ROGUE VALETER

[Andy Beats]

Crikey....
Those marks are incredibly hard to remove though.
My wife's Sportage rear windows had some sort of delivery/docks numbers written on them using god knows what.
Still see them in the right light, even after 15 months of ownership and all sorts of attempts to clean them.
It's like the marks are actually darker than the tinted windows, so I'd have to try and get the rest of the windows to match the marks (if you get my drift).

[Leif]

I think the original post needs pinning. It is hilarious.

Sorry 'grudgey' I realise that in practice it is embarrassing, extremely offensive, and quite unacceptable especially given the difficulty of removing said defacement, but it does make a very funny story. Perhaps given the passage of time, you will see the funny side. Honestly though I think this is grounds for dismissal of the offending valeter i.e. gross misconduct. You might want to complain to VW themselves, not just the dealership which is I assume not owned by VW, but a franchise. And if it is a chain of dealerships, complain to the head of the company as a whole, not just the local one. A joke among employees is one thing but when it impacts customers, that's serious.

I'm surprised the dealership seem to have originally shown little interest in investigating this given the potential for damaging their reputation and offending customers.

[Andy Beats]

Wonder if this would be covered by windscreen insurance....
Be an interesting call.

[Andy Beats]

Would you believe I purchased the car on 28th November and I still do not have the V5c?

It has been sent off to DVLA apparently but the dealer will not track it for me.

Phone the DVLA yourself.
When I was selling my Leaf and realised I'd never had the V5 for it, I called them late on the Wednesday PM.
The woman explained there was an error on my address, sorted that and I had the document the Friday AM.
It's looking highly likely your dealer has cocked something up in a similar vein....

See what I did there?

[Aube]

Hi,

I would be very cross and knowing how difficult it is to remove this kind of mark from the windscreen, you may have to replace the screen - well the dealer should as you need genuine VW glass and not a third party supplied one. I would also post this on Detailing World forum as it deserves a wider audience

https://www.detailingworld.co.uk/

[monkeyhanger]

Is the mark on the inside or the outside of the windscreen? I'd start with vinegar or pure ethanol - both good solvents.

You might not have your apology letter from the cleaning company, but I'd be saying to the dealership that I would be going elsewhere for servicing and warranty work while they continue to use the cleaning company.

You might want to give them some unwanted publicity by seeing if the local newspaper wants it as a filler small story.

[monkeyhanger]

I'd be using vinegar as it is, when you dilute it with hot water you're diminishing its effectiveness as a solvent. The less smelly option would be meths or surgical spirit as that'll evaporate quickly.

Failing that, i'd maybe give a good rub with a wax free cutting compound like meguiars - although bear in mind that the inside windscreen surface may be more of a plastic laminate than glass and may haze up with microscratches (unlikely but possible).

I've got to wonder though - why the hell are you going to the trouble? The garage have admitted that they are responsible by virtue of their choice of contractor to do the valet job. They should do it or pay for a screen replacement.

Get in touch with the highest ranking manager of the dealership group by email and CC in a VW UK rep. If they ardn't bothered by the VW UK contact then they really don't give a toss.

[monkeyhanger]

Get in touch with VW UK by phone - they'll know who to escalate it to and should make the dealership sit up and take notice if the complaint comes from them.

I'm trying hard not to chuckle as I write these posts, but when you use phrases like " rose again" in relation to the appendage art, I'm finding it HARD not to.

If it were someone else's car you'd be amused.

I'd be pushing for a new windscreen now as they've had the opportunity to fix the issue and failed.

[Willni]

Firstly we can all see the funny side of this, but it's more a joke between friends and not for customers, let alone their belongings. I clean cars myself and would never dream of doing that to someone else's property no matter the make or model or age. But reading through your local dealership has offered your a verbal apology, by no means can they control and outside company, you should shame the outside company.

I'd try IPA ( isopropyl alcohol ) you can get it in Boots or a Supermarket very cheap, it'll remove waxes etc so hopefully give your friend thorough clean , wax won't shift easily so it sounds more like what it was, I'd be hesitant to clay the inside due to the super wet nature of claying. Depending on where you are in the country there are plenty of professional detailing companies that take pride in their work and could sort this for you I'm sure free of charge during a valet of your car.

Kind Regards
Willy ( not the one on your windscreen! )

[monkeyhanger]

Actually i do hold the dealer partly responsible.

After all they should carry out due diligence on third party services. Also the car is the responsibility of VW until I took ownership.

I'd hold the dealer fully responsible, no question about it. They are responsible for what a contractor does on their behalf.

[Muldoon]

Hope you manage to get some response on this.

I have noticed on mine the other week when it was a cold and frosty morning the inside of the passenger side windscreen could clearly see the transfer image of the shipping notice with lots of codes and stuff from South Africa - it disappeared when the screen warmed up. Clearly the PDI is non existent for the car - screen probably never been cleaned inside properly. I will have a go with the usual range of products and see if it can be removed....

[stevereeves]

Surely the unwanted and seriously unfunny 5 seconds after you realise it can't be removed 'design' on the windscreen counts as vandalism ? The same as if someone painted or drew graffiti on the car. Dealer should sort it out, no question, no matter who valeted the car: dealer or 3rd party valeter. Hope it gets sorted....

[Andy Beats]

You'd definitely have a case for police involvement.
Definitely vandalism, whether it can only be seen under certain conditions or not.
I'd be going for new windscreen, 100%

[monkeyhanger]

You'll get nowhere chasing for vandalism. The car wasn't bought and paid for by you when it happened. As far as you're concerned, the dealerships car was vandalised, which you then bought.

Your complaint lies with the dealership, you had no direct contact or dealings with the valeter.

[Andy Beats]

You'll get nowhere chasing for vandalism. The car wasn't bought and paid for by you when it happened. As far as you're concerned, the dealerships car was vandalised, which you then bought.

Your complaint lies with the dealership, you had no direct contact or dealings with the valeter.

Ah right, fair enough.