Another little dealer story

[General Lee]

So I`m at the dealer today getting an alarm installed, when I told them not to wash the vehicle. The customer service rep just looked at me and asked, " you don`t want your vehicle washed"? I replied, " Absolutely not, do not wash it. I will be a very mad man if it is washed and you don`t want to see that." The rep replies, "Did you have a bad experience or something"? I said they raked it up bad enough when they washed it for delivery."



The rep mentioned that she had a black car, and I asked if she ever looked at it the bright sunlight and she replies, yes "it makes me cringe" I said why does it have these spider web looking scratches on it. She said "yes" I said, " thats why I don`t want my vehicle washed". Those come from improper washing and drying techniques.



Long story short, she mentioned that there is a guy in the back that usually cleans her car and does an excellent job, but yet she has swirls:nixweiss Guess who she asked to detail her car?



me:D She also mentioned during the conversation she doesn`t need wax because she got the paint protection package- :o They even sucker their employees.:down

[Scottwax]

:cool: I have all my regulars trained to not let the dealers wash or prep their cars. When one told his saleslady he didn`t want them to wax his new 745, she said that was probably a good idea since one of the makeready guy`s skipped a buffer across the hood of one the week before and the customer refused the car!



It really is a shame that a dealership will sell a $80,000 car and not make sure their detailers are doing quality work.

[tripper_11]

Originally posted by Scottwax

It really is a shame that a dealership will sell a $80,000 car and not make sure their detailers are doing quality work.



Hey Scott,



Ain`t that cool? The independent detailing industry has something to do?:D :D :D

[gkerr4]

One from me too!



I was at our local Honda dealer, they have released a new 6seater compact MPV her in the uk that I am interested in. I was asking about the on in the showroom and what extra`sthe car had on it to bring it up to the price shown.



He said it had alloy wheels, roof rails, some interior bits and then the shocker!



"it also comes equipped with the LifeShine product which protects the paintwork for the life of the vehicle - you never need to polish it"

"we think it is so good we apply it as standard to the cars we supply"



Well - I wasn`t in the mood for arguing, but I made a mental note that i wouldn`t be buying from them! I wouldn`t mind so much if it had been applied well and the car looked immaculate - but it didn`t - the hood was full of swirls and little marks - obviously from applying this product either incorrectly or (more likely) in too much of a rush!



Why do they do that??In the UK there are two products commonly pushed in the stealerships - the "Supagaurd" and the "Autoglym lifeshine". These products are available on ebay for like £10 ($20USD), but they charge £300 for it!! ($600USD) -



when he said "we find it so good" - I think he actually meant "we find it such a money spinner!"

[imported_lix]

Originally posted by gkerr4

Why do they do that??In the UK there are two products commonly pushed in the stealerships - the "Supagaurd" and the "Autoglym lifeshine". These products are available on ebay for like £10 ($20USD), but they charge £300 for it!! ($600USD) -



when he said "we find it so good" - I think he actually meant "we find it such a money spinner!" To be fair, Lifeshine is marketed by AutoGlym as a pre-collection detailing package (using AG products) together with a kit containing a selection of their regular retail products (like SRP, EGP) for you to use in order to continue upkeep.



Given that they include polishers and sealants in this kit, I wouldn`t think AG would endorse LifeShine being sold with the line "protects the paintwork for the life of the vehicle - you never need to polish it"



I have no idea what Supaguard claim about their products.

[Lowejackson]

Autoglym say it will keep your car in top condition for as long as you own it, up to 10 years.



I like most of the Autoglym range but paying £300 for a pack of Resin, Gloss etc, after the paint has been prep-ed by a specially trained technician is questionable

[gkerr4]

I`m not really questioning the ability of the package - but I think it is a liberty when a dealer says "we fit it as standard".



What makes them think that all their customers want to have something like this applied? expecially when they add an extra £300 on for this "service".

[Lowejackson]

Agreed :xyxthumbs

[Scottwax]

gkerr4-honestly, you should have said something to the dealer. Maybe along the lines of "it doesn`t matter how good the product protects when your people apply it in such a way that it leaves swirls everywhere. I`ll go somewhere else to buy a car, thanks." and then walk away.



If people don`t take a stand and refuse to accept a brand new car covered in rotary swirls, the dealers will never change.

[Richt]

Steven I am still trying to get hold of the Lifeshine Sealant stuff but still to no luck. The rep has it on the van but still wont sell us any! Not convinced how it can work as surley over time polishing with SRP will remove it?

[gkerr4]

scottwax - you are probably correct - but really, i wasn`t in the mood for it. I had just nipped out at lunch break to look at the FR-V. it would have ended up in raised voices if I had started!!



Richt - try a search on Ebay, it comes up a lot - usually for about a £10!!

[Lowejackson]

Originally posted by Richt

Steven I am still trying to get hold of the Lifeshine Sealant stuff but still to no luck. The rep has it on the van but still wont sell us any! Not convinced how it can work as surely over time polishing with SRP will remove it?



This mirrors my thoughts. When firms start becoming fussy about selling polishes to the public, it does make me question the worth of such products. It might be to harsh to say Lifeshine is questionable but on paper it seems to be a very high profit margin for someone

[Richt]

They wont sell it to anyone other than people that apply it to cars. Just cant work out how a life sealant can be maintained using a mild abrassive polish? I was asked the other day for thge second time by a car dealer if I would like Superguard applied, oh well it made me laugh anyway!

[JeffM]

I was at the dodge dealer yesterday looking at trucks. There was this black one under the roof but outside covered in a thin layer of dust.



The salesman saw me looking at the orange peel or the dust or something lol, and he took his hand and wiped it across the hood of this black $33k truck lol.



People just dont know the difference. Take me, i used a sponge before this place lol. I might take a pic of it and post it for kicks.