Tarmac_Terrorist Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Just unbelievable! Took the car in for a service today. I washed dried and QD'd last night as I usually do so I can be absolutely sure there are no marks on the car. I asked the dealer not to wash, left polite A4 posters in the car and they appropriately attached a red key fob (something they do so the valeter knows to leave alone. I was pleased to return to my car to find they hadn't washed it. Instead, they decided to just dry the bonnet and wings of the car which were obviously dirty after the drive there this morning on damp roads and the road test. Nice dirty bonnet smeared dry! Just what you want after spending hours correcting the paint 2 weeks prior. I decided not to complain as the damage was done and they simply don't know any better. I washed and dried the car when I got home and even in brilliant sunshine, I can't see any major marks. I was just about to put the car back in the garage when.....I noticed some grease which they managed to get on the seat side bolster near the gear stick. Another 20 minutes later and I 'think' I've managed to remove it. Will see better when dry. I was dreading it going in for a service for the likes of this happening! :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabby Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Politely explain to the service manager the trouble/cost you had to get the paint just so hence the reason you asked them not to wash. An estimate of the cost the have the paint corrected + mention of grease on the bolster should be enough to trigger some gesture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewcam Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 They are just fecking arsholes. I used to hate when the car went in for a service for the same reasons as yours TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 That would pi55 me off a lot, too, TT. This is typical of such garages/dealers not giving a sh1t about someone's pride and joy. Very few garages/dealers understand. I've recently taken my business from the local VW dealer to the local independant authorised VW repair and warranty centre. The chap who owns it is obsessional about his cars and respects people's requests to have their cars treated with the utmost care when they're in his responsibility. Glad you've no got it sorted, though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timski Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 It's the worst thing about having a new car - taking it in for a service. I had mine for three years and managed something as simple as opening the driver's door without hitting anything. Not so with the VW dealer - they had it for one morning, opened the door and took a nick out of the paint! Baphoonery on a grand scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alFR Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Poor, very poor. TT (or anyone else), do you have any other ideas apart from the request and the posters for how to try to make sure they don't do this sort of thing? Having said that, I suspect that no method could be competely idiot-proof... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelwind101 Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 This old problem never seems to go away, i know how devastating it can be to see your hard work destoryed, im glad you cant see anything to bad. Alot of dealers now tend to just blast the cars power washers, what really annoys me is the jelly type blades as they do cause damaged. Not just to the paint but they can push grit against the windscreen too. I always put "DO NOT CLEAN THIS CAR" on the windows on A4 paper. When i sit down with the service advisor and he asks you to sign to say you accept XYZ i always write on the bottom DO NOT CLEAN THIS CAR and sign it. Then i turn to the service advisor and say (prehapes patronisingly) that this means i do not want the car washed and im asking him to ensure this dosent happen. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac_Terrorist Posted May 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2009 I really don't know the answer. I had two A4 signs in the car. Garage attached special red 'do not wash' key fobs and wrote on the worksheet. What they did was worse than washing it (they didn't actually wash it) - they just attempted to dry rainwater on the bonnet & wings and left it a dirty smeary finish. I suspect that they got greasy fingers on the bonnet and or wings and thought they would remove the marks. For anyone not really into paintwork care, I guess they thought they were doing the right thing. Annoying it is, but it is at the end of the day it's only a car and there are more important things to worry about so I didn't complain. It gave me a perfect excuse to wash it again when I got home and Mrs TT give me abuse for washing it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikeyboy Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 interesting reading this is i was thinking about this very issue after having spent the money i did to have my car sorted. As the car is due a service in 3 months what i was planning on doing is draft a formal document stating that i do not want the car cleaned and that if it is cleaned in any way then Audi will be liable for the cost to correct any marks / swirls to the paint. At the same time i will be having the service manager walk around the car and make note of any damage (same as they do for when you take out a courtisy car) - learnt this one the hard way after leaving the car with audi and them damaging it and touching the paint up so i didnt notice straight away:ffs:. Then have the service manager sign the agreement - if he wont sign then i drive away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 interesting reading this is i was thinking about this very issue after having spent the money i did to have my car sorted.As the car is due a service in 3 months what i was planning on doing is draft a formal document stating that i do not want the car cleaned and that if it is cleaned in any way then Audi will be liable for the cost to correct any marks / swirls to the paint. At the same time i will be having the service manager walk around the car and make note of any damage (same as they do for when you take out a courtisy car) - learnt this one the hard way after leaving the car with audi and them damaging it and touching the paint up so i didnt notice straight away:ffs:. Then have the service manager sign the agreement - if he wont sign then i drive away The chances of any dealer signing any document you put in front of them is basically zero. All you can realistically