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10 comments on What Exactly Should I Do With My New Car?

  1. john m says:

    great information Ivan, Wife just purchased a 2014 Nissan Altima s and it looks pretty decent from the dealership so far but haven’t really had the time to thoroughly inspect it.

  2. Well said Ivan.

    Though, dealerships don’t put anymore time into proper shipping film/tape removal than they do into their “service washes” and “details”. When adhesive gets left behind, they will destroy the clear to get it off. When possible, I advise clients to tell the dealership to leave the shipping film on as well. That has resulted in quite a few clients saving some major coin on paint correction.

    I know you weren’t necessarily suggesting that dealerships do a good job with that. But rather, if it is needed, the client would dowhat is necessary to take delivery from them.

  3. I think this post will help out a lot of people. Knowing what to do with a new car can be quite confusing, but I like how you explained that it all depends on the individual. If the car is being used every day, then obviously you are going to look at it in a different way than you would look at a car you were going to take to shows etc.

  4. Richard says:

    What’s the best method for removing the adhesive from the factory wrap?

    • Ivan Rajic says:

      Richard, what wrap exactly are you talking about in this case? The shipping materials or something else?

      In any case, a mild chemical like the 3M Adhesive Remover would be best. Basically, you want to try and have a chemical break down the adhesive rather than wiping/rubbing continuously to get it off.

      Hope that makes sense!

      Ivan

  5. Steve Webb says:

    Hi Ivan
    I am going to be the proud owner of a new Tesla S in about a month.

    I will insist that the dealer does not touch the exterior of the car as I plan to use Cquartz sealant.
    (A wrap is over my already maxed budget to spend on the car).

    That said I have a few questions
    Searching YouTube I found a few how to videos on applying the Cquartz some say vertical then horizontal others use a circular motion to apply the product, is one right or wrong, better or worse in application techniques?

    For the prep I plan to foam wash it (two bucket method of course)sheet dry and then use a waffle weave to pat dry any remaining water spots (the wife thinks I am off my nut buying 15 different cloths from the rag company)

    Then apply X-iron as I have read I mist the X-iron on let it sit for a couple of minutes then with a sponge gently agitate then foam wash it off.
    If I spray the whole car with the X-iron I estimate it will take a good 10-15 minutes to go round the whole car agitating the product, is this too long to leave X-iron ion the car before I have the chance to wash it off?

    After foaming and washing a second time to remove the X-iron clay using a detailing spray to lubricate.

    Foam wash a third time and apply the sealant as directed.

    I have read that you should let the first Cquartz coat cure completely before applying the second coat, but another camp said that leaving the first coat to dry will not allow the second coat to adhere and to apply the second coat after about an hour.

    As this is my fist attempt and on a new car I want to make sure I do it right any guidance would be greatly appreciated
    Thanks
    Steve

  6. Glenn says:

    Ivan…when I bought my new Maxima I told the dealer to not wash or touch in any manner. Let’s face it, the lowest paid and least experienced people do the washing and detailing, at least when I worked at a dealership. One thing I would mention is when you get a new car the probability that it was transferred by rail is very good and thus will have a lot of iron contamination from the rails and wheels of the rail cars. This ionic contamination is brutal on your paint and if you try to wash it of you are just making sandpaper on your paint. You need to carefully clay bar your paint before anything to get this off.
    Just some thoughts with my experiences.

  7. bernard defazio says:

    got new caddie 2021 xl5, bright red, paint job looks great, however car will be expossed to hot florida @ near ocean, should i polish, if so what kind?

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