Dealer Prep - What is actually done

C

ccarney

New member
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!
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
JSFM35X said:
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.
Click to expand...

Sadly, this is pretty accurate in most cases
 
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.
 
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.



txb4z said:
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.
Click to expand...
 
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.
 
This is what they do,
ba75fc8ae9936f68bb82ca3f93acf87e_zps252b612d.jpg
1b07610519fcf3aa0bce0c6c1ae5f24e_zps91954e8c.jpg
706496f0703f9b15ec92bbf432104236_zpsde41393d.jpg
c121781b8b6566e8a1428097daf96007_zpsf3c0c0d9.jpg
 
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.
 
When working at a dealer I watched a guy clean the windows with newspaper instead of an actual towel
 
ShaneB said:
When working at a dealer I watched a guy clean the windows with newspaper instead of an actual towel
Click to expand...

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.
 
mrclean81 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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
 
ShaneB said:
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
Click to expand...

I am certainly not one to support dealers, but what is so "cheap" about it? It is one of the best ways to clean windows. One of the worse things I have found for cleaning glass in automobiles is ANYTHING you buy to spray on, Invisible Glass being one of the worst. Oh sure they initially do a good job, but because of the chemical residue they leave behind, more dirt is attracted, and you have to clean the windows more often. It is like being hooked to a drug. While newspaper is still one of the best ways, I use only warm water and a microfiber. No streaking and much longer intervals between cleaning. Go ahead and spend your money.
 
Mike lambert said:
The paper and inks are way different today. Dealers want as cheap and fast as possible!
Click to expand...

And again, I say, what is wrong with that? IF they used expensive sprays, fancy cloths, and more wages for longer cleaning time, who do you think pays for that? The car buyer.

As for newspaper being way different, newspaper is exactly the same as it was years ago. The ink has changed for some, who use vegetable based dyes for their print. In any case, it still does a great job if you want to use it. Of course if you want a perfect window cleaning, (in a home for instance) a squeegee is the best, however they are really tough to use on the curved curved windows in a vehicle. :yay
 
tdekany said:
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.
Click to expand...

Thomas beat me to it on the beading. :)


We handled some new car prep for a VW dealer next to us in the mid 90's. It was pretty much just pull the plastics off, wash the car, and remove any left over adhesive. If there was noticeable issues we polishes and/or waxed, but that was usually only on the darker colors, as mentioned above. We actually had a lot of cars that required claying and polishing on the tops where the plastic didn't cover. Rotary, wool pad, and a filler heavy polish... :redface:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top