Went into the dealer for an oil change today and requested NO CAR WASH. Service representative forgot to write it down and my NX went through the nasty automated car wash machine. Car came out with multiple scratches and swirls......I complained to the manager and service department and they apologized and accepted accountability. The manager decided to take care of the issue by asking a "detailer" to hand buff the scratches. The "detailer" used some sort of compound and vigorously rubbed the area with a dirty stained towel. Scratches are less visible but swirl marks are now present due to the rubbing and dirty towel. On top of that, after I got home decided to do another walk around of the car and discovered a tiny dent on passenger side door that was not there before the visit to the dealership. I have no words right now.....for any car enthusiasts who take pride in taking care and detailing their cars with proper technique and equipment this is beyond frustrating and upsetting. I called the service manager and he agreed to "do whatever he can" to repair the damage but now I'm worried they will just make it worst.

Spent $60k on a brand new luxury car to just have the dealership that I bought it from damage it. My advice to you all is never have your car washed at the dealership.....and if you request not to, make sure they properly document it and have it go through with the workers in the garage.

Will keep you guys updated on the situation.

 

Find a detailer you are comfortable with. Then ask the dealer to pick up the tab when you submit the receipt.

For the dent, allow them to do PDR.

 

Forget the detail... I would argue they owe you a complete body polish from a reputable body shop. That will run close to $500 usd, but will take all of the swirls out of the paint and make your clearcoat look like new. It does amaze me sometimes how detached from reality service departments of luxury brands can be. If you think Lexus is bad, I had a $70k (usd) BMW X5 and the service department treated owners like we were driving Chevy's. It was one of the reasons I got out of my BMW.... The ownership experience left much to be desired, and BMW's spend much more time at the service department then Lexus....

 

Just as what dchar has suggested, I would find a very good auto detailer to do some paint correction and demand the dealership to pay the bill. There is also a high chance that the self-healing layer of NX is already gone because of compounding (depends on the aggressiveness of the compound). The description of the maintenance of the self-healing paint is in the owner's manual.

For extra peace of mind, I would find a car detailer who can do car/glass coating so that there is less worry about swirls in the future.

 

How long have you had it? How many km on it?

Paint can never be repaired, once the factory clear coat is damaged...any amount of buffing and polishing is just removing more of the finish. It would need to go to a body shop and get new clear coat or even new paint but it will never be the same.

 

It is amazing that one car wash can cause visible swirls. It usually happens over time and many car washes.

The dealer car wash systems must be butt *** old, or poorly maintained. My guess the latter if they used dirty *** rags to try and correct the swirls.

The dealer has two issues, bad equipment and incompetency,

 

It's a 2016 model and I've only had for a year. Rarely drive because it is a leisure vehicle in the family and only has 10,000 km on it.

 

I place a hanging sign from rear view mirror. Sign is printed on both sides: NO CAR WASH PLEASE!

 

Mine came out with some scuffs on the hood after two dealer visits..I got mud flaps installed by the dealer and I could have done a better job. I don't think I'll come back ever again.

 

I had a very similar issue with my IS350. Contrary to normal practice, I let the dealer wash my car. When I got home to but some spray sealer on it, I saw a scratch that went all the way up my hood and across the roof. They were very good about accepting responsibility, gave me a brand new loaner, and took it to their detailer. After 4 trips back to inspect their work, I finally gave up and decided to finish it myself. When I started to work the next morning, I found a spot where they had burned the paint with the polisher. They ended up paying to have the fender sprayed (no blending). The repaint cost them over $800, and I still had to finish the roof. It did look perfect when done, though. I ended up giving the car back when the lease expired, because I was worried about all the clear coat the polished off. Stupid. That was my all time favorite car, and I would give a lot to have it back.

 

Man.. This is why I don't go to the dealer and have my own mechanic

 

wow, so sorry to hear that. It also depends on the dealer, my dealer washing system is actually pretty good, I double check with my advisor since i have a coating protection and so far haven't run into any problem. Hope everything get solved for you.

 

How many people actually have issues with their dealer washing their car after servicing? I'm bringing mine in for 6 months service and after reading the horror stories I'm hesitant to let the dealer wash it... but they're the same dealer that prepped my car when I bought it and it was fine...

 

Update: So I made a total of 2 more visits to the dealership after the incident. The first one was for a detailing/polishing job of the swirls created from the initial visit. The detailer did a good job as the swirls are barely noticeable now but the paint is obviously not in the same condition as it was before. As for the dent repair, I had to come in on another day since the dent repair specialists had to be scheduled from a third party company. The dent repair was a success since i wasn't able to notice it anymore afterwards. So in short i would say that I'm satisfied with the outcome and didn't have to pay a dollar. But this could've all been avoided if the service advisor didn't make her mistake.

Just a heads up to anyone who is getting their car serviced at the dealership.....if you really want a car wash, make sure you ask about a hand car wash because apparently my dealership also offers that type of car wash but only in the detailing department. The manager was able to make an exception with me and had my car hand washed. Make sure you ask about the type of equipment and technique the dealer uses to hand wash cars as well. Any regularly serviced cars will go through the automated car washes and WILL GET SCRATCHES AND SWIRLS. And if you own a black car....i would just not have it washed at the dealer period.

 

Dealers usually "properly" prep new cars to be delivered to their buyers. So they will actually take the time to properly wash the cars with the proper equipment and technique. However, if you're getting your car serviced that is a different story as they will just put it through an automated washer.