Dealer Prep?

**mhadden** · 02-29-2008, 10:34 PM

All I have to say is "phew!" The wife and I just traded out 07 Tundra CM for a 08 CRV EX AWD (long story). Anyways, the guy was getting ready to pull it in and have all the plastic and paint protectant taken off (literally rolled off the truck while we were negotiating)and thankfully I caught them! I heard and seen the horror stories of the dirty rags and BS they use when prepping a car, probably because most people don`t care! But being a fellow Autopian, I had to put a stop to that, at least for my car!

Anyways, how do you guys feel about dealer preps? Do you try to catch them before they do it so you can do it yourself? Or do you let them do their thing, take it home and correct the "errors?" Just my random thought of the day

Oh, and this thread would be useless without pics:chuckle: So I removed all the protective plastic inside and out, already cleaned out the interior (and got the wife`s Sirius installed), clayed just in case and now I`m waiting for that first coat of Ultima sealant to dry up before applying another.

One of the best (coolest) gauge clusters I`ve seen in a new car under 25k:

I might have some better pics tomorrow as long as it stays nice outside!

**Driven Auto Detail** · 02-29-2008, 11:58 PM

First off, congrats on the new Honda!

As for dealer prep, I would advise to ALWAYS turn it down. You did the right thing by making sure they didn`t touch your new Honda before you took possession of it.

**KaiYenS** · 03-01-2008, 12:06 AM

Beautiful ride, Congrats! Wow...what did you use to clean your gauges glass?

Such a beautiful car!

To answer your question, I wish I found out about Autopia earlier before taking the delivery of our car. When we went to pick it up, it was already swired up with haze... I brought it home and washed it with one towel & one bucket..and caused even more damage! After that I found Autopia and that`s when I started taking care of our cars and spent more money!!! :p

**jswift2000** · 03-01-2008, 05:54 AM

Nice CRV - my wife and I are thinking about buying one next year and my father-in-law just picked his up a few weeks ago. When I bought my TL in october, it was already prepped since it was sitting in the showroom. I must be lucky b/c there are very few swirls/scratches in the car and its been through enough washes that any fillers would be history. Doesnt matter - its getting the full treatment in a few weeks (was going to be today but we just rec`d like 4-6" of snow).

**mhadden** · 03-01-2008, 07:46 AM

Thanks for the compliments! She is happier, so that`s what matters. She did like driving the big truck, mostly because it was big and she felt "safer" in it, but this is a lot more practical (like I said, I no longer tow a trailer, so it wasn`t getting used as it should).

Originally Posted by KaiYenS

...what did you use to clean your gauges glass?

Ha, actually I just used a MF and some Stoner`s IG. Works great

The rest of the interior I just used a damp MF to wipe down the dust. No need for 303 yet!

I`m getting ready to go apply my second coat of Ultima (waiting for the garage to heat up), but like I said, I`ll try to take some better pics later today (not that you guys haven`t seen a CR-V before:chuckle:

**Spilchy** · 03-01-2008, 09:09 AM

In the past 6 years my folks have had 4 BMW`s prepped with zero issues except the last one where I pointed out a little scratch and the porter tried to work on it making it worse (which I corrected at home).

Since 1998, I`ve had 3 of my own cars dealer prepped without issues as well.

So I have not experienced any of the horror stories I`ve read about. But I have detailed cars that have been swirled up by the dealer..

My lease is up in almost 2 months so I need a new car. Since it will be warmer, I`ll hold off on the prep so I can have the satisfaction of the virgin detail according to my specifications.

**Accumulator** · 03-01-2008, 01:14 PM

These days I`ll only accept new vehicles "in the wrapper". Last time I let a dealer take off the transit film they managed to scratch it too deeply for safe removal.

In fact, my Audi dealer (where they all know me well

) *insists* that I take any new vehicle that way so they don`t have to risk messing it up.

If it`s a dealership that I don`t trust 100% I`d remove the transit film *there*, heh heh, their guys could see how it`s supposed to be done

I took a Cadillac in-the-wrapper back in the `90s only to discover it had a bad factory paintjob; the dealer blew me off (in an astoundingly rude manner) and I ended up selling the car when my attorney convinced me that a lawsuit would be a bad idea.

**mhadden** · 03-01-2008, 04:55 PM

One thing I do have to say about Honda is the transit "wrap" It apears to be painted on by hand, but is a plastic. When you try to remove it, it leaves little "splinters" around the edges, so I had to take about 1 1/2 hours to remove that...

2 coats Ultima, 1 coat Zymol Titanium...I`m waiting for that to dry, then one last coat of Ultima!:woot2:

**imported_Calogero** · 03-01-2008, 05:10 PM

Congrats on the new car.

Next time I buy a new car, I`m going to say.

"You touch it, you bought it."

That`s how I feel about dealer preps.

HORRIBLE!!!

**Accumulator** · 03-01-2008, 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by mhadden

One thing I do have to say about Honda is the transit "wrap" It apears to be painted on by hand, but is a plastic. When you try to remove it, it leaves little "splinters" around the edges, so I had to take about 1 1/2 hours to remove that...

Next time use AutoInt/ValueGuard New Car Prep; it`s a solvent made specifically for this job (but good for other things too).

**mhadden** · 03-01-2008, 08:48 PM

Originally Posted by Accumulator

Next time use AutoInt/ValueGuard New Car Prep; it`s a solvent made specifically for this job (but good for other things too).

Thanks for the tip. All my other vehicles the plastic wrap came right off...must just be the difference in an actual plastic sheet and painted on plastic:nixweiss