My car never needs to be waxed...

[FitSport]

So I heard a new one today that nearly floored me. I was not prepared for this at all.



A potential client calls me up and says she has 2 cars she wants me to detail regularly for her. An X5 and an XK8.



So far so good, I ask her if she needs a full paint correction first to get things rolling. She says no.



No problem so far.



"So all you need is a wash and a wax, then bi weekly washes?" She says "No, my cars never need to be waxed, I bought this package at the dealership and they told me I never have to wax my car again"



Man, I didnt know what to say to that. I really didnt.



So anyone ever hear of this new "package" that dealerships are selling to poor unsuspecting consumers?



Jim

Let's get back on topic, shall we? I forgot to mention this last night. I don't know how long or how detailed your discussion was with her about your explanation that she was getting scammed. In a business point-of-view, I would have simply listened to her and just quoted her for whatever she wanted. I think brushing her off like that simply because she's uneducated about cars is simply asking for a bad rep. If I was that poor woman, and you & I had a long debate about me getting scammed by the dealership(again I don't know how far you got into it), I'd start to think that you're scamming me instead. I'm surprised she didn't abruptly hung up on you after that. After all, if I'm the common car care ignoramus common sense would have me listening to the dealership over you.



I don't mean any offense by this post, but I just think you handled that a little poorly...well judging by your posts it seemed like that. You'll have to correct me if that's the case. I think it would have been better if you had just quoted her for a wash & dry and maybe explained things when you meet her in person rather than explaining it over the phone.

 

[Scottwax]

I know At Lindsay Acura where my brother bought his new TL. They put some kind of coating and said that he'll never need to wax his car.



I think he has owned the car for a year or almost, and it still beads just like my CG's M-Seal. :furious:

New paint will bead a good year on its own even without waxing.



What dealers are selling is paint insurance, not a miracle sealant. Modern clearcoats do not fade like single stage finishes and since the average person trades in their car in 3-4 years, odds are even without any care beyond washing it will still look decent to the average person. If they were to park next to the same car, same color, same age that has been regularly polished and waxed, they would see how their finish has degraded but honestly, there really aren't a lot of us who maintain our paint at Autopian level. They just don't have anything better to compare their car to so they can see the difference.



I have made it a point to educate my customers so they know to not let the dealer touch their cars when it comes to the paint. Even if there was a 5 year sealant that would protect against all elements and resist swirls and scratching, 95% of the dealerships would not be able to apply it without putting swirls into the finish. I don't remember anyone calling me for a detail and telling me I didn't need to wax the car because of some dealer sealant package. When I get called, it is because people realize their car needs attention. I did once detail a Corvette for a guy, and the salesman told him because his car had a clearcoat, it never needed to be waxed. Fast forward 5 years and the owner realized his car just didn't look all that good and gave me a call. After I polished and waxed it, he was floored! He knew the car didn't look right before I touched it but now he realized just how bad it had gotten over the years. He said he was going down to the dealer to see if that "idiot" salesman was still there so he could give him a piece of his mind!