Do you trust dealer car washes?

[ST185RC]

Service girl: You get a free wash with your car with your complimentary first oil service

Me: No, thanks, I'll wash it myself.

Service girl: Sir, it's free.

Me: Free swirls? No thanks, I'll stick with washing my car by hand.

[HunterGreene]

Originally Posted by Thomas Dekany

3 - I do not exaggerate when I say 99% of pro detailers are hacks and I wouldn't let 100% of those wash my cars.

So...other than you, Jason, and John, the rest of the people you pay to detail your car are scam artists?

I think, if it really comes down to it, and you do your homework, you can trust your car to a pro detailer. With my previous car, I had it detailed a couple times at a place I researched heavily beforehand, and I was never unhappy with how it turned out.

Or....you can just wash and detail your car yourself.

[Thomas Dekany]

Originally Posted by FRiSson

Not really. When you say "99% of pro detailers are hacks", you are essentially saying that the detailing is not worth doing. After all, who would take those odds?

Once you are aware, you will become very picky with detailing work. The average person wouldn't know what to look and ask for and therefore the quality suffers and becomes the norm.

I mean you have to chose very carefully.

Visit sites like Autopia.org, Detailingbliss, detailingworld, autogeek and look at the details on these sites. Really study what the best can do and then you tell me, that is the quality "most" detailers produce.

Not any different than having your car or parts of it repainted. Most body shops will paint the car fine, but you will receive swirs and holograms all over your finish. Does that mean that you have to chose your body shop very carefully? You better believe it! However, most people "assume" like yourself. Assuming, that if it is a Pro shops, it should produce pro work. Sadly that is very rarely the case.

Have a good day!

[Thomas Dekany]

Originally Posted by HunterGreene

So...other than you, Jason, and John, the rest of the people you pay to detail your car are scam artists?

What is with the attitude??? I mentioned John and Jason, because they happen to be in the same city as the poster plus I never said "I" was good or better than most. Imagine if there are 100000 detailers in the USA - 1% will give you 1000 exceptional detailers. Divide that by 52 and each state will have enough to chose from.


I think, if it really comes down to it, and you do your homework, you can trust your car to a pro detailer. With my previous car, I had it detailed a couple times at a place I researched heavily beforehand, and I was never unhappy with how it turned out.

That is what I am trying to say. However, my question to you as a pro detailer is then: Why even do homework in the first place? A pro detailer should equal another pro detailer. Right?

And make no mistake about it, I believe that you were happy with the results how your car turned out. I guess in the end that is all that matters. BUT, like I said in my previous reply, once you see what the very best produces, you will have a change of heart. AWARENESS is the key. If you are a value oriented customer, disregard everything I said. On the other hand, if you want the best for your car, and want to see what the best detailers can do, visit detailing specific forums.


Or....you can just wash and detail your car yourself.

Enjoy your day.

[HunterGreene]

Originally Posted by Thomas Dekany

Enjoy your day.

1) Relax. Just saying that you didn't have to resort to hyperbole to make your point. Big text does not make you sound any better.

2) Of course "pro" does not always equal "good." I never said it did.

2) I trust your opinion, and appreciate the suggestions. I also have previous experience dealing with someone who detailed my car who went through the trouble of pointing out the little details (pun intended) in the process and what to look for. The place that I had my car done at after did all this and a few extra things. My point about doing research still stands, as you said.

I understand taking pride in your work. That's the sign of a consummate professional. But you really need to dial it back a few notches, and not get butthurt when people don't care to stand up for the same level of quality as you do and want. That's on them, not you.

[FRiSson]

Well, I'm going to stay clear of detailers. I don't trust enterprises where owners start off by telling you how bad everyone else is.

[Thomas Dekany]

Originally Posted by FRiSson

Well, I'm going to stay clear of detailers. I don't trust enterprises where owners start off by telling you how bad everyone else is.

You will save a lot of $$$$

Sorry, if the truth hurts.

What you should have taken away from my posts is that there are fantastic detailers out there, but you really have to look for the right ones.

http://www.uccboston.com/

Here is real talent for you.

[Thomas Dekany]

Originally Posted by HunterGreene

1) Relax. Just saying that you didn't have to resort to hyperbole to make your point. Big text does not make you sound any better.

I am relaxed. Once I hit Submit, I realized the size I chose was way too large. Sorry about that.

[Celicadude]

Originally Posted by twodollarcuts

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?

