I brought my Toyota MR2 in to Apex in March 2017 for a complete interior and exterior detail ($325), paint touch-up to chips and scrapes ($45) and a 3M Clear Bra treatment--Premium Shield Elite ($795), a service that cost a total of $1,165.00
Based on stellar Yelp reviews I had high hopes. The owner had a MR2 as well that he was in the process of selling so I figured he might treat mine with some dignity...
The interior was barely vacuumed, and contrary to the website's description the engine and bay weren't touched at all. AT ALL. The exterior was buffed with a clay bar which removed all of the previous paint chip repairs on the front of the vehicle. This was fine, because I supplied the touch-up paint and micro-dabber applicators and everything, but the technicians (the owner's sons) only touched up one large scratch on the rear spoiler. POORLY. Like with a roller poorly. About thirty small primer grey spots were ignored elsewhere on the vehicle--especially on the hood.
The vehicle's grey defects were then sealed under a plastic clear bra. A blind man could see this. And feel them with his fingertips. The clear bra developed bubbles all over the place almost immediately, not only due to the entrained air from the paint chips but also due to poor application. I have since learned to live with it.
Finally, in the single best part of the service, paste wax was applied to the vehicle in such quantity that several washes later I was still removing the excess splooge from gaps between the body panels and from the engine bay vent louvers. My guess is since the business also services boats, the owner's sons used the random orbital buffer they use for the marine trade with a corresponding volume of wax. They were in a hurry, so why not? It really gleamed and photographed beautifully, so overall I just chalk up the overapplication to inexperience. Expensive inexperience.
When I took delivery, the owner was in a hurry to go on a holiday. He had left the vehicle outside in the rain and only garaged it for security purposes after hours. The wax fortunately protected it rather well so that wasn't a big deal. When I pointed out a particularly glaring paint defect that his touchup "as best possible" service had missed, he grabbed my touchup brush and globbed some paint on right over the dime-thick wax job, thinking that this would suffice. He took my money and ran.
I haven't left a review until now because I wanted to let some of the seething anger subside. At the time when I complained the owner said he would try to fix the problems. I didn't trust him then and I would never trust him under any circumstances--certainly not with my baby.
The owner's high rating on Yelp is obviously due to having negative reviews scrubbed, which is against site policy. There is no way that the awful treatment I suffered is an isolated case and everyone else just managed to get stellar service. He owns an expensive business and yet he cannot wield a touch-up brush. He can't even see grey dots the size of a pencil eraser (or larger) on a dark Aquamarine Pearl background. He tried to fob the work off on his kids or other technicians and claim that he didn't see what transpired. It is his business. He should be paying some degree of attention to what goes on under his roof. I am only writing this review to warn others that Apex Automotive/Marine Spa is not a trustworthy business and the owner is dishonest. I am so happy that I got my car back before something even more sinister transpired.
Today, the grey spots are still there, preserved under plastic. The bubbles come and go, but otherwise the clear film is intact. Was the work worth $1,165? No. Was the wax job worth it? No. Would I do any of it again for any amount of money? Hell no. I have my own detailing tools now and can do a far better job for less than $20 anytime it isn't raining.
You can too. And you should. read more