taking delivery soon - leave the wrapping on?

[nordique14]

I am taking delivery of my car later this week or early next week. I have given the dealer instructions on what to do (and not do) for PDI. No plate, do not remove window sticker, no detailing, etc

The dealership asked me if I wanted them to keep the wrapping on. Is it good to have the dealership remove it or better to do it myself? I am not sure how difficult it is to remove or if it makes sense to have the dealer do it so they can inspect for damage.

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[SnakeAndSteak]

Congrats on the new car! I'm a former professional detailer and I personally would like the car to be wrapped but I can tell you there is a ton of work to do when prepping a new car PROPERLY. I can make it look good in 2 hours but for me to do it right will take a few days. If you have any specific questions, PM me.

 

[oldbmwfan]

^^^ OP is talking about the shipping protection from the factory, not an aftermarket PPF. It's unclear what the response refers to.

I had my dealer pull the wrap after I saw the vehicle. I pulled all the stickers and interior things myself (window sticker, random protective film on the seat belt loop buttons, other switchgear). I had them remove the spring spacers. I did not let them install a front plate; in fact the manager personally took the front plate away and locked it in his desk in case someone didn't get the message!

Most important - I did not let them wash it! I picked up the car in September 2016, drove it ~500 miles, let it sit in my garage all winter, and in spring 2017 I drove it to a detailer for paint prep, PPF, and a coating. It still had the original delivery dirt on it. The detailer had to do almost no paint prep at all, just a very slight buff, as I had no swirl marks or scratches. A dealer detail center doing new-car prep will screw up your paint.

 

[SnakeAndSteak]

^^^ OP is talking about the shipping protection from the factory, not an aftermarket PPF. It's unclear what the response refers to.

I had my dealer pull the wrap after I saw the vehicle. I pulled all the stickers and interior thing myself (window sticker, random protective film on the seat belt loop buttons, other switchgear). I had them remove the spring spacers. I did not let them install a front plate; in fact the manager personally took the front plate away and locked it in his desk in case someone didn't get the message!

Most important - I did not let them wash it! I picked up the car in September 2016, drove it ~500 miles, let it sit in my garage all winter, and in spring 2017 I drove it to a detailer for paint prep, PPF, and a coating. It still had the original delivery dirt on it. The detailer had to do almost no paint at all, just a very slight buff, as I had no swirl marks or scratches. A vehicle detail center doing new-car prep will screw up your paint.

I was referring to the white oem wrapping, no one said anything about paint protection film... and it's a lot of work to take it from wrapped to detailed

 

[nordique14]

I am not getting PPF or any film applied. Please don't think any less of me for it. ;)

The car is not my daily driver. Since I have time to do detailing myself, I think it makes sense for me to aks them to keep the wrapping on. I will remove it when I get home.

SnakeAndShake, thank you for the offer to give me guidance on detailing. I will shoot you a PM. I have a full set of detailing backyard mechanic detailing stuff like orbital polisher, various grits of polish, waxes, etc. My concern is safe to to do new paint and also what to do with the stripes (I assume tape them off but not sure).

 

[straightliner1]

I had my car delivered as-is, with wrapping still on the car. Drove it home 15 minutes like that. Spent about 2 days properly cleaning/decontaminating and polishing the car. If you know what you're doing, enjoy the moment

 

[CobraO]

My car was at the dealership for about 45 minutes, locked in a secure area. I didn't let them touch it at all, it went straight to my detailer.

 

[Shabooty]

I unwrapped mine. Something about peeling the wrap off yourself. Idk, maybe I'm weird. On a side note, I didn't get mine wrapped w/ a clear bra either and it is my dd for the most part. It'll get rock chips but oh well. At the end of the day it's still a mustang and I never plan to sell it anyways.

 

[swedensky]

I unwrapped mine myself. Felt more personal, and I drove from Salinas to Sacramento with everything on unless it blocked my view.

 

[Tomster]

^^^^

That's what I did. I'd leave that all on and remove/save everything when you get home.

 

[96cobra]

Funny this thread just came up as me and Tomster were talking about this a few days ago. When I landed today coming home from my Track attack, I had a text and voicemail from my dealer waiting on my phone, which obviously made me excited to think that perhaps my car had snuck out of Flat Rock and had been delivered to my dealer.. but no such luck. :( Would have been awesome timing though.

My dealer was calling to confirm that my car was on it's way and they would be giving me updates on delivery time, and specifically asked me how I wanted them to handle the car upon arrival, all the way down to which pre-delivery things I wanted them to do and not do. I of course told them I just want them taking out the shock spacers and the very minimal to include leaving all wrapping/plastics on. They told me they would be happy to do so and agreed that no test drives will be done on the car by them. I will be there with a certified bank check for the car when it arrives, so perhaps a quick test drive by myself to make sure there is no major engine concerns or anything else would be in order before we close everything.

I have been extremely happy with the dealer I'm working with, I must say they have gone above and beyond to make this a good experience and have worked with me to make this experience what it should be. I feel lucky I am working with them.

Soooo, the wait is on. Only a few more weeks. Coming home from 2 days in Utah has me jonesing for some cruising in a GT350/R! Can't wait.

 

[hr884]

I unwrapped mine myself. Felt more personal, and I drove from Salinas to Sacramento with everything on unless it blocked my view.

Same here. I instructed my dealer not to wash the car or remove any of the stickers or wrapping. I unwrapped the interior and removed the window sticker, but essentially took it straight to my detailer to be unwrapped, properly washed, detailed, PPF'd.

 

[Muligan]

My plan is same as mentioned by others above - it will be arriving at the dealership sometime in the next few weeks and I will ask them to leave everything in place and to not wash it. It'll go into my trailer for transport home, where I'll spend a few days getting to know it by unwrapping everything and giving it a good detail.

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