2005 Saturn Vue Redline (56k Instant Meltdown)

J

JayC

Member
My wife traded in her Honda CRV over the weekend for a new Saturn Vue Redline. As we were closed the deal, the conversation went somethig like this:



SM: Okay, do you want the paint protection plan?

Me: No

SM: Umm.. okay, are you sure because....

Me: No

SM: Okay, well, let me get them started on cleaning it up for you.

Me: I dont want it cleaned or prepped.

SM: You dont?

Me: Nope

SM: Do you at least want a tank of gas?

Me: Sure!



So, brought it home and I checked out the condition of the vehicle. It had been on the lot a long time (March inspection sticker) and had a lot of rail dust in the paint. Even my WRX had a lot of rail dust and they did clean it up.



So, my procedure, while pretty simple, was this:



Wash with Dawn (Foam gun wasnt working :( )

Prestone Wheel Cleaner (First time I used this.. jury is still out on it)

Clayed with Mother's clay bar

Buffed the hood with Mother's Reflections Polish

Wiped down the hood with alcohol to get rid of any polish residue

Zaino Z2 Pro W/ZFX x 2

Meguiars NXT Insane Tire Shine



And here are the results:



p1.jpg




p2.jpg




p3.jpg




p4.jpg




p5.jpg




p6.jpg
 
Nice looking Saturn, good luck with it.



Is Mother's Reflections the otc sealant? Anyway very nice job on the detail. I'm sure you got a killer deal with all these crazy GM discounts.
 
Looks great, nice job. I NEVER let the dealer "clean" my vehicles either. they dont know what the heck their doing!
 
They Mother's stuff I used was the Power Polish. Its just a mild polish.. some people had talked favorably about it here and I didnt really have a wide choice in polishes since I essentially gave away/threw away all of my detailing products when I decided to cut my arsenal WAY back. Basically what I used is about all I own now although I have some Optimum spray wax that I use as a WAUD type product.



It's hard to argue with what just works and although it's really fun to try different products, it's frustrating when you ruin trim, etc trying various products.. I'd rather stick to what I know works.
 
Mmm, beautiful looking Vue you have JayC. I'm still not sure why everyone thinks Dawn is a great soap to strip everything off. I remember someone posting that it's a big myth that's been perpetuated that Dawn is ok to use on automotive paint. Not for me thanks. The Mother's and Zaino did a great job on the paint.



You were smart not to let them clean it. I think that's what we'll do when my wife gets her new vehicle.



:xyxthumbs



Paul
 
Did you not opt for a new CR-V because of the available powerplant in the Vue? We just bought an '05 V, and I had considered the Vue but after some experience with Saturns I would rather have the Honda. Our Accord was great, and so far the V is great too. I only wish the Honda engine in the Vue was in the CR-V.
 
Ben Kenobi said:
Mmm, beautiful looking Vue you have JayC. I'm still not sure why everyone thinks Dawn is a great soap to strip everything off. I remember someone posting that it's a big myth that's been perpetuated that Dawn is ok to use on automotive paint. Not for me thanks. The Mother's and Zaino did a great job on the paint.



You were smart not to let them clean it. I think that's what we'll do when my wife gets her new vehicle.



:xyxthumbs



Paul
Click to expand...



I rarely use Dawn as I know it's really harsh. Usually I use Meguiar's Gold or NXT in my foam gun but I wanted to make sure I got rid of as many contaminents as I could so I opted for Dawn. It wont be making any future appearances on this vehicle tho :)
 
Tasty said:
Did you not opt for a new CR-V because of the available powerplant in the Vue? We just bought an '05 V, and I had considered the Vue but after some experience with Saturns I would rather have the Honda. Our Accord was great, and so far the V is great too. I only wish the Honda engine in the Vue was in the CR-V.
Click to expand...



Well, the Saturn choice was influenced by several factors.



1 - My wife didnt want another CRV. Our CRV has been 100% painless and has never visited the shop.



2 - We also had a Saturn L series that was the biggest piece of crap I have ever owned. 18 visits to the dealer in 9 months. This alone made me NOT want this car but its the spousal unit's car so it's her decision.



3 - Her brother is the service manager at this dealership. This was probably the biggest influencing factor.
 
I used to work at a car dealership and all I have to say is buy the car during the day. I say this because not only can you see it the car. But the pros work during the day. Also don't be in such a hurry give the detailer enought time to work on the car. Because people all in all it's not the detailers fault it's really the sales team and the owners not the detailers.
 
To a certain extent I agree but Ive seen a lot of the chemicals the dealerships use and I wouldnt go near any of it with my cars. Im very happy I chose to "prep" the car myself rather than have them do it.
 
Nice car, it looks great! :up How's that 250hp V6? Were you able to get that employee discount GM has going on right now?
 
Major coincidence, I detailed a VUE today. My customer bought a newer VUE and is selling a Saturn wagon, you guessed it shes a Saturn lady. Anyhow she actually bought the paint care for her car that shes selling, but is taking the VUE to me. Anyhow, something interesting is that I checked her wagon when I dropped her off, which had the paint care product on, and it had a slick surface after 7 months since last application. Anyhow, this is the first time I've seen her so I don't know the credibilty of everything she was saying but it appears that the paint care might be something for a lazy non detailer to look into. How much was the paint care program??
 
Beautiful!





I like those mini-suv's a lot. Many people make fun of me for it, but it truly has some nice lines. Sorta reminds me of Cadillac's new sharp lines.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Is that the standard vehicle? The front/rear treatments don't look familiar.
Click to expand...



No.. that is the Redline. Its a suspension/body molding/wheel upgrade over the regular Vue. It's about a $2000.00 upgrade. Has 18 inch wheels, a sport suspension.. handles really well for a big SUV. All that extra painted molding makes you cry them when youre applying wax by hand.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top