is it possible to get a new car without scratches/marring,etc...

MartyGrant- Well, sometimes it's just one of those "what can you do?" things. My wife wanted her A8 in a color combo that was hard to find and she needed it *now* (her S4 had just been rearended). The only one I could find had minor cosmetic damage, poorly repainted areas, etc. I was mortified, but she wanted the car. So I paid my Audi people to fix it right and just accepted that it would never be perfect. Heh heh, none of that mattered when it was later sandwiched between a semi and the concret highway divider anyhow (dealership car jockey driving :rolleyes:). She still loves the car years later and that's what counts.



Originally posted by TOGWT

Better to sustain strange looks than have strange marks on your new cars paint...



And it lets them know right off the bat what kind of customer you are ;)
 
For the life of me I cannot figure out why the new car dealers feel the need to ever touch a new car with a rotary, just for routine prep. But I see it all the time. What's even worse are the nice used car dealerships. They go crazy with the rotary polishers. Row after row of swirls, and it seems as though the customers either don't notice, or they do not care. It makes little sense to me. I used to work in a motorcycle dealership and bikes are a bit of a different story. I can say without a doubt Honda motorcycles are the filthiest things to ever come out of a box. Yes, motorcycles are sent in boxes and prior to final assembly they are moved around with forklifts. But you get the Honda out of the crate and assemble it, and it's completely coated in that packing grease they put on brake rotors when they leave the factory. We tried to clean them as best we could, but with motorcycles it's best to avoid too much water, so we used Plexus. It was OK but I always felt bad for those who bought Hondas because they had so much cleaning to do when they got it home.



Back to the subject of cars, it truly amazes me how careless the porters can sometimes be around those places. But then again, it amazes me how careless the sales staff can be around the cars. If you have to yank, twist, jerk, or snatch, then you're obviously not doing it right and are only going to break something. Why can't they figure it out?
 
When I bought my truck last year I specifically asked them not to prep the truck. I actually pulled some of the plastic off myself. They didn't install any dealer emblems or stickers either. I started with a truck with no swirls and hopefully it'll stay that way lol.
 
Thanks for a great thread. I had mentioned in another thread about dealers emblems or plate frames and have always insisted that they don't put anything on the car. When I bought my 1996 Intrepid the salesman looked like he was going to cry when I told him I didn't want the sticker on the car. He says "But the owner wants all the cars to have them on them". I then said if they put it on they could keep the car or look into paying me a fee every month for advertising. I got quite a look from him and they didn't put anything on the car. When I took delivery he made a point to assure me they hadn't put it on as I had asked.



When I traded it for my current car I asked for the same thing and was told not a problem. I was also very surprised that the car didn't have any swirls, scratches or chips when I took delivery. When I commented on this my salesperson (a great lady) told me that they are very careful about cleaning the cars there unlike a lot of other places. I have to admit the new '05 Corvettes in the showroom are perfect. They obviously have a good prep guy.



The thing to remember is get the your vehicle the way you want it. If the dealer doesn't like it walk out the door. There are plenty of other people out there really wanting to sell you a car and you'll find someone who will be happy to agree to your request.



Paul
 
Ben Kenobi said:
.. I was also very surprised that the car didn't have any swirls, scratches or chips when I took delivery. When I commented on this my salesperson (a great lady) told me that they are very careful about cleaning the cars there unlike a lot of other places. I have to admit the new '05 Corvettes in the showroom are perfect. They obviously have a good prep guy.



Glad to hear you had some good experiences.



I had a good run, maybe seven cars or so, at Stoddard Imported Cars (Willoughby, OH) but when their good prep guy left things went downhill fast. These days they readily agree that the next time I buy from them it oughta be delivered to me in the transit film (and still under the transit cover Audi now uses). They don't even want to *try* prepping a car for me, they know better. Too bad, they used to do it right. Problem was that the good prep guy was working his way through school, and once he got his grad school degree he was out of there. He was one *very* smart guy who really cared about the cars.
 
I picked up my new Legacy a few weeks ago. I told the cleanup kids not to wash it, and they asked me, "Why not?" I told them I didn't want them putting any swirls in it. Ben the good one, said, "We don't get any more swirls since they gave us these," and he held up a pack of mf towels!



I had him break out a new wash mitt and bucket, and walked away. A few days later when I waxed it for the first time, it was as swirl free as it could possibly be.





Tom
 
Accumulator - Sorry to hear your run of good luck ended but at least you've got the guys at Stoddard trained properly. It does seem so hard to get and keep good help these days doesn't it? ;)



Mosca - Tom, you're lucky that you had some guys that have learned how to wash a car. How do you like your new Legacy? A very sharp looking car! I think that when my wife orders her new car I'm going to see if I can get them to leave it alone entirely when it comes in.



Paul
 
Am I the only one that would rather save the couple thousand dallors and have a few scratches?



