Paint 'protection' on a new car?

Montala

Montala

Montala

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Joined
8 Oct 2005
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Herefordshire (U.K.)
Having read a few threads on here regarding paint problems on a brand new car, and the advantages (or otherwise) of having additional ‘protection’ I would like some advice please.

I am picking up a new Fiesta Zetec, in Race Red, on 1st March from a large Ford main dealer who offered me a product called ‘Fortron Shield’ (appears to be mainly promoted by Hartwells) for £399.

Needless to say I didn't jump at the offer, but before anyone says ‘do it yourself’ I am afraid to say that the days of spending Sunday mornings lovingly polishing my latest pride and joy have long since passed! I do however like a car to look as good as possible, and am considering using the services of a specialised detailing company, such as Reflections Detailing, who offer an ‘on site’ service’ for £249.

Details can be found at http://www.reflections-detailing.co.uk/detailing/detailing-prices/ and they sound like a genuine sort of outfit, who say that they will spend about six hours on the car, and also reckon that almost every new car comes with some sort of paint ‘defect’… which a lot of folk on here seem to confirm. Is this generally true though?

I obviously don’t want to throw money away, but would like to protect my ‘investment’ to some extent!

Thanks! :)
 
When I bought my current (used) car from a VW main dealer I got a harder sell from them to buy all the extras (paint protection. leather protection, alloy insurance, gap insurance) than I did to actually buy the car in the first place.

I didn't buy any of them.
 
Like you say - Spend the money on having someone machine polish it and seal it, much better way to spend your pennies.

At the end of the day nothing is going to stop the car park dings and bumper scrapes.
 
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Minstadave said:
Like you say - Spend the money on having someone machine polish it and seal it, much better way to spend your pennies.

At the end of the day nothing is going to stop the car park dings and bumper scrapes.
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Thanks, I appreciate that, but I wondered if anyone on here had any experience, or received any feedback on "Reflections Detailing" from Kidderminster, (link in OP) who sound as if they are enthusiasts who specialise in this sort of work.

There is no way I would leave something like this to the main dealer though.
 
Get them to chuck it in for free, had supaguard on a couple of my dark coloured cars and it did a half decent job. If not speak to a local detailed to get them to recommend and apply something.
 
you could pay a 'detailer' to do their 'detailing' but IMO its a waste of time if your only going to go drive it through a carwash a week later anyway
 
It certainly won't be driven through any car-washers... I hate the things, and can't remember the last time I went anywhere near one!
 
don't bother with the dealer applied stuff,

get yourself on a forum like detailing world and find yourself a reputable local detailer to give your car a decent correction and protection detail i'd imagine it will cost around the same or less than the dealer and you will actually get a benefit from a decent detailer doing their thing unlike what the dealer is offering
 
I wouldnt waste your money personally (well I would waste yours :) )

Whatever 'imperfections' there are in the paint are 'usually' going to be negligible.

Put the money to one side and review the paintwork after a year of ownership,driving,washing etc...
I would recommend signing up with DW just for the sake of keeping the paintwork ship shape, but paintwork correction at this stage would be a complete waste of time, unless you are planning on wrapping the car in cling film and driving it once a week. :)
 
mjd said:
I wouldnt waste your money personally (well I would waste yours :) )

Whatever 'imperfections' there are in the paint are 'usually' going to be negligible.

Put the money to one side and review the paintwork after a year of ownership,driving,washing etc...
I would recommend signing up with DW just for the sake of keeping the paintwork ship shape, but paintwork correction at this stage would be a complete waste of time, unless you are planning on wrapping the car in cling film and driving it once a week. :)
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yeah, dont do any correction. Just protect it with some good quality wax or sealant.
 
Hades said:
When I bought my current (used) car from a VW main dealer I got a harder sell from them to buy all the extras (paint protection. leather protection, alloy insurance, gap insurance) than I did to actually buy the car in the first place.

I didn't buy any of them.
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Same with the Mini dealership.

The car took 30 seconds to buy, telling them to **** off with their paint insurance, alloy wheel insurance, GAP insurance etc took most of the afternoon.
 
Wax it every few weeks, take it to a hand wash car wash once per week and if you want to protect from dings, just vinyl the front of the car. That's as good as it's going to get. It's a car, it'll get chips, nothing you can do about it other than put it in Chris Evans's garage lol. I've always looked after cars, but there's a limit, I try and keep it as clean as possible but you're always reacting to environments. Spend a day waxing and the cars covered in dust the following day anyway even if in a garage or it's raining...
 
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Montala said:
Thanks, I appreciate that, but I wondered if anyone on here had any experience, or received any feedback on "Reflections Detailing" from Kidderminster, (link in OP) who sound as if they are enthusiasts who specialise in this sort of work.

There is no way I would leave something like this to the main dealer though.
Click to expand...

If you're wanting to use detailing services, I cannot recommend Depth of Shine in Stourbridge enough. Have a chat with Drew, he's absolutely, madly obsessive and does a fantastic job. He did my old man's Merc (below) and gives my mum's CLK320 rag top a redoing each year to make sure it's still properly sealed and tensioned.

http://depthofshine.wordpress.com/gallery/mercedes-benz-gallery/sl55-amg-f1/

Personally, I wouldn't trust anything in Kidderminster - but that's because I lived in Bewdley for 16-odd years and Kidderminster for 2! :p

e: I got suckered into Diamondbrite on my Honda. Really wish I hadn't as I'm sure the paintwork guarantee isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
 
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