What do Dealerships use for wax?!

F

FLdude

New member
Ok, What in the world are these car dealers using to wax/polish (whatever you call it) the exterior of cars? When I bought my Honda, the Honda dealer was pushing this system called "Auto Butler". Has anyone heard of it? Any decent? And my compnay car just got washed and waxed or whatever and it's got a very nice finish on it, but I doubt they actually hand waxed it. Has a nice protective feel to it and shines nicely. What are these dealers using!!??





Makes me want to give up detailing the paint of my car and just clay bar it, hit it with some paint cleaner and drive it to the dealer. They've got a way of making cars have this "new car" look and feel to them again. :think:
 
They USUALLY use some cheapo bulk bought product that they sell as the best thing since sliced bread and charge $500+ for it.



If you mean what did they use to prep the car before you took delivery it was just some filler glaze that will wear off in about 2 washes.
 
My dealership was pushing "1st Place Finish". They even said it was already on the car and that I would love it and could buy more from them. It rained before I had a chance to detail the car the first weekend I had it. I have never seen so many water spot marks. Had to use clay and polish to get them out. I've been meaning to go by there and tell them what I think of their "great" product.
 
So what about the Auto Butler? It's some kind of drive thru car wax machine I guess. Yeah my company car feels like it has some kind of glaze on it. As of right now I'm doing:



Clay bar,

Swirl X (if needed)

#7 polish/glaze

NXT 2.0 (might try #21 next go around)

Up keeping with Ultimate Spray Wax



Doing the whole shabang 2x/yr; 1x fall and 1x spring. That should keep things in good shape. B/c just using Liquid Glass every 6 months isn't cutting it.
 
I'll let you in on a little secret. They all sell pure junk. THe toyota dealership I'm at right now sells "Paint sealant blah blah blah... $500 an application" sends them back to the guys and they grab a can of automagic paste wax ($12 a can at just about any local place that sells cheap wax) put it on about half the car per dealer instructions and call it a day. A salesman's job is to sell you on something. They get a good chunk of change everytime they get a poor sucker to sign up for something like that. But that's all it is. A salespitch. there is no special wax. no special "dealer only" products nothing nadda...... Save the cash.
 
That's an interesting question FLdude! I think Danase hit the nail on the head. Most car manufacturer's do have specific pre-delivery inspections and recommened care car chemicals, but I wonder how many actually adhere to the recommendations. If there is money to be made from a car care chemical supplier and it's "dealer prep program", most dealers will opt for that. Auto-Armor comes to mind. When you read through this forum, there are countless experiences about the "dealer prep" horror stories.

Back in the early 80's, Japanese cars were limited in the number that could be imported and, hence, sold in the USA. Many dealers resorted to "add-ons" like pin striping, dealer-installed options and accessories, and the "dealer paint sealent" programs to make money on the sale of the car. If you wanted the car, you paid for the extras. Obviously times have changed. What was common practice has now been replaced by "dealer surcharges" for handling the paperwork or the perverbial "dealer prep charge". You can ask them what this means and what am I paying for and what products are involved. If they wouldn't tell you, ask them why should you pay for something that isn't revealed and exactly specified on the purchasing contract. Sometimes you can get out of the dealer prep charge this way.

Suffice it to say, most dealers probably aren't using "premium car care products" like Blackfire or Pinnacle . So, what are some of the "cheap bulk-bought" products?

Auto-Magic, Carr-Lane, Hi-Temp, FinishKare, and, yes, even Chemical Guy's and Meguires Detailer Line.

Just remember, they buy in bulk where price and quick results (low material cost + Less labor cost= MORE Profits) are the main factors in what is used.
 
IMO, how they apply it is more important than what they use or even how much they charge.



I don't know about you, but I don't want anyone else touching my paint. (Except for a professional detailer that I trust.) They could use the best wax/sealant in the world, but its not going to matter if they mar the paint.
 
FLdude said:
So what about the Auto Butler? It's some kind of drive thru car wax machine I guess. Yeah my company car feels like it has some kind of glaze on it. As of right now I'm doing:



Clay bar,

Swirl X (if needed)

#7 polish/glaze

NXT 2.0 (might try #21 next go around)

Up keeping with Ultimate Spray Wax



Doing the whole shabang 2x/yr; 1x fall and 1x spring. That should keep things in good shape. B/c just using Liquid Glass every 6 months isn't cutting it.
Click to expand...





That makes it even worse. It's just a "wax" like the touchless car washes use then.
 
Danase said:
That makes it even worse. It's just a "wax" like the touchless car washes use then.
Click to expand...



Auto-Butler is not touchless. It looks like one of those drive through car washes at the gas station, with the spinning rollers (or whatever they are called) that flagellate your car.



[I didn't know if it was appropriate to link to their website.]



Seems like a bad idea to me.
 
Furd said:
Auto-Butler is not touchless. It looks like one of those drive through car washes at the gas station, with the spinning rollers (or whatever they are called) that flagellate your car.



[I didn't know if it was appropriate to link to their website.]



Seems like a bad idea to me.
Click to expand...



Worse than I originally suspected. hahaha
 
Um, no thanks!

polisher_images.gif
 
Another way to take your money.My friend use to work at aftersales in NYC. The amount of people that have tons oF money to piss away. $20 can of liquid wax He sold at the dealership for $350.(he worked at a (BMW) dealership. nothing shocks me anymore.
 
On new cars we use a paint sealant from a company called S and S if the customer wants it . On most new cars we just use Megs #34 spray before delivery. On use cars we use Megs 151. I have to tell you, 151 is some great stuff.
 
Every dealership has their own product they try to upsell... they are all just different sealants basically and none are worth the money you pay.
 
lawrencea said:
I have to tell you, 151 is some great stuff.
Click to expand...



2nd that. Excellent product for basic (one DA polishing step) details. Does a nice job cleaning up the paint and removing minor defects and paint transfers. Add a coat of Opti-Seal and the paint looks like you spent all day on it. :)
 
Perma Plate is one of the sealants they use, you can buy it on eBay for about 30 for the kit. Its crap, but by the time it goes to pot the customer has long forgotten about the sealant they paid for. I have people tell me they have the life time sealant, I pour a glass of water on the paint and it sit on the paint! I do the same on my car and it sheets off pronto!



I try so hard to sell people on my new car prep, and I can deliver better results for 200$ than the dealer can for 500-700$. The issue is that the cost of the sealant is just rolled into the cost of the car, and the person only feels a slight increase. Albiet the actual cost after finance charges is double that!!



Cheers,

GREG
 
FLdude said:
They've got a way of making cars have this "new car" look and feel to them again. :think:
Click to expand...



Could it possibly be that the reason the dealerships can "make" the cars look so go is because ITS A NEW CAR? :goodjob
 
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