Would you let a dealer prep a new car?

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opie

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Would you let a dealer detailer prep your new car for pickup?(hand wash only, no automatic carwash) Curious on opinions. I woukd normally say absolutly not, but im not sure now.

Reason i ask is had to have a new vehicle trucked in from another location due to the first one we looked at had a little dent in the drivers side door...car had 16 miles on it.

With that being said, it may be all trashed from the haul in. I want to be able to best inspect for any defects or anything, and clean is the best way. Im obviously going to paint correct and ceramic coat it in the near future so i can undo any dealer installed swirls.

What would yinz do? I still told them no exterior detail but curious on yimz thoughts nd or stories.
 
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I'll typically let the dealer detail the interior. Although these days with the widespread use of piano black I might change that approach going forward. Exterior is usually a hard pass. You bring up a good point of a really dirty car possibly hiding exterior defects. I've been lucky so far that the only issues I've had so far were something I could polish out myself.

With my current car, I specifically told the dealer to not wash it. Due to paperwork issues the car sat on the lot for another couple weeks before I took delivery in the middle of the winter so the car got really dirty from sitting out in a dusty rainy/snowy environment. The day I came to pick it up, the dealership did me a "favor" of "just spraying off all the dirt with a pressure washer"...and left it covered in large water spots on the paint and glass. At least I got a good look at the body panels.
 
Desertnate said:
I'll typically let the dealer detail the interior. Although these days with the widespread use of piano black I might change that approach going forward. Exterior is usually a hard pass. You bring up a good point of a really dirty car possibly hiding exterior defects. I've been lucky so far that the only issues I've had so far were something I could polish out myself.

With my current car, I specifically told the dealer to not wash it. Due to paperwork issues the car sat on the lot for another couple weeks before I took delivery in the middle of the winter so the car got really dirty from sitting out in a dusty rainy/snowy environment. The day I came to pick it up, the dealership did me a "favor" of "just spraying off all the dirt with a pressure washer"...and left it covered in large water spots on the paint and glass. At least I got a good look at the body panels.
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That was really nice of them to include water spots in the sale of the car haha.

I supose i could have a mf towel and bottle with me if i see something that looks suspect and nees furthur investigating. Otherwise i guess i should be able to still seeany rock chips or dents even with a dirty car
 
Only ever bought 1 new car. They prepped it and it was fine. I do agree I’d need it clean to inspect it. I did ask to see wash bay they used a local
Touchless and then would hand wash. Says a fresh bucket of water each time…


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It really depends on the dealer. Look at the cars in their lot and showroom. Are they a swirl filled mess, then not worth it. You also want to make sure the previous dealer wasn't swirling it up.

The reality is most dealers have gotten pretty good at not messing up cars. And I'm going to ruffle a whole lot of feathers here... but washing isn't where most of the deep swirls come from.
 
yakky said:
And I'm going to ruffle a whole lot of feathers here... but washing isn't where most of the deep swirls come from.
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Ok, so where do they come from then?

As far as letting them prep the new car, I agree with the previous comment. Inspect the other cars in their showroom, and if they’re swirled up then point to that when you tell them you don’t want them to touch the car at all before you look at it.

Bring a bottle of your best waterless wash in case it’s too dusty for you to get a good look at the paint on the unprepped car. Worst case scenario you bring home a dusty car that you can trust you won’t instill swirls into which might save you from having to unnecessarily polish for a while. It’s possible.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I heard they come from the chemtrails...but don't tell anyone I told you that!
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Lol, that's fair. I should have qualified, as long as basic precautions are taken, paint is well rinsed, adequate soap solution and reasonable wash media.
 
Eldorado2k said:
Ok, so where do they come from then?
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Pushing dirt around on dry paint. I know everyone sells the myth of dirt encapsulation, so how big of a particle of dirt will a product encapsulate? Not a pebble. Not a grain of sand.
 
People way over think this, as if the car rolls of the line in a state of perfection and the slightest touch ruins that perfection.

Naturally, don't let them polish or apply their snake oil coatings. But in my view, you at least want them to wash the car before handover. Here's why -

- You want to see the condition of the paint, pick up on defects that may end up being missed because the car was dirty. And good luck getting them to make good on that AFTER the keys are in your hands and the cheque in theirs.

- In theory, they will pick up on more serious defects and have them fixed before handover. Most new cars need something done after transport, and most have no idea something was fixed prior to sale.

- You are 99% likely going to be doing an extensive detail once you get it home anyway, ie decon and polishing prior to LSP application. If they instill a swirl or two, who cares.

Now, if the car is handed over completely jacked after they simply washed the car, then it's on them to fix or compensate.

Every new car I have bought has been treated this way and its never been a problem.
 
Great points made here.

One thing i did just remember was when we looked at the first one with the dent in the drivers door, i noticed how they missed spots when the cleaned exterior. There was still larger sized dirty sareas on the wheels and front bumper that i remember specifically. A few swirls/scratches that i could see in the sun light, Nothing wild. But the missed dirty spots were plain as day.
 