do is ask them not to clean it, leave notes in it saying so, and hope for the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 The chances of any dealer signing any document you put in front of them is basically zero.All you can realistically do is ask them not to clean it, leave notes in it saying so, and hope for the best. I agree. I've been lucky with the signs I put up in my windows, but it's still a gamble all the same. If the valeter is stoned and got his ipod on, he may not notice the DO NOT WASH/SPONGE/VALET signs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikeyboy Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 if you dont try you will never know. Dont see why the shouldnt be expected to sign something, they make sure you do if you take one of their cars away. All i know is that if my dealer doesnt sign they wont get the work - so they will have time booked down to do a job that they wont be doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac_Terrorist Posted December 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 I don't believe it - they've bloody done it again! BMW went in for a service today. Guy collected it and made a bold note on the job sheet not to wash it. I also taped an A4 sheet to the top of the dash saying in bold pribted writing PLEASE DO NOT WASH, THANK YOU! I also left another one of these on the passenger seat for good measure. You can imagine my delight when the girl on the service desk called to say the service had been completed and the car would be delivered shortly but apologised that it had accidently been washed. She said that this was an error which clearly shouldn't have happened and she would speak to the manager on Monday to arrange for the car to be 're-treated'. When the guy delivered the car, it all became much clearer. The valeting company they use at this dealers don't speak good english. The collection driver made sure through basic english and hand actions upon dropping he car off that they shouldn't wash it and claimed they understood. He saif the problem is that he thinks they misread the bold notices in the car and thought they said to 'please wash it'! Why do BMW employ such people that can't understand sufficient basic english to understand when not to wash a car? To make matters worse, they hadn't even washed it properly and had clearly just pressure washed it and dried it without properly washing the dirt off so it was smeary. I will not be taking up their offer to rewax my car as I expect the same bunch of incompetent morons would be throwing gritty microfibre cloths at it. Just glad mine's a basic model and not a proper £50k BMW. It's definitely not what you expect from a franchised dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted December 5, 2009 Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 When I first read the post, I thought it was your GTI, TT and feared the worse! However, it never ceases to amaze me the depth of incompetancy from dealer "valeters" especially given the cost of the cars in the first place. OCD'ers (detailers) are in the minority I would say when it comes to car care, but surely anyone with an ounce of sense can realise that poor washing will damage the cars appearance and aesthetics. It's not exactly rocket science. The dealer should be compensaing you for the cost of full correction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo-S3 Posted December 5, 2009 Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 To be honest i think the staff dont give a sh!t. These cars have cost and still are a lot of money but they treat them like a £500 banger. Took my S5 into my local dealer for some warranty work; walked the service guy around the car and told them not to wash the car; came to collect the the car 'erm sorry sir we have washed it' ! Got into the car and the drivers floor mat was covered thick in mud and oil crap! WTF do these gys do in there?? Second time it went in for a battery drain and they replaced the B&O amo but again when i got it back; half arsed wash, sound only coming from one side and techy managed to leave a trim removal tool by the boot rubber and closed the boot! Luckily no damage but just amazed each time at thier incompetance! At the end of the day its not thier car it doesnt belong to them and we only take it to them reluctantly to get the service or warranty work done again only because we are tied into it for the first 3 years. Even that work they manage to do half ass too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexc Posted December 5, 2009 Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 You'll find that a number of dealerships will use cheap valeting labour for washing the cars... and cheap & nasty chemicals too. It is frustrating when they ignore the signs.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac_Terrorist Posted December 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 Well having washed it properly now the wax seems to be still ok. The last time they did this they had uses a strong TFR and it stripped all the wax off and even left the paint streaky as if they hadn't rinsed the chemicals off properly. Next time i'll consider amending my signs saying not to wash translating it into Polish / Romanian or simlar to be safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelwind101 Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 I think regardless of the marque or expense of the car if you care for it you want it up held. If you dont want it washed, you dont want it washed and i dont know why they believe it to be acceptable to wash it if you dont want it done! In general they tend to spray them with a pressure washer, spray on some cleaner, let it dwell, rinse then aqua blade it. Its hardly even clean before they begin pushing all the dirt around with the aqua blade.... I know the feeling you have when it all gets destoryed by the dealers. I have laminated DO NOT WAS THIS CAR signs for all the windows. Personally if you dont speak english, let alone read it you probably shouldent be working here. There are safety requirements and dilution ratios on the product containers which are almost always in english, how do employers believe they can be safe letting them near it when they dont know what it is!? I hope you can get it sorted. As for stains/runs i found its worst on when they incorrectly diulite the TFR and it strips the protectants from the black plastic parts. Sometimes i have even had it oxidize plastic around the front windscreen, where the wipers and the little run off paths for water which i guess means it was mixed to acidic or or alkali? Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now