Dissapointing Detail Experience

[frito]

I simply don`t have the time to detail my wives car as I am working 7 days a wek a lots of hours right now.



I decided to take it to a local detail shop. They charged about $275 to clean the interior, engine compartment, jams and then clay,polish, wax the car.



On first inspection I was pleased but being tired and overworked I just glanced at it. Yesterday, I decided to wash it for her and found they had not put in the effort I expected.



The car really needed to be clayed a lot as it had a lot of conatmination and embedded dirt. I it did not need a lot of scratch/swirl removal since we have never taken it to a car wash, and I am always careful washing, it is white (can`t see as them as well) and it is only a year old.



The bottom line is that it still had a fair amount of contamination that I was able to remove pretty easy with MEG. clay. There was more down lown which tells me they were lazy.



I have done half the car and it is much better now after the clay, polish and Collinte. I wish they would have put more effort into it.



I am not mad but dissapointed.

[alowe]

I would contact the manager of the business. They should at least be told that their employees are not up to par with a price that was given. Or, you could go back and demand your money back, depends what type of person you are :)

[frito]

I know the owner from a gym I go to and while he may not have worked on the car he certainley was watching the process. I won`t say anything but I had a VW camper that I want to take somewhere and they won`t get it...

[Cleaning Fool]

The obvious question is, was claying the car part of the package? Most viable detailers have it written as to exactly what they are going to do. If claying was supposed to be done, then I would be on the phone asking why it was done half ***.

[getcha]

I agree. Its not like it was a smallish amount of money that could be "lesson learned" type of thing. Not that that would be fair either. I would definitly request an amount back and definitly express your dissapointment to them. And considering youre doing a seemingly better job than they did, I would do what you can when you can and get your money back, at least for the exterior. Don`t settle. :) good luck

[frito]

Here is what I paid for on the exterior:



Hand wash vehicle

Remove old wax

Remove tar & road film

Clean & polish wheels

Clean & dress tires

Clean and polish exterior windows

Clean & dress trim

Clean wheel wells

Remove brake dust

Clean white walls

Polish all metal & chrome

Clean & polish mirrors

Wipe exterior with clay bar

Remove paint overspray

Remove oxidation

Remove swirl marks & small scratches

Remove acid rain & Mineral deposits

Remove streaks and water spots

Wax with 50% carnauba wax

Buff to mirror glaze finish

Apply glass coat shine

Apply car show finishing





With this I expected a clay, light compound, polish and wax and would have been happy with clay,cleaner polish and wax done well. Thinking about it, the wheel wells were still pretty dirty and the wheel face was clean but it does not look like they used a wheel cleaner as the wheel is still very dirty just past the face. I use a small sponge on her car and clean that area too.

[howareb]

I would tell the owner.Your service can only get better, because the owner will know that you are aware. He/She should correct these errors once you bring it to their attention, and more than likely never do it again. You may even get a freebie, if the owner has any business sense.



As long as they did not damage anything I think that you have much more to gain by telling the owner. Being an owner myself, sometimes you get employees that become unfocused and they forget (there is no excuse for it, but it is reality). When I do the inspection however, I do not let them get away with it. I would think that this owner would be the same way.

[jshillin]

Where are you located and where did you take it??

[My93Civic]

For $275, you better darn well go back and advise the owner. $275 is a lot for a detail and

having it done to half-assed standards makes it harder to swallow.



Definitely go back and tell the owner! And if he doesn`t do the right thing and try to fix the situation, definitely DO NOT recommend him and his services to any of your friends, family.

[chips-b-gone]

For $275, you better darn well go back and advise the owner. $275 is a lot for a detail and

having it done to half-assed standards makes it harder to swallow.



Definitely go back and tell the owner! And if he doesn`t do the right thing and try to fix the situation, definitely DO NOT recommend him and his services to any of your friends, family.



I would also inform him that poor reviews travel faster than good reviews.

Just my 2cents

[SVR]

You know that experience sounds exactly like the ones some of my customers have had when taking their cars elsewhere before bringing it to me

It is widely known in my state that many detailers at shops do not clay or polish the bottom of the doors cause it`s too much bending and hand work



How do they think that people won`t notice it.

Totally lazy and unprofessional.

[David Fermani]

Here is what I paid for on the exterior:

Remove brake dust

Wipe exterior with clay bar

Remove paint overspray

Remove acid rain & Mineral deposits








The car really needed to be clayed a lot as it had a lot of conatmination and embedded dirt.



I`m not trying to make excuses for this shop & I also haven`t seen your vehicle to see how it came out. Here`s my thoughts/questions:



Did you specifically discuss removing all the contaminants on your vehicle with the shop? Because your vehicle is white & I`m assuming it hasn`t been continuously maintained, I`m certain it`s loaded with rust particals all over the entire vehicle? If this true then there might be a large miscommunication/misunderstanding between you & the shop. I have a hard time believing a shop would do a complete detail PLUS do all of the above things I highlighted AND remove rust particles. $275 is a steal for all that work. That`s alot of work to do for that amount IMHO.



Alot of shops advertise that they`ll clay your vehicle and say it removes brake dust, overspray and mineral deposits (broad statement) BUT unless it`s specifically discussed, the amount/level of removal could be questioned.



Could this be the case at all? What state are you located in?

[Scottwax]

From what you posted of the process they charged you for, I`d definitely go back to the shop and complain. Claying/overspray removal is listed and should have been done.



I feel your pain. My car was detailed before I bought it (and before I even made an offer on it) and had light rotary swirls; no suprise, amirite? Anyway, what hacked me off was that when I washed it the first time so I could polish out the rotary swirls, I was stunned at how much crap was stuck to the paint. It took me nearly an hour to clay the car.

[frito]

I appreciate the responses to my post. I cleaned the wheels tonight after work and thought about it a bit. I am going to talk to him. It is not the 300 but he should want my feedback.



I am picky to an extent but I bet much less picky than most on this site. I also think that only semi picky people pay 300 for a detail? I think as one of you said, they did not do as good a job on the lower door since it is harder. that is ok for a car owner but not ok if you call it your job.



The wheels took me about 20 minutes with some $1 store degreaser, Meg wheel cleaner and dish soap. They look 100% better.



I am not looking for money back but I was going to take my friends car (as a gift), my VW and I bought a new Mazdaspeed3 I wanted the exterior worked over