My autobiography went to the main dealer for its first service last week which included a complementary wash and vac. Now in my naivety I assumed it would be washed by hand but I have since found out it was actually run through their automatic tunnel car wash machine. Given the amount of money these cars cost was I being reasonable in expecting a hand wash or is this the norm? Should I mention to the dealer that I am not impressed or am I being picky? Agueroooooooooo. 93-20
I swear you will never see anything like this ever again....watch it..drink it in.

Just ask them not to wash it next time save yourself the angst..

Many dealers now have a car wash, rather than a hand wash! Saves time for them.

How much damage it does to the paint is dependant on the type of rollers they have. Some of them have something akin to foam/fabric rollers which are quite gentle, whereas most supermarket ones have nylon bristles which is like using a Brillo pad and to be avoided.

Generally if you want it washed a particular way then it's DIY or a professional valeter. gone are the days when they used to wash them by hand, it tends to be throw them through the washer then wipe all the shuts by hand and Hoover out the front, and that's your lot!! There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
Fiat 500x 1.4 multiair Lounge 2015
2010 LR D4 Commercial 2.7 TDV6

Telling them not to wash it next time is definitely on the agenda. It just didn't occur to me this time as you get the impression your car will be pampered by them, obviously not the case. Live and learn i suppose. Agueroooooooooo. 93-20
I swear you will never see anything like this ever again....watch it..drink it in.

Never let a dealer wash the car. The hand wash is normally done by a subcontracted bunch of people who get less than a tenner a car. Care and attention is not top of their list of priorities.

An automatic roller thing does so much damage it's unreal. It will swirl and scratch your paint like nothing else. It uses mostly recycled water, albeit filtered but clean water it certainly is not.

If you don't want to do it yourself then get a pro valeter to do it. Not local 6 quid places, a mobile valeter. I pay 25 quid for a bloke to come and do mine and he uses lambs wool mitts, proper soap rather than TFR, 2 buckets (rinse dirt out of the mitt before putting it back on the car) and he also uses a pre-wash foam to loosen the dirt.

Resale value can be reduced by thousands for a messed up car. Proper washing will save money in the long term.

My dealer hand washes, well the subcontracted washer runs a jet wash over it and rinses off. They never do the roof though and I always mention that in the feedback. If I have time I wash it myself, but to do it properly takes about 3 hours and I don't have the time these days. I just leave it dirty and when it gets too bad I find the time.