Letting the dealership wash your car?
 

I heard this from a friend and I'm sure it is certainly true to an extent, but when you let the dealership wash your car on delivery, is it likely that they'll do a half-*** job and possibly leave swirls? I'm concerned cause I'm getting a black G and swirls are easily seen on black/dark cars. I sure as hell don't want swirls on my brand new car. My friend suggested that I should tell them not to wash it for that sole reason. Any feedback?

As with anything...the only way you know something is going to be done right is to do it yourself. If you are worried about swirls, tell them not to wash it, take it home, and do it yourself. Problem solved. :)

Do dealerships really do that bad of a job on washing cars in general? or is this like uncommon cases?

Yeah, that's what I'm planning to do. I thought if people had good experiences with Infiniti's car wash, then might as well let them do it. But deep down, I think I can't trust them enough. I've always been very anal/paranoid with other people touching my new "toys." I think I have OCD. lol

what comes around goes around.. funny how this very same question was brought up back in 2003 while we waited for our cars to come in.

i had a black on black 2003 gc... dealer washed it.. looked great.. no problems what-so-ever! Though.. the dealer did put the front plate bracket on even though i stressed not to!

This is not just an Infiniti issue; it applies to all car car Dealers. Before I picked up my Porsche in May, I told the Dealer to not wash my car and the salesman agreed with my decision. Keep in mind that the prep guys at Dealers are typically paid at or near the minimum wage. They will wash many cars each day and use the same cloths to wash and worse yet to dry the cars. Drying a car with a dirty cloth will instantly add swirls or even scratches.

I use to own an '05 G35 coupe and the biggest problem that I had with the car was the durability of the paint. My car was black and it looked gorgeous, but it seemed that I was always picking up new scratches. I live in the country and of course there are often some tree branches or twigs on the roads, and when I rode over them even at low speeds, they would scratch the paint.

So bottom line is that I would be especially careful with a black G37, and would certainly not have the Dealer wash it. Also make certain that you have lots of microfiber towels for drying your car. My experience is that you can keep a black G looking great, but it will take a lot of care.

Congratulations on your purchase.

In a word, YES!

Young Jedi, you have so much to learn. This being your first car, and the fact that it's a gift, you probably don't have the "emotional equity" that us older guys have in our cars. Don't take that as a slam, but it is probably true; the majority sourced from you being young.

I never let the dealer wash my car. Even if they do it by hand, they usually don't do a very good job drying it, this leaving swirls, or worse dreaded water spots.

I wash my car once a week, sometimes more depending on the bugs I pick up on the commute, and religiously wax it once a month. I never park anywhere close to the door of a store. Actually, I'll take the wife's car for any runs to Home Depot or my local bike shop. I don't do the mall.

Is that to say I am right? In my warped mind, of course, but in reality no. It's your car, and you need to decide how you want to maintain it.

Growing up, my next door neighbor had a string of Porsches - 911 Targa, 911 Carrera, and a 928 (yea, I know I'm showing my age!). That guy ruined me for life! Before meeting him, I didn't even know what a door ding was. Now I live in fear of them, and cringe at the sides of the wife's new MDX. Stone chips drive me crazy, and we won't even mention windshield cracks from stray rocks.

Just curious - have you ever washed a car? Not trying to be an a$$, but I'm curious. You are blessed to have successful, affluent parents who care enough about you to purchase an incredible car. I assume you are a great kid.

The reason I ask is that it's all about passion. Different things concern different people. Some guys refuse to let anyone touch their cars, not even for routine maintenance; i.e. oil changes, tire rotations, etc. I'm passed that stage due to time constraints and yes, being lazy.

However, I still enjoy taking the time to wash my car, wipe down the leather, and put a good coat of wax on it. Cleaning the windows,well that still sucks! :) There's a lot to be said for accomplishing something that results in immediate gratification.

So, decide how far you want to take the ownership experience. There's no right or wrong answer.