But I do have to say, when I took delivery of my Dakota, it was a year and a half old, it had the most horrid detail job I have ever seen on it. The outside company did a complete b to b detail on it and missed half the truck. There was (and still is) wax overspray on the trim, buffing swirls, the dash was only have complete, the carpet was wet and stunk, the windows were smeared, the stuff they used to shine the over-the-rail bed liner (spray on) was leaking down the paint...I was PISSED. Unfortunately they dealership would not do anything about it, and I had already signed for the truck, and the only excuse the delivery guy had was "We were rushed." I thought, I can do a better job than this, in half the time with my eyes closed. It was pathedic.



Needless to say, the car I am thinking about getting is not at that dealership.
 
Its not always as much as the dealer not knowing how to properly care for a car, as it is the owner pushes productivity too much. You will get out of a clean-up job, what you put into it. However a good 'Autopian' job takes too much time, and the higher ups want a car washed and finished in just a few minutes with minimal costs......hence why they use brushes and the same bucket of water for multiple cars. Im a detailing nut and I work at a dealership some in the car washing and new car prep department. Some cars come with lots of plastic on the outside, whereas some only come with plastic on the inside.



Its not always as much as the dealer not knowing how to properly care for a car, as it is the owner pushes productivity too much. You will get out of a clean-up job, what you put into it. However a good 'Autopian' job takes too much time, and the higher ups want a car washed and finished in just a few minutes with minimal costs......hence why they use brushes and the same bucket of water for multiple cars. Im a detailing nut and I work at a dealership some in the car washing and new car prep department. Some cars come with lots of plastic on the outside, whereas some only come with plastic on the inside.





For you people demanding the dealer not wash the car...unless you custom order the car and they call you the day it comes in, the car has probably been washed several times before you lay eyes on it.





When I was a regular employee washing cars, I got paid a whopping $5.25/hour and had NO formal training on how to properly wash it. I just followed what my father did, and later found out that his 'trained' methods were incorrect. Also, many of the car-wash guys are high schoolers with part time jobs, and/or people who weren't smart enough to cut high school and dropped out at age 16.





Reminder: Please do not make repeated, multiple posts. If you wish to add what you just said please use the edit button and add to your existing post. Thank you
 
SphyNxXx said:


Its not always as much as the dealer not knowing how to properly care for a car, as it is the owner pushes productivity too much. You will get out of a clean-up job, what you put into it. However a good 'Autopian' job takes too much time, and the higher ups want a car washed and finished in just a few minutes with minimal costs......hence why they use brushes and the same bucket of water for multiple cars. I'm a detailing nut and I work at a dealership some in the car washing and new car prep department. Some cars come with lots of plastic on the outside, whereas some only come with plastic on the inside
.



This is exactly why obsessed Autopians insist on doing the detail themselves. A dealer simply may not use the materials, have the same kind of time or even possess knowledge of all the nuances to do it the way we'd like. It's nothing against them as we are admitted fanatics :o ;) I know the dealer means well and I made sure I got that point across to them but I was also firm about my detailing the car myself.







SphyNxXx said:


For you people demanding the dealer not wash the car...unless you custom order the car and they call you the day it comes in, the car has probably been washed several times before you lay eyes on it.






This is the reason why one must insist every piece of paper related to the order state absolutely no washing /prep of any kind. More than one phone call is a good idea as well.Make it clear you will check and you will be prepared to walk. It worked for me and the dealer understood where I was coming from.

Sure, you're probably going to come across as a royal PITA to the dealer but the squeaky wheel gets the grease.



If a dealer abides by the request it may be pleasantly rewarded with repeat business, recommendations to others who are the same way about their cars and retain a loyal customer. ( Looks at Accumulator's relationship with Stoddard. I don't think he'll ever consider buying a car elsewhere)
 
I recently took delivery of a black car and it was perfect (no marring, scatches or swirls). It helped that my wifes brother works at the dealer and did the whole prep himself (he is more particular than I am). According to the shop boys, this is the first dark car delivered without a mark. Once the car came off the transport, he was the only one who touched it.



Sure beats the first car they tried to deliver to me. They brought it in from another dealer and it spent the journey right behind the trucks wheels (at least they flat beded it) collecting all the grit from the road. The front end was nicely sand blasted. The salesman was wondering if I would notice. No doubt polished up and sold to some unsuspecting person.
 
I purchased a new car in April 2004 and on advice from this forum and other forums I told the dealership not to prep or wash car. The sales staff thought I was nuts until I brought the car back 3 days later all cleaned and sealed with Zaino. The Sales manager wanted me to do two of the showroom cars. I had to decline the offer as I am busy enough with my regular job.



I will never have a dealer prep a car for me in the future.
 
Bill D said:
... [Look] at Accumulator's relationship with Stoddard. I don't think he'll ever consider buying a car elsewhere



Bill's right, we drive Audis (let alone patronize a dealership a few hours away!) because of the way Stoddard treats us and, more importantly, how they treat our cars (well, and the fact that my wife *loves* her car ;) ). If there's ever some awful sea-change at Stoddard I'll drive something different from somebody else.
 
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