My car is being built on the 6th of jan and coming to the dealers on the 27th but because i am going away for a couple of months i will not be collceting the car till the 3rd of april. I have been told that the car will be parked in the locked compound and on collection my car's exerior will be washed and machine polished by their car valeters who they sub-contract the work to. I was also told the interior is hardly touched as it is all clean and protected with plastic coverings.

Do any forum members have any good/bad experiences when collecting their cars. Should i leave it to the dealer to prep the car or shall i take it to a seperate valeter to clean the car properly as the colour is santorini black and I am worried if the car is not prepped properly i risk getting swirl marks on the paintwork which i want to avoid.

Before you even think about polishing it you need to discuss with the dealership about getting it registered before 31st March so you don't get hit with the new "Rich Bast*rd" Tax on cars over £40,000. You get a huge "First Registration " fee followed by £315pa for the first 5 years + VED of £140pa for RRS. The new taxation scheme starts on 1st April 2017. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Many thanks Tim In Scotland.

Luckily i read about this on this actual forum a few months ago when a member mentioned it (could of been yourself) and because of that i have asked them to register it a few days before to take advantage of this very unfair tax !

Another reason why this forum is so important as its already saved me over a £1000

Get the car detailed,don't let the dealers valeters near it.ive just taken delivery of a new VW Amarok pickup & I told the dealer NOT to touch paintwork & they didn't,it came off transporter then delivered to me.



Andy. Andy.
21 Ford Ranger
Gone but not forgotten
Focus RS Red Edition
2015 RRS AB Fuji.
2014 RRS SC Santorini
2016 VW Amarok
2014 RRS AB Fuji
2012 RRS Red Edition Fuji
2015 Nissan Navara
2012 RRS SE Santorini
2008 RRS White
2007 RRS Santorino

I suspect Dealer car prep varies much like dealers.

I could not fault mine on collection, not a swirl mark to be seen, yet others talk of horrors. MY2016 HSE D SDV6 - gone due to fuel dilution problems.

By the age of 50 you have the face you deserve - George Orwell.

Don't let anyone touch it other than those you trust. If you don't have anyone in particular, then you probably don't care that much so should be fine. 

I had a chat with the new car prep team at my Dealer, and was satisfied that their work came up to detailer standards. They totally understood where I was coming from which was a very reassuring thing.

I also took a long hard look at cars they had prepped. Which were good.

So a little investigation might help you decide. MY2016 HSE D SDV6 - gone due to fuel dilution problems.

By the age of 50 you have the face you deserve - George Orwell.

LR paint is shocking on the whole. It is very soft, coupled with the shiney black plastic panels around the windows, the bodywork can be ruined in minutes.

I never let the dealer touch mine, it had it's plastic removed and I collected a dirty car and drove straight to get mine detailed. This saved my valeter time not having to undo what could possibly have been caused by dealers using brooms and drying blades on the surface.

So just collect  Gone:
2016.5MY RRS HSE Dyn
2015MY Disco Sport HSE
2011MY FL2 HSE
2010MY RRS HSE
2008MY D3 HSE

As echoed from others, unless the dealer hire's in an independent to come in, prep and protect your car, then avoid like the plague. A quick google will soon find companies in your area, failing that, have a look at www.detailingworld.co.uk and have a look on there for companies in your area. Many companies on there often post up pictures and huge write ups of work they've carried out on new and old vehicles. You can see the expertise and precision that is involved and exactly why to avoid the dealer offer.

My god you lot are making a huge fuss about this. First drive down any street on a wet day in the UK and you will undo all the money you have spent getting it polished as you will still end up with a zillion micro scratches from road grit. This is an off-road car meant to be dirty, not a pampered toy. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Plus don't forget to swerve around puddles and avoid patches of mud!
I'm also a bit lost at this new car detailing.
Polishing cuts back the paint, making it only possible to polish a car number of times before you burn through the laquer.
Why waste one of these times when its new. Go out there, use it, get some damage before you go removing laquer.

I was told by a paintwork specialist years ago that the worst thing you can do to a new car is to polish it, it shouldn't be "detailed" for at least a year and preferably for 18-24 months to allow lacquers, clear coats and polishes applied at the factory/ dealers to really harden as many of the specialist coating used will strip off protection. Also leaving "snow foam" type detergents on new paint can do huge damage. I know a nice shiney car where water droplets bead off is lovely to look at but I would rather let the makers paints and polishes cure a bit longer before using painter strippers to remove the top layer of lacquer. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW