S3TH

iTrader: (2)

I bought an MY03 STi in April and first thing i had done was paint correction by a professional detailer. Before the car was covered in swirl marks/spider webbing etc. 10 man hours later and all the panels were like mirrors.

Since then i have kept on top of it using the correct products, snow foaming the car, cleaning with ph neutral shampoo and lambs wool mitts/2 bucket with grit guards etc. I have used very little pressure when cleaning and have dried careful with waffle weaves and detailing spray. In short i am 95% sure I have not put any surface scratching/swirling onto the paint as a result of my detailing/cleaning.

Anyway car went in yesterday to have rear shocks replaced under warranty.

I picked the car up and noticed the wing mirrors were out of alignment, got home and half of each wheel had been cleaned. Was raining heavy but a quick inspection of the car showed it has recieved a half ars3 attempt at cleaning.

So i rang the dealer up and said thanks for the shocks, all working ok but did you clean my car to which they confirmed. I said i didnt ask you to and the guy went its part of the service. I replied by saying i came in for rear shocks not a car wash! I asked how it was cleaned and her said with a bucket and sponge

So im like great thanks for that, i really wish you hadnt of cleaned it.

so down to the detailers today and after inspection under their fluorscent lighting you can clearly see that EVERY panel has swirl marks and scratches consistent with a grit filled sponge being used to wash the car.

No doubt about it, it will need a light machine polishing to correct it, but subaru paint being thin and after the major paint correction a few marks im worried about having this done.

So of to main dealer and complained and offered to show him the damage to which he declined and asked that i take it to the workshop.

so down to the workshop and showed a technician, unfortunately in their dark workshop you couldnt see the swirls/scratches very well at all (raining hard outside). The guy didnt seem bothered and told me how he used to work in a bodyshop yadda yah etc.

They are going to speak to their director apparantly and get back to me.

Im so gutted i feel sick

any idea what my options are? I am going back to detailers on monday to see the boss and get him to write a report/estimate to sort it out.

I cant prove they werent there before hand although i detailed her on friday before the mccrae gathering and the car was mint! I am meticulous and very careful when i clean her, 4 months of hard work and upkeep killed in 5 minutes by a monkey with a sponge and ****ty bucket of water

mrtheedge2u2

Make sure the car is re-detailed at their expense.

H12MRO

Fuc#ers.
Pour acid over the dealers cars.

I always make a point of saying "DONT WASH MY CAR"

What more can you do mate. Get the bill and just keep on at them until they pay for the detail.

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

Microstar

Know what you mean. I had mine in for a service, they cleaned the car and left some swirl marks on it, they also wiped the dash and left smears of silicone 'dash spray' on it. I still haven't got it all off.
The valeters that the dealers employ are usually Polish blokes on very low wages. Nothing against them, but they are not going to be as careful as you are when cleaning.
I must make sure to state 'DO NOT CLEAN' when my car is next at the dealers.

Coffin Dodger

Aye, they all think that they're doing you a favour by giving it a "valet" before returning it to you. However they generally end up adding more swirls to the paint as the school kid / immigrant employed to do it doesn't have a clue about the proper way to clean a car. Gritty sponge all the way....

bigdog666

i live in cambs, let me know the dealers name just incase i use it

jayb1970

Sorry to hear that mate, I would be seriously annoyed if that happened to me. I would be camping out in the Managers office until he has aggreed to pay for it to be detailed again, with him supplying a courstesy car while it is being done.

My last car went in for a service at a main stealer and they "washed" it for me, god knows what they used but it left a smeary residue all over te car. It took ages to get it off!! Also it knackered my PIAA silicon wipers, they had almost melted!! To$ers

bob r

iTrader: (46)

Sounds like a nightmare.

A very reputable Subaru specialist local to me, insist on washing all cars that pass through the workshop.
They also use a sponge and bucket and a 16yr old kid who is an expert in applying scratches.

noobyscooby

Not only do I tell the garage NOT to wash or valet the car in any way, I also tell them NOT to fill up the washer bottle as I refuse to pay them a fiver for a sachet of screen wash when I can get 5 litres from Halfords for the same money or even cheaper when they their 3 for the price of 2 offers!

S3TH

iTrader: (2)

I risk sounding like a big girl now but im going to be worrying about it all weekend until the response on monday.

Tempted to go down tommorow although it will probably just be the sales guys working.

I might go in and tell them, "A storm is coming...."

psigeek

iTrader: (17)

Don't suppose anyone photographed your car at McRae Gathering?

S3TH

iTrader: (2)

Yep me at various stages but the photos arent that detailed

I took some pics on my cybershoot phone at the detailers under the fluorscent lights but the photos arent detailed enough to show the scratches.

Also at subaru workshop it was dark and again you cant see them, damn i need someone with some handheld uv lamps or something.

They will not get away with this, im just not looking forward to whats probably going to be a long and stressful process.

GC8

Take them to court. You dont have to prove anything in a civil court, you simply have to be believable.

martwrxsl

I dread to think what would happen if your car got a stone chip on it, due to driving it too hard! UV lamps! Seriously man if it was a £250,000 bently maybe. Subaru's paint in general is very thin and they do scratch easily.

nixxon

Waffle weaves? Snow Foam? You sad git! If you're that **** about your car (and it is only a car), Why not ensure they don't wash it before you entrust it to their care? It took a fluorescant light for you to notice any scratches.
Check out the "Check if you're gay" thread
'Ere you go... https://www.scoobynet.com/non-scooby...f-you-gay.html

H12MRO

Mate, that's a bit below the belt.
You sound like a right tosser.
The chap likes his cars just like most on here. I dont see anything wrong with that.
I bet your the chav who washed his car and your on £3 an hour.

martwrxsl

It's was a little bit but don't you think the oringinal poster is a little bit too obsessive? Inspecting a car under special light testing for swirl patterns. I can't imagine heaven forbid he got a stone chip.

