Went to Irvine Mini and Crevier Mini today in Orange County, CA. Was stunned to see how bad the paint was swirled at both lots on the 14 minis. Super easy to see on every car I looked at with exception of white cars. My guess is it is there on the white, but hard to see.

Is it possible that both dealers are using an ( the same? ) idiot to prep their cars, or is this an issue with how they are coming from the factory?

It was horrible on some of the cars. I asked the salesman at Crevier Mini and he said it was no big deal. I said the swirling was obvious and he said it was subjective... I should have taken a photo to post here so I could show it to you.

Paul

 

Do mean swirls from being buffed?

 

Looked like they were buffed with a dirty rough buffer. Sad.

 

I would imagine this is a dealer related issue as this is not the case for any of the F56's I have seen at the lots down here in Florida nor on my F56. May not be the same village idiot prepping the cars but maybe both dealers have bad practices in place.

 

Swirls and holograms only appear with improper polishing or power wax application with dirty pads or poorly washed paint in the first place. There's no excuse for it. I've seen exactly that, even a brand new 7 series BMW with holograms that looked to hover a good foot above the paint. If the sales people are that blasé about that issue I can only wonder what they care even less about. That does not leave a very high level of confidence in their show room and future service standards. IMO you are not out of line being shocked by their lack of interest in presenting their motors in the best possible way.
You can tell 'em I said that if you want .

 

It really does come down to the individual dealers/prep dept. Having worked at dealerships, I have seen some prep guys who really take pride in their work and others who really just couldn't be bothered to care. Knowing this I NEVER let any dealer wash my car, even if it is "complimentary". I will be rather upset, though, if the BRG I paid extra for comes to me already damaged.

 

Well this makes me nervous. I ordered my MCS at Irvine Mini. Can I ask the dealer ahead of time not to do any buffing?

 

It doesn't hurt to ask, but a thorough exterior wash is part of most pre delivery inspections

 

I was there today. Go visit yourself and look at the paint in the sun.

Ask them what happened.


Paul

 

Thanks, I think I'll stop by the dealer this week to voice my concerns.

 

Yep, I definitely will stop by. Thanks for posting about this.

 

I guess it's not the end of the world if the dealer damages the finish some. VicSkimmr had a similar experience and he managed to get his MINI looking great:

 

MINI's arrive on a truck with top side body panels covered in plastic...And not sure why they're buffing the paint since from factory there is no need to, being both counterproductive and a waste of time.

Could be they are not hand washing them instead running them through a mechanical car wash

 

Yeah I was just going to chime in that pretty much all dealers mishandle the paint on cars these days (in my experience), they can't be bothered to pay someone to properly detail cars when there are so many to get through. I've come to expect it on every new car.

It's nothing a little TLC can't take care of.

Edit: All I did was give it an extremely good wash (no need for clay barring I could see) and then one coat of Prima Swirl with a random orbital polisher. It looked good as new after that.

 

Our previous Jet Black 135i came from Crevier and had pretty good swirls when we bought to and any time I took it in for service. It's the automatic car wash they use. I finally just asked my SA to never wash it. It's certainly nothing a decent detail won't fix, but really annoying if you just fully detailed the car.

 

Mine was delivered completely swirled compliments of Mini of Valencia. I didnt trust them to re-polish the car, so i took it to a professional and had it done.

 

All those swirls damage a little of the clear coat. Right?

 

Yeah, a little. But it's no big deal, just poor practice. I clay and polish my cars at least twice a year, and even after twelve years of that, my old M Coupe's paint thickness was only down a few mils from new.

 

Paul, I think the same idiot with a high speed buffer and dirty buffer pad did mine. You'd think there would be some type of instruction on how to use a buffer to prevent ruining the finish. MINI of Nashville and the Audi and Porche dealers are all owned by the same company and they share a detail shop across the street. The swirls were so bad on the quarter panels, it had the holographic look. The hood was the worst. I almost didn't take delivery and considered asking for my check back and going home. I have a black car so swirls look worse. I got onto the MA and told him this was terrible. Also, the detail crew sprayed that slick juice all over the interior of the car, even on the HUD, all over the dash and controls. It got on my clothes from the seats. I could have bit nails.

 

Betcha a dollar to a donut they used armor all (notice I didn't capitalize out of no respect). All who read this thread take note of champ198's complaint and avoid armor all like the plague that it is! Ever see the ad on TV where the pit crew has to come out and scrub all the smutz off the driveway after the armor all'd car drives away?
Now, back to regular programming.

 

I hate it when dealership get careless with vehicle prep, detailing, washing, etc. No excuse for it! My dealership did a superior prep job (New Country MINI in Hartford). No swirls, no unnecessary "sprays", etc. Just a nice clean, pristine vehicle awaiting my pickup.

 

There's no way any dealership is paying someone to polish the cars. That would be a complete waste of money on a brand new car. The ghosting is most likely being caused by automatic car washes. Imagine how much **** there is on the cars when they come in, then imagine sending the car straight through an automatic wash. It will grind the dirt into the paint and cause that.

For anyone that doesn't have one, a random orbital polisher is a great investment if you care about your paint.

 

Car wash damage is a given. I'd never use one but the swirls on the BRG pictured are definitely caused by a misused circular buffing machine by someone with their head parked elsewhere, an object lesson for anyone needing educated in the art of detailing.

 

But why? It's not like the paint has any imperfections (well, shouldn't) when it comes into the dealership. Maybe they apply "wax"?

Edit: Actually I bet it's from when they apply that stupid snake oil "never have to wax again" product.

 

That stuff (opti-coat) is not snake oil. It's actually a 1-2mil thick coating over top of the existing clear coat. It's labor intensive to apply.

Most dealers detail shops install DISO at no charge (dealer installed swirl option).

Generally detail does this to help warrant a new car prep. Factory fresh cars may come with very minor scuffs, that's about it. But some shops go overboard and swirl the hell out of the paint..

(Worked at a dealer for many years.. I did pre delivery as well as new car check in (carrier inspection)) for a thine starting out..)