# totally shocked!!!!!!!!



## steve1975 (Oct 14, 2012)

well i did a days work at a local (major) car dealers yesterday as a favour to my boss and was shocked at their washing techniques on new vehicles....picture this....A new vehicle still in the wrappers etc etc.
well i watched a guy working for them take all the protecting wrapping off followed by removing all the plastic off from the inside etc....so good so far :thumb:then he grabbed a bucket and began filling it with cold water,so i asked him what he was doing and he said cleaning it....bearing in mind this is a NEW car with contaminents and dirt all over it and (black) as well :doublesho.
i was gobsmacked at what i saw and then he said this is to be 'lifeshined' as well :lol: why am i in this line of work i ask myself :speechles


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

Not sure why you are shocked to be honest.


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

My mate works at bmw, says the 'valeters' there have the most raggy old microfibres that they take to brand new paintwork

Amazing really but then that's why if any of us lot get a new car then wed say don't touch it

To anyone else a new car is a new car


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Complaining about someone else's wash bucket water temperature?

Think that's the first time I've seen that


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## bradleymarky (Nov 29, 2013)

The problem is they dont own the cars so they couldnt give a toss.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

Don't blame the valeters, they work with the tools they are given by the managers.

Don't blame the managers, they provide tools and labour time within the budgets set by the owners.

Don't blame the owners, they aim to provide a service that satisfies their customers......do you see a long queue of customers complaining? No you don't, just one in a million DW car owners.....negligible.

So blame the ignorant customer or as a member put it recently the really stupidly thick customers.

The real villain in all of this are the manufacturers who screw the dealerships with such low margins, employing staff on anything but the lowest of wages becomes a nigh on impossibility.

Don't be shocked.


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

cleaning a car? without a washmitt, two buckets, snow foam etc? the shock of it


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## Chicane (Mar 31, 2011)

Yeah, tend to agree with most the comments here. Had my new mondeo booked into the ford dealers and when i picked it up they had clearly washed it for me. To be honest it was cleaner when i dropped it off but i wasnt offended by it, just thought it was good of them to wash it for me.


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## Chrisr1806 (Aug 6, 2013)

Getting my new car in the morning, hopefully it won't be covered in swirls!!:buffer::buffer:


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## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

Most people would and do consider what we do as irrational so why do we exercise ourselves with what other people do or say.


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## richtea78 (Apr 16, 2011)

-Kev- said:


> cleaning a car? without a washmitt, two buckets, snow foam etc? the shock of it


You missed the worst crime, cold water!!!


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## Jdudley90 (Mar 13, 2011)

What's wrong with cold water?


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## Flakey (May 5, 2013)

:thumb:


suspal said:


> Most people would and do consider what we do as irrational so why do we exercise ourselves with what other people do or say.


Absolutely. The other day I told somebody at work that I need to wax my car. Their response was " what is car wax. Why do you need it? You don't get you car washed regularly? The car wash guys will polish it so you don't need to do anything". :wall:


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## Bigsanj (Oct 30, 2012)

I had my new black Audi A6 delivered to my work last year. The Audi dealership was 3 miles down the road so they drove it over. I didnt mind untill i saw what they did when they arrived. The Fleet Manager pulled out a yellow duster and wiped the car all over. Not once but twice. Worst thing was it was a sunny day and made the car look like a bag of ****e. Told them i wasnt happy so they offered to take it to the car wash.


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## ITSonlyREECE (Jun 10, 2012)

What's wrong with cold water? I usually use warm water just out of habit, but I do use cold water sometimes in the summer because I find it doesn't dry up as quick in the heat.


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Hence why new car preparations and protections are fast becoming our most popular service, a decent percentage of the public are becoming wise to the dealership offerings.
They sell you Lifeshine at £550.00 and make endless promises of its capabilities, £20.00 for the kit, the carwash guy out the back gets a £10.00 bonus and 1 hour to complete, fills all the marring and defects with the product. 
So £520.00 profit for an hours work and a customer who thinks their car will be bomb proof for the next 3 years or more!!


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

ITSonlyREECE said:


> What's wrong with cold water? I usually use warm water just out of habit, but I do use cold water sometimes in the summer because I find it doesn't dry up as quick in the heat.


 People who work in the catering / restaurant industries know that if you final rinse a washed glass in cold water, the glass will sparkle more than if the final rinse is hot water.

Maybe its the same with car paintwork ?


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## Jade Warrior (Jan 18, 2014)

BMW washed my car after recall was done n they removed areas of my wax..they called me to get approval i told em no reply tho..
so always say no if it goes in ..

Disgraceful !