Good luck, and post some pics of that Slate Blue beauty when it cames in (today???)

gurney

I got a Black G37 and they did wash it and they also polished the car with car wax. There were some spots were i could see the wax has been polished completely, but it didn't look like they really washed it to good, maybe only with water. i could still see dust and dirt on the car

and they also wash the car after every service job. i was told by the salesman

i certainly dont go to the same extreme as some of you do.. i have so little free time i'd much rather spend that time driving the car on the weekend or playing with my young son or flying my airplane or or or or or. I do give it the occasional bath at least once a month but life is short and spending a few hours every weekend just isnt at the top of my priority list. I tend to clean as i go.. stopping by the touchless car wash on my way to work every few weeks.. then as i said.. once a month give it a good bath and vacume. Maybe every few months i'll pay to have my car waxed. I'm no less enthusastic about my car than the rest but it's all about your priorities. I dont want my sons only memory of me growing up as that guy who spent all his time hunched over in the driveway cleaning the car.

black cars are manageable but show dirt early on. I do recall that it took months before my new black 2003 g coupe started to look dirty.. and thats with it sitting outside (no garage at the time). The orig clean/wax the dealer did worked just fine.

Where I went today they where washing some. G37 looked like they knew what they where doing they hand washed them and where waxing them. Looked very clean and no swirl marks. The car I went to test drive. I noticed a little scratch on the right fender might have been form transportation but who ever buys that car better make sure that they fix it.

If it were me personally, I wouldn't let them wash it. But in reality though, whether they wash it or not, you are going to get swirl marks. Infiniti's paint is quite soft and it doesn't take much to put swirl marks and spider webbing on your paint. If you are serious about keeping your BO paint in great shape, I would highly recommend getting a PC and a quality polish like Poorboys SSR products or Menzera's 0106FF.

Help me out here Garnet, what is a PC?

Thanks,

gurney

likwidfuzion

It all comes down to how anal are you. :dunno:

Like Canuk said the verterans here have seen this before and there have been cases where the dealership was instructed not do anything cosmeticly, only mechanical.

As we have seen with one anal who cleans the inside of his exhuast tips with qtips.... if you get to that point it's time to up the meds ......:bowrofl:

Canuk - Round II from the noobs is going to be phun :D

Grats on your new whip bro. It's all good.

PC = Porter Cable. It is a random orbital buffer and a detailer's main weapon.

Here is a pic of some of the supplies, including my PC, that I use to keep my G lookin' new.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...G35/G35006.jpg



And here is an example of what it can do for your paint. This was a customer's car that I did a couple of weeks ago.

http://g35driver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170973

Right now I am very anal about how my car is cleaned and who touches it. I do take it in for service at Infiniti but each and every time I tell them NO wash! It is true that Infiniti will wash your car after every service, which is nice but for me the guys getting paid minimum to wash my car don't care too much about washing them well. As long as it gets washed and dried they're doing their job. Long ago when I mistakingly had them wash my car they marred the paint horribly. A few deep scratches and the swirl marks from hell. I looked at all the other serviced cars and all of them had the same hologramming effec/spiderweb effect. Guy probably used the same towel drying all of them, you know, the same one that also fell on the ground a few times. :rolleyes:

I can agree with BM's post though that when I start a family and my time becomes less and less I may have to relax my constraints on the cleaning. Hopefully that doesn't happen for a while though :) I spend a good 2-3 hours cleaning my car when I choose to, although I consider it very relaxing. But I suppose when I have kids I won't really be able to just step away for that long all the time. :crying:

Thanks, Garnet!

I've been very successful just using a Meguiar's clay bar and Mother's California Gold.

My biggest problem is bugs. My 84 mile round trip commute takes me across a large lake and the bugs sometime can be incredible! I'm talking it looks like felt on the front end!

While we are on the subject of detailing, I read the most interesting tip on fixing stone chips on the Acura TL forum a while back.

You do the obligatory cleaning of the area, and slowly build up the paint until you are above the "good" surface. Then to knock down the touch-up paint, this guy used a rag with some diluted thinner (NOT lacquer thinner), and rubbed it flat to the surface. It was amazing. If I can find that thread, I'll post a link. Advance apologies if it has been posted here before. Remember I'm a newbie so be gentle! :dance:

I'm going to play with that on the TL before my G37 comes in.

gurney

That is fine if you are merely protecting your paint, however if you've got swirl marks and spider webbing, Mother's California gold products won't help you. That is when the PC and an abrassive polish is needed.

Let's see. The dealer has done an oil change with 1 less quart than their own Infiniti manual recommends; they've changed out my 2006 headlights under recall, which were perfectly good to begin with, with headlights with aiming issues...

I don't think I'll let them wash my car. They did it once, and I spectated to see with how much importance they do the wash; it seemed more like a drive-thru than a wash.

