Floorance

Just dropped off my IS350 (obsidian) to the Service dept this morning for my 1K service, had a spoiler and rear valence installed as well. Went to pick up the ride and I should have known better to tell the Service dept not to wash my car after reading all the horror stories about the free car wash. Not Only are their swirl marks ALL OVER the car, there are a couple scratches I know that were caused either during the install or during wash. (They were not on my car when i dropped it off) My car isn't even two weeks old and now it looks all messed up . Sorry for the long rant. In case your wondering, it was raining outside! who washes a car when its raining?!?!. The Master Service tech did admit the wash was done very poorly but said that Black cars always look like this (sigh, black car should look like this after 2 weeks in my hand). They offered to detail the car (clay bar, etc) for free if I brought it back during the weekdays because their detailing department isn't open on the weekends. Any advice? just feeling a bit hesitant to take back my car to the dealership that did this to my ride. Or should I just choose a CL sponsored detailer like Exclusive Auto Detailing and deal with it myself. Any input appreciated

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Try the dealer's service for free.

If it's great, it's free.

If it's still a concern, then get a different detailer...

Sytfu_IS

iTrader: (4)

Try the dealer detailing if not find someone else, all those scratches and swirl will buff right out

Fizzboy7

Some things I've learned over the past twenty years with dealer service...
1) Never make an appointment when rain or snow is predicted. When the car is wet, you cannot inspect it for scratches/dings when they return it to you. Nor can you go over the car and document it's scratch-free condition when you drop it off.
2) I wouldn't let them buff it either. All the ones I've seen done at my local dealer use high-speed spinning discs that leave a fine haze of buffing swirls. (Maybe that's just on older cars, not sure about new ones.)
3) Sorry about your dilema. I've definitely been in your shoes and it's fustrating. I am sure from this point forward you are going to remember to post a paper on your dash stating, "No Wash." It took me a few bad experiences to get with the program.
Best of luck!

Feirax

iTrader: (1)

Sorry to hear that. I had the same thing happen and the dealer told us to bring the car back so they could buff it. I wasn't daring enough to let someone with a power buffer go at when they couldn't even wash it right.

I picked up some Meguiar's Scratch-X for the larger scratches and it did a great job on alot of the smaller scratches. imo, their wax isn't as good as something like Liquid Glass. Good luck!

Evitzee

Sorry about your experience. Like others have said, try the dealer for free. It that doesn't work, go somewhere else.

Although dark colors look great when all clean, they are hard to keep looking perfect. I have given up on dark colors. My Tungsten Pearl is a snap to keep looking good. I'm sure there are some swirl marks in the finish, but they aren't visible. It is something to consider when buying a car. Having to live with it for some years is a consideration as to whether you want a light or dark color. To me it pushes the decision to a lighter color.

wednesday

My new IS has noticeable swirls and scratches all over it and it is GFM! I can't even imagine if it was obsidian They have been there from the beginning and it really pisses me off. Not sure if my dealer did it or if it was the dealer they got the car from (they did a swap) but you can be sure I will be requesting no wash for my services. I have some scratch X so I guess I will try that.

15951

Don't let them touch it. Tell them you want them to pay for it to be detailed. Go to autopia.org, find a pro on there that lives in your area, and have the paint polished properly and sealed.

By the way, someone mentioned the "high speed spinning disks" as a bad thing. Those are called rotary buffers, and they are really the only way to polish the paint properly. The problem is that most of the dealer hacks have no idea what they're doing with them, so they don't finish down polishes properly or step down to a less abrasive polish and jewel the paint before applying sealant/wax. As a result, they leave swirls, marring, pigtails, and all sorts of other goodies in your clearcoat.

Summary: Find a pro, get it polished properly, and ask the pro to teach you how to wash it properly with a 2-bucket method for MF towels so you don't damage it after he gets it cleaned up.

Good luck!

lexusscturbo

iTrader: (12)

I think the dealer used automagic for prep..probably only BC-2 and some of their lower tier filler waxes..
Because the swirls appeared after that one wash?

IS-SV

I can't imagine keeping black paint swirl free.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

I brought my F in last week for a Navi update to 8.1. Told them "Don't Wash Please." Bet you can guess what I found when they returned the car. Mine is Mercury Metallic that I had just spent 6 hours detailing the day before. I was a wee bit angry.

Lou

chris07is

iTrader: (10)

ouch sorry to hear that....i'll go with the dealer its free, but inspect it after its done....

AM1

iTrader: (6)

which dealer was it?

Floorance

PM me for the name, but the dealer is located in SoCal. Don't really want to flame the dealer since they are willing to at least try and rectify the situation. As for the comments, thanks for all the helpful advice. Most likely will give them a chance to try and fix it for "free" first.

Kaydee

What I would do is to ask the dealer to pay for the detail work performed by someone you prefer, that way you will know the quality and pay squat for it...I'm sure they will do it, the cost of detail job is nothing compared to the lost earnings if you decide to not use them anymore