To start things off brief and frank, the answer is NO.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, here are some reasons as to why you should either tackle this yourself, or hire a professional detailer to take care of the maintenance for you (see: How to Choose a Professional Detailer ).
The first reason is cost. Dealerships often charge a lot more to do a “detail” on a car than most reputable professional detailers would charge for the same service–simply because they can get away with it. Many aren’t aware of the exact type of service they are getting. I have personally see a dealership charge $500 for a wash, glaze, wax and interior vacuum. On the other end of the spectrum is the “free” wash the dealer offers…those are even worse!
The next reason is damage. I worked as a dealership porter for about 4 months while I was in high school. The buckets we would use were full of mud in the bottom, only rinsed once a month, and had enough dirt accumulation to make the water mostly brown, all of the time. Now, your miles may vary, but it is safe to say that most, if not all dealerships do not know how to wash a car properly. With the 2×4 bucket method ( The Grit Guard 2×4 Wash method ) you are safely keeping the contaminants at the bottom of the buckets, and away from the paint…something dealerships do not do. So with all the dirt and mud, and rocks (yes, ROCKS) at the bottom of the buckets, you can only imagine the kind of damage brought on by dragging the dirt across the paint such as severe swirling and scratching.
Finally, lets touch on cost a little bit more. There are two basic ways to get around going to a dealership for a car wash (or just as worse, those “Hand wash” centers on the corner of the streets where 5 people tackle one car). As I had outlined in the beginning, you could either do it yourself, or hire a professional, reputable detailer to take care of the maintenance for you. There are several options offered for tackling the car yourself offered by Detailed Image. I’m personally partial to their Advanced Washing and Drying Kit as it’s under $100, and gives you the most options for a safe easy wash. Not only does this kit last you more than one time, as opposed to having a dealership do it, but it allows you to gain the satisfaction of doing it yourself, within a reasonable budget.
The other option is having a professional, reputable detailer do the maintenance and any other detailing related work for you. The pros to this option is you don’t have to buy any products yourself, or store them. You don’t need any knowledge of how to care for a car, and you let them do it at your convenience, and in your garage (in some cases). This will cost more in the long run than doing the job yourself, but will pay dividends to the life, and look of the paint for many years to come.
Thanks for reading, and I encourage you to express any comments or concerns about where to take your car for safe and effective maintenance details. Please submit your reply in the comment box below.