A little common sense goes a long way...

I cant believe the nerve of the service advisors at the boston area mercedes benz dealerships. I brought my car to Foreign Motors West in Natick, MA. Well I had a few rattles for them to take care of and I specifically told them not to wash the vehicle. I said write it on the work order and post a sign on the car. He followed my instructions and said I promise your vehicle will not be washed. I then returned at about 6 pm and found the SA, he said he would go get the car. He pulls up about 15 minutes later with the car, and i noticed that it was a little wet and the roof was beading water. I asked the guy, why the F*** IS MY CAR WET, it was obviously washed. He then replied, we did not wash it. He continued, luckily I caught the wash guys right when they were doing the initial spray down, they only touched the SPONGE on the door. I was like ok, how come only the roof is wet. He said oh, I had them dry the car off......... :scared ..........

This is when the pressure cooker exploded.

I got so angry, I explained to him how I took so much time detailing our vehicles and keeping them in top notch condition. And how what he did was worse than actually washing the damn car! He then was like ok, our professional detail staff can easily take care of it.... I said the hell with your 5 dollar an hour wash boys, you pay me to detail my car. After about 10 minutes of yelling and cussing (service manager came to see whats up) He agreed to send me a 100 dollar check(what the dealer charges for a exterior detail). Well I am very happy the dealer at least made an attempt to correct their mistake unlike Herb Chambers Motorcars in Boston, MA. Luckily there are 6 layers of klasse on the car, so I`m hoping it protected me a little bit. The marring isnt too bad but I think it may require a bit more than 3M SMR and white pad via PC. I am thinking about getting Meguiars Dual Action Cleaner polish with the yellow PC pad and going to town. Is this too abrasive, I am very weary of going through the clear... Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[tom p.]

we are due to take delivery of a 325CiC from FMW in about 4 weeks. Your report does not suprise me. The last time I had my car in there for repair, I went thru the exact same aggravation after they were asked/told: Don`t wash my car. It was spotlessly clean, anyhow.



My car was returned to me dripping wet. All I could do was shake my head. My days of exploding over things we can`t control are behind me. I was lucky....only minimal wash boy- induced swirls. I was able to remove the marks the next day.



Anytime I go over there now, I tape a big sign to the steering wheel that says: DO NOT WASH THIS CAR FOR ANY REASON - - Thank you.

[DaGonz]

Al Boston and Tom P



I used to do detailing part time at FMW`s auto body shop in Ashland (that was 5 years ago). I had to go to Natick quite often to deliver cars when they were done.



FYI, not all MB and BMW owners are as meticulous about their cars as you and our fellow Autopians are. I have seen $300K Bentleys treated as if they were rolling dumpsters, Benzes that looked like their color was dirt brown with dust interiors, BMWs that should have been rescued from their abusive owners. As far as Land Rover and Range Rover owners go...they are the worst of all! Every Range Rover and Discovery that came through FMW`s body shop had the prerequiste requirement of sand and grit on the carpeting, dust on ther dashboard and two dog`s worth of Golden Retrevier hair in the rear! :nixweiss



Maybe we should have Prinz II (our Autopian State Trooper) write citations!



Most of their clients are happy to see that they get their cars back clean after being serviced. I do feel though that one must respect the owner`s wishes and not wash the car if that is what he/she requests.

[imported_Intermezzo]

Ali,



Sorry to hear about what happened. When I bring my car in for service, I tape signs that say in very large fonts "PLEASE DO NOT WASH. THANKS" on the passenger and driver side windows and leave a few inside on the dash for good measure. Doesn`t matter though... Although they do not wash the car, I still get the car back with fingerprint marks all over the hood & doors as well as the roof edge near the front doors. Apparently, the service guys like to reach out and grab the roof for leverage when getting in and out of the car. Those fingerprint marks always leave marring and I have to break out the abrasives to get them fixed.



I don`t have any experience with PC`s so I can`t be of that much help to you....but from what I`ve read on the forum, DACP with the yellow pad has very little chance of going through the clear. A lot of people here use FI-2 with the yellow pad, which is about the same level of aggressiveness.

[boywonder]

Originally posted by Gonzo0903



Maybe we should have Prinz II (our Autopian State Trooper) write citations!



[/B]





As if many of the car washes in Chicago already don`t like to see me coming. :D

[G Money]

Al,

Sorry about your experience.

I looked over a bottle of the Dual Action Polish the other day at my detailing supplier and right on the bottle it listed it as a "6" on a scale of 1-10 for abrasiveness.

I`d try something finer with a polishing pad and then follow with a foam finishing pad.