i admit it, i let my dealer wash my car in the winter... and quite frankly i havent seen any scratches or marks because of it.

They also (everytime i go in for service) vacuum the interior throughly and take out and wash off the floor mats, i have the all-weather ones in year round.

in the summer months i always wash it myself but in 20 degree or less weather, if im going in for an oil change or service i'd rather let them wash it than leave a ton of salt on my car.

im sure it depends on the dealership, but as a rule if you can do it yourself its better then letting someone else do it.

 

my dealership we do washes by hand only with a hog hair brush that does not scratch cars at all. we also have a spot free drying system that even the owner of bentley long island came down to check out because it's a great system that doesn't leave water marks on vehicles.

in freezing weather car washes are not done due to freeezing of doors and windows

 

1) Dealer that is Mod friendly
2) Dealer that does hand car wash
3) Dealer with cool employee (da mayor)

Ok, can you move your dealership to NYC? I'll help move the cars..

 

lol thanks for the compliment. i'm always out in NYC and i pick up a lot of my customer's (and forum members) vehicles for service to show how great Infiniti of Massapequa is.

a car wash always puts a smile on my face. i get yelled at because I wash my car every other day.

 

Over at South Bay Inifiniti (Torrance), I stopped by for some touch-up paint and asked to be on the mailer so I can get some discount on oil changes. The service manager OFFERED a free 7500 mile service. Well, that was nice of them so I took advantage of that and declined the car wash. I also had them check the alignment (was fine), TSB on the sunroof and the squeeky chair (they said they didn't hear anything so I will have them look at it again soon and will SHOW them myself on that one). Anyways, I saw them using brushes on the car and white rags to dry it off with air hoses. Oh, I didn't buy my car at South Bay Infiniti, I got mine at the Glendale one. Just thought I let you all know.

 

No dealer car washes for me. I have to put up a note inside the car so they see it. They washed it once even at my request not to wash it! Well, once, I was driving into the service bay, and they were washing one of the cars outside. They were using a brush with a long handle to "clean" the wheels. I heard enough banging from the head of the brush and the wheels to convince me to never let mine get washed there.

 

Most of my first time detailing customers find me through their dealers - why? Because they get mad at the dealers for messing their cars up with free washes.

 

Palm beach infinti washes mine up real nice all the time!

I love it!!!

 

it is exactly because of all these posts that i have never let the dealer wash my car, even though they say it is "hand washed" and will not leave any scratches.

 

I have the dealer wash my G because they do not use a machanized washer - they wash by hand.

 

It really depend what kind of wash they do, my dealer (Kings Infiniti) is just across a car wash(Not A Hand Wash) and they just send their car across the street... and that is why I don't let them wash my car.

 

i would never send anyone down to one of those especially w/ the clientel that i have on staggered 20's. just feels good to them that they are having someone hand wash their cars with a soft brush and glove

 

So do any of you guys go to the "nice" drive thru washes? like "whitewater", do they have that everywhere?

Not the Gas station $5 drive thru; im talking about the ones that drive it thru the big wash room and then some dude hand drys/details it for like $12-$20?

 

You get what you pay for. Not saying that all dealerships are like that. But if they're going to offer you a free service, more than likely they've got some minimum wage kid or intern doing that. And quite honestly, for what they're getting paid, I'm sure they don't think too highly of the task. Granted, there are some dealerships that truely care about their customers and the cars they service. But in many cases from the past, dealerships for regular cars like Toyota and Nissan as well as some higher end car dealerships skimp on the smaller details. I'm not sure about BMW or Mercedes, but I can vouch that Lexus here in San Jose (Stevens Creek) does an amazing job (inside and out) and always has on my dad's SC400. So there are those few that do good work. But I just wouldn't trust anyone with my own car. At least at a detailer/car wash shop, its their job to make your car look amazing. It would make them look bad having you leave with swirl marks. But keep in mind, I'm not referring to those track run car washes.

My final say on my car would be that I'd never let anyone wash my car unless its their profession as well as not let them rotate/balance my tires unless its definately time for me to change them. I've had bad luck with my wheels and since I got work done on them, I don't want the hassle of some punk messing them up.

 

I use the free wash, if I know I'm bringing it in I will put off washing just so they can do it. Never had a scratch or problem.