Detailing World Forum banner

BMW ruined my day

5K views 16 replies 14 participants last post by  James_R 
#1 · (Edited)
Long story short, I bought a 62 plate 320 a couple months back in decent condition apart from a few light scratches, nothing out of the ordinary.

Obviously this is my pride and joy so I started reading up on detailing, I didn't want to make the same mistakes as I had with my previous car (bucket, sponge and no pre wash/wax etc etc).

I researched, a lot. And got my cleaning process down to a T.

Pre wash with no contact.
Lamb's wool mitt with 2 bucket technique.
Work from top to bottom.
Dry with micro fibre.
Clay
Some hand polishing where necessary.
Wax.

I then purchased a Das6 Pro Plus, which incidentally arrived today, ready to tackle some of the more stubborn clear coat scratches when spring arrives.

I was happy with everything...

However, one of the refurbed wheels had started to bubble, rust from previous paint that had been sprayed over was creeping in, nothing serious but thought I will get this done whilst I have the 1 year warranty.

Now its been dark, cold and gritty on the roads, so my car with filthy and I felt anxious about taking it into the hands of other people in this state, but I had no choice other than trying to wash it in the dark below zero - which I didn't do.

I drop the car off this morning, I specifically tell them "Do not park this in the customer bay when you are done with it, I don't want any door dings". To which they happily obliged.

Few hours later I get the call, "Your wheel has been corrected". So I race down to pick the car up, when I get there I'm told "they are just finishing cleaning it now". I feel unprepared for that statement and quietly go to the waiting area, then receive my keys and drive home because its dark and I don't want to be seen wandering around the forecourt with a light on.

When I get home I get the torch out and start inspecting.

All I can see is spider webbing, its everywhere, every inch. I have never seen spider webbing on this car before as it has been machine compounded as part of the approved purchase, and then lovingly cleaned by my own hands, which usually takes the whole day.

I'm in shock, the webbing is on every panel and is in perfect circular motions, some which transition into light clear coat scratches.

I ring them, and say "Have you put my car through an auto car wash?" I'm told no, they hand wash on site, why am I asking? I mention the spider webbing and swirls and I'm told they will machine buff them next time I'm in if its a problem.

Now, I have to take the car back in 2 weeks to have the lock sorted, again under warranty. But I really don't know what to do or say at this point. Do I abort ever going back, do I take this no further and hope that the Das will correct the webbing after winter passes or do I take it back and tell them to sort it, will they think I'm trying it on, after all I have no proof other than my own word.

Secondly, can spider webbing be caused by a hand wash, just one poor one to this extent or are they lying and it actually went through a machine wash?

Thirdly, what do they think they are doing taking it upon themselves to clean my car without my permission, I took it there to get the alloy sorted, not for a low end wash, is this supposed to make me smile?

From now on I will never take my car to a garage, dealership or not, dirty and if it is a dealership I will specifically tell them not to 'attempt' to wash my car.

Any answers to my various questions appreciated, sorry for ranting.
 
See less See more
#2 · (Edited)
Are you positive that the torch isn't showing up swirls you didn't see in normal light?

A 4 year old car owned by an average car user is going to have plenty of swirls. A dealer isn't likely at all to remove these during preparation.

If you washed it the night before, in the dark when it was gritty, are you sure it wasn't you?

Why would they wash it again if it was clean? BMW always ask if you want it washed and vacuumed and mark it on the job sheet. They've always managed not to wash my car.
 
#6 ·
Are you positive that the torch isn't showing up swirls you didn't see in normal light?

A 4 year old car owned by an average car user is going to have plenty of swirls. A dealer isn't likely at all to remove these during preparation.

If you washed it the night before, in the dark when it was gritty, are you sure it wasn't you?

Why would they wash it again if it was clean? BMW always ask if you want it washed and vacuumed and mark it on the job sheet. They've always managed not to wash my car.
He didn't wash it as it was too cold the night before!

I believe you can get a sign to hang from your rear view mirror requesting they don't wash your car......can only be worth a try for any future visits.
 
#4 ·
If you are confident you can correct it yourself, I would cut your loses with the dealership and go ahead, if how ever you not that experienced then take it to a pro and get them to inspect it thoroughly and give you a written quote to remedy it. Then perhaps take that to the dealership and see if any thing is offered as a good will gesture.
If the modern BMW has anything like typical German paint on Audi's it will be hard as nails and quite often suffer from orange peel, and I'm guessing your das pro plus may possibly not have enough bite to fully correct the swirls and rds's.
 
#11 ·
I'm with you here in the fact that a das6 won't have enough bite to correct it, many car/paint types can be corrected using them and they take a bit longer but in my experience BMW paint is solid. Would need some very good microfibres pads and appropriate cutting compound but I personally think it's a job for either a rotary or forced rotation e.g. Flex vrg.

To properly correct a three series on a drive way with a das it would take at least five days.
 
#5 ·
Sorry - I didn't wash it the night before:

"
Now its been dark, cold and gritty on the roads, so my car with filthy and I felt anxious about taking it into the hands of other people in this state but I had no choice other than trying to wash it in the dark below zero."

It was meant to read "I felt anxious about taking into the hands of other people in this state but I had no choice. Other than trying to wash it in the dark below zero - Which I didn't do!"
 
#8 ·
I personally would not let them attempt to correct the paint defects. A detailer would have the knowledge,tools, skills and time to remove as little as possible clear coat to achieve a satisfactory finish. A dealership or body shop valet bay would not be allowed the time required For a start.
My money would be on you yourself doing a far better job of paint correction:buffer:
Not all dealership valets are bad, rrg Peugeot in Oldham do a cracking job on my little 208:thumb:
 
#9 ·
Don't bother mentioning it to them just next time you go back ensure you say to the service team that your car must not be washed at all. If you have a Das pro plus then it will be enough to get rid of your swirls and light straches as long you have the right pads and polish to remove them. Good luck.
 
#12 ·
The OP said they machine polished the car as part of the purchase. Personally I wouldnt have them touch it again, a second most propable wool on rotary compounding probably wont leave you much paint left so I would do it yourself.

He has a pro plus with the extra throw so I'm sure he will be fine. I have corrected plenty of BMWs with just the standard pro version without to much hassle. SMAT polishers and extra pressure seems to work well on hard paint finishes.
 
#15 ·
Das 6 orange pad speed
Bottle id koch chemie lach blue.
Few hours later job done.
In answer to your question YES hand washing can cause swirls. Why???? Cos people go round like a ****ing windmill.
Hence over my years on here I have banged on about ONLY going with the grain of the car IE along the length. Due to the light refractions not being picked up by the baked eye on a straight line whereas on a swirl it has 360 degrees to reflect.
But hey I'm 7/8 dead what do I know.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top