H12MRO

Mate, this site is full of people who spend not only the time but alot of money on what they see as a hobby/life.
If the chap wants to spend his hard earned money on cleaning/inspections and special lights then thats his call.
To be told he's gay for doing something he enjoys is out of order.
I think the Nixxon's a tosser.
End of.

Microstar

It is a bit obsessive, yes, but OTOH I'm not fussy and my dealer left some swirl marks in mine, and silicone spray on the dash. If they can't do it properly then they shouldn't try to do it at all. Its all because they want to pay peanuts to some East European car cleaner and they probably tell him to get it done in 5 mins.

chris666

Got to agree with that
while keeping ya car all nice & clean is ok, i think it's ott with the snowfoam etc
a car is there to be used at the end of the day

Herbie.

The point the OP is making is he probably paid the professional around £400 to detail his car in the first place. Id be anoyed too if that happened to me.

S3TH

iTrader: (2)

Its been p1ssing down with rain the last two days, you cant see the scratches when the car is wet.

you couldnt see the scratches in the dark workshop. They would undoubtedly show up in natural daylight/sunlight if there were any at the moment.

I dont have any uv inspection lamps, inside the detailers unit their overhead lamps pretty much replicate daylight, im not a lighting specialist so i couldnt say for sure what they were but you could stand back a few feet from the car and the scratches were clear as day.

If you were to see a hi-res pic of my bonet on friday before i went down to banbury and then to see one after its visit to subarau (for 2 rear shocks not a ******* panel destroying wipe over with a sh1tty cloth) then believe me youd see why i was upset.

a layer of snowfoam, rinse, shampoo with 2 bucket and lambs wool mitt once a week is hardly obsessive? or '****' I dont go to what id consider extreme lengths but when my 5 year old car puts the finish to a lot of cars that are considerably newer ie only a year to shame it is something to be proud of.

martwrxsl

I don't think his other comment was appropriate at all. I love my car and polish and wax it every weekend. I park it away from other cars etc.. But cars do get marks and scratches! All this going to court about swirl patterns is just nonsense. Get real people! They have tried to give him a better service not ruin his car on purpose!

H12MRO

Oh, so that makes it ok then.
If the chaps not happy with the service he has the right to take it up with the dealer.
The OP has high standards, but even I would want my car back in the same if not better condtion than when I took it in and that includes swirl marks or scratches.

S3TH

iTrader: (2)

My car has a few stone chips, car parking dings its a fact of life it happens. its also got a scratch where i caught it on my bonnet, my fault.

It appears that you think its acceptable for the dealer to go and wash my car and put surface scratches/swirling on every panel though?

The fact that he didnt bother to wash the lower parts of the car, and he only washed half of each wheel because he couldnt be bothered to roll the car fowards a half turn doesnt worry me to much it just proves it was a half ars3d lame effort. The fact the glass in my wing mirrors was pointing to the floor only proves how heavy handed and rushed his idea of a car wash was.

For the uneducated amongst you here is an overview of what happens when you wash a car with one bucket of soapy water and a sponge:

- apply sponge to car, it picks up all the dirt which sits on the surface of the sponge.

- dunk into water and repeat except there will still be dirt particles on the sponge. They sit on the surface and it only takes small amounts of grits to damage modern paintwork. a lambswool mitt traps the grit deep in the fibres.

- dunk into water now contaminated with dirt and reapply to car. moving the now dirty sponge over the car causing more swirl marks.

- repeat process and it exponetially gets worse as you go round the car.

Hardly rocket science? but you can easily ruin a car in 5 minutes.

2 buckets with grit guards and lambs wool mitts and little bit of thought avoids this. Again hardly rocket science and the cost of these items doesnt break the bank.

Why do all threads on here turn into something like this anyway? Do you work for the dealer or maybe your on £5 an hour in some dodgy car wash place on an industrial estate wrecking peoples cars.

S3TH

iTrader: (2)

Matt i really believe your opinion would differ if you had seen the before and after.

The idea of paint correction/machine polishing is to remove said marks. You will not get a full gloss shine whilst your car is covered in spiderwebbing/swirls.

They have now undone the 10 man hours it took to paint correct the car as well as the 4 months of careful cleaning i have performed to upkeep it and you are saying that i should just do the 'British' thing, keep my mouth shut and accept that?

God I wish a detailer would comment instead of the stick it in a carwash or wash my car with a bogbrush crew

martwrxsl

If he's not happy, he should. I too have high standards but the term flogging a dead horse comes to mind.

nixxon

I like it! From now on I shall be known as "The Nixxon"!
If a chap wants to spend his time polishing his car with waffle weaves covered in jizz that is his call. It is, though, also very sad! If he doesn't want his precious paintwork touched, he should tell them! HIs car is no different to the other 20 the guy's washed that day. If it's "special", tell them! Don't just assume they'll see it's beauty.
BTW, What sort of warranty covers shocks on a 5 year old car?

nixxon

So why didn't you clean it before sending it to the garage?