Having my new BRZ shipped; leave the factory wrapping on?
 

I have a BRZ Premium that's supposed to arrive in Denver on Monday, and I live in Kansas City. I was going to fly out for $80 and drive the car back, but I've had a change of heart due to reservations on doing a highway break in (pain in the butt varying rpm's on a straight 75mph highway), and concerns on weather. The dealer says he can send it on a transport that they use all the time for about $500, which sounds reasonable. The question I have is, should I have them leave the protective film that comes on the car from the factory? I have no idea how hard that stuff is to get off. Anyone done this before? Do they pretty well wrap the car's exterior? Should I ask the dealer for a small discount for them not having to remove the film and detail the car?

Interesting predicament... I would imagine the protective film is not difficult to remove. Also, detailing the car yourself may be advantageous since you don't have to trust Joe Shmoe at the dealer to do it. However, I don't know how willing the dealer will be to give you a discount for bypassing the removal of the film and detailing. I would call the dealer and see if this is even a possibility.

As an alternative option, you could fly out to Denver and take back roads back to KC. It would be a lengthy trip, but I would imagine there are some great routes you could take for your new baby's maiden voyage.

I would avoid having them detail the car and then throw it on a trailer to ship it to you. The price is reasonable, but who knows if your car will arrive in top-notch condition.

I removed my own, it's not hard.

One drawback is that it leaves some glue residue along the edges of the plastic wrap. Easy fix is to get yourself some 3M adhesive remover (paint safe) and remove it on your own. It comes off very easily with the correct product. Make sure you wash the car first before trying to remove the adhesive.

You will also have to wash it yourself; dealers do a decontamination process to get rid of rail dust particles on the paint that can oxidize over time (most noticeable on white cars). You can do this yourself with a product called IronX. You can do it immediately after a wash, it does not cost much for the product and is easy to apply and remove. Just don't do it in the sun :)

I didn't want the dealer to touch my paint anyway - they tend to know absolutely nothing about washing a car so you will end up with heavy swirling if you let them do it, so I was happy to tell them to not even touch the paint when it came in. They even left all the plastic on the inside so I was able to throw it out myself :) If you are not as OCD as I am, don't mind the swirls, I don't think you would get too many rock chips or anything during transportation, so it will be easier for you if you let them remove it. But if you're big into the quality of your paint in the sun, then do it yourself.

Weather could be a problem, either way, yourself or transporting.

If driving yourself, spend two days for the approx 600 miles, highway US24, for instance.

If contract transport, be sure it is enclosed. Have someone specific at the dealer who will observe loading of vehicle onto the contract carrier. This will convey upon the dealer a specific level of responsibility. Redundant? yes, but worth doing. Have a camera ready at arrival and have the carrier person/driver confirm any possible 'inconsistencies'.
Confirm who the carrier will be. There are some great ones out there that specialize in classic cars, for instance. OR - Maybe the carrier is the dealer. I am sure it will all work out for you.

Supposedly the carrier is one the dealer uses on a regular basis, and they're trustworthy. I do believe it's not enclosed, however, I wasn't too worried about that, since these cars are shipped in on an open trailer, right?

I did the same exact thing. My salesman knew I was pretty anal about cars, so he called and asked. I told him to leave the wrapping on and I peeled it off after I drove it home.

Your results were the same as mine, and I highly recommend it if you ship the car.

Crap, you guys have me scared now! I found a black Premium 2 hours away that wasn't there earlier this week. Now I'm thinking I ought to just go that route instead...

I might be paranoid but I wouldn't trust someone to handle my new car. I had my Samurai shipped from Michigan to Arizona and when i got it the car was full of McD's wrappers, empty cans, etc. I didn't mind because the car was a good beater but with a new car I'd fly there and bring that puppy back myself.

Doesn't the car have to get shipped from the port to the dealership anyways?

Why scared? Pulling the shipping plastic off of the car is easier than removing a sticker.

Also, I didn't have to seal with rail dust since my car came in on the Baltimore port and it was truck-delivered to my dealer.

The dealer would have to eat any loss due to mishandling of the vehicle (unless they could cover it up), they're a bit more strict than the third party contractor that's going to drop it off.

With regards to the OP, I stopped worrying about the first wash and lazy dealer detailers once I realized that I probably wouldn't do much better. Best of luck and enjoy your car.
:happy0180:

Regardless of if you drive it back yourself or they transport the car, I would reccomend that you leave the protective film on. This will minimize any damge in the drive/transport back. It's very simple to remove and have detailed upon arrival.

No, I wouldn't reccomend to ask for any "discount" because they aren't washing the car for you.

They seem to be a pretty checked out operation if they are organizing shipping for you.

The stuff about rail dust and special cleaners to get it off is spooking me... That, and worrying about something happening in transit, and not getting to inspect it prior to accepting delivery. I have a deposit down on it, but I didn't order the car, and it is still in transit to the dealer. I think I'll cancel and take the one that's closer, so I don't have to worry about the transportation.

i drove my brz 500 miles across texas with only 300 miles on the odometer..just dont use the cruise control..its not that hard