OCD NEWCASTLE AVOID

[Kevwkevw]

So a couple of weeks ago I decided to get my van detailed, 3 year ceramic coating including full prep paint correction, machine polish etc at a cost of £600

I decided to use this company as I seen 2 cars they coated where I work, however this was a brand new defender and a year old e class with only 1000 mile on.

To cut a long story short they have done a absolutely shocking job.

They have wet sanded a few areas too deep one so bad he had to even get the rear door painted. There is scratches and swirl all over the who van.

I was given no warranty paperwork no wash instructions and now he is ignoring my calls only replying to text messages.

My Mrs collected the van in the dark with no natural light, 2 weeks later he took the van back to correct some mistakes that he said was already there but was doing it out of goodwill, this was absolute bollicks.

After collecting the van again it’s no better, infact probably worse, he won’t communicate and insists I just send a letter of complaint.

I’ve had the van to 3 other detailing companies and everyone can’t actually believe the work carried out. One company has wrote a letter of what is wrong with the work he has done and insists if it goes to court he will be by my side.

None of these companies were after my work, and each company quoted between 900-1100 to correct this work.

I’m trying to be calm and professional about this, been a bloke and basically having my pants pulled down I’m finding it hard.

Il post some pictures in the morning.

 

[JOG]

Jeez wept! Sounds terrible

 

[Loz]

I think I would be going down the small claims court route.
Keep contemporaneous notes together with the statements of the other detailers and file a claim, with an attitude like that, he most likely won't turn up to defend it.

 

[JOG]

I reckon he’d just fold the company and restart. I don’t think he has filed a return yet

 

[Kevwkevw]

I think he will close too, his Facebook business page disappeared instantly and his replies in messages went from been a arse to talking very professional and educated which definitely is not him talking. He has a premises and 2 vans and it’s a canny setup, I give him the chance for me to take my van to any company of his choice to have the work inspected and he declined, I give him the chance to refund my initial payment of the £600 within 7 days or I will be taking him to court for the £600 plus damages. Im keeping calm and letting my Mrs sort this for now.

 

[Tourershine]

In my experience, there are a lot of companies popping up claiming to be 'detailers' because they assume it's easy money, when in reality it's not. Most semi-skilled people can clean a vehicle to a good standard, and some can even apply a product to protect the vehicle, but paint correction is a different level that involves hours and often days of labour Intensive work to get perfect, especially if the vehicle is a darker colour. Machine polishers in the wrong hands will introduce more work than the original problems, and people will find skilled detailers are either reluctant to take on work rectifying this poor work, or charge more money then they'd of charged in the first place to do the job properly.
We work solely on Caravan and Motorhome surfaces and have for over 15 years, and I point blank refuse to take on a job that's been attempted by another company and failed, but that's because our paint tolerances are far less than car paints, and we've learnt the hard way that fixing someones else's poor work, can bite you in the ass.
Sadly, some of these jobs asked us to quote the first time, but went with cheaper companies, then approached us to rectify their mistake.

Personally I'd never get involved with the car industry and many of the guys I know who are excellent detailers, have moved away from this work because they cannot compete with Joe Blogs and his Halfords machine polisher and his daft prices, knowing that many people will opt for the cheaper quote.

A van full paint correction, with a quality Ceramic coating as a finish should of really cost double if not triple what you were priced, and should of taken several days, but that's not your fault if you weren't aware. To put into perspective, a new vehicle prep and Ceramic coating with a good back up, should cost around what you paid for the whole job, depending on the vehicle. The better companies will have long lead times, good websites, a vast portfolio, dozens of testimonials and a good checkable Google history.

At the end of the day, you are entrusting your whole vehicles paintwork to someone and you need to know these people have some kind of idea what they are doing. A poor quality machine job will look far worse than a generally swirled up older painted surface because the buffer trails are so obvious in different lighting.

I always encourage my customers that enquire, to not book if they are unsure, and Google us. 99% of the time, they call back and book.

Again, none of this is your fault, but we see these kind of situations on a weekly basis, and as a professional who's reputation is of higher priority than the money we make, I'd of just given you a refund and closed the door on the situation to prevent any further stress or potential dents against my reputation on the internet. Then again, I've been doing this too many years, and know that some battles are not worth the stress they can cause you 24/7 and thankfully we've not had any of these issues for years now.

I wish you luck getting any kind of recourse, but don't pile too much time and effort into this battle if you can write it off to experience is all I can say.

 

[Kevwkevw]

 

[Kevwkevw]

I could probably post 50 photos and I’ve honestly not picked the worst just a few chosen at random

I was getting prices from £350 to £900 so thought the £600 was fair also I did see previous work which I was impressed with.

Unfortunately it’s not something I can just write off £600 might not sound like a lot but it’s going to stand £1600 by the time it’s up to standard and I’ve already not had use of my van for 2 weeks then it will be away another week or 2.

 

[JOG]

I suspect the company will be flyby might cowboys….the ability to recover money may be slim

 

[Paynewright]

That last photo looks like two chips have been painted in and the blobs flatted back.


I like to think that I am a reasonable amateur detailer but am coming to the conclusion that it involves too much mental angst to keep things as perfect as possible! We have 4 vehicles currently!

I’ve decided on a careful wash regime - snow, pressure wash then two bucket method. Then just use the Autoglym range of products. I probably clay and machine polish (DAS6) once a year / 18 months now and I’m comfortable with that.