The scariest thing you will see today.

Stallingrad

Witnessed at a German main dealer today in their 'valeting' bay.

D3V!L

Stallingrad wrote: »

Witnessed at a German main dealer today in their 'valeting' bay.

:eek:


Please tell me this is from a certain Bavarian brand ??

biko

Germans should know better.

Stallingrad

VW.

Prepare for Spongegate.

ianobrien

This comes to mind



Seriously, I've thrown out sponges cleaner than that after using them to clean feckin' 25 years of crud off the Escort engine (and that engine suffered from a tiny oil leak on the oil pump meaning a nice covering of crud on the bottom of the engine, sump pan, etc)

Damn you Stallingrad, Damn you ..........<<shakes fist>>..........

F00t13f4n

Halloween was yesterday - I wasn't expecting to be scared today!

Foxhole Norman

There's only one dealer I know of washing and prepping cars right, MSL Cork, all pH Neutral products, lambswool mitts, plush drying towels and Gtechniq products.

Curran

Ahhhh, surely they are being used to apply tyre dressing!!

commited

This is exactly why I have told main dealers never to wash my cars!

Toyotafanboi

I wonder where they were being used?

I know that for the likes of Das Welt approved used cars, the cars have to give the general appearance of a new car in terms of cleanliness and dealers are expected to and are audited on the cleanliness of areas like the inner wheel arches, wheel barrels, lower engine bay, exhaust back box etc. and things like pedal arms, seat rails, spare wheel well on the inside.

Could these sponges have been used on inner wheel arches etc? To be fair I doubt even the roughest cowboy would use them on clean paintwork, you'd be making more work for yourself.

It's interesting you should say that about MSL, Foxhole. I've been in a number of dealers around Dublin lately where 2x buckets, wash mitts, drying towels and products that aren't Concept Delta Force are the norm. I think dealers, particularly those for premium marques are beginning to realise the power of presentation and the prep of their vehicles and how it can really make or break a sale.

Richard_parker

Stallingrad wrote: »

Witnessed at a German main dealer today in their 'valeting' bay.

I dont get it, what is the problem with that? Good practice there, wheel brushes and tyre sponges are on a separate shelf from the rest of the cleaning equipment.

I also dedicate my old sponges to tyre dressing and wheel cleaning, I just dont mix the two as in sponge that helps the brush clean the wheel doesnt dress the tyre :-)

Foxhole Norman

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

It's interesting you should say that about MSL, Foxhole. I've been in a number of dealers around Dublin lately where 2x buckets, wash mitts, drying towels and products that aren't Concept Delta Force are the norm. I think dealers, particularly those for premium marques are beginning to realise the power of presentation and the prep of their vehicles and how it can really make or break a sale.

It's definitely improving but way slower than it should, down here at least Blackwater VW and Keary's BMW/Renault/Toyota/Nissan are brutal, having first hand experience with my own car in BMW and the word of the valetors/mechanics I know in VW and Keary's. I know for a fact MSL in Dublin aren't to the same standard of MSL Cork, we had a car straight down from them, brand new C200 and it was covered in swirls from washing and about 7/8 bird crap etchings. This on a car that only covered Dublin to Cork to come to us!

AntiVirus

I had my old A5 in with Audi and had left the dash cam on. When I looked back over the footage I seen them washing the car with a brush, since then I tell them not to wash the car.

PurvesGrundy

This is the object which most dealers use for washing cars:



Even brand new cars receive their first wash before delivery or display using this brush. Service department cars are regularly given a quick job with the brush left facing the ground in between.

Toyotafanboi

PurvesGrundy wrote: »

This is the object which most dealers use for washing cars:



Even brand new cars receive their first wash before delivery or display using this brush. Service department cars are regularly given a quick job with the brush left facing the ground in between.

What dealership is that?

Foxhole Norman

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

What dealership is that?

Keary's BMW do it for sure.

Toyotafanboi

They leave their wash brush on the ground between jobs with the head touching the floor?

Foxhole Norman

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

They leave their wash brush on the ground between jobs with the head touching the floor?

That I don't know but leaving it in a dirty gritty bucket is almost as bad to be honest, which they do.

PurvesGrundy

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

What dealership is that?

I obviously can't name the dealer in question. They did however hold a number of franchises and in each outlet that brush was used.

You find valetors are constantly under pressure to get cars completed that are on the board and it just would not be possible with any of the sophisticated methods that would be mentioned on here. I used to work at a dealer and I can say I only came across maybe one or two complaints as a result of damage caused by the wash technique. A lot of people buying new cars on PCP these days would be none the wiser regarding fine paint swirls or light scratches. In service departments the turnover of cars going through the wash bays would be even greater and as a result there would be even poorer standards.

DaveyDave

What's causing the rush? Too many cars to get through in a day? Not enough staff? Not enough bays to spread the load?

What percentage of cars going through the dealer for a service are actually cleaned and cared for by their owners though? If Irish people don't even care enough to put decent tyres on their car, why would they care about the quality of the wash?

JoeA3

I’m using sweeping generalisations here but most people won’t care. The car looks “clean” from 5 yards, job done.

bazz26

Alot of dealers are offering a "free" wash or mini valet as part of a car service so if they are servicing a big number of cars every day then the lads in the valeting bay are nearly always busy. Remember too that most of those lads in the valeting bay are not on great wages or in it for the long run. They are told get them in and out as quickly as possible.

Anytime I'm dropping my car in for a service I always make sure it's cleaned beforehand and leave instructions at the service desk that there is no need to wash it.

PurvesGrundy

DaveyDave wrote: »

What's causing the rush? Too many cars to get through in a day? Not enough staff? Not enough bays to spread the load?

Well yes, that would all play a major part in it. Even when they do get more staff they will always find a way to fill or exceed capacity within valeting.

I would say that proper wash technique is not really core in the running of a busy dealership. 80-90 per cent of customers think their car looks brand new with just a rinse, tyre paint and quick vacuum of the interior (I know it seems cynical to say).

Stallingrad

While we are at it, I've had my car serviced by Grange VW, now Frank Keane VW many times, and the car had always been very well cleaned inside and out. I'd be super critical and they have never left a mark on the car.

Hebegeebee

As JoeA3 said above, most people don't care. The dealers know this too so don't take the time or effort to do it right.

I picked up my new car last week, asked the dealer not to touch it, they obliged and I detailed it myself over the weekend. Most people won't go to this level of effort or have the time.

MetzgerMeister

Those sponges in the OP were most likely used for buffing tyre dressing. From experience, the small chunks taken out of them are consistent with how a sponge like that would end up after being rubbed along the tyre wall.