Am I right to complain!!

[Paul.B]

I collected our 2009 E61 520d from the local main dealer earlier. The car had been in for some warranty work for some small items that had come to light after we took delivery of the car. We bought it about 4-5 weeks ago as a BMW AUC.

Anyhow, apart from the fact half the jobs were not completed one of the main items on the list was a FULL VALET as the car has a smoking odour. The service guy appologized that the valet had not been done but they had carried out a "Service Wash". I then pointed out there were still squashed flies over the headlights and windscreen. He then says that a "Service Wash" consisted of the car being put through a car wash!!!

Now I am bloody furious. I NEVER put my cars through a car wash only to be told that this is normal for them to do so.

Would you accept this or am I being a bit silly (a dhead) by complaining?

Edited by Paul.B on Tuesday 28th June 22:07

[CommanderJameson]

People who would get annoyed by a car going through a car wash are, I'm afraid, by far the minority.

Although I'd be annoyed if it'd had gone through a car wash that seemed to be a bit st, and didn't remove dead bugs etc.

[mbtech01]

i'm not a big fan of automatic car wash's. I had my Z4 in the dealer a couple of weeks for some warranty work & when collecting it i noticed it was covered in water streak marks. I always keep my car in a spotlessly clean condition & was not impressed especially as my car was dirtier on collection than when i took it in 1st thing in the morning.
Going back to your original question 'am i right to complain' i would say definately yes - if you asked for a full valet when you booked the vehicle in - normally you have to sign the job card which authorises them to carry out the work requested on the job card. If the valet was on the job card then they have not done there job correctly & fullfilled there obligations !

[Bezerk]

Seeing as the car is 2 years old (probably seen countless car wash machines)
and you were happy for the dealer to valet it, hence have not done any paint correction after delivery of the car, I don't see what your issue is.

To be honest it's probably safer going through their machine than having a 'valeter' vandalize it with a dirty sponge.

If you get the paintwork corrected and protected, simply instruct the dealer not to wash the car next time.
If they still wash the car and remove any wax etc. after you have instructed them not to, including a warning sign on the dashboard.. then you should complain.

[MarkwG]

I reckon you've a right to complain: it's your property & you've a right to expect it to be treated with respect. The least I'd epect is for them to ask first, so giving you the option to say no. If the paintwork is damaged then you should ask for them to fix it.

[Paul.B]

Hhhmmm! A split vote?

Firstly, yes the car is two years old but it never had a single mark on it. I am a fussy bleeder when it comes to things like this.

My problem with it going through a car wash is, how many car washes does it take for damage to start showing?
You put a car through one once and there is no obvious damage (swirly marks, dulling of the paint work.) So once is ok? What if you put the car through once a week over say two years. I know from experience that the signs of damage will show through long before 100 washes have been submitted. I have fallen foul of these dreaded things before.

So, if BMW see it as OK to submit a car through a car wash, will they see fit to honour a warrantee claim in two years time (100 washes) when the paint is knackered? I doubt it.

And why is it explained that a car wash is used only when pressed on the matter? I would have assumed, wrongly as it turns out, that a main dealer would have employed car washers.

[sjj84]

To be honest, I think I'd rather it go through a car wash than be done by one of their 'valeters'. I tell them not to wash mine when it's been in, twice I've forgotten on two different cars and both times they came back covered in swirls and dirty water marks. One of these occassions I'd washed it the day before and it was spotless, I asked the question 'do they not look at the car first and decided if it needs doing or not?', it appears not, they just throw a bucket of water over no matter what. When my dad's car was in for service, which he never bothers to wash for months on end, they put tyre slick on the front tyres but not the back. Clearly take no pride in the work they do.