Optimum Opti-Mitt mini-review

W

wizardofahs

New member
Hi, short story.. my roomate is looking to trade his explorer for a truck... so we went to the local chevy dealership to see what they had. We saw some cars there (including a red 00 camaro SS that had zero swirls) that were pretty decent. while my roomate and the guy who works there were looking at the cars and checking the condition of them and stuff... i was checking out the cars paint tryign to absorb info. Basically the guy working there found out i was a freak (aka autopian :) ) and said he really doesn't like the 'kids' they have cleaning the cars now. He said they don't know what they are doing.. and pretty much offered me a job. I am currently detailing my dad's caddie so i'm going to take it there tomorrow to show him as a resume (it's looking good.. its a 2000 and i've had 4 people ask me if it was a brand new off the showroom floor 2002).



I saw the place at this dealership where they do the cars.. it was like a tunnel assembly line. I think the pay would be $12-$15.. 2x what i'm making now almost... but the conditions might be bad. I like to take a car and spend days with it doing multiple coats of something that will last getting it just right. They probably would run it through a quick clean and vacum followed by a quick coat of wax that is immedialtly taken off, leaving a dull shine and swirls. I'm going to check tomorrow to make sure... but would you think the expierence from this place... just cleaning cars would be worth it? Or should i try and find a place that spends more time and takes more car (if this place doesn't.. i'm not sure yet) thanks for the advice
 
my son used to have a job like this. It was a back breaker. Got fed up with the work because they were pushing cars outta there so quickly.
 
that's what i'm affraid of. If they care more about getting the cars done than getting a good job done.. then i don't think i'd be comfortable working there ( I hate screwing people over). Any ideas on questions i can ask that might give me a better idea of the kind of place it is?
 
Dealerships are like processing plants. Dirty cars come in one end and clean cars go out the other. You aren't really given the time to do em right.



I bought my 4 Runner from a dealership and I told them that the truck had better be clean when I drove it away. They promised that it spent all day in the detail shop. Well, when I got it home and started looking through it I could tell that it hadn't really been touched. When I pulled up the back seats there was about 3 pounds of dog hair under the seat. There was still a lipstick in the arm rest for crying out loud! They didn't detail it. They washed it and vaccumed it out.



I have a hard time with dealership detail shops. If you want the experience then go for it. 12 or 15 an hour is pretty good in this economy. You'd make twice that doing it on your own but you would have to find your clients and pay the overhead and all that. If detailing is what you want to do then I'd say take the job.



I've been offered a job at every dealership I've taken my car to. I used to shine it up and then take it to dealerships just to taunt them. :) It feels good to have someone drool over your work as a detailer but don't let em take advantage of you. If a dealership will hire you then so will a private detail shop that works on private cars like show cars and the like. Don't sell yourself short. Take the dealership job and learn what they can teach you. Then take that experience and get a job at a better shop. :) We all gotta start somewhere. It sounds like you know what you are doing already so maybe you can skip the dealership job and head over to the better shops that handle the higher end cars.
 
I would ask myself...wiil I be happy there? It's a hard line to sell these days with a poor economy, but, money's not everything.

Like Jgr..said, maybe try it for the experience.
 
If I were in your situation, I would take the job. Heck, that's experience that you can use when you want to look for a new job. I know that you will take pride in those cars, but your boss probably wants quick in/out work because it is a business. Just try it out because the money is good and you might actually have the chance to earn a good reputation there.
 
You can gain experience on the side by doing your and your friends cars.....



Just don't form bad habits, and go with the flow if you think you can do it. If they make you wash down a BRAND new BLACK mercedes with a broom washer you are gonna have to do it......I have seen this before.



Showroom cars look good because they QD them every day with a THICK silicone oil spray. Hides everything. They are actually usually swirl ciy from customers rubbing up next to them and from them being toweled down every day after dust accumulates. Looks closely at them....at all angles....you will see the scratches!
 
I am in the same situation. Have been accepted to work at my local BMW dealer's detail shop, but I don't know if I can do it. Usually when I do something I like to do for a living I don't like doing it anymore which is bad. Also, I have the same feelings about doing quality work. Washing a black car with a broom is not far from the truth, the guy told me 15mins for a vac and wash/dry. I told him it takes me longer than that just to vacuum my own car. Thinking of doing it just to drive the cars a couple hundred feet!!
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by Jngrbrdman [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Dealerships are like processing plants. Dirty cars come in one end and clean cars go out the other. You aren't really given the time to do em right.

I bought my 4 Runner from a dealership and I told them that the truck had better be clean when I drove it away. They promised that it spent all day in the detail shop. Well, when I got it home and started looking through it I could tell that it hadn't really been touched. When I pulled up the back seats there was about 3 pounds of dog hair under the seat. There was still a lipstick in the arm rest for crying out loud! They didn't detail it. They washed it and vaccumed it out.

I have a hard time with dealership detail shops. If you want the experience then go for it. 12 or 15 an hour is pretty good in this economy. You'd make twice that doing it on your own but you would have to find your clients and pay the overhead and all that. If detailing is what you want to do then I'd say take the job.

