Do you let dealer prep your new car?

Did you let your dealer prep your new car? I am about to pick up my 2013 328i. Should I ask them not to prep my car? I don't want the dealer mess up my car with swirl mark. Will it be very dirty if I ask them not to prep it?

I plan to tell my deal not to add any dealer specific exterior markings in any way shape or form. I will not sign for the car if they have added any exterior dealer markings or decals, which is not uncommon around here.

Other then that, I am happy to have them give it a good wash and detail. Chances are if you are that anal about swirls, etc you are going to be detailing it yourself anyway. I suspect the car would probably be a bit dirty on the outside if you don't have them do anything.

Pardon my ignorance... What is a swirl mark?

Originally Posted by markdo

Pardon my ignorance... What is a swirl mark?

they are those tiny little scratches that form a swirl when looked at in the light. this is a severe case, not all are this bad. but i found a very bad case on google just so you can see clearly
EDIT: from things like washing poorly with (what i assume is) a bad cloth or bad methods

Originally Posted by jeffreyfu

Did you let your dealer prep your new car? I am about to pick up my 2013 328i. Should I ask them not to prep my car? I don't want the dealer mess up my car with swirl mark. Will it be very dirty if I ask them not to prep it?

When we were at a tour of the Oxnard VPC a couple of years ago, they were sending cars through a very hot wash to clean off the coating they applied to the exterior for shipping. Not sure if it's being done still, but all the cars at the VPC looked pretty clean to me. We're getting an Alpine White car which doesn't show swirl marks as readily - my Orient Ble on the other hand does and I requested that the dealer to not wash the car...not sure how clean their "rags" are.

Originally Posted by samualcc

I plan to tell my deal not to add any dealer specific exterior markings in any way shape or form. I will not sign for the car if they have added any exterior dealer markings or decals, which is not uncommon around here.

Other then that, I am happy to have them give it a good wash and detail. Chances are if you are that anal about swirls, etc you are going to be detailing it yourself anyway. I suspect the car would probably be a bit dirty on the outside if you don't have them do anything.

I agree with this. Nothing more annoying then an expensive car with a big dealer tag/badge on the back, I've actually seen those badges on cars costing $100K... why on earth would you put a giant tag on your car advertising for your dealer, are they paying you for that?

As to the dealer prep... come on guys, they aren't idiots (at least they shouldn't be). They are prepping expensive M5s, 7 series, etc, and those guys would not accept their new cars if they had nasty swirl marks on the finish.

I've seen black and dark blue cars at my dealer and they look perfect, no swirl marks. I'm not worried about it. You paid for dealer prep you might as well get the car detailed for free.

Originally Posted by voip-ninja

...
As to the dealer prep... come on guys, they aren't idiots (at least they shouldn't be)...

Yes, they are.

Originally Posted by voip-ninja

I agree with this. Nothing more annoying then an expensive car with a big dealer tag/badge on the back, I've actually seen those badges on cars costing $100K... why on earth would you put a giant tag on your car advertising for your dealer, are they paying you for that?

As to the dealer prep... come on guys, they aren't idiots (at least they shouldn't be). They are prepping expensive M5s, 7 series, etc, and those guys would not accept their new cars if they had nasty swirl marks on the finish.

I've seen black and dark blue cars at my dealer and they look perfect, no swirl marks. I'm not worried about it. You paid for dealer prep you might as well get the car detailed for free.

I bought my first BMW from the same dealership 8 years ago and it was ok. However, my 2nd BMW was a ED and the paint was looking good when I picked it up from Munich. But something wrong before the re-delivery and the paint showed quite a lot of swirl mark. My car was white and it was at night so I didn't notice it when I pick it up from the dealership.

Since it is the same dealership who did a good job on my first car, I will let them prep it. I will check the paint thoughtfully before accepting it.

My dealer (Braman Motorcars in Palm Beach, FL) did a very good job of prepping the car. The only badging they added was a license plate frame with their name on it.

CA

Idk about you but in my area Phantom FP is a Mandatory you can't take it off

it almost got us to go after an audi q

As someone who worked detailing cars at a high end dealership (BMW, Porsche, MB, Audi) in high school including prepping cars for delivery I can assure you that most of my co-workers were indeed idiots/unconcientious/poorly trained/lazy.

When I got my car I was emphatic that the dealer not wash it etc when it was delivered after ED nor did I want any of their badging/marketing/decals etc.

Originally Posted by 3ismagic#

As someone who worked detailing cars at a high end dealership (BMW, Porsche, MB, Audi) in high school including prepping cars for delivery I can assure you that most of my co-workers were indeed idiots/unconcientious/poorly trained/lazy.

