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      09-30-2008, 08:44 PM   #1
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Question Sad In DC (Please Help… In Need Of A Professional!)

Hi all.

I’m just devastated. Today I took my black sapphire metallic 2008 BMW 135i to my regular body shop to have an ugly four-inch scratch removed from my rear bumper (some idiot biker hit me at a gas station last week). My body shop guy has been really, really good to me and my dad for many years, and because of it, we continue to use him, even though his shop is skuzzy and the location is gross.

Well, as usual, the work that the body shop did was terrific, but the price that I paid in my paintwork was… to say the least, awful. This particular body shop has never washed my car after performing work before, so I’ve honestly never thought to tell them up front to make certain that they don’t (knowing quite obviously that the two bucket method would NOT be utilized there). But today they washed the car, and I just KNEW as soon as I rolled up into the parking lot that I was in for big trouble.

Frank, the owner of the shop, had personally washed and dried my BMW. Bless his heart; he was trying to do a nice thing for me for free. But he completely screwed up my paint. I mean, HORRIBLY screwed up my paint. Scratches galore. Light surface scratches mind you; I don’t want to be TOO dramatic about this, but bad, bad swirling and scratching. I mean, seriously, you would think that he went at my paintwork with a piece of sandpaper, I’m not even kidding. We’re talking about the ENTIRE car here. Now, to be fair, the local soccer moms in their Benzes probably would have just thanked him for his generosity and been on their way… but I was practically inconsolable.

I managed to hide my emotions pretty well in front of Frank, paid for the bodywork and left the shop with my heart in my stomach. This car is only two months old. I cannot even BEGIN to explain the irony and pain of having spent hours upon hours outside in the summer heat working with a can of ScratchX any time I even so much as feared that someone had possibly BREATHED on the car, only to have all of my work completely destroyed in the span on minutes. Crushing.

Anyway, the long and short of it is, I came home, grabbed my tube of ScratchX and tried to set to work at seeing what I could do to repair the damage. The ScratchX, of course, did make SOME immediate progress… but I ended up just laying on the ground laughing at my terrible, terrible luck and the horribleness of the situation. I work a 40+ hour week, I have a serious girlfriend, I live in an apartment complex, and I’m not a true blue car guy. There is absolutely NO WAY that I have the time and/or energy to repair the incredible damage to my car’s paint. And that includes by learning how to machine buff. Simply not gonna happen. I’m not saying that it can’t be done, especially with Megs products, I’m just saying that I won’t. I’m tired, upset and disgusted. I’m done.

I need a professional detailer, and I need someone good. Someone who will LITERALLY make my car look like new. Not good, not pretty good, AMAZING again. I’ll pay what’s fair – but I want my baby back. I want the paint fixed, the shadowline trim fixed if there are any scratches in it, and the chrome finish on the twin kidney grills to look perfect again.

Can someone please help me? I need a detailer I can trust, and if they can come to me… even better. I live in Washington, DC.

Thank you kindly.
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2008 "Year One of the 1" 135i Black Sapphire Metallic/Coral Red ...seriously, do you really care about any of the other stuff??
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      09-30-2008, 10:07 PM   #2
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I feel your pain because I'm pretty anal about swirls too. Just irks me to no end when I see some on my car. Go to Autopia.com and find the M-A section. Theres some pretty good guys there. I personally used Thomas whos near GMU. His site is Newshinedetaling.com. He got my yellow Acura Intgera to near mint shape, and this is with single stage Honda paint.
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      09-30-2008, 10:13 PM   #3
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A co-worker of mine had a black mustang that had a pretty bad swirl, haze marks all over his car when he bought it used from a guy in chicago. He used a local metro area detailer. His car came back looking like glass. It was amazing. I will ask him tomorrow to find out who he had do the detailing. I don't remember how much it cost him but I do remember it was expensive. But whatever it cost him, I say it was well worth it. The car was was like glossy polished onyx when he go it back. So I will send you a reply tomorrow evening. I cant log in to this site from work due to network restriction.
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      09-30-2008, 10:18 PM   #4
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M2, I really appreciate that, thanks so much for your help. I'll look forward to hearing from you tomorrow. You guys are great!
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2008 "Year One of the 1" 135i Black Sapphire Metallic/Coral Red ...seriously, do you really care about any of the other stuff??
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      10-01-2008, 05:25 PM   #5
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1ForAllFor1, sorry to have to tell you this but the detail shop my co-worker took his mustang to in arlington is gone. He took it there last fall so it has been a while. They scrapped the area that this detail shop was located at and they are now putting up another high rise in its location. My co-worker didn't have any other suggestions as far a places to take it to. I'll keep asking around work to see if anyone has any other recommended detailers. Hope you a still able to find a decent detail shop. Best of Luck.

I did a search in Google and here is what I came up with:

http://www.google.com/search?client=...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
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      10-02-2008, 08:59 AM   #6
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Hey man, no worries, I really appreciate that. I'm still doing my own homework, but I haven't come up with a winner quite yet. Please let me know if you have any other thoughts. Thanks again.
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2008 "Year One of the 1" 135i Black Sapphire Metallic/Coral Red ...seriously, do you really care about any of the other stuff??
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      10-02-2008, 04:51 PM   #7
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There's a place called Splash in DC that does a pretty extensive detail/buff/wax/etc job for $. I've heard good stuff about the typical wash. I've often thought I'd be doing something like a full buff treatment in like year 2 or so.

Here's their big package:
www.splashcarwash.com
The “V.I.P.” $385
Approx. 5 hours, including:
  • Car Wash, Vacuum, and Wheel Cleaning
  • Minor Scratches and Oxidized Paint Buffed Out
  • Paint Sealant Applied and Polished
  • Single Coat of Carnuba Wax (Meguiars) Applied
  • Leather Cleaned and Dressed (Lexol)
  • Engine Cleaned
  • Carpet and Upholstery Machine Cleaned
  • Dashboard, Console, and Doors Detailed
  • Windows Cleaned, Inside and Out
  • Tires Dressed
  • Tar, Grease, and Bug Removal
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      10-02-2008, 05:10 PM   #8
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Posted in duplicate thread also...:

http://www.detailsdetailsdetails.com/

Done and done. Rockville, MD. Hands down the best detail shop. Only one I have ever been to that I would let touch my car. I just wish I still lived in the area...

EDIT: Check out the car I just found in the gallery!

http://www.detailsdetailsdetails.com...toFP1/FP47.jpg
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      10-02-2008, 05:15 PM   #9
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Zaino!
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      10-03-2008, 10:54 AM   #10
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Bring it to me and I can perfect it to your original condition or no fees at all. PM with your number if you are interested.
thanks!

raja
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