I've been offered a job at every dealership I've taken my car to. I used to shine it up and then take it to dealerships just to taunt them. :) It feels good to have someone drool over your work as a detailer but don't let em take advantage of you. If a dealership will hire you then so will a private detail shop that works on private cars like show cars and the like. Don't sell yourself short. Take the dealership job and learn what they can teach you. Then take that experience and get a job at a better shop. :) We all gotta start somewhere. It sounds like you know what you are doing already so maybe you can skip the dealership job and head over to the better shops that handle the higher end cars. [/b]</blockquote>
Jngrbrdman's right. Going to a private shop will not only give you experience, but it will give you the opportunity to learn the business end of things should you decide to open up your own shop.

BTW, the detailer I go to for washing the Max tells me the same thing about how clean my car is.
 
I would say go for it...... it would give you great experience with a dealership-type environment..... I know I was shocked when I worked at a local chevy dealer for a summer as a detailer.....



I found out really fast NOT to have the dealer do detailing prep.... they're horrible, and the products they use are really strong (NuFinish almost)..... when used wrong they can really mess up a good car! I was really respected because I knew what to do to keep the abrasives in their stuff from messing up cars. I became the only detailer they let touch the cars in the showroom...... I actually got them to let me do up those cars with my own special products (stuff I brought from home and got reimbursed for), and those units looked 10X better than any other showroom floor models they had ever had before! :up :D
 
When I was a teenager I had a job working for a Porsche dealership. The job was "lotman" and included washing and DRIVING the cars. I wasn't really into detailing at the time and that's probably just as well, but I still remember some of the really great cars I got to drive. I would run errands in Porsches and take new cars out to customers who wanted home delivery. Plus, some of the cars people traded in for the Porsches were very cool. Does the Chevy dealer sell Vettes? :)
 
Yea, it's mostly a chevy truck dealer... but they have a fine selection of vette's and camaros. I went back today to talk to the guy (and show him the caddie) filled out the app and he sounded like he really wanted my help... i'll find out more (like hours and pay) on monday. One thing though.. in the showroom.... the cars were kind of badly done... what ever they used on the tires sucked... and whoever put it on had no clue what he/she was doing. There were stains and streaks coming down and all sorts of imperfections... the tires made the cars look horrible. Plus i knoticed some spots on a hood of a new avalanche that had wax that wasn't fully removed. i'm kind of hoping that i can have a position like you did SLPcar Luvr.. where i can do my own thing and do it right.. and earn a good reputation. The dealership is part of a huge chain... i know they have a lexus branch. I also am going to check at a Honda/BMW place i know was hiring.. and maybe a few private places.
 
OMG....They did not take care of the Avalanche? Now I am mad!



Take the job and straighten them out...Please for the Avalanche's sake.



BTW did I say I own an Avalanche?:D
 
Do it for the $$$ and the detail lesson on "how not to detail." If the dealer is in house you might get if you are lucky $7.50/hour maybe a little more if they use a outside detail service. The problem with doing detail work at the dealers is the cars to be detailed, are either trade ins or auction cars - "ie" dogs. 2 or three detailers 1/2 the day to make it half way decent. Then to top it off, the dealer is never happy - period; but who bought the piece of crap in the first place They want a $250.00 detail for the cost of a $7.00/hour employee who don't care - look how your car was left.



If you do go to the dealer to do detailing, I suggest a high end dealer who doesn't purchase the above. Why kill yourself for 7 to 8 bucks a hour. In the four years I have ran my recon service I have run into only 20 year employee's are making $15.00 plus a hour in the detail department. Super big turnover for all of the above, but if the dealer is willing to pay you 12 to 15 - go for it!

:bounce :bounce
 
i used to work at a ford dealership. they dont care about doing the job right they just want to get the cars done. i used to like to take my time and to a good job. my manger tells me they dont have time to take long on one car. then he tells me time is money. i would not work for a car dealer again they dont care about getting the job done right.:)
 
I've been doing ONR washes for a couple months with Dragon Fiber MF towels. It's been working great, except they get pretty dirty and felt bad about that. So I read about grout sponges and bought one, and decided to get the mitt as something else to try.

Anyways, I'm less than impressed with the mitt and in fact stopped using it halfway through the wash. First off, this thing was continually dripping fluid, all over my garage floor. Like floods of fluids. It was no longer a rinseless wash :)

As well, it has a dimpled texture with peaks and valleys, I'm really not getting this... Yes it was easy to slide over the car, but only the peaks of the foam were touching the paint. And if you add pressure for more surface contact, then all the ONR fluid squeezes out.

Anyway, I'll give it a shot for outside use in the summer, but as of now it doesnt really work for me.

This was typed from my iPhone, so sorry for any grammar weirdness!
 
We appreciate your honesty. I haven't had the chance to use the mitt yet, but like you, I have been a big fan of the Dragon Fiber Magic Towels with ONR for quite some time. I like using a towel because you can wash around the door handles, into body seems, etc.
 
I use the Opti Mitt, and really like it. The foam is very soft, so marring is not an issue. I also like how it holds and releases water. The only time it might release to much solution is when you are doing an vertical panel. Other then that, I really like it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top