Please help! I'm picking up a 2008 black convertible tomorrow. The dealer is trying to get me to agree to have a ceramic protective coating put on it before delivery. Should I do it?

 

This sounds like the dealership already has it installed and wants to charge you for it. To put a ceramic coating on a 2008 car would require several days of work.

 

no do it yourself and save a ton of money

 

There is probably no perfect answer - you'll get plenty of opinions. The simple question is - should you have the car ceramic coated? The answer based on my experience is an unequivocal yes. Should you have the dealer perform it prior to delivery - w/o knowing the details or dealer's level of expertise, I would say no based on several things. Performing ceramic coating w/o doing adequate prep work is not practical and basically a waste of time/money. Prep work involves washing, clay barring, level I and/or level II paint correction (based on the condition of the paint), polishing, de-oiling after polishing and then applying ceramic coating. My experience is that dealers don't have the level of expertise needed nor will they devote the proper number of man hours to do the job correctly. If they do, the cost will be astronomical. If one is not going to do the proper prep work, they shouldn't waste money on ceramic coating. All that being said, you have two viable options. 1. Have a reputable detailer or detailing shop do the work in lieu of the dealer make sure you perform due diligence before selecting an individual or shop.. There is no rush having it done prior to delivery. 2. If you don't mind a couple of days working on the car yourself, you can do all the steps yourself, saving considerable $$ and taking pride in the work you did. Having done several of my Corvettes and Vettes for others, I will tell you layman can produce excellent results unless the condition of the paint is almost non-salvageable, in which case you probably would want to resort to a pro. There are many excellent videos on You Tube and excellent resources such as the Autogeek forums. Most ceramic coating manufacturers have videos or tutorials on their website with a wealth of information, some specific to their product only. I would say don't be intimidated. You only need a few basic supplies. Use name brand products. Almost any reputable name brand will produce excellent results provided you use the proper technique. Once the paint correction, polishing and ceramic coating has been completed, take the time to properly wash and dry the car each and every time and you should never have to perform paint correction again. Using the proper materials and correct technique, the odds of causing damage to the paint are miniscule. If you do make an error, they are usually easily correctable. However, if one does not have the time or feels their time is more valuable tackling other endeavors, let a shop or reputable individual do the work - but don't not do the work yourself if the greater fear is you'll mess something up.

 

very good advice above, I am not sure I would coat a car that old which likely would need a lot of paint correction. You should check the condition of the paint carefully before deciding but if it were me I would likely compound and wax.

 

Not unless I inspected the paint to determine the correction needed and he had a reputable shop do the job. No dealer will have the expertise in-house to do that correctly.

Sounds to me like it may have been done and he wants to charge for it.

In general the answer to whether it should be corrected then coated is yes, I'm about to do my own car.

 

Chances are extremely high the dealer is outsourcing. I did it for several dealers at my shop. Being a used black car, I can guarantee it is a mess. If you are not comfortable doing paint correction, and I mean serious paint correction, then follow rcharrison1's advice. Once you ceramic coat the car you lock in the scratches/swirls. Not a pretty sight.
Check with local detailers and get several estimates, and references. Ask to see Black cars they have done in bright sunlight. I have seen so called pro detailers that have made a car worse. I have spent hours getting someone else's work corrected.
Ask what product they use, and this is extremely important. There is literally a ton of junk ceramics out there, check out what they use. Report back here or you can PM me.
I have literally done hundreds of cars with Ceramics. I have my favorite products, along with testing some total junk that was reported to be great.
To set a base, I owned a very high end detailing shop in Silicon Valley and was the place to go for show car winning details. I have used/tested more ceramic product than most people will ever do I was the shop that could get a black car flawless.

 

Good advice. i would just add, if you decide to get the coating check with some good detail shops in your area for prices. Anywhere else should be cheaper, and probably better than what the dealer is offering.

 

I'm getting an estimate tomorrow. 2017 GSCE # 663 Z06 Body style. 16,000 miles, not flawless but fixable.

Ceramic Pro, "Nanoceramic Technology". I have washed, waxed, clay bar, too many time in 2 years to want to do it
again. It should still have all the layers of clear coat on it. WG paint.
What should I expect to pay? "4 layers of "9H" lifetime warranty…...

 

3200.00 My guess

 

This is so geographic based it is very difficult to say. My shop in Silicon Valley would do it for $5k including paint correction and people would not blink and eye. I would guess half that price in the midwest/east.

 

I would not pay a dealer for it especially on a used car. As others have said unless paint correction was done prior it would just make it worse. My guess is dealer is just trying to up his gross selling you something that may not even be done.

 

If you are happy with the paint finish the way it is I would say move on, drive the car and spend the money on upgrades.

 

I love the ceramic coating on my 2001 triple black vert.
I did have the paint completely buffed and polished first.
There are no 'swirls' in the paint now, even a year later.
Cleaning a ceramic coated black car almost becomes a pleasure.
A simple rinse and a good drying technique makes it shine like a polished bowling ball.'
My cost for the entire job was about $1500, here in Tennessee. It was done by a guy that does it for a living, and takes great pride (rightfullly) in his work.
The process took 3 days, including time for the coating to 'set' properly.
My car was in pretty good shape befor e process.

I don't know why I haven't had him do my night race blue 2014.

 

will you trust what they did BEFORE you see ut?

 

OK, I got the real deal $$$. $ 2,200. for a Lifetime Warranty, 5 costs of "Stuff" 3 days in shop. Replacing some vinyl accents, and Wheel removal and caliper//wheel clean/seal. Albany, NY .dirty as sin after sitting under a tarp for 3+ months. "Nanoceramics" $ 2,400. after they sell me on "better" stuff...

 

The Lifetime warranty "Stuff" is that Ceramic Pro, but I am not sure what you mean by "better" stuff

 

Ceramic coating is till going to get scratches just like the top coat.

 

it seems like you guys are ignoring how anything a dealer wants to sell you is ALWAYS best sought elsewhere.

"stealership"

say no, get lowest price you can, worry about total out the door cost and thats it. then take your new ride and ride out.

 

Albany?? That’s where I just bought mine!