DON'T DO IT!!!! I use to work for a dealer and they go as cheap as they possibly can. Wash mitts/brushes that have seen 100 cars prior and have dirt/rocks/junk in them, crap drive through washes, poor quality products etc etc. In fact my wife went to get her first oil change done on our TSX, and she got the "free" wash. Mind you I had just detailed the car a week earlier. So I come home and first thing she says to me is "look at how shiny the car is!!". All that came out my mouth was a long and drawn out Noooooooooooooooo!!!(Darth Vader voice and all). I then showed her the swirl marks and water spots they left when they improperly dried the car. Needless to say i spent a good part of the afternoon removing the water marks and buffing out the swirls. I know its not possible for everyone to wash your car at home especially if you don't have access to water and equipment, but I highly suggest learning to detail your own car if you can. I think Autopia.org was mentioned earlier. Also detailedimage.com has some great articles. There's a guy on there, Todd Cooperrider, who has some awesome detailing articles. Also the AMMO guy from NYC has some great informative videos on youtube as well. Here's a long a detailed video of his on just the thought process of a detailer. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htsl7ICY8Nw"]$1,000,000 Ferrari Restoration Detail - YouTube[/ame]

[jadewbj]

I never let them touch a car that I really care about. Even though my dealer hand washes I still do not trust them.

[Turbowned]

I don't trust my own dealer's guys to do it, shows you how much faith I have in them. I used to work at a small Porsche/Audi dealer with a really, really good pair of guys, but that's sort of to be expected. The dealer I work at now has probably 6-8 guys cleaning cars for a Chevy, Kia, and Subaru dealer all day long. The quality of the car cleaning is so-so at best.

[911fanatic]

Originally Posted by Thomas Dekany

3 - I do not exaggerate when I say 99% of pro detailers are hacks and I wouldn't let 100% of those wash my cars.

I don't know about that. I'd say its more like 98%. Man I hate it when people exaggerate!

Originally Posted by FRiSson

Not really. When you say "99% of pro detailers are hacks", you are essentially saying that the detailing is not worth doing. After all, who would take those odds?

What Thomas is saying is that if are are willing to spend the money to get it done PROPERLY, please take the time to research the shop doing the work so you get the quality of work you are paying for.

Originally Posted by Foobar

I hate to nitpick, but advise is a verb and advice is a noun. :beer:

Carry on!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Now thats some funny shit. You made my day. Almost had to clean my sandwich off my computer but made my day nonetheless!

Originally Posted by FRiSson

Well, I'm going to stay clear of detailers. I don't trust enterprises where owners start off by telling you how bad everyone else is.

Just do you due diligence. There are some very awesome guys around. Given the tools and products available to the general public, you could easily match the quality put out by most shops and with a little practice, surpass them.

Originally Posted by Thomas Dekany

I am relaxed. Once I hit Submit, I realized the size I chose was way too large. Sorry about that.

I like the point size. I can actually read it!

[Greg Nichols]

Originally Posted by Celicadude

DON'T DO IT!!!! I use to work for a dealer and they go as cheap as they possibly can. Wash mitts/brushes that have seen 100 cars prior and have dirt/rocks/junk in them, crap drive through washes, poor quality products etc etc. In fact my wife went to get her first oil change done on our TSX, and she got the "free" wash. Mind you I had just detailed the car a week earlier. So I come home and first thing she says to me is "look at how shiny the car is!!". All that came out my mouth was a long and drawn out Noooooooooooooooo!!!(Darth Vader voice and all). I then showed her the swirl marks and water spots they left when they improperly dried the car. Needless to say i spent a good part of the afternoon removing the water marks and buffing out the swirls. I know its not possible for everyone to wash your car at home especially if you don't have access to water and equipment, but I highly suggest learning to detail your own car if you can. I think Autopia.org was mentioned earlier. Also detailedimage.com has some great articles. There's a guy on there, Todd Cooperrider, who has some awesome detailing articles. Also the AMMO guy from NYC has some great informative videos on youtube as well. Here's a long a detailed video of his on just the thought process of a detailer.

Detailed Image is a good place to start, you can also just ask many of the other detailers on this forum. I am a poster of info for detailed image too. If you value the appearance of your car its very good to pratice to do your homework on the person, go see cars they have worked on, know what you need to look for, etc.

Cheers,
GREG

[Celicadude]

Originally Posted by Greg Nichols

Detailed Image is a good place to start, you can also just ask many of the other detailers on this forum. I am a poster of info for detailed image too. If you value the appearance of your car its very good to pratice to do your homework on the person, go see cars they have worked on, know what you need to look for, etc.

Cheers,
GREG

Totally agree with you. Plus I like the fact that detailed image has that detailer locator function as well. I will say that although there are some hack job "detailers" out there, there are also a lot of detailers out there that do amazing work. Like you said its just a matter of doing your homework. Awesome work on the articles by the way.