I’m purchasing a new Honda Civic. One of the options they offer is getting TST Paint and Fabric Protection. It is warranted for 5 years. Dealer said it is good for 10. What does anyone think of this? I usually use Maguire’s wax for my car. Am I better off washing and waxing my car vs. getting this treatment? The cost is $400. Thanks!
I went through this when my wife and I bought a 2006 Sienna, just say no. Buy a bottle of Meguiars for the exterior and a can of Scotchgard for the interior and save yourself $390. Offers like this are almost pure profit to the dealer.
Ed B.
Dealers always overcharge for this stuff. Your own wax and Scotchguard will do fine. If you don’t want to do it yourself, take the car to a detailer. It will be far cheaper because you are cutting out the car dealer’s profit.
This stuff, a teflon-based sealant, will actually work but don’t expect it to fully live up the dealer’s claims. Read the literature first; it may state the warranty is only valid if the owner pays for an annual renewal process, or some such legal mumbo-jumbo.
The dealer pays about $30 for a bottle of sealant and has some flunky apply it to the car. The dealership will still make a tidy profit if you pay $200 for everything. You might even consider trying to obtain and apply it yourself. As for me, I’d turn it down completely and simply wax the car myself two or three times a year.
[b] ADP [/b] That is Additional Dealer Profit. Don't bother.I remember one of our posters saying he bought the paint protection and he kept going back to the dealership to have it reapplied because it wore off so quickly. Finally after a few trips, they just gave him his money back.
Do they still sell this stuff? It was new back in the early 1980s when I was selling Toyotas, and it’s worth now exactly what it was then; ZERO.
It’s nothing but car wax and ScotchGard. You can buy these items for about $10 and do it yourself. $400!! That’s outrageous. We could only get about $150 back in the 80s, but that was pure profit, just as it is now.
The clear coat finish on your new Civic can withstand anything short of a low-yield thermonuclear blast. It does not need “paint protectant.”
The interior fabrics are designed to withstand anything you, your kids, or your pets can throw at them.
Save your money.
It’s a thin wax and what is essentially Scotchguard. Pass on it; it’s nothing more than a profit enhancer.
Just for fun, tell the salesman you’re thinking about backing out of the deal because you do not want to purchase a new car with shoddy paint and interior. Watch his reaction then.
A co-worker of mine was being pressured by the salesman to buy one of those bra’s for the front of her car…(Remeber those). When myself and others told her about the possible problems with them…she wasn’t thrilled about getting it. But the salesman was persistent. Finally she says to him…I don’t wear a bra so my car won’t wear one…she said he turned about 5 shades of red and never bought it up again.
That would have been pretty funny to see.
When I worked for a Nissan dealer they used to apply “paint protector” to every single car. It was a thin, watery wax that cost the dealer about 5 bucks a bottle + 1/2 an hour of a slightly over minimum wage make ready guy’s time. Not much of an investment for a retail price of 250 bucks (at the time).
Most people bought it and if someone questioned or protested too much they would simply halve the price or drop it completely. Anything completely lost was more than made up for by even one half price sale.
A salesman was bringing a customer through the shop once to look at a new Nissan being cleaned up in the back and I overheard the salesman telling the customer it was getting the paint protectant. The customer asked the salesman; “Wow. Is the factory paint really that bad?” This led to the salesman going “Well, uh, uh, no… it’s uh…uh…just an enhancement to protect over the long term”.
Regarding the bras, my son bought a bra years ago for his '96 Camaro RS. This car has the F1 ground effects package and after installing the bra he experienced some abnormal overheating. After looking at it, I discovered the bra was actually interfering with airflow through a couple of the vents on the odd front spoiler. Removed the bra and the problem went away. The bra maker always insisted the bra was not a problem; maybe not on the base Camaro but on the RS it was.