New Audi purchase - allow dealership prep/wax or no?

[Harry Da Hamster]

:bash: why create extra work for yourself?

Did you only read half my post? Would you rather be stuck with a paint defect that you need to pay out of pocket to fix? In a perfect world, a brand new car should be 100% free of any defects. I work in the industry and i know that is far from the truth. Some things are just considered "incidentals" and this is one of them.

 

[Harry Da Hamster]

I didn't let them touch my black beauty, watched it come off the truck, told them to peel the protective plastic off and leave it at that. Salesman mngmnt said they had to clean it up up. I told the salesman that he could keep the car and got up to walk out, they got the message.

Search for Mike's post about new cars and skipping the free detail and how to care for a new car.

Pic 1) the day I brought it home after I washed and prepped it.
Pic 2) after I polished it out with two step polish, men 2500, men 4500
Pic 3) 18 months later as my car sits today.

What you do to your vehicle the day you take it home sets the stage for how it will look years later. IMHO.

If you're polishing with Menzerna PF2500 and SF4500, that would easily polish out any dealer installed swirls, thus creating no additional work.

BTW why are people so sensitive at dealerships? Walk out because the salesman said they have to wash the car? Sometimes its better to educate the ignorant in a polite manner.

Nice ride.

 

[swanicyouth]

A new Audi is a big investment. If you tell them not to do this or not to do that, if there is any damage to the paint or dents, they could throw it back at you saying you didn't let them prep it correctly.

However, that doesn't mean you should except anything but a perfect car. I would let them do whatever they do, and then inspect the car. I would let it be known that you won't accept the vehicle with buffer swirls or holograms.

Go to the dealer and look around. Find a car that they have "prepped" in a similar color in the showroom or waiting for a customer to be pick up. Tell your salesmen you want your car to look like that or not.

What if the paint where to have some type of staining or weird residue on it. You never know. What if there is an issue with the paint later, and they try and say it's because you didn't let them prep it correctly. Will Audi warranty these things if the full dealer prep isn't done their way?

If it was a used car I would say DIY. But, not in this case.

 

[Kacz]

Most dealers aren't going to know anything about paint defects. In fact most can possibly make anything worse, unless what SYMAWD has said is is the case at that particular dealer. (Reputable outside detailing service)

Besides if you have a paint defect, almost all the time the dealer will call the district manufacturer rep to come in and inspect it himself. They would know.

At least in Illinois.

I say definitely don't let them touch your car, but only let them look it over.

 

[SYMAWD]

Also, if your car was dropped attended at the dealership, they technically have to catch the paint defect before signing for the vehicles otherwise the dealership has to cover the defect. If it was an unattended delivery off the truck, they usually have 48 hours.

I haven't seen it on an Audi yet, but I have found paint chips on VWs even under the paint protection.

Just have the paint inspected but I don't see why they would have to wash it.

Also, if the car is on the lot, it was probably already unwrapped for the reason I just stated above and depending on how careful the person wash, they could have just dragged the clips all over your car like the picture I posted on the previous page.

 

[Ep3rr]

I used to work at a Honda dealership years back. We did our best to not induce DISO. The lighting in the wash bays are lit up very well and rarely ever had swirls. We made sure as to not DISO, and if we did, we'd buff them out accordingly.

I also worked at Subaru, and they were HORRIBLE. First day there, they gave me a wash "brush" on a broom stick. I said "wtf is this?". Went and bought my own mitts and dry towels. Meanwhile to guy next to me is swirling the @&$% out of all his cars. Unbelievable that place, left after 2 weeks.

IMO it depends on who's cleaning the car. But if you want it done right, do it yourself.

 

[dy9102]

Thanks again for the advice everyone. There is a strong argument on both sides.. I think I am going to have to make the call while I am there at the dealer in the moment, but am going to tell them not to touch it until I arrive. I will let them know ahead of time that I am very concerned about this process and hopefully they will take appropriate steps ahead of my arrival (put their top people on point for the prep). When it comes to the detail/wash part of the prep process, I will see exactly what their plan is and supervise... as well as inspect the paint with them. I do not think it makes sense to let them apply their 3m wax though either way.

For as expensive as this purchase is, I agree that it makes sense to let them do whatever they feel they need to do.. but I doubt they will have a problem with this approach, especially since I am not going to talk final numbers with them until it is prepped and inspected to my satisfaction.

 

[dy9102]

Search for Mike's post about new cars and skipping the free detail and how to care for a new car.

Pic 1) the day I brought it home after I washed and prepped it.
Pic 2) after I polished it out with two step polish, men 2500, men 4500
Pic 3) 18 months later as my car sits today.

What you do to your vehicle the day you take it home sets the stage for how it will look years later. IMHO.

First of all, beautiful car! So just to clarify based on your pics, did you polish it day 1, or was that sometime later? I did read Mike's post and it sounds like the best approach is to only polish if it needs it. Yet, it sounds like most everyone on here believes that polishing day 1 is the right thing to do? I guess I am a bit scared as a newbie of polishing my brand new Audi day 1.. and potentially introducing swirls or holograms myself.

