I picked up my black 525i the other day but the dealer stated they didn't have enough time to detail it before handing it off to me. They stated that I should come back later this week to drop it off to get properly detailed. My question is: Should I let them? I'm sure details vary from dealer to dealer, but should I just prep the car myself or let them handle it? Will they do more good than damage?

 

Congrats on your purchase, what opts you get? also I would let them handle it, but tell me where you bought your car, and i will tell you, (only if its in california.)

 

thanks, I ended up getting navi/premium/xenon/steptronic

I bought my vehicle at Fremont BMW.

 

is it super dirty when they gave it to you? I recommend the dealer detailing, but if your worried about it, i would just buy car care products and just do it myself. i bought well over one hundred dollars worth of car care products, i might add the mr. clean system is great, and also the packages they sell at costco are spectacular with every accessory, buy in bulk and save

 

welcome to the forum and enjoy your car

 

If you wan't to have proper control over the condition of your paint work, then no!

I never let the dealer detail my car - I rather do it all myself. More work, but at least I know it gets done properly.

The problem is the people cleaning your car will never take the same degree of care with your car. Also, the products they use (microfibres, sponges etc.) are being used on hundreds of other cars too. Hence the probability of your paintwork ending up with swirl marks or scratches is high.

 

I totally agree with BMW#5! I'd rather spend the time doing it myself, knowing that my towels are clean, and I'm taking the care and caution needed to protect my paint....as opposed to a detail guy that has several cars to get done. I'm sure there are lots of dealers with great detailers....but I wouldn't want to take the chance. I have Ti-Gray, and as a somewhat dark color, it shows swirls and scratches easily, so I have to be very careful when I wash/polish/wax. It's an individual thing, and if you don't like spending the time to do it yourself, then find a good detailer!! Whichever way you go......the cars always look better when they are clean

 

I let the dealer take the vac to the carpets and clean the wheels, that's about it.

 

Congrats! Do it yourself or take it to a professional detail shop and spend the extra few hundred bucks to have a solid coat thrown on there for the first 3-4 months of the cars life. It's well worth it, especially for peace of mind, should any bird droppings, hard water stains or sap get on the car, early on. That's why I use REJEX.

 

Oh, and a great detail shop in San Francisco is called California Auto Detailer. I believe they are on Hayes Street. The owner did my E39 when I lived in SF. I was at the Resort at Squaw Creek in Tahoe one weekend, after just getting the car from LA. The valet parked the car off the road entrance to the resort one night, next to the sprinkler systems, due to overflow. Because it was Tahoe, they use well water which has all the minerals of hard water. The next day it was 90 degrees and when I called for my car and it came around, I almost crapped my pants. It had giant white spots all over it (Jet Black car). I tried washing the car when I was up there, but the spots wouldn't budge. I almost died. I ended up sueing the resort and had them pay for all damages. This guy promised to get the stains out, but said that pock marks were likely, although not visible to the naked eye. He was right, so I ended up getting the car detailed for free and 4 free nights in the Presidential Penthouse Suite at the resort for any time in the next year. Oh what a party that was! Haha! Anyway, he did an amazing job. He uses his own ingredient, which is similar to the wax they use on Gulf Stream Jets. He does a wet polish job and the car looked like new when he was done. It's no joke stuff. He also uses this insane wheel cleaner and gets the back of the wheel and the front, but he wouldn't sell his customers this stuff. He said it's way too toxic and dangerous...a total liability on his part. Anyway, good luck and congrats!

PS - I think they charged me (actually the resort), $350 for an exterior detail. Pricey, but well worth it.