‘My car is brand new.’  As detailing professionals we have heard this fairy tail many times.  Whether the consumer cares about much of the damage that is already done to that allegedly new car is a different story.  But I would like to share my experiences traveling across the state of Florida, visiting dealerships.  I was not surprised by the poor condition of the vehicles, even display models.  But what was noteworthy was the care of the vehicles has gotten worse over the past decade.

Here are some pictures of cars that were mostly 2026 to 2024 models.

You might consider taking the dealership on its offer to detail the vehicle for you.  ‘Oh I can get it done at the dealership and they can condense the 16 hours of work with a superior product to 10 minutes with minimum wage employees who likely know nothing about detailing.  Below is just basic wash prep leaving a car the is damaged from wheel acid, aside from the obvious swirls seen by the sunlight rays.

This is not the only incident I have heard of, similar to above.  Near identical looking damage on the lower panel areas where there was apparent staining from wheel acid.  Cheap washes from detailers can cause these problems just as easily.

Recently there have been more unfortunate stories about consumers choosing the wrong detailer.  It often started with minimum research, and a promise to do more for much less than the other detailer.  Aside from the poor looking work, there was damaged done and film or ceramic coating that needs to be replaced.  Customer comes back to pay hundreds of dollars more than the originally (too high) quote for a worse result than originally promised without a guarantee a reputable detailer can fix the damage done by the other detailer who mentioned a price the customer wanted to hear.  I learned a very long time ago the importance of not letting anyone touch your car.  Be careful and educate yourself.