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Does your service dept asked you if you want your car washed?

  • They washed it without asking, Did a good Job

    Votes: 7 29.2%
  • They washed it without asking, I can do a better job

    Votes: 3 12.5%
  • They asked me, accepted, Did a good job

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • They asked me, accepted, I can do a better job

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • They asked me and I declined

    Votes: 1 4.2%
  • They don't wash cars after servicing

    Votes: 2 8.3%
  • I don't care

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I don't have a car or haven't serviced it yet

    Votes: 11 45.8%

Does your service dept ask you if you want your car washed?

822 Views 9 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  thegit
When I took my car for the 1,000 mile service, they didn't ask me if I wanted my car to be washed, and they did.

I know, I should have think about it and let them know that I didn't want my car washed when I took it in. But I wasn't thinking.

They did hand wash it, but I did notice some small cat like scratch marks on the finish in various places, maybe from a dirty towel or maybe from dust deposited after washing it, who knows. I didn't complain but I told then that next time they should ask me.

Anyway I would have decline it, my car wasn't that dirty to begin with since I did wash it Friday night for the get together in Dallas with the DetailerParadise Elise bundle.

So I'm conducting this poll as a survey and as a warning for people that detail their own cars or are very picky on their paint finish.
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
I think I recall my service dept mentioning it. Gotta remember, 99% of their customers probably consider a free wash to be a GOOD thing!
Hand washing, and specifically hand drying is probably the worst thing that happens. Drive around the back of some dealers and you will see ten towel boys eagerly installing swirl marks all over your car while drying up the remaining water.

It happens ALL the time and all kinds of dealerships. Make sure to tell the service advisor and usually it will be avoided. However, your first visit or two may require a note on the car if you're really paranoid.
I saw my dealer using compressed air to dry the cars, at least the ones at the showroom. Seemed like a clever way to do this.
Vantage said:
Hand washing, and specifically hand drying is probably the worst thing that happens. Drive around the back of some dealers and you will see ten towel boys eagerly installing swirl marks all over your car while drying up the remaining water.

It happens ALL the time and all kinds of dealerships. Make sure to tell the service advisor and usually it will be avoided. However, your first visit or two may require a note on the car if you're really paranoid.

What's the best way to wash a car?
My choice isn't an option. I told them to NEVER detail my car. I'll put my own scratches on :p
WorldGoneWild said:
What's the best way to wash a car?
Hand washing is the best way but use a clean mitt and clean towels to do so. Of course the quality of the towels and products you use will make a difference.

Some people use a leave blower to pre-dry it before using the drying towels, but the car is so small that I rather hand dry them.

I use the EliseTalk Detailing Bundle offered by Detailer Paradise, one of the sponsors of elise talk:

http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5144

There are some detailing tips here too:

http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1825
IMHO, the best way to wash a car is to paint it white. That way, minor scratches won't show, and you won't spend hours fretting over them.
I did a good job trying to rid Texas of its insect problem during my break in driving. During the service at Autostrada, their detailing guy, Crockett, returned her to the showroom shine that she had at delivery. He just used a spray bottle and towel.

Needless to say that when I got to my sister's house in Colorado the next day she had even more bug splats than she did before the servicing.
This reminds me of the last time a took a car under warranty for a recall campaign.

"Sir !, Your car's ready" [3hour wait}
car is soaking wet.
"heh! heh! We didn't know you had some clear film on the front" "we rubbed quite a bit before we realised it"
I take a closer look at the car's snout. The morons had attacked the film at the upper edge and rubbed till the white primer of the unprotected area at the film border was visible.

I will specify that dealer service only touch the relevant parts of the Elise.
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