So the protection package of course was the old money maker for Dealers of paint protection, leather / fabric and some sort of rust protection. The AutoSaver thing they offer is a scam now (and probably always was). The Leather protection I learned was basically some massively overpriced detailing spray which I’ve done myself with 303 aerospace protectant (seems good for making the seats slippery and less likely for dirt to stick which is what I wanted, but phew - the smell! I don’t have a garage to air it out and it’s of course winter time. Hopefully it clears up soon, but one day wasn’t enough).
My big issue is I like to get my car washed, I think it actually helps with the rust problems in upstate NY. However, the convenient (i.e. I’ll actually do it once a week or more) and cost effective (they have a flat rate plan you can get for a monthly fee and go through once a day) car wash has brushes that invariably swirl the paint. I’ve mostly lived with it as it seems to basically be just in the clear coat and you have to get right up close to even see it in my previous cars. I also found the RainX Surface protectant they include to work well for me with my windshield and helping keep the paint from fading etc.
However, I wondered if it’s worthwhile to pay a couple hundred dollars to a local detailing shop to put on some polymer based coat that’s a year long wax - would that then be what got swirled by the regular car wash? i.e. can I spend $250 a year or whatever and just get the hard wax replaced to protect the car from the wash? Or is it better to go touchless (but maybe only every 2 months or so vs once or more a week)?
Or just live with swirls? Most people actually thought my cars looked great because I washed them at all so from that perspective the swirls are OK. It’s a dark blue color, so not quite as bad as black, but it’s almost black (Subaru has years and apparently 2012 and 2018 were ones where they just don’t offer a “normal” blue, you get light “sky blue” or this almost black blue, which I like better than “sky blue”)…