The stress Created by your car going in for service

JSFM35X

Active member
Last time you may remember the dealer washed my car. I had to re polish and remove the interior oil slick from the dash. Tool a while for the petroleum odor to dissipate.

I'm getting the car serviced again this Saturday.

Does anyone have a sign I can print. I have seen some good ones over the years but cannot put my finger on it.

thanks
 
Google has some funny ones, but yeah def a high stress situation doing to service.

I have white suede inserts. talk about a nightmare. Ive found a screw driver in the engine bay. Coolant cap off while I drove away. etc.

Just hope for the best!
 
You could do what I've done and just service it yourself. Dealers literally sabotaged my car multiple times... Now I only go to a family run mechanic who happens to be very well off (not in it for the money) and only for part installs I couldn't do myself or didn't feel safe doing (water pump, exhaust headers, starter, etc.).

Don't get me wrong I knew nothing about mechanics work at first (never even changed the oil) but after picking up a very detailed service manual for my make and model and asking questions on car specific forums, I was well on my way to doing it all myself. The first year I changed; the oil 3 times, the wheels, front bumper, both differentials fluid, transfer case fluid, and replaced the battery. This year I ripped out the entire interior down to the metal to install some soundproofing and run my subwoofer wires as well as my Air Fuel ratio gauge cables from the extra "bungs" in my custom exhaust headers. I've recently replaced all my interior lights to red LED's as well, all things I had no clue how to do just 2 years ago.

For proof of oil changes, I keep my receipts and send oil samples to Blackstone Laboratories (they even send you free containers to take oil samples). In 3-4 weeks they email or snail-mail you a detailed report containing details about your engine health as well as a full analysis of the oil and the metal content (also lets you know if you changed the oil to early or late). I also do this for my transmission, differential and transfer case fluids. I know this is a bit extreme but if I'm going to love the outside I also gotta love the inside.

Honestly, I feel like I should thank the dealerships for pushing me to do my own maintenance because I've learned so much invaluable information.

*Disclaimer mechanics work isn't for everyone and by no means is it easy, it's messy, hard, hands on work and you can get hurt or killed if you don't know what you're doing...
 
Dealer washed Stepehns car last week too. After he told them not to. They said they had to cuz they put finger prints all over it.
 
i use to work for a dealership. its rare to have a customer not want their vehicle washed but when one requested not to have it washed. i always put "DO NOT WASH" papers hung up on the window. make sure you emphasizes to your service consultant that you do NOT want it washed under any circumstance
 
I had my 89 F150 repainted by Ford when they had the failing paint recall. ( many years ago)
My good friend who was the painter at the Ford body shop told me to get my truck outta there NOW.
He had already ran the rotary to correct any imperfections so the paint looked awesome. He added a few extra layers of CC. My interior was still layered in dust.
From what he told me the woman assistant manager was known to sabotage when inspecting. She would pick at paint, try to scratch at anything she saw in the paint rather than just leave it . alone. I guess to make the guys redo stuff.
So the male manager made me sign paperwork to take it in the condition I did.
 
I wish I had the time, tools (lift) and most of all the ABILITY to do al this work myself. Plus, its a lease and I don't pay for anything other that oil and brake pads. My service writer is a good guy, he has DO NOT WASH IN THE NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS THEM IN YELLOW HIGHLIGHTER. I have gotten my signed re located and the car wash washed on occasion and the finish has gotten messed up.

I'm going got give a hanging tag this time instead of a dash mounted sign.



You could do what I've done and just service it yourself. Dealers literally sabotaged my car multiple times... Now I only go to a family run mechanic who happens to be very well off (not in it for the money) and only for part installs I couldn't do myself or didn't feel safe doing (water pump, exhaust headers, starter, etc.).

Don't get me wrong I knew nothing about mechanics work at first (never even changed the oil) but after picking up a very detailed service manual for my make and model and asking questions on car specific forums, I was well on my way to doing it all myself. The first year I changed; the oil 3 times, the wheels, front bumper, both differentials fluid, transfer case fluid, and replaced the battery. This year I ripped out the entire interior down to the metal to install some soundproofing and run my subwoofer wires as well as my Air Fuel ratio gauge cables from the extra "bungs" in my custom exhaust headers. I've recently replaced all my interior lights to red LED's as well, all things I had no clue how to do just 2 years ago.

For proof of oil changes, I keep my receipts and send oil samples to Blackstone Laboratories (they even send you free containers to take oil samples). In 3-4 weeks they email or snail-mail you a detailed report containing details about your engine health as well as a full analysis of the oil and the metal content (also lets you know if you changed the oil to early or late). I also do this for my transmission, differential and transfer case fluids. I know this is a bit extreme but if I'm going to love the outside I also gotta love the inside.

Honestly, I feel like I should thank the dealerships for pushing me to do my own maintenance because I've learned so much invaluable information.

*Disclaimer mechanics work isn't for everyone and by no means is it easy, it's messy, hard, hands on work and you can get hurt or killed if you don't know what you're doing...

i use to work for a dealership. its rare to have a customer not want their vehicle washed but when one requested not to have it washed. i always put "DO NOT WASH" papers hung up on the window. make sure you emphasizes to your service consultant that you do NOT want it washed under any circumstance

I loathe letting anybody else touch my car for anything.

I agree, I do 99% myself. I really do not want other people working on any of the vehicles, RV's, House.

Dave

Have your service advisor write DO NOT WASH on the RO before you sign it.

this. it will protect you from any argument by the service manager

I had my 89 F150 repainted by Ford when they had the failing paint recall. ( many years ago)
My good friend who was the painter at the Ford body shop told me to get my truck outta there NOW.
He had already ran the rotary to correct any imperfections so the paint looked awesome. He added a few extra layers of CC. My interior was still layered in dust.
From what he told me the woman assistant manager was known to sabotage when inspecting. She would pick at paint, try to scratch at anything she saw in the paint rather than just leave it . alone. I guess to make the guys redo stuff.
So the male manager made me sign paperwork to take it in the condition I did.
 
Lolz. What kind of dealers do ya'all go to????

Dunno about about where your at, but around here BMW dealer labor is like $170 an hour.

I only go once a year for PA inspection, but I never have had an issue. For that much, I expect professionals. I tell them "Don't Wash" and they listen.
 
I had my car in the body shop for some work and they washed it before they worked on it. I had just polished it a few months prior.
 
I guess you have been lucky. I'm at the dealer quite a bit more. I change oil at 4500 miles which is the spec for my Infiniti. I do that in 6-8 weeks. It's a lease so I comply. At 29 bucks it's not worth going to synthetic and since it's a lease I just need it to last 39 months.

Lolz. What kind of dealers do ya'all go to????

Dunno about about where your at, but around here BMW dealer labor is like $170 an hour.

I only go once a year for PA inspection, but I never have had an issue. For that much, I expect professionals. I tell them "Don't Wash" and they listen.
 
Heh heh, it's threads like this one that remind me to appreciate the dealers and bodyshops I do business with; they listened when I had "the talk" with them. The shops that didn't listen lost my business long ago.
 
Car is back in my possession and thanks to the Shine Shop, Its Safe and Sound-Thanks Lana! (and Mike)

Heh heh, it's threads like this one that remind me to appreciate the dealers and bodyshops I do business with; they listened when I had "the talk" with them. The shops that didn't listen lost my business long ago.
 
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