Mercedes Nottingham - to wash or not to wash?

[sgregory124]

Morning all,

My C63 is going in for its first service (in my ownership at least) to Mercedes Nottingham tomorrow. Given the weather we've been having, its fair to say the car is utterly filthy on the exterior. I was going to wash it myself this morning but its so cold, the pressure washer will just end up becoming a snow maker for a couple of hours whilst I get frostbite.

So my question is, does anyone have any experience of the valeters at the above dealer and if so, is it safe for me to let them wash it - or should I be telling them to leave it alone? (assuming Covid isn't a factor of course) My most recent dealer valet experience is with my previous car at Nottingham Audi who, on the face of it did a pretty good job most of the time but that might have been good old fashioned luck.

To my untrained eye, the paintwork on my car is possibly some of the best i've seen for a car that is 4 years old (although it has only covered 18k in that time) and i'd obviously like to keep it that way (and have spent a lot of money in the past doing things myself).

All opinions welcomed.....

Thanks,

Simon

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I personally don’t let any dealers wash my cars. Not one. If you decide to do the same then leave a note inside in a prominent position, don’t rely on the service advisor and technician passing on the message.

 

[Skd884]

As above, no chance.

 

[MrGreedy]

So my question is, does anyone have any experience of the valeters at the above dealer and if so, is it safe for me to let them wash it...

If by 'safe' you mean is there a risk they will whip round the car with a sponge than has probably been dropped on the floor, then yes, I thinks it's safe to assume the worst.

Best and unlikely case is the sponge used on your car is new, and all the filthy rock salt/grit off the roads will be dragged over your paintwork.

At this time of the year, citrus, snow foam and pressure washer are essential in my view at getting the bulk of rank filth off the car before your even physically touch it with a microfibre/wash mitt.

 

[sgregory124]

Ok - seems like that's a pretty unanimous verdict To be honest I was erring on the side of caution before posting this, but I was hopeful that maybe dealer valeters had suddenly acquired skin and consideration, perhaps not lol

Thanks lads, decision made i'd say!

 

[SpikyMikey]

I personally don’t let any dealers wash my cars. Not one. If you decide to do the same then leave a note inside in a prominent position, don’t rely on the service advisor and technician passing on the message.

^^ I have a home-made swing tag which I hang on the interior mirror. It's big enough that they can't say "I didn't see it"

 

[MCFastybloke]

Nope, the wash chimps dont care

 

[MrGreedy]

In an unexpected bought of compassion....

To be fair to the washers, they will probably be paid on a piece rate or are instructed to do X washer per hour or a set time per wash e.g. 7 minutes or some other wholly inadequate quota. The only thing they can do in this time is throw a bucket of water on it and rub in the grit.

Don't blame the washers; it's Dealership/Group management that understand that most people they see don't give a hoot about their car, probably because it is company provided or lease, and therefore a shed load of surface scratching and marring doesn't hit anyone in the pocket at car return time. Everyone else is probably a minor part of their business model (turnover wise), and therefore a minor consideration.

 

[whitenemesis]

Must say my (Lexus) dealership always asks if they should wash the car after servicing and I've said yes, if the car was dirty. It's always been returned spotlessly clean and not a mark anywhere. Even inside, I'd love to know how they get the rear screen so clean!

 

[W1ghty]

 

[Farmer boy]

I try to avoid the dealers car wash. The lads doing the job have such a short time to do the job the risks are high. Back in the dark days of using BMW dealers they always sent the car to the wash when you went to the service desk for collection, the car was delivered to the front door still dripping wet in about 10 minutes. By the time you get home it always dried to a horrid streaky mess
My local MB dealership generally made a good job and had the cleaned and dry car waiting for collection. They have stopped the courtesy car clean as part of their COVID precautions. The car cleaning staff now seem to sanitise the interiors as their job hanging large tags from the rear view mirror to indicate sanitised or not.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Nope, the wash chimps dont care

Harsh. I used to have the job of washing cars at a garage and I always cared. Admittedly I only had to wash the cars that were up for sale on the forecourt so they were never that dirty, unless the 10 mile drive from the valeting bay was in very mucky weather. To call all those who wash cars at Mercedes dealerships “chimps” is unnecessary and smacks of attempted superiority.

 

[Scooby_Doo]

I always ask them not to wash it , usually try and clean it prior to going to the dealership. They did once black my tyres as a gesture , when I got the car home (White car) the sides were plastered in black spray .

 

[chic0821]

It's all been said, NO, NO, NO. Sticker on steering wheel air bag & fascia. My dealer writes it on to the worksheet, but you can't have too many stickers

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

^^ I have a home-made swing tag which I hang on the interior mirror. It's big enough that they can't say "I didn't see it"

I do the same. I have a set of three in each car. One hangs from the rear view mirror, one from the grab handle on the passenger size, and one from the driver’s seat head rest.

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

Do Not Wash This Vehicle Mirror Hanger Sign - Detailing Car Cleaning OCD | eBay

You spend costless hours ensuring that your car is kept in pristine condition and within 10 minutes there can be literally hundreds of marks all over your pristine bodywork!

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[zipdip]

Well I agree with whats been said,another scary car wash is at my local Morrisons fuel station,I was filling up and saw a decent BMW being well hand washed by the owner,so after I paid for the fuel,I walked to this wash bay to see he was using the soap lance which was a course haired broom,you have to hang that up or drop it on the ground and then push another button to get the power washer going,you could not make it up,used on a 2018 BMW 330.

 

[C43AMG]

NEVER,NEVER,NEVER

 

[Gazwould]

Too many carnage stories .

Many tell verbally at the service desk and it still happens .

You have to make it more obvious !!

 

[oldguy57]

Son, waiting for his mates car at a BMW dealership, witnessed the valeter power washing his cloths by laying them on the floor doing one side and then turning them over and washing the other side