What should I do?! Need new car advice!

[Helltopay]

It as been my experience with car dealerships that they are only going to sell you something that will make them money. I am sure that they will apply some type of coating that is likely pretty decent but as others have stated nothing lasts forever without maintenance. I just sold a 12-year-old truck with 250,000 miles on which the paint looked virtually new and had absolutely no clear coat failure. It looked that way because I washed it carefully, regularly applied some type of paint protection, and did not abuse the paint (like sitting on the hood, allowing someone to put a purse on the roof, or dragging keys on the side).
The dealership is essentially selling you an insurance policy. They are betting that you will regularly come see them for the maintenance (and pay for said maintenance) and the paint will hold up or you will not follow the recommended maintenance and the paint will hold up or you will not follow the recommended maintenance, the paint will fail, and they can deny the claim because you did not follow the recommended maintenance. The only way the dealership loses is if you do everything correctly and the paint fails. To be honest, that likely will not happen because if it was a regular occurrence, they would not be selling the protection (because they would not be making money). As an aside, the dealership is most likely just the seller of the service like they are with most extended warranties.
If you think about it, a sales person spends hours telling you how great the vehicle is, the company's satisfaction rating, and all the reasons that you should buy their vehicle to then, once you have agreed to buy their car, tell you that you need to buy an extended warranty, paint protection, upholstery protection, and a road hazard policy against damaged tires and wheels.
In my opinion, I think it would be a good idea to have a reputable company detail the car (including some type of paint protection) and then you give it a year of you performing the regular maintenance (washes, etc). A couple of buckets, grit guards, a decent car wash soap, a mitt or two, and a couple of waffle weave drying towels from AG is less than $100. Who knows, you might come to love it and can invest further.


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[rlmccarty2000]

As most of the others have said, skip the dealer and find yourself a local detailer to prep and coat your new baby. Check out the detailers work and ask him simple questions about coating your car. If he is offering a warranty he is full of it too. Welcome you are at the right place to start. Taking care of your car should be fun and not a chore. Enjoy the new ride!

[Mantilgh]

^I thought some of the pro coatings coatings come with a warranty.

But same deal...blah, blah, must be periodically maintained by the detailer and other conditions.

[AttyVette]

We had a dealer installed coating that was on our Chevy Volt ( it was on the car when we purchased it). We wouldn't have bought it if it hadn't already been on the car. BUT that being said, when the paint started flaking off a few small sections on the roof Chevrolet denied coverage saying the paint was caused by acid rain. The Volt was still covered by the three year 36,000 mile warranty but Chevrolet refused to pay to repaint the roof. I happened to think about the paint sealant that was on the car and the sealant company did cover the repainting of the roof. So in our case, it was worth it!
Still upset at Chevrolet denying coverage because they couldn't answer why acid rain would have affected the paint on only the 2011 Volt, as our other five vehicles paint were all fine and the model years ranged from 1982 thru 2014. They looked for a way to get out of paying by saying since we live where refineries are located, the paint problem had to have been caused by acid rain.

[UTdetailing]

Welcome to AGO!!

I am with the masses, I suggest staying away from the dealer. Remember that dealers are "high turn" shops, meaning they are trying to get things done fast, not right. Although there are some good detailers at dealerships generally speaking detailers at dealers are not paid well therefore they go through detailers rather rapidly. You are basically letting an intern put a "permanent" coating on your vehicle, and if the MFG of the coating says the only way to get it off is to wet sand? I would stay away from that product period.

[newcar17]

Soooo glad I found this forum!

Yeah, I've decided not to do the coating from the dealer. I got to thinking about it and if I'm going to be removing anything that gets on the car immediately, then any good quality paint protection will work and I'm never going to use the warranty! I'm going to do the $275 for the exterior detail job from the local detailer. He's an honest guy and he told me that nothing lasts forever. He seems like a pretty straight shooter. I'll post a pic after she's done . I'm guessing the meguiars mirror glaze sealant is a solid product to use?

[Jmbrown415]

Good. Very glad to hear this. It's for me, never about the products they use just how they apply them.
It's like these tent auto spray people. They came out and did my door as some idiot bashed it. They apply the paint ok however you will be claying off the overspray. Also correcting the buffer marks they leave. ����

[Eldorado2k]

Chevrolet denied coverage saying the paint was caused by acid rain. The Volt was still covered by the three year 36,000 mile warranty but Chevrolet refused to pay to repaint the roof.

General Motors gets a billion dollar government bailout...
Nickel & dimes it's own American customers and can't even stand behind their own warranty... Smh.



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[AttyVette]

General Motors gets a billion dollar government bailout...
Nickel & dimes it's own American customers and can't even stand behind their own warranty... Smh.



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I agree..ridiculous and even service department employees at our local Chevy dealership told us they were sorry that GM denied the claim, as they didn't see the paint flaking as being caused by acid rain! GM looks for excuses to get out of paying legitimate claims IMO!

[PaulMys]

Soooo glad I found this forum!

Yeah, I've decided not to do the coating from the dealer. I got to thinking about it and if I'm going to be removing anything that gets on the car immediately, then any good quality paint protection will work and I'm never going to use the warranty! I'm going to do the $275 for the exterior detail job from the local detailer. He's an honest guy and he told me that nothing lasts forever. He seems like a pretty straight shooter. I'll post a pic after she's done . I'm guessing the meguiars mirror glaze sealant is a solid product to use?

Glad to hear it. You made the right choice, IMO.

And yes, Meg's is very solid company with an outstanding reputation. Any product they offer can be found here on AG because they sell good quality products.

That being said, as you start to read up on here, and try new things, you might find product(s) you like better (whether it be longevity, ease of application, personal preference, etc.)

A whole world of detailing is awaiting you!!