High end products vs. economical ones???

[PAR Detailing]

Ok ive detailed for several years and I have several products but im wondering do the highend products really last longer and produce a better shine? I know the site wants to sell the most expensive product but im wondering if money aside are the highend products that much better?
Peace,
Jon

[GMC83]

In a word, No.

[Tesla]

Ok ive detailed for several years and I have several products but im wondering do the highend products really last longer and produce a better shine? I know the site wants to sell the most expensive product but im wondering if money aside are the highend products that much better?
Peace,
Jon

I think the answer is both yes and no.

I would put some bargain products right up there with the most expensive, although, most of it is entirely subjective, isn't it?

I mean Duragloss is cheap yet great, Meguiars, Collinite, not sure of the price of FK1000P but I thought it wasn't that much either, so there are a lot of great products that don't break the bank and compete with the expensive stuff.

[PAR Detailing]

Tesla I agree with you.
I think there is a line between too much of a bargain product that wont do the job and a quality product that wont break the bank and likely compete with the high high end products. I have poorboys natty red wax and i think it could compete with lots and lots of carauba waxes. I should have qualified that.

[loudog2]

I think the answer is both yes and no.
:iagree:I mean Natty's red is cheap and looks great, but it lasts a week. For $30 more your into the Dodo, sig series II and P21s 100% range. Those are great products that last longer and look great. As for polishes, I'll spend the money for my menzerna(or wolfgang)line-up over the cheaper ones any day.

[StephenK]

for one the site is not out to sell the most expensive products. the site is out to sell the best products avaiable. if it was all about money for the site then there would none of this products lines on here cause there are products lines that cost ALOT more then the ones they carry. and they would not carry any of the lines that we can get OTC.


i agree with tesla Duragloss and Collinite are inexpensive but will give great results

[PAR Detailing]

I was just wondering, I didnt mean to strike a nerve with people. I was just looking at some really expensive products vs. others and didnt know if the diferance was that great.
Peace
Jon

[StephenK]

maybe i came off to strong i am sorry for that. but with they way this site has give aways the sales they do the way they will send out replacement product for free when UPS damages them as well as make good on times when sales and coupon codes overlap there is no way they are just here for the all mighty dollar.

[CEE DOG]

I was just wondering, I didnt mean to strike a nerve with people. I was just looking at some really expensive products vs. others and didnt know if the diferance was that great.
Peace
Jon

Good and fair questions!


maybe i came off to strong i am sorry for that. but with they way this site has give aways the sales they do the way they will send out replacement product for free when UPS damages them as well as make good on times when sales and coupon codes overlap there is no way they are just here for the all mighty dollar.

:dblthumb2:

When you do things right like Autogeek you can have both the cake and the icing! Make the $ and make customers happy! The chicken and the egg. In the long term building repeat customers with the great customer service and going out of the way for us makes money for AG which is exactly what we want them to do. If they aren't making money there isn't any point to it and they aren't here for us. Everybody has to feed there family's! My buddy at my old job used to complain about how the company was all about making money, Wah wah wah! One day I said to him, would you have a job if they didn't make money? why do you come to work? The same reason they do"

[CTS-Veo]

Some of the higher end products are completely worth the extra money (P21S Wheel Gel comes to mind), and some have such a small difference that most people wouldn't be able to notice the difference. If you would narrow it down to specific products, than it might be a little easier question to answer. Then again, you could pick any two products and will probably get conflicting responses; since this is all just personal preferances. I would suggest getting a couple smaller size bottles of different products you have been looking at, and see if there is enough of a difference to justify the extra money...

[tenorplayer23]

AG has a very good business philosophy and they place great emphasis on the customer. But, I don't agree with you at all about what their objectives are - it is to make money. They do this with smart product line discrimination, marketing, pricing, etc.. Carrying a range of product types at particular price points (with differing margins) is prototypical marketing. And very good marketing.......which, I don't fault them for at all. In fact, I admire it. And, I am very fond of them as my go to vendor.:)

As for OTC products working as well as unique or boutique brands - the answer is a resounding "it depends". In some cases, it is very difficult to distinguish the best products /results (at any price point) from almost as good (at any other price point). My favorite example is Black Magic Wet Shine Liquid car Wax.................cheap, bulletproof durability and an excellent finish for the price. Not as good as many others from AG or others I have bought from them (namely Optimum), but very good................so,I'd say it depends on which car care step you are considering & how much you want to spend.

Anyway, that's just my opinion..............I could be wrong. :)

See ya. http://autopia.org/forum/images/smilies/wavey.gif



for one the site is not out to sell the most expensive products. the site is out to sell the best products avaiable. if it was all about money for the site then there would none of this products lines on here cause there are products lines that cost ALOT more then the ones they carry. and they would not carry any of the lines that we can get OTC.


i agree with tesla Duragloss and Collinite are inexpensive but will give great results

[autodromo]

has any one done a side by side comparison? i would like to see two cars of the same color, make, year. and than use a da so they are around the same condition. after that than use a "high end" one and the bargain on the other. not tell any one witch one used what and let people decide what one they think is the best.

[Bunky]

has any one done a side by side comparison? i would like to see two cars of the same color, make, year. and than use a da so they are around the same condition. after that than use a "high end" one and the bargain on the other. not tell any one witch one used what and let people decide what one they think is the best.

There have been a few reviews posted by various people. The more expensive ones have not stood out. I even did a 7 wax test on the hood of my truck once. The results were not very conclusive.

I see two basic extremes: durability (bragging rights about how little they need to wax their vehicle) and looks (always wanting that just waxed look).

There are variables (objective and subjective): ease of application, availability, cost, smell, brand/seller affinity, popularity (be like everyone else or be different).

If you see any parking lot and spot the best looking cars, you will not know what products they use but you know which ones take care of them (washed, paint is free of swirls,etc). That is the secret no matter what product you use.

[ScottB]

I answered this question many years ago and think the basis is still quite true. Unfortunately OTC products are designed from the start as price point products. So if we are designing a wax we decide we want to offer it for 14.99 at retail. Within that budget we need advertising money (marketing), we need a catchy label to stand out on shelve, and then the final monies go into the actual product and its ingredient.

With boutique products, there are no fancy labels (well in most cases) and certainly no huge advertising dollars since they dont market thru tv and place sponsorship emblems on cars and other items which cost money. They can afford to use better ingredients and design is usually more focused on a truly unique and quality offering. Unfortunately the end product is more expensive but "may" offer something more unique or limited.

At the end of the day, that doesnt make one product better or worse than the other however. So it comes down to the end user making a choice on what works better for him. You might be able to use some OTC products (I do for wheelwells for example as low cost is my preferred approach) however using boutique for wax. (I dont believe you will ever find a Souveran or Fuzion at retail).

[Tesla]

I think Bunky touches on a good point as well regarding how to evaluate such products.

For some, durability is the most important factor, meanwhile to other (like me), it means nothing, because I like to do my car at least once (or twice) a month. ;)

Ease of application/removal are high on my scale, as is slickness and price. I also consider whether a product is staining vs. non-staining.

So, two people could use the same two products and come to two very different conclusions.

Take Zaino for example vs. a carnauba like Souveran. Some might prefer the Zaino shine and long durabilty over Sourveran's glow and ease of application/removal. Who is to say who is right?