Advice on Choosing Auto Protection Package (Not Dealership)

AdosHouse on 30/04/2021 - 03:46

Looking for advice on getting the protection packages for my new car. Obviously I walked away from the dealership cost, they didn't even try to bargain with me, meh whatever.

So I'm looking for tinting, paint protection, interior protection, as well as paint correction. Even though the car is brand new, dealers are great at putting swirls in just doing a simple wash, and I would like this car looking nice.

I have been doing a bit of Googling on reputable companies to do it, as well as products used. So far I have narrowed it down to two companies that seem to offer good products.

  1. SolarStyle, seen their name turn up a lot of forums, very good reputation but more expensive of the two. Offers paint correction, Opti-Coat Pro+ ceramic paint protection, Opti-Guard Plus interior protection, Opti-Coat Pro+ outer wheel coating, and 3M Black window tinting. Comes to $1795, and addiotional $200 if I want to change tint to Rayno S9 tint.

  2. Preferred Car Care (Also called Ceramic Pro Brisbane), also good rep, good positive reviews. Offers paint correction, two coats of Ceramic Pro, wheel coating, interior protection, window sealant, and Johnson InsulatIR Nano Ceramic tint. Comes to $1190. So much cheaper, and needs car for 1.5 days.

Looking for advice between the two products, and the two companies, and any alternatives. I live Brisbane northside, but can do southside no problems.

Cheers all.

Automotive

Comments

  • Marcsie on 30/04/2021 - 06:07
    +7

    Never had it with my 3 brand new cars in the past.
    I think it’s just a waste of money.

    • SF3 on 30/04/2021 - 09:07
      +1

      Agree here.

      The car isn't going to melt down or start flaking if it doesn't get done. Can't speak about the robustness of some of the OPs posting on OzB :D

      • bhubb18 on 30/04/2021 - 09:45

        No, it won't 'melt or start flaking' without paint protection.
        However they help add a layer of protection onto the paint, as well as making the paint easier to clean.
        Easier to clean = reduced chance of swirls

    • Chandler on 30/04/2021 - 09:53

      As someone who's car looks like it got skin cancer, I agree.

      Just look after the car - give it a clean (inside & out) every so often.

  • jimbobaus on 30/04/2021 - 07:26
    +5

    As someone who used to sell this stuff for a living I can tell you it’s useless. The only thing worth getting is tint.

    Paint and interior protection is not worth the money no matter how amazing they claim the product is. It’s not more effective than giving your car a good clean and wax regularly.

    Don’t let the fancy words and made up science fool you.

    Paint correction schemes (like Schmick) have to many restrictions and exclusions. When I was working in the industry schmick (the most popular product sold) was sitting at around 28% of claims being approved.

    Go somewhere local and reliable for tint.

    Move on.

    • Bid Sniper on 30/04/2021 - 09:17

      Disagree, not sure what you sold but ceramic coating is an amazing paint protection layer.

      -The depth of color and gloss finish no wax can compare.
      -washing is blasting with a hose then leaf blower, 5min job now.
      -on a windsheild at speeds over 80kph in the rain, dont need wipers. Infact see worse with wipers on.
      -gives a hard layer of protection. I backed into my garage shelves slightly in my Subaru,this would of resulted in a big scratch. Got out looked, nothing, it works.

      I DIY'd cermaic coating on my daily Kia, looks great. Think its worth it DIY ceramic coating on a daily, certainly increased its value. Same effort as waxing a car.

      • jimbobaus on 30/04/2021 - 09:33
        +4

        Sounds like someone has bought into all the hype!

        If ceramic coating / Paint protection was a required product for new cars… manufacturers would put it on their vehicles.

        As i said i sold the stuff for a living, saw what was in the bottles used, saw how much the wholesale cost was vs the retail price.

        its all fancy words and fake benefits to make margin.

