Cleaning the Dealer Sticker off a Car

[JoeyGee]

I recently purchased a vehicle (used) which has a dealer sticker on the back--I HATE that. Now that it's finally above freezing, I am going to take it off. Any idea if Goo Gone will do any damage to the paint?

It consists of individual letters, and it's not one of those metallic kinds. It should come off, I just want to make sure the sticky crap comes off, too.

[JeffG78]

I know it's bugging you, but I would wait until the weather is a bit warmer. Cold weather and decal removal creates a mess. The letters will just break rather than peal off and you will have a lot harder time getting it clean. When you peel the letters off, use a hair dryer to get the area as warm as possible. Once they are off, try some WD40 on a cloth to remove the glue residue. It will leave a bit of a greasy spot, but will wash off. Bug and tar remover would probably work as well but is harsher. Just be careful not to dig or scrape at the letters. You will leave scratches in the paint.

[jonmulzer]

This bugs me also. The last vehicle I bought from a dealer I waited until it was time to close the sale and told them that the final condition was that they remove the sticker. It went back and forth, but I told them point blank that they would not get my money until the sticker was gone, and stuck to it. I literally did not sign the paperwork or the check until all dealer stuff was gone from the truck. I much prefer to have them do such things. They even asked if there was anything I could do to let them keep it on, I told them, "Of course, pay me for the advertising. Knock another grand off and pay me $100 a month from now until I sell it!"

Always better to have the dealer do such things before the sale is completed. That way if paint is messed up they can redo it or keep the vehicle. My $.02.

[dick541]

Take the car back to the dealer and tell them to remove it or you demand $ 500. a month for advertising. It worked for me.
dick

[JoeyGee]

I know I wouldn't have an issue if I took it in to have them do it, but I was just trying to avoid a trip back.

Two cars ago, another dealer was offering free car washes for life, the condition being you had to leave their sticker on. I chose to wash it myself.

[TB Roye]

Dealerz around here don't use the stickers, the use the licience plate frames. First thing I do when I get it home is deep six the frames. If they used sticker I too would make them take it off before signing the papers.

Tom

[Tarheel]

A hair dryer on very low heat for a couple of minutes followed up with a swipe of WD-40 should do the trick!!! Get it while it's fresh and it will peel off real easy!

Been there and done that within 24 hrs of purchase!

Good Luck!

Wayne

[Tom Slick]

I find that regular silicone spray works very well as a adhesive remover. spray it on, let it soak, then work it off with a non metal object. no damage to the paint.

[billwmeyer]

Ok, this sounds weird, but try peanut butter. The cheaper the better. I have a friend who swears by it.

Bill

[Uncle Cracker]

I used to take a Caddy I once owned to a local dealer for service. Even though the car was not bought at his dealership, every time I went in there, even for an oil change, they would hang a license plate frame with their ad on my car. Made them take about ten of them off. Then, even after I no longer owned the car, I would continue to receive a couple mailouts a week about service, or asking me to come trade it in with them, or inviting me to "VIP" customer events. I called repeatedly and asked to be removed from their mailing lists, but the junk continued to pour in. Over the course of four years, I worked my way up from secretaries through sales managers, and finally to the general managing partner for all their dealerships. Three calls to him resulting in promises to desist, and still they came. So, one day, an 8-yard dump load (pun intended) of cow manure mysteriously showed up on his front lawn, COD. I still get the mailouts, but now I smile every time I do...

[Bruce Cohen]

Go to an art store or crafts store and buy Rubber Cement Thinner, you can apply it with a small oil can or eyedropper, it works better than anything else I've seen.

If you cant locate it, contact cement cleaner works really well too.

Both are extremely flammable, so NO SMOKING.

It doesn't stain and I found that Goo Gone sucks.

Bruce

[crokett]

Every car I bought from a dealer I made them take the sticker off. The last one was Carmax and they didn't want to remove it. The sales guy let me get out the door before he chased me down and agreed to have it removed.

I would try the contact cement thinner first. I've used that to remove a bumper sticker before.

[JSUPreston]

Honestly, on all the cars, trucks and vans that we've purchased, I've just waited until a warm, sunny day, and very gently scraped it off with my fingernails. No damage to the paint that I've ever noticed. It also helps that all of these stickers were individual letters.

I'm with you guys. You pay a boatload of money to someone, and then they have the nerve to try to force you to advertise for them for free! If you want the advertising, buddy, make it worth my while.

Wise old man once told me how to tell if you ever got taken advantage of by a car sales person...you bought the car.

[BigguyZ]

Am I the only guy who doesn't care one way of another? Yikes.... I've seen some that are a little big, but man- mine never bothered me....