Do you trust dealer car washes?
 

I'm about to take my car in for it's first oil change and the e-mail says to remind them about the free car wash. I'm a little skeptical as I'm not completely sure about the quality of the wash itself (how they wash it, what they use, etc.). Any thoughts?

Nope! Most of the car washes at the Toyota dealerships here in SD are a drive through car washes.

DO NOT DO IT!!! i didn't specify a wash and they gave me a wash anyways.

I have swirl marks up the ass and they do not go away. completely ruined my car... i had to clay, fill, and redo my clear coat and everything basically to repair the damages... even after their "professional" detail to restore my clear coat damage.

I do not trust dealer car washes. I make it a point to check out their service area and what you will normally see is the same rag/towel used to dry multiple cars, the same bucket of wash water, etc. The heavy coat of wax they put on masks a lot of the fine scratches that results from using dirty towels/water.

My advice is to skip the dealer wash and just do it yourself the right way or take it to your preferred detailer.

When I ordered my BRZ-L from Colorado, I specifically asked the dealer to NOT wash the car. They may not scratch the cars, but they will definitely leave it full of lovely swirl marks.

Generally NO NO NO NO!!!

but there are exceptions. Many luxury brands such as BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc, have pretty skilled porters that have all the inhouse tools necessary for good wash and simple detailing.

I knew several techs from BMW and Mercedes that used the facility to wash their own cars, of course which was extended to me when i had a s14, and they did a bang up job.

If your going to pay for wash and detail service take it to a professional, not your dealer! If you take it to a dealer, you should take it to luxury manufacturer and you should know the tech to get you in if your car isn't of their brand.

i generally don't trust anyone to do my car. To other people, your car is just another car.

My dealership just gives me a coupon for a car wash when you do an oil change >.< which is fine with me, I don't want them doing it anyways and I'll just give them to the roommate

No man, don't do it. Unless you know how they're washing your car and you're ok with their methods, just don't.

I worked at a Land Rover dealership for over a year. If you are worried about getting scratches and swirlmarks, DO NOT get your car washed there. Request your service advisor to skip the complimentary wash.

SKIP IT!!!!!!!!!

NO. NEVER.

I had fantastic luck in that not only did the dealer unexpectedly (even to them) have the car I wanted in stock but the only thing they had done to it was pull the plastic off, even that they did a poor job of.

I was adamant about them not so much as rinsing the thing off. They seemed very confused and were concerned about turning a dirty car over to me. I told them handing it over with the dirt exactly as is would make me a very happy customer. They agreed.

The Subaru dealer next door had a silver BRZ a little earlier. Delivered, PDI'ed, washed, and put on the front of the lot. Swirls galore. Say hello to a $300 correction on your brand new car.

my toyota dealership has done about 3 washes. and all of them i have no complaints about. no swirl marks, nothing. its really just hit or miss. they told me the use the lexus dealership's wash next door so maybe thats the reason

I learned the hard way almost 10 years ago when I bought a black 03 Accord Coupe V6 brand new...my first dealer visit and they washed. Me thinking "hey now THIS is service". Car came out with so many swirls and scuffs, it looked 5 years old (1200 miles on the odometer at the time). NEVER EVER AGAIN!