How some dealers clean their cars

[dpardo]

Re: How some dealers clean their cars

Speaking of soapless car washes, I recently saw a mobile detailer wash and wax a nice BMW recently.

I don't think he thought anyone was watching him and he basically did what someone mentioned earlier. He rinsed the car off with a high-pressure hose and then proceeded to dry and wax the car.

I couldn't believe he didn't bother washing it at all!

He finished in record time, though (LOL).

[saturn2]

Re: How some dealers clean their cars

The real root of the problem for car lot detailers , is management . Most management types at car lots are looking at the bottom line . They will hire someone with little to no experience and pay them peanuts . When that person finally gets a clue as to how a car should be detailed , he becomes too expensive for the manager to keep around . I have seen it over and over again . I have been working in the car lot industry for a long , long time and the cycle continues . They want you to run a "detail " operation for them but they don't spend the money to do it right . At one of the car lots that I used to work for , we had four "detailers " . Two of these detailers were responsible for the courtesy clean that everyone dreads . These were the lowest paid employees in the whole dealership . They were minimum wage people who worked there rears off , but had no proper training in how to safely clean a car . They would typically have to clean an average of 30 cars in an 8 hour shift , as well as be shuttle drivers to pick up and drop off customers . The other two were supposed to detail all of the lot cars , and keep them maintained that way . They were also expected to do retail work . The company would buy elcheapo products and equipment , but expect the cars on their lot to look perfect .

I know that was a bit of a rant but I put in many years as a car lot detailer and I know what goes on in those places . It is basically a crash course for how not to detail a car . For me , it was valuable experience on my way to becoming a competent detailer . I am not saying it is right , just giving you a different perspective .

Cory

Working as a detailer for three or more Dealerships over 8 years removed from the field for 5 years now. I can't say how true the above statement is. But, I will say this if the car dealership got bad CSI each and every month it would be a big problem.
And I have one funny story that sticks out when it comes to CSI.
"One time I think it was 5-7 years ago another co-worker bought a new truck at the lot where we were employed. I point out this fact because when he filled out the CSI mailer he proceed run down the whole dealership from sales to New car detail."

The funny thing is that he did he's own vehicle nobody else touched it.
Tom E.who just happen to own Thomas Chevy. came down and .
He had the detail manger put it up on the front of his office to show everybody what he did.

[saturn2]

Re: How some dealers clean their cars

There is a difference between washing a car for delivery and washing a car for service. With a drive in car wash anybody can ride in it and be done. The problem is and I've seen it with my own eyes. If the machine has old bushes they need to be replaced time to time.

In new car more than likely we will do it by hand. The thing is a lot of cars don't come perfect off the truck sometimes chains get dropped on them and everything else. As for time allowance I made sure that all the cars that I did that a good coat of wax on them. Most guys would just use a spray wax and be done about it.

One thing that I found a little troubling is how many new hires think a detail is shinny tires and a wash.

[saturn2]

Re: How some dealers clean their cars

I recently took delivery of a new Honda Odyssey. I told the salesperson not to have it washed as well. I still need to give it the once over, but I'm glad I told them not to. There are some bonded contaminants on the hood and a few areas where the adhesive remains from the wrapping. I can just imagine how they'd try to remove them.

For rail dust we would use clay and we were directed by the factory via a TSB to do so. We would try to remove the adhesive lines with prep solvent or cleaner wax.

One story about adhesives. Back in 95' GM sprayed Camaro's and Firebird's with a clear spray called trans seal on the body of the car to protect it before the car was sold. The problem was that the spray got all over the car they even got it under the wing and hood etc. And when you got to the point that you couldn't tear off the seal. You had to use a special Chemical to remove it.

[CAShine]

Re: How some dealers clean their cars

Simple: Time = Money. For dealerships their specialty is selling cars, not making them look good. As long as it looks good to the average eye, then thats good enough. Imagine a dealership that actually cared about the appearance of their cars.