To make a long story somewhat short, I just had the back half my car painted due to some damage it took in an accident . I took it to the dealership to get an oil change, and they washed it for the first time since it had been painted. After getting the car back, I had some light scratches on the trunk, and heavy swirl marks where it had just been painted. The service manager tried to argue that his guys wouldn’t do something like that since they deal with new cars everyday and insinuate that I was lying. I’m like if I’m lying don’t you think I would be trying to get the ENTIRE car painted/buffed instead of some local areas ? Since I’m leasing, I’ll be damned if I’m going to be liable for damage caused by the stealership. After arguing a little bit more, and telling him a thousand times that I have no reason to lie, he agreed that they will take care of buffing the swirls out. Lesson of the story, don’t put the surface of my baby in other people’s hands.

Oh yeah, Happy Thanksgiving.

 

i had the exact same problem actually...without the repaint process though...

it seems every time i go in and they wash it i get new scratches...

those numb nuts washed it a few weeks ago right after i had waxed and polished it and it ruined all my hard work

 

that's why you gotta do things yourself. spending a few minutes in your driveway with your car and a hose is a much better way than goin to a wash anywhere that isn't touchless. you will regret it.

 

Are you sure that the swirl marks were not buffing marks from the repaint job? I had my rear fender repainted and at certain angles I could see the polishing/buffing swirls. I had to polish them out myself.

 

I didn't notice the swirls when I got it back from the repair shop. I'm not a expert when it comes to paint jobs, but the swirl marks are real long and distorted, not tight swirls like I would expect from a buffer. Also along the top, where the door and roof meet, there are no swirls, just horizontal long light scratches. If the car had not just been repainted, I would have attributed it to normal wear and tear, but I'm pretty sure these are due to a negligent wash job.

 

Get some pics in the sun. It's hard to tell with words but that sounds like it might be hologramming from a buffer.

Definitely good advice to never let the dealership wash your car though, especially with new (soft) paint.

 

I bet they dropped the drying cloth a couple times on the ground....then continued to dry your car.

 

I told my dealer not to wash my car after I got it back with lots of little water spots. It seems that where they wash the cars is right in direct sunlight and who knows what they use to wash it. Anyway, they have been told never to wash my car. Fortunately, I was able to remove the spots.

 

funny thing...i always wash cars...(im a porter at a dealership)...and none of my customers ever complain to me about swirls....

actually...

PLEASE TELL THEM NOT TO GIVE you guys car washes...it makes my work a lot easier...

 

how come yer never on AiM?

oh yeah...i guess it's how cool u r with the dealership u go to...if u have deep connects, then don't hesitate on bringing in your car into the dealership