Wonder why Autogeeks don't want dealers washing your new vehicle? LOOK at THIS! #Ooops

cardaddy

cardaddy

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So I was at our local Toyota dealership earlier in the week scoping out some parts and checking out the new Highlander.

After explaining to the salesman that we just couldn't put up with them washing the cars because they always do too much damage to them, he took me around back to show me one that they had up on a ramp by the expressway.

Of course that meant that he had to lead me right by their super duper high quality first class wash facility. :eek:
Couldn't help but notice this disaster in the making.

He had gone after rhe keys to a vehicle, and upon returning I pointed and said "And THAT is why if I were to even CONSIDER buying a vehicle from you... it'd still be wrapped in plastic or I'd go somewhere else."

He just laughed (thinking I wasn't serious). Boy would he be surprised!:laughing:
 
What's sad is that so many cars go through this abuse at the dealer. When I picked up my new C250 the dealer was so confused when I asked them not to wash it. Lol even the GM came out and was like "to be clear, this is the first time a customer has requested that we DON'T wash the car."
 
lol. my local Nissan dealer is even worse. For some reason the first set of the vertical spinning brushes actually sits outside the building out in the elements uncovered. And when its not active, the lower strips drape on the asphalt.
 
Even with signs that I've recently made I scared to take my baby back to Nissan
 
timaishu said:
lol. my local Nissan dealer is even worse. For some reason the first set of the vertical spinning brushes actually sits outside the building out in the elements uncovered. And when its not active, the lower strips drape on the asphalt.
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omg...
 
timaishu said:
the first set of the vertical spinning brushes actually sits outside the building out in the elements uncovered. And when its not active, the lower strips drape on the asphalt.
Click to expand...

I've seen this before, too. It is appalling. I've also had friends request/insist that the dealership NOT wash the car after service... They still do it. Unbelievable.
 
The worst I've seen is here at the local Carwash on Ft. Carson. They have two guys that "scrub" your car with truck brushes before going through the feely finger wash.
 
Matt3400 said:
The worst I've seen is here at the local Carwash on Ft. Carson. They have two guys that "scrub" your car with truck brushes before going through the feely finger wash.
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Our local wash is the same way. On a sunny day there will be one or two guys on station. Both with brushes soaking in buckets of dirty water.

Customers going through the torture tunnel AND the touchless wash get the same "customer service" as the bays sit side-by-side.
 
Matt-erhorn said:
What's sad is that so many cars go through this abuse at the dealer. When I picked up my new C250 the dealer was so confused when I asked them not to wash it. Lol even the GM came out and was like "to be clear, this is the first time a customer has requested that we DON'T wash the car."
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Yep, that was this guy as well.

I'd already shown him photos of some of my work, but he just didn't get it. :dunno:

It's bad enough that it's a small dealership, and if you want something you'd either have to order it (which honestly doesn't happen with Toyota's) or take a pick of what they'd have on the lot. He was actually wanting to show me the Venza, thinking it might fit the bill for options we'd like, but the ONLY one they had was on a ramp facing I-75 at the back of the property. He had to get it down off the ramp (then wonder why I'd not be all over it as if it were so exclusive I couldn't resist myself). :rolleyes:

And yeah.... their 'flippy floppy's' would hang on the ground also. I watched them drive one, after another, after another through that thing. Took some photos without a flash and you can't see them. Finally got closer and turned the flash on. The guys in the cars must have thought I'd lost my mind..... OR..... I was just terribly impressed at what a wonderful job they were doing! :laughing:

Desertnate said:
Our local wash is the same way. On a sunny day there will be one or two guys on station. Both with brushes soaking in buckets of dirty water.

Customers going through the torture tunnel AND the touchless wash get the same "customer service" as the bays sit side-by-side.
Click to expand...

Yep, I tell folks all the time that "We FIX what those guys do". I did a S&S back a year ago on a Camry Hybrid that'd been washed all over with brushes like that. Owner bought it with 1500 miles on it and it looked like it was 15 years old with 500,000 miles on it. :eek:

Was talking to a customer yesterday about getting his Mazdaspeed cleaned up in the middle of winter WITHOUT putting more swirls on it until I can correct it again and referred to the drive through wash as the "scratch-o-matic" and the self car wash as the "spray and pray". He just looked at me and laughed.;)
 
Thankfully my dealership wised up and now clips this onto my key ring as soon as I hand over my keys:



I don't have to bother with Do Not Wash signs anymore.
 
I work at Mercedes/Volvo dealer, in the parts dept. As a dealer, we're not in the business of detailing your car when it's brought in for service. We service far too many vehicles to be washing them like you'd wash your own. I don't let anyone wash my vehicles, but if I wasn't in the business and didn't care about keeping my car as nice as possible (like most people out there), I would not care about the dealer washing my car...I would be happy I didn't have to PAY for it.
 
I just picked up a new to me VW from a dealer about a month ago. Throughout the process of picking it up, I completely forgot to tell them "don't wash the car."

For my sins I have a car with a lot of micro swirls all over it, begging for a warm spring day in the near future.

To be fair, I can't say for sure it was the dealer, since it was a new car, but the salesperson did make a point to tell me their "detailing department" washed and waxed the car prior to delivering it.
 
Where I work, all service cars get washed except for the one or 2 customers who request no wash. In fact, customers love our car wash tunnel so much that the police occasionally have to come by because we are blocking traffic on the highway. When that many people love your car wash, someone might not understand why you are so against your car going through.

The good news is that when I dropped my car off for service today, my service advisor knew to write ******************NO WASH****************** before I even asked. Then again, I'm probably the only person who shows up with an orange car, so it's easy to remember.
 
That's the same type of carwash my local MB dealer runs their new cars through!! Brutal
 
I use the "No Wash" signs, notify the service writer and also tell them not to use impact wrenches on the lug nuts. Then I watch them. Both the BMW and Volvo dealers have allowed me into the service areas to observe and converse with the Technicians. Much appreciated.
 
Mercedes-Benz dealership I work at has the exact same car wash. We literally slap the cars clean. I've also made the mistake of when we are slow I'll take extra time on the cars and now we have some very demanding customers for courtesy washes
 
Matt-erhorn said:
What's sad is that so many cars go through this abuse at the dealer. When I picked up my new C250 the dealer was so confused when I asked them not to wash it. Lol even the GM came out and was like "to be clear, this is the first time a customer has requested that we DON'T wash the car."
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Yeah same thing when I got my GC coming off of the car carrier, he thought I was nuts.
 
The general public can't see the squirrels on their paint anyway.

For imported vehicles you would be surprised what happens at the port BEFORE the dealer even has the opportunity to ram it through their tunnel of death.
 
Nicholas@Autowerx said:
The general public can't see the squirrels on their paint anyway.

For imported vehicles you would be surprised what happens at the port BEFORE the dealer even has the opportunity to ram it through their tunnel of death.
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:iagree:

Having specialized in hi-line autos when owning my towing business, I've done hundreds of dealer trades. We went everywhere from Miami to Lake Erie, from NYC to Houston. I've picked up and dropped off at the port(s), as well as local rail yards where vehicles came from around the country. Having a vehicle just SITTING at the port is a recipe for disaster. Those are probably the dirtiest places on earth! :rolleyes:
 
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