.

i say nay to letting a dealer detail a new car. I work at a dealer, and by no means am I saying all dealers worrk the same way but they have to move the cars so as long as it looks clean thats all the care about, they could care less about Swirls, etching, using MFs to wipe the car down..it sucks IMO. i guess thats what us detailers are around for.

I never let anyone wash my car but me, PERIOD.

nuff said.. I agree!

I DO let them wash my car, it does have a good coating of Zaino and they do a very good job. I only stress that they do NOT odorize my interior with the fragrance of the day...

If they leave swirls, you go right back and tell them to fix that sum-bich with a wax job that they pay for at a detailer shop.

they won't be touching my car.. the local dealer has only gotten 2 g37s in, and the 2nd one they got has a black scuff mark on the back of it that looks like it won't come off.. who knows how that got there.

sucks though, because they offer free car washes. you can go there like once a week and have them wash it for free

Hey all. Just got my G37 6MT Sport Blue Slate a week ago. The car is awesome. I can't wait to get past the break-in period and open it up. However, I am noticing that my car seems to have swirls all over it. I park under a street light, so it really it is noticeable at night under the light. I'm certainly no expert on paint jobs, so I'm looking to get some opinions on this. This is kind of hard to explain, but the swirls seem to be perfectly patterned as you walk around the car. Perfect circles and in some places, it almost looks like a weave. Would a bad wash from the dealer cause this? I questioned this to the dealer and he told me that it is by design. I went back to the dealership and noticed it on another G37 as well. Thoughts?

Yes, one single wash with a poor quality mitt or a sponge will definitely cause this. And your dealership is full of crap saying it is by design. :rolleyes:

Never let anyone wash your car except yourself. ;)

Thanks for the response. I guess sometimes you have to learn things the hard way. I'll definitely not let them wash it in the future. To follow up, I called the Sales Manager who sold me the car and he told me that every car he has on his lot is the same. I did notice one other car that had the same issue. He is insisting that is the way the cars are coming to him. He told me it is due to Cross-linking Clear Coat Paint (NCLC) that they use. Anyone familiar with NCLC? I'm going to find a professional detailer in the area to have them take a look at it as well.

IMO, your Sales Manager doesn't know jacksh!t.

NCLC just provides a higher level of protection against environment items that can damage your paint and reduce scratches. Using NCLC has nothing to do with having paint imperfections from the factory like your Sales Manager is suggesting.

The reason that all of their cars on the lot are the same is more than likely related to the same poor washing habits.

Put a huge note in your car every time you take it to that dealership to NOT WASH YOUR CAR.

I used to work for a MB dealership and the guys that washed those cars would drop the shammis, mits etc on the ground and just keep going on their work without rinsing or cleaning them off. that is what causes swirls. They are super fine scratches in the clear.

Fully detail it. Use a soap made for car washing (meguiars gold class), a nice wool or microfiber mit (always keep it clean), and a nice bucket. rinse, wash, dry using 100% cotton or i use a microfiber towel drying thing. Then I would Clay Bar it, put a polish on it then a nice coat of wax. This should remove most of hte BS the dealer did. Feel free to hit me up if you live in So. Cal.

when i went in to have Lojack installed, the service dept had a categorie for "Wash: Yes or No"... i chose NO and they abided by it. very nice as i had just Zaino'd the day before.

So If the don't wash my new car, do I need to polish it, or will a good wash/clay bar be enough before the Zaino?

If you see any light scratches or swirls in your paint, you'll want to polish your G before you apply any protection.

I'm a little peeved.

I went to pick up the car last Friday, low and behold, they washed it. I remember telling them not to, but apparently they didn't hear me.

Now there's a 14" scratch in the clearcoat along the top of front passenger door and fender.

I showed it to them today, and they volunteered to fix it for free, but I'm still peeved....:mad:

don't let them fix it. take 500 off at least! sorry bro.

Looking closer, I can see scratches/swirls all over the thing. I think they used sandpaper to wash this thing....

I broke out the Porter Cable and tested on the passenger side of the hood using some Sonus SFX-2 and white pad on high speed, then 3M paste wax applied by hand. That part of the car looks perfect now. I notice however you can easily scratch the clearcoat with just your fingernail if you're not careful....

Infiniti and their crazy soft paint.....

I probably should make them fix it, but I'm just going to do it myself. I can't trust anyone to do it right but me....

BUT - I did get OB - and I knew what that was about.

I'm still shocked at how soft the clearcoat is however.