Seat.

Yet the MG dealer nearby had all their cars spotlessly clean . Stopped to look as he saw a brand new ZS in the May promotion at£000's off.

I said at your own risk.. (so he didn't)

I walk the dog from home up to the Sports centre and sometimes pass the VW/Skoda dealer. next to the JLR dealer opposite the Toyota dealer. all spotless there. Further along about a mile is Mazda and Honda and a bit more Kia and BMW/Mini. all pretty tidy although the one thing I have noticed is that parking is poor in all of them. The SEAT dealer wasn't in Colchester..

I've noticed Motorpoint are much better presented than main dealer stock. They don't 'hide' the V5s neither.

What's the real cost of cleaning cars at a dealership?

If a dealer sells say 1,000 cars a year and has to employ someone on minimum wage to clean them then that's going to be about £22,000 plus another £2,000 in taxes, pensions etc that the firm has to pay, so cleaning each car costs £24 plus materials!

That's quite a saving across a busy dealership!

I get your point though, I would like to see a sparkling clean car if I were looking to buy.

Edited by Marlin1 on 03/06/2025 at 12:29

Most cars in a dealer's stock will be advertised online, with perhaps a few punters dropping in on the off chance as well. So I would assume that fresh stock would be made to look presentable and then left on display until someone shows an interest, which may take a while. If the weather is fine someone will lift the tailgates to attract attention.

What does an idle salesman do if no punters arrive ? shouldn't they wash a car or two ?

On the general topic of dirty cars, it occurred to me recently that I see very few cars driving around which I would call 'dirty' in traditional terms. Back in the day, perhaps before car-washes run by immigrants were commonplace, some cars verged on grey or khaki, with areas cleared only by wipers. Does the paint on today's cars have special repellent characteristics ? Or are owners more concerned with appearance, or happy to visit those car-washes ?

Ours get washed at home with a bucket of warm water and a very soft brush and sponge but also go to the jet wash nearby which is £2 for 5 minutes to rinse high pressure and jet wash wheels and wheel arches and use a soft washing up sponge to clean alloys then throw it away. glass is sprayed with white vinegar and dried off with kitchen roll after. I don't enjoy the sun showing on marks through the windscreen so that's a regular job.

One car wash at Asda is £30 for the Korando and another by Wickes is £18 wash & go, no drying.

Edited by Orb>>. on 04/06/2025 at 10:07

‘ What's the real cost of cleaning cars at a dealership? If a dealer sells say 1,000 cars a year and has to employ someone on minimum wage to clean them then that's going to be about £22,000 plus another £2,000 in taxes, pensions etc that the firm has to pay, so cleaning each car costs £24 plus materials! That's quite a saving across a busy dealership! I get your point though, I would like to see a sparkling clean car if I were looking to buy.’ A lot of dealerships now don’t employ their own valeters, they’re subcontractors from an external valeting company. Saves the dealership the HR hassle of what is a pretty transient workforce, but they may not know who’s turning up for work on Monday morning.

I'd have thought most dealerships would need someone anyway (subcontractor or not) to provide the "free" wash and vac with every car they service. That must be many more cars per day than the stock turnover in secondhand sales.

I do wonder though whether the excessive compartmentising of jobs and departments (in most larger companies, not just car dealerships)is part of the problem. 30 years ago, quite a bit of keeping stock clean was probably done by the sales staff and management during quiet periods. I certainly remember seeing people in shirt and tie washing cars outside my local Volvo dealership I walked past on the way to school back then. I suspect that this approach is now only happening in the small independent places.

I have been to a couple of main dealers where the cars were filthy before being prepped. The back seat of one looked like a litter bin, with sweet, snack pieces and crisp wrappers everywhere.

That can sometimes have an upside. I remember buying (probably one of several 205s) where kids in the back seat must have amused themselves playing with Mum's purse. There were at least 20 pound coins under the seat ....