I’m searching for a C7 and found one at Corvette World in Houston. During conversation with them I learned that they add a mandatory ceramic paint protection for an additional $695 above the advertised price of the car. I think it’s made by a company like 3M (or similarity well known brand). Aside from the “mandatory” nature of this (Which, in my opinion, ain’t cool), is this worth an additional $695? Their cars are nice but they are already priced at the top of the market and this add on just puts it a bit over the top.

 

Ask them what steps they took to apply and speak to the guy who did the work.
They should have "leveled" the paint first, to get rid of uneven paint, swirl marks, orange peel, etc. After that comes the application, and usually it is 2 applications. That whole process can be $1K to $2K because of the time and expertise with the painted surface. If they just applied it, then it should be closer to $100 to 200, as you can do it in an hour, and the ceramic stuff will cost about 50 to 100. Remember their cost is different from yours.

It should look highly reflective, even wet when you look at it. Pour some water on it, and it should run off as the surface is hydrophobic, meaning it repels water.

Also get your own quotes from an independent place and the steps they take.

 

Down here south of Houston, I paid $990 for a full Feynlab ceramic coating with paint correction. This is a 5 year coating and the water just beads off of the car. Agree with Szabol that you should see how/what was applied.

 

When you check the car out, look closely at all angles. If you see swirls, they did not correct the paint before applying the coating. However, if the car is swirl free and shines fantastic, $695 is a good deal.

 

I would tell them no. A quality correction and coating cost almost double that. Plus the dealer must be making a profit so the cost of it is probably even less.

 

Look for swirls, as the paint correction step is the laborious part of the process. I just coated my old Lexus GX470, and it took me most of a week to get right, probably 16-20 hours total, thats a lot of labor. Took me only a little less for my GS when it came home new, and nearly all that is in the prep and correction.

Ask what ceramic product was applied. It may be a low-end coating, and it probably is. Nothing wrong with that for protection, but it may not last but 2-3 years.

 

A ceramic coating is not "mandatory" so I would't let them hit you for that fee. If you like the car, get a $700 discount on top of the price you would be willing to pay for that car without the coating.Hey, it's not your fault they installed something that you may have not wanted and now are forced to pay for. Let's say for sake of argument that you wanted to have PPF (protection film) installed instead of a ceramic coating. Why should you have to pay $700 for something that you are going to lay film over - rendering it virtually useless.

So...Is it worth $700? - You should ask exactly what was done to the car, and get the name of the coating used.

Before you get into that battle, I'll lay out some "ammo" you will need if you want to argue and debate with the dealer. They are betting that all the typical person will hear is "ceramic coating" and due to their lack of detailing knowledge think "oh, I've heard that is something good and something expensive, so this is pure value added" and they will accept that add on charge and move on - thinking they scored big. Many times dealer installed coatings are not really worth too much since they don't involve all the steps you would do if you took the car to a pro installer to do the job correctly.

Please allow me to explain...this is going to be a bit long, but it what you need to know if you are interested in coatings and if you want to make sure you are not getting taken advantage of.

Typically, before coating a car there would be a pretty extensive detailing process done to ensure that the coating is applied to a virgin clear coat that is swirl free. Even when cars leave a dealer's lot, the paint would still need to be "corrected" if the car were to go straight to an installer for a coating....that is the nature of the beast. Even brand new cars have swirls and scratches in the clear coat. Paint correction is done before the coating is installed so as not to lock these swirls in under the coating. It's like putting on underarm deodorant after you've been sweating all day long without wearing deodorant in the first place.

These are the steps that pro detailers would do to prepare for a coating:

• traffic film removal - usually involved spraying the car with an APC (all purpose cleaner) to remove traffic film and then blasting it off with a pressure washer
• snow foam wash - blast the car with foam from a foam cannon before it is hand washed to loosen and remove any dirt particles. Pre-wash snow foams are wonderful products and do work.
• contact wash - this is the first time where the car is actually touched by human hands - the good ole' soap in the buckets and wash mitt step.
• chemical decontamination - this is where an iron remover and next a tar remover would be sprayed on the car and blasted off with a pressure washer
• mechanical decontamination - uses a clay bar to continue to remove embedded contaminants from the clear coat

Now the car is ready for paint correction - you will hear the terms 1 step or 2 step. This is when the polishers come out and the swirling, marring, and scratches are finally removed. A 2-step involves a compounding and a polishing. The 1 step and 2 step are similar in that they use buffers to remove defects.

