a new vehicle. Its crazy to know that buffers end up in the wrong hands. How do these guys look at the paint and say "this looks AWESOME?!"
 
Alright now I've got a detail question.

I've never dealt with a car in that condition but I might have an opportunity to do one. It's not quite as bad but close. Where would you start to try to correct? What products would you suggest?
 
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