Did you let the dealership wash your car and what was the paint like from new

madalex

S3-less untill December
Joined
Jul 23, 2007
Messages
458
Reaction score
3
Points
16
Ive asked the dealership to not touch my car when it gets delivered as i have black and dont want any swirls , give me ur stories
 
You've got the right idea! Heard of lots of horror stories!

They will need to remove the transport wax - you plan to do that yourself or get a detailer in?
 
I'm doing exactly the same thing, told Audi not to touch it. Getting Paul Daulton of Miracle Detail to do my car :)
 
i think im planning on detailing it myself , will give it a gentle wash , clay it to remove wax and sticker leftover glue , light polish then seal it with either blackfire seleant and wax or some sort of zymol
 
I intended to do this but forgot. Cue swirls and the odd scratch.
 
Nowt wrong with mine at all and it sat in the showroom for a while.

Depends how good their detailer is they use as many are employed from outside.

Good job Teesides knows what he is doing and is very good!
 
in artificail light at night i can see a line on my rear quarter panel showing a difference where the paint was bare and where it was covered with the white protective coating in transit - been meaning to polish this up but not got round to it.

Rest of car was ok - but noticed about month after delivery some minor vertical scratches entire length of car on plastic capping (bit that attaches to bottom of door and inset into bottom of rear quarter panel. This must have happened before it was fitted to the car, as no areas have damage - but my dealer won't accept this and have refused to have it rectified.

So one point i would say is do not allow them to rush you inspecting the car before you take it away - they set hour blocks for handover i think but if you have to stay there all day and get on your hands and knees and check every inch of the paintwork, as once you drive it away they will refuse to sort anything.
 
The only problem I had was what appeared to be tiny pinheads of rust all over the bodywork,which actually turned out to be some sort of brown protective wax that hadn't been washed off right.
The dealer sorted that out right away.
 
I would also run your fingerniail up the door trailing edges as they have a habit of using black wax to hide small chips on doors and the easiest way of finding them is using the back of your fingernail. Do the same on any / all other edges. As mentioned, go over it with a fine toothcomb and DON'T accept the keys from them or move it until you are happy.

Now, the downside of not getting them to clean it is that if there are any imperfections that you miss because they are covered in transit tape etc then you are responsible as they can say that you did it. I would say that a word with the dealer to find out who they use and then have a conversation with them that says can they do XYZ may be a better route as that way it will be done pre-delivery.
 
What are you going to do when you get the car - keep in a glass display case.

When you drive it on the road it's going to get rain, dirt, tar, bird droppings, oil, salt, stones thrown up by other vehiciles etc etc etc.

Yes by all means keep the car looking clean, but don't get paranoid. It's only a car after all - albeit a nice Audi car!
 
h5djr said:
What are you going to do when you get the car - keep in a glass display case.

When you drive it on the road it's going to get rain, dirt, tar, bird droppings, oil, salt, stones thrown up by other vehiciles etc etc etc.

Yes by all means keep the car looking clean, but don't get paranoid. It's only a car after all - albeit a nice Audi car!

Now its clean it is very easy to keep clean. Just a quick wash and dry and it will look superb again, no need to polish every time. Water beeds qucik and dirt doesnt stick.

I do drive the car every day, it gets dirty and then its gets cleaned once a week(ish). Having spent £28k on a new motor and a few quid on a profesional detail is pocket money. But in the long run the paint will shine :)
 
How long does the detail actually last?

I mean yes it will clean easily a few times and look good but will you have to really go to town each time to clean it to keep it looking as good or a quick wash and dry down with some wax suffice?

Just iv'e always wondered!
 
6 months from the detail and the car will only need a quick wash from what I've been told. After 6 months it should get done again fully.
 
Anybody here had the Audi Vehicle Protection Plan thingy?

I got it thrown in on the deal, hopefully it won't be done by muppets and will mean the car is easier to clean and keeps it's shine.

You also get some products to use for cleaning which help to maintain the protective coating.

No idea if it works or what happens when the products they supply run out though.
 
s3mike said:
Anybody here had the Audi Vehicle Protection Plan thingy?

I got it thrown in on the deal, hopefully it won't be done by muppets and will mean the car is easier to clean and keeps it's shine.

You also get some products to use for cleaning which help to maintain the protective coating.

No idea if it works or what happens when the products they supply run out though.

alot of detailers say its not a great product but for free myabe you cant complain
 
Yes I had the Auto Glym paint protection thing done by Audi, gratis also.

That is meant to get done every season change so when winter starts and spring etc so twice yearly really.

It seems to keep the car nice and shiny between washes but i do wax with Megs Gold Class now and again...

How much would a detail like the above cost?

Just wondering if worth doing every 6 months..
 
h5djr said:
What are you going to do when you get the car - keep in a glass display case.

When you drive it on the road it's going to get rain, dirt, tar, bird droppings, oil, salt, stones thrown up by other vehiciles etc etc etc.

Yes by all means keep the car looking clean, but don't get paranoid. It's only a car after all - albeit a nice Audi car!

Dirt, rain, tar, salt, etc can all be removed without having to cover the car in swirl marks. Ditch the sponge and wash it correctly and it should stay swirl free, even out of its display case.
 
When I had my Sportback serviced at Huntingdon I hung around for a while afterwards while they washed it. It was just jet-washed and then wiped down. Didn't find any marks on the paintwork, but next time I probably won't bother because of the time I was waiting.
 
The new dealer centre at Teeside will actually wash it for you anytime, you just turn up when you can't be ***** yourself and they do it for free.

Well its not free as I'm sure the sevice costs or something will go up to pay for it!

I won't be using it as I prefer to do it myself.
 
All the dealers use AFAIK traffic film remover, that will strip any protective coating.

It is washed correctly, 2 buckets, microfibre mit, drying cloths and as recomneded by Dave the detailer, baby shampoo!! Its pH neutral.

He did my 3.2TT and that lasted well over a year before it needed doing again and did'nt have any swirls in it at all.

Above all if you look after it, it will be easier to clean and always look good.