        Dealerships rely on it as the margin is crap on cars (contrary to popular belief)
        there are entire After Market businesses operating purely to do protective coatings on cars.. they can do 3 or 4 a day and have staff on cause the margin and mark up is massive.

        DIY though… thats a smart move if you do want to do it… save plenty of $$$

        • Bid Sniper on 30/04/2021 - 11:20
          +1

          Not talking about dealership paint protection snake oil, talking about real ceramic coating.

          Manufacturers are about volume and cost cutting. It's tricky putting it on and getting it even, too much a bottleneck in production. On a used car took me 2 days to install 20hrs work.

          Yeah liquid itself is cheap I got a good quality bottle of it and it's $90. Even then I think there is huge margin in that too. So cost of material doubt it's more than $20.

          Benefits are real, it's much harder coating than clear it resists scratches. After 3 years my STI still doesn't have swirl marks. Also colour is much deeper paint has a glass finish to it. I'd say if it's BS but it ain't. That's why I spent 2 days DIY on my daily after I had it done to my STI.

          • jimbobaus on 30/04/2021 - 12:43

            @Bid Sniper:

            Not talking about dealership paint protection snake oil, talking about real ceramic coating.

            I was talking about CC not only PP we sold both

            we can agree to disagree but can tell you from when i was in the industry it was all snake oil

            I can appreciate wanting to protect your car and investment, but modern paints do not need extra layers of protection honestly they don't they just need to be maintained and kept clean.

            • Bid Sniper on 30/04/2021 - 15:12

              @jimbobaus: If you're talking European cars I agree. They have hard clear coats. Japanese cars really thin and easy to scratch. To me ceramic coating a Japanese car is a must if it's black.

    • AdosHouse on 30/04/2021 - 14:28

      Appreciate the advice mate.

      Know any good brands in tint? Or just find a good local guy?

  • Euphemistic on 30/04/2021 - 08:24

    What sort of car is it? You’d be overcapitalising on a Kia ( except tint)

    • AdosHouse on 30/04/2021 - 14:26

      Hyundai i30 is the new one.

    • knasty on 30/04/2021 - 14:52

      I overcapitalised on an older Kia with ceramic coating…but it's outside all the time and is now so much easier to clean than before paint correction and ceramic, so I see it as an upfront investment in my ongoing time saving.

  • onlyletters on 30/04/2021 - 08:40

    dont even bother, its all a scam.. everyone i know that has had it done to their new car regrets it, it doesnt make much of a difference for the price you pay, just save your money towards a whole respray…

  • knasty on 30/04/2021 - 08:53
    +2

    I DIY interior protection. Fabric seats get Scotchgard. Leather seats get good quality a leather balm. I use 303 protectant (with UV inhibitors) on surfaces particularly those in full sun ie. dash, steering wheel etc.

    • Bid Sniper on 30/04/2021 - 09:24

      Interesting, got a link to the product you used?

    • AdosHouse on 30/04/2021 - 14:25

      DIY seems like a decent idea. 303 is a decent brand and I'm a little surprised SCA sell it, but that's convenient.

      • knasty on 30/04/2021 - 14:50

        I wait for a special at one of the majors or Amazon in the teens.

        • AdosHouse on 30/04/2021 - 14:50

          Good advice, cheers.

    • Euphemistic on 30/04/2021 - 15:38

      I wonder if those ‘protectant’ products actually do protect, or do they just make it look shiny for a while.

  • Bid Sniper on 30/04/2021 - 09:07
    +2

    I had Opti-Coat Pro+ installed on my black WRX STI. Would highly recommended to any car that is black. 3 years on car still looks new and is more scratch resistant, Japanese cars have soft paint. My car and others I seen had swirl marks on the dealership lot.

    • AdosHouse on 30/04/2021 - 14:24

      I currently have a metallic black car, oh man it needs every bit of help it can get. New one is metallic red.