 

[custmsprty]

First of all, beautiful car! So just to clarify based on your pics, did you polish it day 1, or was that sometime later? I did read Mike's post and it sounds like the best approach is to only polish if it needs it. Yet, it sounds like most everyone on here believes that polishing day 1 is the right thing to do? I guess I am a bit scared as a newbie of polishing my brand new Audi day 1.. and potentially introducing swirls or holograms myself.

No, I didn't polish it, I put a coat of CG Blacklight and DoDo Juice Blue Velvet at that time. And did that by hand as I had no buffer back then and as you can see it looked pretty good.
As I didn't let the dealership lay a finger on it the paint was 90-95% defect free. There were some straight line fine scratches where the plastic protection was laid down but I decided at the time to live with them.

I guess I polished it about 8-9 months later with a PC.

The third pic is with a light finishing polish with my new Rupes 15.

Basically if you don't let the dealership touch the paint you should be starting with a pretty swirl free canvas.

So clay, seal and wax and you'll be shining like crazy. You can always practice polishing at a later time. It's really not as complicated as it sounds.

PS here's and A-6 I did a few weeks ago for a friend of mines buddy.

CG Blacklight and Pete's 53 with Porter Cable.

 

[HateSwirls]

Simple answer, NO!
Get so,done from the forum that may be near you and ask them for help.
I never, ever let a dealership touch my car.

 

[DA-detailer]

I personally think it depends on the dealership. Take a look around the lot at other cars. Most likely the dealership keeps up on detailing the cars on their lot. I say most likely because I work for a dealership and we don't detail the new cars in case they get dealer swapped and then we aren't sending out something we worked on, However we also sell more used cars so that is where we focus our attention. Anyways back to my point, If the cars look good on the lot and appears that the detailers know what they are doing then go ahead and have it worked on. But if you think you can do a better job than what you see on the lot skip the dealership detail.

Just because the detailer works for a dealership doesn't mean they aren't highly skilled.

 

[alfadub]

Opinions vary on this topic, but personally I would probably prefer not to have the dealer do anything to the paint, unless you could somehow verify that the dealer's detailer does quality work.

If a new vehicle is coming straight off the assembly line, one thing I'd wonder about is whether the paint has had adequate time to "gas out" before applying a wax or sealant. I don't know much about the manufacturing process, but I assume transit from Germany would take a few weeks at least.

Is it possible to receive a new vehicle less than a month after it's been painted? I don't know, but if someone here knows the answer to that question I'd be interested in knowing.

 

[dy9102]

Hi guys, I just wanted to close the loop on this thread and report back what happened today. So the dealer was cool with leaving the car fully wrapped up in the Audi wrappings until I got there and I removed them together with the tech team in order to help prevent the DISO. After they did all that they needed to do mechanically while I meticulously inspected the car, it was time for it to go back to detailing. The car was a mess from all the stickers and crap that they had all over it and the windshield was especially gummed up. I had them first take me back to their detailing area where there were 3 guys prepping other new cars. Within 5 seconds I decided that I was definitely not going to let them touch my new car... Guys were using pressure washers at 1 inch from new paint, doing everything for efficiency and not quality.. the soap buckets and brushes all looked bad news... etc.

Despite not having them detail it, I was able to still review the paint effectively and make sure there was nothing major wrong. The only couple things I found are a minor scratch in the right front wheel due to transportation (they are going to order me a new wheel) and a clear coat scratch on the hood, which I will attempt to polish out.

I still have much more detailing to go, so no good pics yet, but here is one from the dealership, when it was still a mess.

 

[SYMAWD]

Hi guys, I just wanted to close the loop on this thread and report back what happened today. So the dealer was cool with leaving the car fully wrapped up in the Audi wrappings until I got there and I removed them together with the tech team in order to help prevent the DISO. After they did all that they needed to do mechanically while I meticulously inspected the car, it was time for it to go back to detailing. The car was a mess from all the stickers and crap that they had all over it and the windshield was especially gummed up. I had them first take me back to their detailing area where there were 3 guys prepping other new cars. Within 5 seconds I decided that I was definitely not going to let them touch my new car... Guys were using pressure washers at 1 inch from new paint, doing everything for efficiency and not quality.. the soap buckets and brushes all looked bad news... etc.

Despite not having them detail it, I was able to still review the paint effectively and make sure there was nothing major wrong. The only couple things I found are a minor scratch in the right front wheel due to transportation (they are going to order me a new wheel) and a clear coat scratch on the hood, which I will attempt to polish out.

I still have much more detailing to go, so no good pics yet, but here is one from the dealership, when it was still a mess.

Glad everything mostly worked out. Unfortunately, dirt does get trapped underneath the full wraps. Also, you have to peel the windshield adhesive super slow with your fingers right up against it to get a clean peel. Then once you undo all the clips and zippers, you have to do your best to pull off the cover without it dragging against the car.

 

[jmfp]

I'm glad they accomdated your wishes. Its sad how low of a priority detailing is in dealer environments.

Dealers need to have more customers hold their feet to the fire. Quality detailing should be their #1 selling point. That is where a dealer could truly set themselves apart.

That's a beautiful car!