What should I do about a dealer improperly washing my car?

[Philly]

I took the GTI in for service yesterday for headlight repairs and a brake job. But the VW dealer I go to for work has this thing called a "courtesy car wash" that they do to your car after a major service. My guess is that this involves nothing more than running a wet rag over the surface of the car to remove any dirt. The first time I has this done, the car wasn't too dirty and it came back with minor scratching, nothing a quick wax job couldn't fix.

Well, this time I took it in with the intention of doing a bit of detailing work once I got it back. Since the roads were all sandy, the car was extremely dirty, to the point where I couldn't see out of the back window except where the wiper cleared everything away. And as a result, it looks like the whole car got done up in rubbing compound. So these are scratches bigger than I have every really dealt with, and it's covering the entire surface of the car.

What can I do? Can I take it up to the dealer and ask them about it and see if they can do anything about it? Because, after all, they damaged my paint? Or do I have to just tough it out. I could probably get it looking decent, but I really don't want to spend a whole two days going over the car over and over with a variety of products to get it out, especially considering I leave for college on the 5th.

 

[McLaren]

Return to the dealer and demand a repair on the paint. They caused it, thus they are responsible. And to be honest, you should have done this immediately once you saw it there.

If the dealer refuses, take legal action. You are in every right to have this fix repaired free-of-charge by the dealer.

 

[sn00pie]

Yep, return immediately and demand they fix it. What were they thinking?!

 

[Philly]

I'll be taking it back in today to have them look at it, but I am kinda doubtful they'll be willing to do anything to it.

 

[ferrari_chris]

Next time, ask and make sure they note down not to have your car washed.

Whenever I take my car to the tyre place I always ensure they don't put that black, slimey silicone crap on the tyres. It just ends up flicking off on the drive home and going all up the doors and guards forcing me to wash my car. If they do put it on, after I asked them not to, I point out to them that they have problems following instructions.

You really should have asked them not to wash it this time if you didn't like the job they did last time...

 

[Joey D]

There isn't much you can do if the dealer says they aren't going to fix it, you can demand whatever you want but in the end it's your word versus theirs. I had a go with Wally Edgar Chevrolet when I had my Blazer since I was sure they scratched my truck. They told me that it was there when they took the truck in, but I'm 99.9% sure it wasn't. It really depends on how your service department is though, with the MINI I pointed out scratches caused by the dealer and they repainted the entire front bumper for me.

Also if it's the only VW dealer in the area, do not piss off the service guy, it will save you headaches down the line. Just nicely point it out to them and be slightly assertive, but if it's not going anywhere just accept it as a fact of car ownership and try to buff them out the best you can. Also like others suggested have them not wash the car in the future.

 

[Philly]

Good news! I took the car in and had the service rep I was working with look at it. He said that the car was pretty bad so I'm getting a free detailing job from the dealer. I also made sure to put a note in the file to not have the dealer wash the car.

It turns out they use the same tool that people use to wash boats.

 

[YSSMAN]

Hmmm, weird.

Back when I had the Jetta, they'd wash the car as well (and Armor All the dash), but I don't recall ever seeing scratches on my car. Seeing as how they also have to service Mercedes-Benz and Volvo products, I imagine they can't shorthand it like they did at your place.

 

[Pupik]

Good news! I took the car in and had the service rep I was working with look at it. He said that the car was pretty bad so I'm getting a free detailing job from the dealer. I also made sure to put a note in the file to not have the dealer wash the car.

Ugh...I had to give away many free details at Lexus to make people happy!

I'm not knocking you, because sometimes the car washers do make it worse or never clean their rags and chamois. But more often than not, the old cars (and old customers!) would only get their car washed twice a year, so all the scratches and dents would suddenly get exposed now that it was clean.

Yeah, make the dealer know. From expereince: Remind the rep/adviser when you come in, and again when the car is almost ready. The technician never looks at those things and he's usually the one that puts it at the end of the "wash line" by mistake when he's done working on it.

So I recommend you literally double (or even triple) your efforts in reminding them to not wash your car the next time you bring it in. Someone always forgets (the service writer forgets, the valet forgets, et cetera) because at least 3-5 people get involved in driving your car during the entire service process. The car washer and valet never see the repair order with NO WASH written on it, so it's up to the tech and adviser to stay on top of that.