Dealer Prep - What is actually done

[ccarney]

Does anyone know what the dealer does to cars during the prep process? I know they remove plastic and wash the car then throw some bad tire dressing on. The water beads on the paint so maybe a quick spray wax? Hoping to hear from someone that worked at a dealer or currently works for a new car dealer.

Thanks in Advance!

[mrclean81]

I`ve spent years in and out of dealerships and honestly it depends on the detailer. Some are high school aged kids who could give a crap less what the end result is, and others are experienced guys who really do a good job, but get a bad reputation because of the hacks. The biggest problem in dealership is lack of training. Some places are pickier than others about who they hire, but you have to understand that this is an $8.50 an hour position at most dealerships. Low man on the totem pole. Many places only have a "wash boy" to maintain the inventory, and send all of their trade ins and auction cars out to a local detail shop to have the initial detail done.
As for training, most of them say "Here`s the soap, here`s the water hose and bucket, and here is where you park them when your done. Good luck". I don`t think any of the dealer detailers mean to do a bad job or even realize they are, because nobody has ever showed them differently. 90% of the guys I`ve trained over the years could gut interiors, wetsand, do paint chip repairs correctly, and safely operate both a DA and a rotary within a fairly short period of time because thats how they were trained from day one.

[JSFM35X]

The remove the plastic from the interior and paint. Then they wash your car with a bucket of dirty water that most likely was used to wash 10-20 cars previously. They use a sponge and swirl up all the dark color cars and if it a good dealer, they glaze it so you wont find the damage until 2-3 weeks later and they can blame it on you!

If you care about your finish-Don`t let a dealer prep the paint on your car. Do it yourself or pay an outside detailer.

[txb4z]

I work at dealership but not in the make ready dept. so I`m not sure exactly what they do. Once a week though a company comes out and hoses down all the cars on the lot and then dries them with a old school shammy. To me that is far worse then any thing that can be done in make ready.

[mrclean81]

The remove the plastic from the interior and paint. Then they wash your car with a bucket of dirty water that most likely was used to wash 10-20 cars previously. They use a sponge and swirl up all the dark color cars and if it a good dealer, they glaze it so you wont find the damage until 2-3 weeks later and they can blame it on you!

If you care about your finish-Don`t let a dealer prep the paint on your car. Do it yourself or pay an outside detailer.

Sadly, this is pretty accurate in most cases

[ccarney]

I agree with you guys. Less the dealer touches it the better. I wanted to know what they were using to make the water bead, to understand what I needed to strip off the car before a new car detail. Thanks for answering it`s a glaze.

[JSFM35X]

I was the new car prep guy at a Dodge Dealer back in 1986. It was actually a summer job and the I was hired as a transporter but they canned the prep guy and I got a raise to take over the job. it is where I fell in love with a clean car-LOL.

Never let the dealer touch the outside of the car. Mechanical prep-Fine, but that`s it.

I did almost everything our not suppose to do when you wash a car. Little did I know back then what I would learn later. Don`t get me wrong, I did it the way I was taught. Single bucket od soap, washed with a broom looking brush, rinsed with a PW. Dried with a beach type towel. Same one all day. Armoral on tires, and if the salesman upsold you, I would also be the guy who applied the crazy priced simoniz goop on the paint. Was like a space age sealant. I also applied the 3M scotch guard on the non leather seats.

Fun job, got to drive a lot of diplomat police cars. Picked up Colt turbo`s in NJ and dropped off different cars.

I work at dealership but not in the make ready dept. so I`m not sure exactly what they do. Once a week though a company comes out and hoses down all the cars on the lot and then dries them with a old school shammy. To me that is far worse then any thing that can be done in make ready.

[Thomas Dekany]

To the OP - fresh paint beads, just like freshly polished paint. It doesn`t mean that the stealership used ANY protection. Do not let them touch your paint.

[Mike lambert]

This is what they do,

[Orinda Auto Detail]

Mike they charge extra for that I thought!

[Mike lambert]

I know I do to fix, these were directly from dealer on new cars to me!

[Larry A]

I work at a Toyota dealer . They wash the cars and spray wax .On black and other dark colored cars they will hand wax. They somethimes use a glaze , depending who does it . We have one guy that uses paste wax from a company called Pro.

[ShaneB]

When working at a dealer I watched a guy clean the windows with newspaper instead of an actual towel

[mrclean81]

When working at a dealer I watched a guy clean the windows with newspaper instead of an actual towel

That trick is 100 years old. My grandmother used to use newspaper and vinegar water to clean the windows in her house when I was a kid. Before the days of mircofiber, that was one of the best ways to do it. It sounds crazy but it does work.

[ShaneB]

That trick is 100 years old. My grandmother used to use newspaper and vinegar water to clean the windows in her house when I was a kid. Before the days of mircofiber, that was one of the best ways to do it. It sounds crazy but it does work.

Im aware of that but I was just using it as an example of just how cheap the dealers go when it comes to prepping a car