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## camerashy (Feb 9, 2014)

Well, I picked up an Audi A4 from Crewe Audi today which had been valleted by their guys and had received the Autoglym Longlife treatment and I must say that I could not have been any happier.
The bodywork shows no signs of swirls, damage or marring and received little attention from myself to bring it up to my standards.
5***** rating for Crewe Audi 
Dave


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## steve1975 (Oct 14, 2012)

it's ok for you lot to paint all dealers with the same brush...but i'm contracted to a local ford dealer full time (only went to the other for one day as a favour as per O/P) and we do things COMPLETLY differant there i can tell you,FULL PRE WASH TO REMOVE ALL TRANSPORT WAX ETC ETC,FALLOUT REMOVER APPLIED THEN RINSED OFF,WASH WITH A CLEAN SPONGE (NO BRUSHES HERE),WASH AGAIN WITH CLAY MITT,RINSED AGAIN THEN AGAIN WITH AN OPEN HOSE....i take pride in my work ok (thats why i was shocked as to what goes on in other garages :wall:


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

I've been doing work for a local car dealer. He does use a mobile valeter who charges next to nothing but he always comes to me when a car actually needs something doing with it. I've heard on the grape vine him recommending my services to people saying I do sell. Made me feel good to be honest and will continue to deliver great service.

The problem with most things in business is that certain things eat into profit margins. He pay so valeter x amount of money to do a crap job but cheap or a detailer more money to do a better job. 

If he was only making £500 on the car he's hardly gonna spend a couple of hundred to have it corrected, protected etc when he could get away with paying £20.


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## Jacktdi (Oct 21, 2010)

I used to work for Toyota a few years back.

I had to do a lot of stuff I wasn't happy doing but I was expected to have a new car done inside and out, including being polished in like a hour, any longer then that and I had people on my back asking why the car wasn't ready for the showroom etc.

Although, I did get a microfiber drying towel as I hated using a old leather and I used to take all the Microfibers home with me every Friday night and get them washed ready for Monday.

But my process was always:

*Spray with TFR to get rid of the transport wax
*Pressure wash off(I was lucky to have a Hot water pressure washer)
*Wash(1 bucket method)
*Take inside and dry
*Polish paintwork (then Supagard if needed)
*Hoover interior and dress dash etc
*Glass cleaned inside and out
*Tyres dressed

They all looked pretty good once finished but I would of loved to have spent more time on them.


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## steve1975 (Oct 14, 2012)

Jacktdi said:


> I used to work for Toyota a few years back.
> 
> I had to do a lot of stuff I wasn't happy doing but I was expected to have a new car done inside and out, including being polished in like a hour, any longer then that and I had people on my back asking why the car wasn't ready for the showroom etc.
> 
> ...


im the same pal,i take my own microfibres and drying towel to work as well as i dont like the ones that get provided to me and take them home on fridays to wash :thumb:


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## GNshaving (Feb 13, 2014)

What do you expect lol,the lads are self employed most of the time and get a lot less then min wage. There not going to care to much.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

GNshaving said:


> What do you expect lol,the lads are self employed most of the time and get a lot less then min wage. There not going to care to much.


Couple this with the fact many are treated with zero respect by the managers, work ten hours a day in all weathers with no humane facilities for lunch breaks etc. if it wasn't for the large number of E.E. workers there would be empty wash bays.


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Add to the fact and come on be honest we are talking motorclean here. That the managers are in the fiddle with the chemicals the equipment is second rate crud that half of doesnt work and the fact that as already said these guys get like six or seven quid a car ( about a quid for a service wash ) and the fact tat unless you supply your own cloths you are only given one.
Super guard LOL what a joke half the managers wouldnt know how to apply it properly ( IIRC it says to leave for at least one hour to bond to the fresh paint hahaha ONE HOUR the car is long gone from the bay)so how can they teach anyone. Half the area managers wouldnt know how to wash a car to save their life so again how can they teach someone. (S63 this is why the lady didnt want her car pdi cleaned by them) 90 % of the boys dont really have any respect for the new vehicles ( i have personally seen an unregistered focus st put the engine through the bonnet because the 17year old was seeing how hard he could rev it before someone told him to stop { needless to say nobody did} so it got pushed back into the pound and left there). I would rather have the fiver on the old forecourt lads wash a motor ( at least you know whats happening)


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

Just for the record I am not referring to Motorclean.


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## mike41 (Apr 5, 2011)

This reminds me of the programme on tv last year about the MD(?) of Hyundai going back to the shop floor and seeing what it was like for the workers.Valeter was a Liverpool fan, self employed IIRC, didnt he get a lot less than an hour to fully prep a new car? I remember them jetwashing their chamois on the concrete floor between washes. Delivery drivers on zero hours contracts and poorly trained sales staff too. The guy made a few changes but at the end of the day its all about profits and making a £.
Mike


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

mike41 said:


> This reminds me of the programme on tv last year about the MD(?) of Hyundai going back to the shop floor and seeing what it was like for the workers.Valeter was a Liverpool fan, self employed IIRC, didnt he get a lot less than an hour to fully prep a new car? I remember them jetwashing their chamois on the concrete floor between washes. Delivery drivers on zero hours contracts and poorly trained sales staff too. The guy made a few changes but at the end of the day its all about profits and making a £.
> Mike


A made for tv reality show, a little bit of truth in it though.


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## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

Must admit that when I picked up our V70 in 2009, and the Panda in 2012 both were immaculate by dealership standards. I remember some light swirls around the rear quarter and boot of the V70 and similar on the front bumper of the Panda but otherwise they looked perfect.

Should be interesting when I pick up the Ibiza tomorrow afternoon, it's red so anything should show up quite well!


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