      • Bid Sniper on 30/04/2021 - 15:32

        Compound, polish, then ceramic coat will look new. Did that for my black 2014 Kia daily. Paint was neglected, swirl marks, residue etc… was blue from all the dust and grime stuck in the paintwork. Took two days but looks new now.

        Consider it for new car at least use one of those hybrid wax ceramic sprays. Will help protect your paint. Lasts 3 to 6 months or so

  • Darayus on 30/04/2021 - 10:29

    Just get solar tint who provided life time warranty and move on. Its just a car which you will love for 2 years. Spend that money on vacation with your family and they will thank you

  • vinni9284 on 30/04/2021 - 11:15
    +2

    Any type of protection, please read the T&C's.
    The maintenance required to satisfy the warranty, you might as well have a closed door respray after 15 years if you keep that car.

  • DJR9000 on 30/04/2021 - 11:20

    just buy some decent wash, invest in two buckets , a drying towel, wash mitt and chamois, when washing change water regularly. A snow lances + pressure washer is also useful if you need to wash often.

    I've been using meguairs hybrid ceramic wax spray, I spray it into another spray bottle from Bunnings and dilute it down to about 25% of its original concentration and it still works just great. Although I did start out with a Gyeon ceramic coat on mine, I don't think its necessary seeing the quality of the meguairs even if you just follow the directions, gets even better if you apply it on directly with a microfibre like a ceramic coating.

    • AdosHouse on 30/04/2021 - 14:23

      I have some half decent washing gear. My usual cleaning method is foam lance with Autoglym Polar blast, then 2 bucket clean with Autoglym UHD shampoo and Gyeon microfibre glove, then dry with Mint microfibre drying towel.

      Thanks will look at the spray.

      • DJR9000 on 01/05/2021 - 10:31

        sounds a lot like my regime :) You just need a protectant of some sort. I think autoglym probably do a ceramic based one but I've been impressed with the meguairs one, its cheap (45 a bottle and dilute it 4x or so), good gloss and beading. The beading lasts at least a month for me, and the slickness is better than I was getting from the Gyeon Cure top coat/top-up coating on top of the gyeon prime base.

        Have a google about the application method of the hybrid ceramic, you can put down a base layer direct with a microfibre and then just top up from there when needed.

  • SJDR on 30/04/2021 - 13:38

    Scam.

    Save the money for a decent detail/wax every 12 months.

  • FocusRider on 30/04/2021 - 14:08
    +1

    If you want to protect your paint get PPF.

    • AdosHouse on 30/04/2021 - 14:20

      Saw that, giving it some thought on the front bumper and bonnet.

      • mini2 on 03/05/2021 - 11:25

        Probably the A-pillar, your mirrors, just near the top of your windscreen and top of your rear bumper while you're at it. Might as well get the leading edge of your fenders too….

  • AdosHouse on 30/04/2021 - 14:29

    Appreciate everyone feedback.

    Anyone got some advice on tinting? Brands or installers in Brisbane?

  • jssr13 on 02/05/2021 - 00:42

    Would just use a spray wax tbh.

  • NotAnAudiophile on 02/05/2021 - 08:21

    I would agree on just getting tint. Had brand news cars that had opti coat installed. Yes, much easier to clean, but I found that I wasn't through enough in cleaning compared to pro detailers. Paint protection is good if you always clean it yourself, but I'm changing to a proper detail every 1 or 2 months, which is much better value.

  • Darayus on 03/05/2021 - 12:12

    you can also apply normal hair conditioner ( cheapest from aldi or coles) mix 1/3 to water and apply it and then wash it down, you will get good water beading when rain fall.

  • sunnyc on 02/03/2023 - 21:03

    Depends what you want, i know someone in gold coast. A lot of know-it-alls can't even afford the most car care so I would take them for a grain of salt. Not expensive car, not expensive paint. do whatever. Tinting is very important, especially in Brisbane, get a good ceramic tint. It does a very good job blocking out the heat.

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