• Compounding (the first step of the 2-step) is done on cars that have a more profound level of defects and employs more aggressive "cutting" of the clear coat with more aggressive pads, and the compounds themselves have more aggressive cutting agents in them.
• After the compounding stage the second of the 2 -steps is performed; it is called polishing or finishing, or sometimes jeweling. This is a finer level of correction which focuses more on enhancing the gloss of the clear than it does cutting through the scratches; although you are still doing some cutting. Some cars just require this step - at that point you are talking just about a 1-step correction.

After the paint correction is done and the car is sprayed with a panel wipe/prep (an alcohol based solution to remove any residue and oils from the compounds and polishes) it is finally ready to be coated! Obliviously, this is the step where the coating is applied meticulously (hopefully) in cross hatch patterns to provide complete coverage and minimize the probability of high spots. I'd find out exactly what coating was used as there are differences in pro install coating and coatings that anyone can order off of car care sites. Primarily the difference is the amount of SiO2 in the coating. The more SiO2, the better and more difficult the coating is to apply, but it will last longer and protect better. As an example "pro-sumer" level coating will contain a 60/65% concentration of SiO2. A pro install coating will contain upwards of 90%.

So, if you were to take the car to a pro installer who would likely do all of that - you would easily pay $1200-$1500. That price is comprised of 2 components - the work for the actual coating install, which is usually a standard price for most vehicles. However, the second part of the charge is for paint correction which is a "wild card" in that no two cars have exactly the same amount of defects, and without seeing and inspecting the car, a real installer cannot give you an accurate price, nor should he. He may give you an estimate saying something like "if it needs a basic 1 step it is $XXX, if it needs a 2-step then it is $XXX". Typically the correction is half (if not more) of the overall price since it is way more tedious and time consuming to do that vs. simply applying a coating to a car.

I hope this helps you make an informed decision or gives you and advantage should you decide to cross swords with them over a non-essential charge.

Let us know.

Best to you,
Loki6

 

Thanks for that detailed reply! It really does help. Corvette World holds themselves out as a "no-haggle" dealer and they then add this cost after the fact (and above what they advertise the car for sale at). When I asked if I could leave the ceramic coat off, they replied that it is done to all of their inventory and is not optional to leave out. They do have nice cars but I think I can wait and find a better deal elsewhere. Aside from that, the process you outline doesn't seem possible for $695 so I worry that it is not being done well. I wish they'd just leave it off.

 

Sounds like the typical Stealership BS I see all over around here.

 

I agree with others... The "real deal" would be way more than 700.
They're probably using an $80 DIY kit and having a teenager do 5hours of wax on / wax off.... And technically it is now "ceramic coated".. And they just baked in $500 of profit to every car they sell.

 

with the others.

 

That could mean Anything. You can buy ‘ceramic in a can’ these days. Yours (theirs) is probably a ceramic spray ‘detailer’ that costs $30 & 20 minutes of time.
My 5 layer, 10-yr warranty ‘permanent’ ceramic coat cost about $1,000.

 

I put that in the same category as "documentation fees". 99% pure profit

 

LOL... They have a $125 "Doc fee", too!

 

your next play:

 

Without paint correction it is a pure waste of money as the ceramic will trap imperfections.
Sounds more like a way to add $$$ to the sale... Applying ceramic coating their cost sans correction is likely less than a Benjamin...

 

LOL!

Maybe if they weren't no-haggle in addition to being priced at the top of the market... but, I think you're right. I have to leave this (beautiful) car in Houston and keep looking.

 

I agree with everyone above and sounds like you made the right decision.

I work at a dealership and sell the coatings and warranties etc here. Just had an Audi Q8 coated. The car had 9000km (about 5500miles). It took my detailer 4 days to correct the paint prior to application. Customer paid $2250cnd for this.... and in his opinion after seeing the car, worth every penny. If I sold it for $695, my lot boy would have applied the coating instead of my detailer lol

 

If that C7 is a 19 Grand Sport in WGG with red/black interior, it was my car. Just traded it in Florida last month.

 

I doubt they are even doing that much work. More like a $15 bottle of "ceramic" spray wax that was applied after a quick wash.

I would love to set up a camera and see them in the act of doing this $700 paint protection

"We do this to all our cars and can't take it off" is an automatic red flag Such BS means they don't deserve your business.