Allow dealer to wash or no?

[Grettman]

What advice do you all have regarding allowing the dealer to prep wash the car you are buying (new vehicle)? Allow them to do it or tell them not to and do it yourself? If it isn’t clean at dealer how would I even know if there are problems?

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[Smunczen]

No. The folks that wash your new car are some of the lowest paid and really don’t care.

 

[-Armoured-]

My dealer must have used sand paper and the occasional rock to wash my car. The paint correction fella showed me when i took her in for ceramic coating. It was horrendous. He had to buff the entire car.

 

[SloRyd]

If they wash it before you buy it, can’t do much..

But for me.. NO... that’s a hard pass.

I wash my car... that’s about it.

 

[OnThree]

Hell no, unless you want to pay for a paint correction

 

[ChrisJ]

Nope. Told the dealer several times after we ordered the car not to wash it. It went straight from the dealer to the detailer for PPF and ceramic coat.

 

[Slopoke]

When purchasing my last 4 vehicles, I always say to the salesman, not to have the car washed. Reason why is because when I purchased a car in 1996, they washed it and put horrendous swirl marks into the paint. My last 3 cars have been black and no way do I want swirl marks in a brand new car.

 

[Grettman]

Thanks for the advice!!

 

[EmCel]

It's that dirty? You can always drive it off the lot, wash it yourself, and see if there are any imperfections. If you see major problems then return it within 3 days.

The detail and the ppl that wash the cars in the back always look like they were picked up from some labor company or 7-eleven.

 

[RPDBlueMoon]

What advice do you all have regarding allowing the dealer to prep wash the car you are buying (new vehicle)? Allow them to do it or tell them not to and do it yourself? If it isn’t clean at dealer how would I even know if there are problems?

You don't really want the dealership to wash the car because they don't have the proper equipment. Depending on the situation they will use the same bucket which has a bunch of dirt (if your car is washed last) and it can mess up your paint.

That being said, I got my car washed. I got the Ford Motorcraft paint protection plan which warranties the interior and exterior paint for 6 years. I didn't want them to wash the car but they informed me that in order to apply the protection the car needed to be washed. I haven't noticed anything wrong with my paint. If your car is brand new I don't think that a bad car wash will ruin your paint

 

[DFB5.0]

A couple of things to note or consider –

-All brand-new cars will have some scratches or marring straight from the factory, even before it is washed by the dealer. Some people with a strong eye for this will pick these paint faults right away, others may not find them until they wash the car themselves. Some may never detect them at all. Everyone sees paint differently; some see a shiny new car and are happy, others may want more.

There are a couple of ways to deal with this.

-Insist the dealer not wash the car and have them deliver it as is. Wash the car yourself or take it to your detailer, inspecting for faults.

-Allow the dealer to wash the car. At least then when you inspect the car prior to delivery, you can see defects more clearly, right in front of the salesman, giving you better bargaining power rather than bringing it back in two days and trying to convince them that they were there when you took delivery.

Now you need to decide how you want to pursue paint defects.

-Have your detailer sort them, paying for the service with peace of mind that a trained specialist will sort the issues.

-Bring the issues up with the dealer and have the yard detailer attempt to fix the problems.

-Attempt to have the dealer to agree to having your chosen detailer do the work.

All this sound grim for what is supposed to be a momentous occasion for a car lover. But if you go into it with a your eyes open and explain to the salesman your expectations, then you will be fine.

 

[Grettman]

In the event swirl marks end up on paint, either by me or the dealer, can they be fixed? This happened many years ago when I bought my first car. It was horrible. But this was before the internet and I couldn’t figure out how to fix it myself.

 

[Bikeman315]

In the event swirl marks end up on paint, either by me or the dealer, can they be fixed? This happened many years ago when I bought my first car. It was horrible. But this was before the internet and I couldn’t figure out how to fix it myself.

Yes virtually all defects can be removed from new paint if your detailer is good enough. Forget the dealer, they rarely have good detailers. Doing it yourself requires time, practice and laying out a few bucks for the right tools. Would not recommend on a new car if this is your first time.

As suggested by those above, do your homework, make some calls and visits and go find a top flight detailer. You will be glad you did.

 

[XS]

Three dealers here just knew not to touch the paint. Every time as they were checking the car in, the service writer said something along the lines of: "no wash right? we usually don't wash the nice cars", etc, etc. Tells you everything you need to know.

 

[Vettel-ish]

Hell no, it will leave water spots all over it and potentially attach it.

I bought one of these.

https://www.obsessedgarage.com/collections/new-products/products/obsessed-garage-please-do-not-wash

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