I just bought a 2011 Outback Wagon. I am trying to decide whether to get the Simoniz GlassCoat paint, carpet, fabric & leather protection plan. Are these necessary, and do they protect the car? Thanks, Charlie
I would bet that a Simoniz GlassCoat is nothing more than a wax job. You can buy a can of auto wax at WalMart for under $10, but this price doesnât include installation. You can âinstallâ a wax job with an afternoonâs worth of work. You can also purchase fabric sprays for about $10 bucks that probably do the same thing as what the dealer wants to sell you. These are real profit makers for the dealer. I would take a pass.
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Yep, if this is something offered by the dealer itâs worth about 10% of the asking price. How much do they want to charge you?
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Yup!
This is just massively overpriced car wax and fabric protectant, both of which you can apply to the appropriate areas of the car for a small fraction of what the dealer wants to charge you.
A good general rule of thumb is to reject ALL extras that the dealer offers you after you have negotiated the purchase price of the car. This is their way of making the good deal that you have negotiated into a really good deal for them.
Donât be a sucker!
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Agreed with everyone these products are profit generators and are not needed. Ask the salesman why a 2011 Subaru is manufactured with inferior paint, carpet, fabric, and leather and listen to him stumble through the answer.
Back when I worked for Nissan, on several occasions on a late Friday afternoon sometimes the sales dept. had some cars to be delivered to customers on Saturday and the detail guy was swamped. They paid us mechanics to âinstallâ paint protectant and this job was a voluntary deal. We did not even have to do it at all but it was a snap to do; a.k.a. easy money with no brain power involved.
This paint protectant was nothing more than a very thin wax that was easily rubbed on and wiped off. I could do an entire car by myself in 20 minutes tops.
What was unsaid was that after one trip through a high pressure car wash the paint protectant, assuming that it had not been washed off by rain already, was going down the drain at the car wash.
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Itâs worth about $20. Are they charging you more than that?
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They charge $500. Iâll pass. Looks like Iâll pass. Thanks for the comments.
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When I bought my Mazda they handed me a sheet of paper that showed all the various items they offered for $995 on up. About the only thing that looked worth while on ANY of their âpackagesâ was LoJack, but I know of atleast one place here in town that installs it(or used to anyways) and itâd be cheaper than letting the dealership install it.
Thankfully they asked only once, then put it away when I said no.
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Reading through the replies below itâs quite obvious there are some pretty ignorant people offering you advice. IF they knew anything about paint these days they would know that the chemical properties have changed considerably to be more âearth friendlyâ and the downfall is the paint durability is terrible. To say that Glasscoat is nothing more than âwaxâ is proof of stupidity. Do some research on your part. God knows that over the years there have been glorified waxes pushed off on consumers as paint protection, but I think youâll find this is a product that is actually worth itâs cost (assuming the dealer isnât ripping your eyeballs out, Iâd say somewhere in the $600 area sounds reasonable for the WARRANTY that Simoniz is giving you). This isnât a fly by night company selling hype. Check it out. After my research I will definitely protect my next new vehicle (my wife buys the Subâs and I buy the Fordâs). You guys should be ashamed for shooting from the hip when someone is asking for GOOD advice.
All the above advice, except yours, is excellent. Modern paints are quite durable, I donât see any evidence to the contrary. Weâre not saying itâs worthless, just worth no more than any wax job you can get. $600 is OUTRAGEOUS.
We will eagerly await links to any independent tests that support your claims.
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Whether it is worth $600 is a value judgement. The product does work, it is NOT a wax but a permanent glass resin. It leaves a beautiful shine, which does not wear off, and is unaffected by some of the bigger offenders such as bird droppings. Comparison to a typical wax job is just silly.
More assertions, the same as those made for all the dozens of âamazing finishesâ that have come before. âpermanent glass resinâ? Really? Please back that up.
Also, the fact that itâs being pushed at new car closing time, the same time that all vastly overpriced items are pushed, automatically destroys credebility. If Simonizâs claims are, in fact, true, this would be first time in the long, disappointing history of these dealer profit makers.
Save your time and money and just contribute directly to the Dealerâs retirement fund.
Do you have children of junior high age or older? If so, put them to work with a can of paste wax from WalMart that you can purchase for under $5. It will be as good if not better than what the dealer wants to sell you.
When I was in 8th grade in 1954, my dad bought a 1947 DeSoto coupe. The maroon paint was really faded and I was not impressed at all with car because it wasât âcoolâ. I was put to work to make it look âcoolââfirst rubbing compound, then polish, then wax. It really looked pretty good when I got done.
If you donât have kids, I guess you will have to do the work.
I checked out the guarantee: 7 years on new cars. Car finishes almost NEVER fail within the first 7 years. So what the guarantee means is that if itâs no longer shiney, theyâll probably just reapply it. So now you got two wax jobs for $250-$300 each. Still not worth it.
I remember one poster on here saying that they had either the wax, or the window treatment done and kept having to go back and have it reapplied. After like 3~5 times coming back, they just refunded his money
Am I the only one who remembers [b]Polyglycoat[/b]?
Back in theâŠ'80s?..'90s?..this was a standard last-minute push from dealers in order to âprotect your paintâ fromâŠbird droppings?..industrial waste?..space aliens?
And, yet, just like other types of dealer hype, that scam was long ago consigned to the dustbin of history.
How long will it take before Simoniz Glass Coat dies the same death in the marketplace, regardless of how often people like 10sub54 extol its questionable virtues?
Glasscoat is a great, long lasting product that will not simply wear away after a few washes. In fact you would have to wet sand the glasscoat to remove it. The 7 year warranty on the product is well woth it, if you are not over paying. In my opinion, you should not have to pay more then $500.00 for this and I only recommend it on new or 1-2 year old vehicles. The reason is it forms a âceramic glass resinâ that seals the paint to protect it and if your paint is not properly cleaned before it is applied then you could be sealing in impurities.
In regards to technicians installing this and it taking 20 minutes, you must not have worked for a reputible place that gives what they offer.
As far as paints not changing over the years, I think you should do research prior to making such a comment. Paints today are more water soluable and are softer due to the enviormental effects and costs. Manufactures often ship vehicles with the white covering to protect against acid rain, bird droppings, etc. If paints were so strong then why would the factories pay money to cover the vehicles? Why do factories not guarantee the paint against the acid rain, tree sap etc?
There are dalers out there that overcharge and are not as honest as they should be, there are also those that are reputible and are honest, so i say if you trust the dealer and they seem fair with what they charge the Glasscoat is well worth it.
I canât say he is wrong as I have not tried the stuff, nor have I seen any evaluations from someone I know and trust. As far as I can see this is rfg021099âs only post here. Please if I am wrong, let me know and I will edit this message.
Sorry, rfg sounds like either a saleman or a user justifying their purchase. Their statements regarding paint are pure nonsense. The paints are now water-based for application, but they cure to be equal to (if not better than) old formulations. This is just another in a decades - old tradition of dealers wanting to make big money at closing time.