Protecting Your Car: Dealerships and Cats
by Rodney Tatum
Dealerships and Mechanics
I am assume you care about your paint. It is customary for the dealership staff to send your vehicle through the automatic car wash. Expect management to do this. Expect them to forget verbal requests. There are hang tags. I call, inform them to put it on the work order or and when I arrive mention it. Then I also place a hang tag (pictured above) on the windshield and set a sheet on the front of the car to make it visibly clear of my wishes.
Do not take your car to just any shop just because you like their pricing. That is just asking for problems. Being 100% transparent I am on my 3rd auto repair and maintenance shop due to finding random scratches and scrapes after a visit. I am happy with my current shop. But I also leave a friendly message on my front seat ‘please be careful around the paint’. I do encourage anyone who has found a shop they are comfortable with to leave a 5-Star review with a thoughtful message.
Cats
I have had a love and hate relationship with cats. I am not, or I keep telling myself, that I am not a cat person. But sometimes they can pull on my heart strings. Just stay away from our cars. That is a reasonable request. But since cats do not listen, I have an effective and humane alternative.
Cats do not like the scent of citronella! Of all the things that I have tried, citronella has been the most consistently effective resource that sends the message this area is not for you. Some have diluted the citronella with water and sprayed it around the car perimeter. I have used it directly straight from the bottle. I empty several drops on concrete a few inches from my car and it really seems to do the trick!
On a side note, I do wonder if the birds get extra points in their Top Gun class for crapping on freshly detailed cars? We will save that for another day. Hopefully these tips help save your vehicle when you are not around!
I purchase the “Do not wash or detail” tags from Detailed Image and give to every client I do coatings for as part of the package. I also emphasize that they take “before” pics with their phones before dropping off their vehicle for service and to make sure that the service writer makes note of the “do not wash/detail” request on the service order.
As far as repair shops and the paint on my vehicles… I do not worry. They know me and how I care for my vehicles, and they are also clients of mine. If anyone who reads this resides in the Marlborough, Massachusetts area, I highly recommend B&B Automotive for routine maintenance and major repairs. They are trustworthy and do the job right!
Thank you for the citronella tip! I have five cats and a few of them love to lounge on my CSL coated Lexus. They have left light marks that need to be buffed out with rubbing compound and then touch up again with more coating. This has gone on a few cycles now! I will try the citronella trick. If it works, it’s a HUGE help!!