I noticed that some of you when the car was detailed for the first time, you got scratches... Now me, If that happened I would flip out.

Can you just tell them you don't want them detailing your car, better yet not touching it?

 

Yes. I brought my car home still dirty from transport.

Be ready for more work than you might be used to for your first wash. You will need to clay the car or better yet run a polisher over it or else the paint will be quite rough.

For me it was worth it.

 

if they dealer-exchanged your car, that is one thing, but if your car is coming from the port, the dealership has to remove all the plactic protecting the paint surfaces and some of the interior pieces. i would imagine it would be kind of a pain in the butt to do that all yourself.

the best thing to do is go look at some of the cars in the showroom or in the lot and see if they are satisfactory compared to what you want your car to look like at the time of delivery. my dealership did a great job of prepping the car.

 

Others?

 

Mine was plowing snow and salt 2 hours into an 8 hour drive home after pick up so it definitely needs a detail now. However, It did look to me like dealer did a detail after removing the plastic covers etc They did a good job but there were definitely some polish/swirl marks in the paint. At the time, I assumed this is how the came from the factory, but now i'm not so sure !

 

It's becoming more and more popular to receive your vehicle unprepped. I picked up a new car last year and asked to have the plastic and everything still on there. It took me about 6 hours to properly prep the exterior, interior, engine bay and wheels, but it was definitely worth it!

9 times out of 10 if a dealer preps your vehicle, you will come back with some sort of imperfections in your paint. We have a new car prep kit put together specifically for enthusiasts who want to prep their vehicle themselves. I'm in the process of creating a new car prep starter kit as another alternative.

Here's a 4 page thread on how a pro detailer properly preps his new vehicle.

If anyone has any questions on properly prepping their own new vehicle, please do not hesitate to ask.

George

 

It was raining when I bought my car, so the dealer promised to detail it once I brought it in for the rims. Detailing came out fine, no noticeable imperfections. I do have the clear bra, so you have to make sure there is no residual wax on the edges which make the lines stand out.

 

I'm thinking I'm going to do the detailing myself, why?

I've never owned a car at this price and I don't plan on selling it so I want to keep it perfect, it'll take me hours to clean it but a least I'll know its done right.

Anyone else do it themselves?

 

I had the dealer remove the plastic so I could inspect the paint before taking delivery, but that is it. I did the rest myself and it was a good amount of work but worth it for a swirl-free finish.

 

I actaully had the dealer "clean up" my car before taking delivery, including waxing it. They did a good job, and I have washed it myself after taking delivery and have found no imperfections.

A few weeks later, as part of the dealer/customer follow up, they called me an invited me to come back to the dealership where they'd fill up my gas tank for free and wash the car for me.

I politely replied that I'm very particular about how I care for my cars and I respectfully turned down their offer. They did however encourage me to fill up my gas tank and send them the receipt for reimbursement. Now thats customer serviceDOMO

One final point...this is extremely important. Never, never, never, never, ever take your car to an automated car wash

 

if any one is from ny tri state area there is a great detailer out in queens/or brooklen called big a detailing.. ive seen pics its awesome and discounted price for members on g35nyc.com

Im def going to head over there bc my car went through snow at the dealer last night =(.. and prob previous nights as well bc its a dealer locate..