Some good comments here. I'm in the camp that it depends on what the dealer's new cars look like. I recently purchased a new Mercedes and was very impressed by the detail level of the cars in the showroom. My salesperson even showed me their new car prep area, and it was spotless and organized with all sorts of Rupes polishers all organized on wall hooks. The detail guys seemed to take a lot of pride in what they did. They even vacuumed the trunk carpeted area and left a Mercedes logo in the carpeting as part of their work.

When I picked up the car it was spotless, so I was able to clearly see if there were any flaws or problems. I didn't want the dealer to apply any wax or coating but did want to be able to see that the car did not have any factory issues.
 
yakky said:
Pushing dirt around on dry paint. I know everyone sells the myth of dirt encapsulation, so how big of a particle of dirt will a product encapsulate? Not a pebble. Not a grain of sand.
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Generally speaking, swirls are evenly distributed across the paint of a vehicle. What you’re describing would result in Rids not swirls because a pebble or 2 would result in isolated scratches not evenly swirled paint.

Swirls across an entire vehicle can happen after just 1 improper wash & dry. I’ve seen it, heck I’ve done it and I’m pretty sure everyone else here has as well at 1 time or another especially when dealing with soft paint.

I’m not saying it’s common to result in tons of swirls after just 1 wash, but if the wash method isn’t great there will be some after 1 wash.

The point is if the rest of the vehicles in their showroom have swirls you can count his new car will as well after 1 of their washes. But that’s not to say there isn’t competent dealers nowadays with guys who know what they’re doing.
 
Eldorado2k said:
But that’s not to say there isn’t competent dealers nowadays with guys who know what they’re doing.
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In my observation the guys that dealerships have doing the cleaning I'll call it because it is not detailing, tend to appear to be young/ inexperienced people. I imagine working as a cleaner/detailer is the equivelant of cooking the offerings at McDonalds as opposed to being a chef at a high end restaurant.
Maybe they would call in a real detailer at a Porche dealership but one certainly isn't getting that level at a Chevrolet or Honda dealership.
 
BLM said:
In my observation the guys that dealerships have doing the cleaning I'll call it because it is not detailing, tend to appear to be young/ inexperienced people. I imagine working as a cleaner/detailer is the equivelant of cooking the offerings at McDonalds as opposed to being a chef at a high end restaurant.
Maybe they would call in a real detailer at a Porche dealership but one certainly isn't getting that level at a Chevrolet or Honda dealership.
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My parents bought a brand new Kia in 2014 that was delivered nearly perfect. That vehicles paint was in such good condition that it took at least 2 years before I even thought of polishing it at all and still to this day, 12 years later I still haven’t done anything more than test a couple of spots on that vehicle because it doesn’t need to be polished.

Now I’ll admit that it’s pearl white, which might be among the most forgiving colors of all and I haven’t even bothered to give it a close inspection in a long time, but when it arrived I surely did and the paint was absolutely flawless.

Then I got to checking out all the booklets that came with the car and they included a small brochure touting the high level of care and expertise that Kia takes when it comes to prepping their new vehicles and apparently have knowledgeable detailers with the proper equipment to do it and I must say I was impressed.

I don’t know if they’re still dedicating the same level of care these days but they sure were in 2014.
 
BLM said:
In my observation the guys that dealerships have doing the cleaning I'll call it because it is not detailing, tend to appear to be young/ inexperienced people. I imagine working as a cleaner/detailer is the equivelant of cooking the offerings at McDonalds as opposed to being a chef at a high end restaurant.
Maybe they would call in a real detailer at a Porche dealership but one certainly isn't getting that level at a Chevrolet or Honda dealership.
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haha. I was a "lot attendant"and a local dealership for a bit as a youngster. I liked o keepmy stuff clean but i didnt know crap about actual detailing. I remember using silicone squeegies to get most water off and them final dry with a chamio towel. Then this tire shine called super seal. Looked super wet but kinda greasy. I cringe think back on it now
 
Eldorado2k said:
My parents bought a brand new Kia in 2014 that was delivered nearly perfect. That vehicles paint was in such good condition that it took at least 2 years before I even thought of polishing it at all and still to this day, 12 years later I still haven’t done anything more than test a couple of spots on that vehicle because it doesn’t need to be polished.

Now I’ll admit that it’s pearl white, which might be among the most forgiving colors of all and I haven’t even bothered to give it a close inspection in a long time, but when it arrived I surely did and the paint was absolutely flawless.

Then I got to checking out all the booklets that came with the car and they included a small brochure touting the high level of care and expertise that Kia takes when it comes to prepping their new vehicles and apparently have knowledgeable detailers with the proper equipment to do it and I must say I was impressed.

I don’t know if they’re still dedicating the same level of care these days but they sure were in 2014.
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I hope your right, kia is what the new daily driver will be
 
Eldorado2k said:
I don’t know if they’re still dedicating the same level of care these days but they sure were in 2014.
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Or it's possible they just managed to clean the vehicle without instilling any noticeable damage. Using the services of a professional detailer goes against the entire new car dealer business plan and that is buy low, attach a very healthy mark up and then sell high.
Using the services of a real detailer cuts into their profit margin and that is something they definately won't do voluntarily.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
What happened to your LaCrosse?
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Sounds like bad lifters. Makes some nice metal music on a cold start on a cool day. Being its getting warmer out, suspect it might last into or thru summer. So i will drive it for work until it pukes
 
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