Case Study: 2018 BMW X5 35i
Today’s case study is a 2018 BMW X5 35i, in Charcoal Grey.
This car belongs to an older client of mine, whom I haven’t seen in over a year.
Last time, his car cleaning appointment was booked by his (former) office assistant, so him and I never had the chance to meet in person.
(You’ll see in a moment why this is important…)
His call was prompted by a “reactivation” offer I had recently sent to clients whom I haven’t heard from in over a year.
He was offered a free Exterior Clean + Protect, and decided to take advantage of it, plus also pay for a thorough interior cleaning as well.
Being a slower week for me, I managed to book him in on short notice, just a couple of days away (which is completely atypical…).
The morning of the appointment, I meet with him as he pulls into the parkade, just before heading upstairs to his office, to collect the car and the keys.
Out of the blue, my client starts telling me a story about how, a couple of months back, a “vengeful” bird pooed all over his car. According to his description, the BMW X5 was literally carpet-bombed from front to back with bird droppings.
Nothing unusual so far.
He then spent an entire afternoon with soap and water, painstakingly scrapping off every single piece of bird poo from the surface of the car. (???)
“Strange,” I thought to myself, “that sounds like some really unusual bird poo…”
Anyways, long story short, I pick up the car and take it down to my shop.
After meticulously cleaning the interior, I get started on the exterior of this BMW X5 when, with almost no surprise, I discover a couple of leftover “bird droppings: from the previous incident.
And guess what? It is NOT bird poo — it is in fact hardened concrete splatter. (I know this because I’ve run into this kind of thing many times before…)
No biggie, it can be fixed. Except that concrete splatter does not come off a car with a simple wash. It needs to be softened up first with a special chemical, and then carefully removed to avoid damaging the surface.
All in all, concrete splatter removal is a tedious and time-consuming operation which, when done in a hurry, ends up making a mess of scratches on the paint of a car.
In this case, you could see, all over the X5, the places from where the owner scrapped off the little concrete bits. Every spot was literally covered in deep scratches, as if someone has washed the car with sand paper.
(read until the end to find out owner’s reaction when I break the news to him…)
Clean My Car to the rescue…
Quite typical for European cars, the wheels had a ton of brake dust.
The interior looked a messy, having not been properly cleaned and detailed in over a year.
After thoroughly inspecting every square inch of the interior, we did an Ozone Shock Treatment.
Aside from killing many microorganisms, such as: bacteria, mold, viruses, allergens, etc., from places where cleaning itself can’t reach, this Ozone Shock Treatment has also a bonus side effect: it makes the interior of the car smell fresh.
Seats looked to be in good condition, except for the driver’s seat. On this one, the leather was visibly dirty, which made it look unnaturally shiny.
The shine is given by the body oils and grease which accumulate on a seat just from every day driving. The natural look of any leather seat should be matte, not shiny.
We made sure to gently clean the leather seats, and get rid of the shine.
All our packages include a thorough and intensive interior clean, which, in my experience, is what most car owners are interested in.
(If you’d like to see what our interior cleaning process is like, go here.)
This BMW X5 35i had a “haze” on the inside of the windshield. Even with the ventilation turned to high, the windshield was still foggy, and the owner complained about not being able to properly see at night.
This film is a combination of interior plastic out-gassing, exhaust fumes from other cars, brought in through the air vents, and your own body’s perspiration and breathing vapours.
Haze on the inside of windshield (picture from a different vehicle)
Cleaning the inside of the windshield properly is not a simple task, as glass cleaners alone are not sufficient. In fact, without taking the proper steps, you just end up moving the film around, without any progress.
(to learn how to properly clean the inside of your windshield, click here)
A few hours of solid and meticulous cleaning, and my client’s BMW X5 is completely transformed…
The interior is now spotless — dirt and debris gone.
Leather seats are clean, and have a natural matte look.
The exterior has regained its true colour, and it looks (almost) like a brand new car.
“How did the bird droppings come off?,” was my client’s first question when he picked up the car.
After telling him that what seemed like bird droppings was in fact concrete splatter, his reaction caught me completely off-guard.
Usually, when I tell other clients about things like these, they ask what is it that they can do about it.
But this client — he started furiously scratching away at one of the concrete bits, while telling me, “See, it comes off.”
He didn’t trust for a second what I told him — why, I don’t know.
But I guess it’s because he didn’t know me at all — remember, we’ve never met in person — and he thought I had no idea what I was talking about.
Anyways…
If you own a recent model BMW, and would like to get it properly cleaned and detailed, by someone with experience in the peculiarities of the BMW brand, you’re in the right place.
Visit CleanMyBMW.ca for details.
(On the other hand, if you’re driving a minivan or pick-up truck, our premium car cleaning service may not be right for you.)
Not quite ready to book an appointment right now? Click here to request your Free INFO KIT (including a complimentary $100 car cleaning Gift Card — plus a copy of my book, “How To Have Your Car Cleaned Properly, At the Lowest Possible Price”)