Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Hmm. Both dealers I use have in-house professional detailers.
We had lot boys they called "detailers," they worked in the prep department. Dirty wash mitts, and brushes were the norm, and towels to dry the cars, no thanks. Maybe where you are it's different. They guys who worked were I did had no business detailing cars. That was the case with the five different dealerships I worked at. To me all professional in house detailers means is that someone is getting paid to detail cars, in house. It didn't speak to the quality of their work, the word professional in those places was meaningless.
Exactly my experience. Once after a so called "detailing" my car had huge sweaty hand prints on a near white headliner! I am sure there are some good guys out there but around here that word means little...
There are plenty of good detailers. Odds are they aren't working at a local dealership, they're in their own business, with clients willing to pay for quality work. They probably aren't working for dealers as subcontractors either because dealers are notoriously cheap and won't pay up for good work. There might be exceptions, I haven't seen one.
In both cases, (BMW/VW and Porsche) a local detail shop ended up partnering with the dealership. The detail company gets a constant stream of business and a good location, the dealership gets a quality product and can deal with issues on-site. At both dealers the detailers are paid well. New cars for the lot paid ~$100, used cars for the lot were $2-300. Customer cars ended up being anywhere from $1-500 depending on the car and it's condition. They do great work.
The free "service wash" though... *shudders* Just a machine wash and "hand dry." No thank you.