My Lexus dealer (Lexus of Naperville, IL) offers complimentary car washes to folks who purchased their cars there, and I've been taking my 2015 ES350 back to them for washes about once every ten days or so and rain water still "beads" like a champ after over two years now and the finish still looks great.

 

 

I've never had my car washed at the dealer. First, they create swirls due to inferior washing equipment and secondly, the car is never dried properly when presented to the customer. One time they washed the car anyway - after being told not to - and I got a ripped driver's seat. Cost: $1500.00 to the dealer...

 

 

Include me in the group that doesn't trust the dealer to wash my vehicles. At a minimum, you are likely to end up with polishing swirls in the paint, and, at worst, there is the possibility of more serious damage.

I know that many don't notice and aren't bothered by things like polishing swirls, but, for those who are, it isn't worth the risk that comes with letting the dealer wash the car. My choice would be, instead of having the dealer wash the car, to let is be dirty until I have the time to wash it myself.

 

I did not buy my ES from them, but I moved to the area, so they now do my oil changes. The first time I went in I forgot to ask them not to wash my car. They did and I ended up with a large (light) scratch across my hood. Probably something was trapped in the towel they used to dry it with. I have not forgotten to insist they do not wash it ever since. Even with that, they forgot after the last oil change. Luckily, I didn't see any issues. I'm going to guess you are not as meticulous about your vehicle as me. If you want, I would be happy to point out the defects in your paint, caused by the dealers washing techniques.

 

Hi ... I live in the Mojave desert .... every single trip I take to go to the market or post office I see cars that I call "burn-downs" ... which is to say, they are cars owned by people who do not wax ever. Their paint is burned off and their cars look terrible. It just blows me away that these people spent tons of $$$ coin to buy their car in the first place and then totally neglect them ..... like if I drive a single mile, I probably see about 5 to 10 burn-downs every time. Soooooo ... as for me ..... I have been waxing my cars for decades cuz out here it is a matter of car survival, if you know what i mean ; ) I have tried a lot of different brands over the years and recently made a new discovery ... one I am very surprised with ... Mother's synthetic wax. I am a "senior citizen " so at this stage of life I do not like to spend hours and hours waxing and detailing ... this product from Mother's has been great considering how super fast it is both getting it on the car, and back off again .... not to mention the shine .... it has been really, really good ..... just my 2 cents on this topic ...

food for thought : we probably would not go out in public wearing clothes that are dirty, faded, and full of holes and that smell bad ... so why would we want to go out in public and show-up driving a car that is not clean and detailed, you know? : ) I know this one guy who is a highly paid math scientist who spent about $35 grand on his ride and the guy never washes his car ever. I mean like ~ n e v e r ~ .. .. .. he looks like a total slob when he rolls up to his destination ... he hires me to detail his car only one time a year, and even then the only reason I even get a call from him, is cuz his wife has nagged him to clean the car to the point he is about to go crazy ... it takes me 2 hours just to wash it. It takes me 16 hours to get it truly clean and detailed. However, I can do a quick "wash - n - spray" ( liquid spray wax ) in 25 minutes to remain at a highly detailed state of condition ...... to me it is really worth it .. .. .. .. : )

 

I suspect that there are a lot more people than we would guess who, because of bad experiences, have learned to decline the dealer's car washes.

When I had my ES into the Lexus dealer for its 12 month service a couple of months ago, I noticed that, on the service advisor's desk, there was a stack of signs printed with large letters on 8 1/2 x 11 inch cardboard, and they said "no wash". When I declined the wash, the service advisor put one of those signs on the dash, where it could easily be seen through the windshield.

My decision not to let the dealer wash my cars was validated when I bought my ES and saw that it already had polishing swirls that were "pre-installed" during the vehicle preparation.

 

Don't think it would help either one of us. Think we are too much alike.

Still think you should try some Turtle Wax Paste! LOL! Only takes about 2 1/2 hours to wax the car, in addition to the sore shoulder and arms, and back, at the 57 years old I am. At least its a good work out.

 

Dealer gives you back the car washed =

Dirty Windows, A Million water spots all over the car, Tire Shine all over the place on the Alloy wheels, and up on the car paint underbody, in addition to the tires. 25 additional fine scratches in the paint finish, (especially Black car), all corners and crevices with brown dirt in them, door jams dirty that were not before. Fingerprints all inside and outside. Towel rag lint everywhere, inside and outside. And the list goes on.............

 

Amen my brother...

 

 

I must be in the lucky group. I have had my car washed at the dealer's with every service. With 7 cars over 15 years, I've never had a problem. I'm also confident that at this dealer if there were a problem they would make it right. Not all Lexus dealers are created equal.

 

They sure can mess up the finish... when I had my little fender bender a little over a year ago, I had my car out at my buddy's body shop and he called me and asked me who had been washing my car... in the proper light you could see hundreds of tiny scratches in the paint where the dealership guys had used long handle brushes to wash the car... really pissed me off.. fortunately the scratches weren't bad. Doug ( body shop guy ) had his detailer buff the entire car and got them all out... Thank goodness.

Roland

 

Sucks when you gotta spend 3 times or more the effort to fix the car wash the dealer did. My biggest annoyance is the tire shine that spins up on the car. Lets the dirt stick to it, and looks grease spots on the lower body, and over the metal wheels, making brake dust and road debris stick.

And I have never gotten the car back without it being water spotted up all over the place. I always tell the service advisor don't wash it. Thank you. I'm sure they are just trying to provide a service but most actually give you the car looking like crap, as soon as you see it especially in the Sun.