Dealership have done a number on my paintwork...

Steedie said:
No contact and despite another call, no progress

Quick complaint on Twitter with a few tags and hashtags and I got a pretty quick response from the dealer network asking for my contact details. About 10 minutes later, a call from the network sales director, and fair play he was properly apologetic and sympathetic. Asked me to send him an invoice from my detailer for any work that needs doing to get it back to the state it was in before the damage, and he'll have it paid within 24 hours

Result, and social media is definitely the way to go for stuff like this. They hate the bad publicity
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It is a shame it has come to this. It also just ****** off the dealer staff; as they could have also offered the same conclusion if they were empowered to do so (and without prejudice).
 
dLockers said:
It is a shame it has come to this. It also just ****** off the dealer staff; as they could have also offered the same conclusion if they were empowered to do so (and without prejudice).
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Yeah although the person I was dealing with at the dealership kept just trying to say they had no record of it being cleaned so he needs to check what’s happened, so it just felt like he was trying to fob me off.

It will be the last time I use that dealership as it’s the second car they’ve caused issues with. It’s a shame as it’s so close and convenient, but not worth the hassle.
 
Steedie said:
No contact and despite another call, no progress

Quick complaint on Twitter with a few tags and hashtags and I got a pretty quick response from the dealer network asking for my contact details. About 10 minutes later, a call from the network sales director, and fair play he was properly apologetic and sympathetic. Asked me to send him an invoice from my detailer for any work that needs doing to get it back to the state it was in before the damage, and he'll have it paid within 24 hours

Result, and social media is definitely the way to go for stuff like this. They hate the bad publicity
Click to expand...

Glad you got it nearly sorted
it will be sorted when they reimburse you for the damage they caused to your car and yourself, headache tablets are cheap though ;)
 
This really grinds my gears. I had similar with an Alfa Romeo dealer a few weeks ago, I told them not wash the car and to add that instruction to the paperwork, I also had 2 x Gtechniq branded do not wash signs - one hanging from the rear view mirror and the other resting on the dash.

Despite that, the service desk employee told me she had just about stopped them from cleaning it when she went to find where the car was on collection. Interestingly, she told me no chemicals had touched the car and they rinsed it down and wiped it over. I told her it's not just the chemicals, as whilst I don't want quick and easy, highly caustic TFR being used, it's more about scratching the car when using dirty sponges. I was very polite and said I don't expect them to be able to safely wash a car due to the volume of cars they service/repair a day.

Now, the service desk employee was either misinformed or lying because they had 100% cleaned the wheels, including dressing the tyres. I checked the paint over and thankfully I couldn't see any swirls or holograms in the bright sunshine.

People might think this is OTT, but I live opposite a VW garage and see the 'cleaning' performed on the cars for sale on the forecourt. I've also witnessed the job KIA did on my girlfriend's Sportage:

 
They must be rubbing sponges on the ground when dealers wash them, I can't comprehend the amount of swirls and holograms they manage to add during a single wash.
 
Few years ago I had an Audi A6 on lease. It went into a main Audi dealer to fix an issue with the GPS antenna and when I got it back they'd scuffed every single alloy when they cleaned it. Thankfully they did refurb the wheels back to new condition but shouldn't have happened in the first place.
 
I had exactly the same experience with a Ford dealer years ago. Mentioned it on the phone, mentioned it again when dropping the car in, and also left a note in the car. But it got washed. The paintwork wasn't as trashed as the OP's but it did introduce a load of marks that weren't there previously. Being a black car, it was immediately obvious.

I raised it with the dealer and by way of apology the service manager asked me what detailing products I used, and dropped me off a big selection of new stuff - at least £100 worth.
 
I'm still waiting to get my car back 8 weeks after it was damaged while being parked in the Toyota dealer's carpark. We agreed that they would do their repairs then give it to the detailer to re-apply the ceramic coat to the repaired areas.
During that call with the service manager, I said "when you get it back please make sure you don't wash it", and he seemed unable to comprehend that I wouldn't want my car washed before I picked it up.
I actually feel a bit silly asking; I know I'm being anal about the paintwork, but you would have thought he would be glad to not have to do something. I just asked him to humour me. I'm still anxious he will ash it anyway.
 
Well I got the money today for the invoice my detailer gave them, they refused to pay him directly so just sent me the money.

After speaking to the sales director once the invoice was sent, I got the impression this has happened a few times with their network recently. Probably why it was all dealt with so quickly as they're not surprised and getting a bit miffed with it.

It's hardly surprising though, when I was waiting for my car last week, I just saw the valeters walking around the showroom just using the same rag on every car, including one that was waiting to be picked up. Half the time not even using any kind of product, just dry dirty towel on the paintwork. It's no wonder that new cars have such horrendous paint condition when they're collected, even with just delivery miles. But fortunately for the dealership, 99% of customers see a shiny car and assume it's mint
 
So annoying. So glad I've managed to get to a point now where in bit fussed about my car's.
I used to take so much pride in them and get prices at shows, but the stress is so much when you need to use the car daily.
Took a long time but now I just keep it somewhat clean and any scratches just touch them up myself.
 
Steedie said:
Well I got the money today for the invoice my detailer gave them, they refused to pay him directly so just sent me the money.

After speaking to the sales director once the invoice was sent, I got the impression this has happened a few times with their network recently. Probably why it was all dealt with so quickly as they're not surprised and getting a bit miffed with it.

It's hardly surprising though, when I was waiting for my car last week, I just saw the valeters walking around the showroom just using the same rag on every car, including one that was waiting to be picked up. Half the time not even using any kind of product, just dry dirty towel on the paintwork. It's no wonder that new cars have such horrendous paint condition when they're collected, even with just delivery miles. But fortunately for the dealership, 99% of customers see a shiny car and assume it's mint
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Well now we know, just knock up a nice shiny looking invoice and pocket the cash...:D
 
Good you got it sorted, social media is a royal pain in many respects but great for getting complaints dealt with quickly!


I have the opposite problem with my truck dealer, they phone up and moan if we haven’t washed a vehicle before it’s taken in for a service or inspection. :rolleyes: :D
 
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