When I got my car I was emphatic that the dealer not wash it etc when it was delivered after ED nor did I want any of their badging/marketing/decals etc.

Dude your local dealership is horrible from what it sounds

Ours always makes sure your car is wash'd good before they return it even on the recall

I'm pretty anal about the cleanliness of my cars but I've always had them do the initial wash/detail if for nothing more than having a clear picture of any scratches/dings/etc... that would be hard to see if the car was filthy. I just detail regularly and haven't had any long standing issues that were caused by a dealer doing their work before delivery. Just my $.02

Unless you seal your car in a glass bubble and extract the air, there's no way a paint finish will stay perfect... and that's if the paint is even perfect to begin with. I would say most dealership will do a "fine" job washing the car to give to you. At worst, you can examine the car before signing and refuse if it is unsatisfactory. Or ask that they cover the cost of a paint-correcting detail.

Unless it's pretty severe, any swirls and other paint markings can be corrected with some know-how and the correct tools. You can take it to a profesional detailer who will do a great job for a couple hundred bucks, or spend that or a little more and buy all the stuff yourself. (Orbital polisher, pads, and associated polishing and protectant products.)

Even if nobody touches the paint but you (or pro detailer), you'll need to polish the paint every year or so anyway. More if you drive a lot.

As for dealership decals and plate frames, my take is this: They are welcome to put them on my car if and only if they are willing to pay me a monthly fee to advertise for them. Other than that, if I like a dealership's service, I will recommend them of my own accord.

I personally told my CA not to detail or wash. And if at all possible keep all the plastic on. I like to take care of all of that myself.

No wash or prep, I will do it myself.
Teenagers usually do it, dropping rags on the ground and picking them up an on the hood and on the roof.
No thanks

I thought I was a bit obsessive, but drive the car home with all the plastic on it and then basically detail the car yourself? Yikes.

I take very good care of my cars, but no matter how careful you are, the paint is going to get marked up, you are going to get scratches and rock chips. The only way to avoid this is not to drive it.

Personally my time is no longer worth it to spend an hour detailing my car every weekend and then spending a good solid 4-6 hours once every six month waxing it properly, detailing the wheels, doing the interior, etc. I'm at the point where I would rather just pay the guys at a decent shop to do that stuff.

Originally Posted by jeffreyfu

Did you let your dealer prep your new car? I am about to pick up my 2013 328i. Should I ask them not to prep my car? I don't want the dealer mess up my car with swirl mark. Will it be very dirty if I ask them not to prep it?

Does this mean you're never going to have this car washed, ever?

I'd have no problem whatsoever with the car being prepped.

I doubt many dealers are doing a careful two-bucket wash with grit gaurds etc. most are simply running it through a machine.

I never let the dealer wax or wash.

Originally Posted by voip-ninja

I agree with this. Nothing more annoying then an expensive car with a big dealer tag/badge on the back, I've actually seen those badges on cars costing $100K... why on earth would you put a giant tag on your car advertising for your dealer, are they paying you for that?

That was the first thing I checked for when I took delivery of my 335i. Sure enough, the dealer slapped one of their badges on the back. I asked my SA to remove it immediately. The service tech who removed it gave me a knowing smile when he took it off. Clearly he thought it was stupid to put a cheap dealer advertisement on a $55K luxury car, too.

It's one of my biggest pet peeves when buying a car, especially when it's a custom order.

I will refuse delivery if they put a dealer badge on it. Worst offense I have ever seen was a giant gaudy trunk lid badge for an auto brokerage on a brand new $90,000 Bentley. Horrible. I could care less if the dealer details the car.

Originally Posted by captainaudio

My dealer (Braman Motorcars in Palm Beach, FL) did a very good job of prepping the car. The only badging they added was a license plate frame with their name on it.

CA

First thing I do when I get home... take off the dealer frame and the dealer cardboard. No offense to them but I don't advertise for dealers. If BMW sold a model without an emblem or any badges, I'd be delighted.

Originally Posted by voip-ninja

I will refuse delivery if they put a dealer badge on it. Worst offense I have ever seen was a giant gaudy trunk lid badge for an auto brokerage on a brand new $90,000 Bentley. Horrible. I could care less if the dealer details the car.

Where in the world can you get a 90k brand new Bentley lol.

Originally Posted by Giants84

Where in the world can you get a 90k brand new Bentley lol.

Okay whatever Bentleys cost. Point is they put a hideous hunk of metal on a very nice car. The idiot driving it must have more money than brains.