cookstar

Has anyone purchased the paint protection for the GL. I was quoted 599 plus taxes for the paint protection which is also guaranteed for 5 years, the person I spoke to mentioned that it covers sap from trees and other crap that sticks to the car from the road like tar, rail dust and so on. What I am talking about is not the protective plastic film that you put on for stone chips, this is something that goes on clear

any input would be appreciated.

sraza

its traditionally the dupont protection- I've done this myself for many years- not too hard to do-
599 is a bit much i was offered around 699 for insed and outside or 399 for just outside/inside
i didnt get it cuz most folks use the orbital (something i have but havent used in years due to swirl marks- regardless of how good the operator is)
i need to do the dupont myself - just need to buy the dupont first!

now the advantage of going with dealer is the warranty- but if u can do it yourself you'd save quite a bit of money..

blittle

This kind of thing has been around for years.......it is a waste of money! Do a google on "Einszett" ... A premium German car wax..... Easy to apply , easy to remove. Another is Zaino Brothers products..... Either of these will give you the same, if not better results than the DuPont product for less than $30. The other thing that makes the 599 job a waste is that you will never use it.......look at the fine print and what it covers and what it doesn't. Also, assuming you regularly wash and polish your vehicle ...... the DuPont stuff which is nothing more than a polymer wax, will be gone within 12 months . Sure they guarantee it for 5 years.......but guarantee what and under what circumstances? Read the fine print! Trust me.....you will never get 599 worth of anything out of it! I worked for a dealer once......

sraza

i agree 100%, no protection lasts 5yrs-- not even dupont- i'd say 3-6 months at best depending on how much sun/wash/weather exposure..

599 is really a waste- heck for 5 years you could do plenty of cars yourself with any protectant- same reason i opted out-

now i'm not sure how dupont interior protection works-- i just say no eating in the car and detail it every so often- the eating part i guess we cant control- milk spills and cookie crums- makes cleaning more fun i guess! i've never used or seen interior dupont protection but apparently that has a 5 yr warranty as well- warranties against stains etc- i still didnt get it.

cookstar

hmm, lots of good comments, I will check the fine print 2moro at pick up and wont sign anything if its fishy, only reason I went for it is the 5 year warranty, I get all the comments about the exorbitant price tag and I agree it is very high. Thank you for everyones input.

I drive a mazda 3 pearl white as my daily beater and it has red spots all over the paint now ( usually called rail dust, google pics attached) which is absolutely impossible to remove unless you clay bar, which also removes the clear coat.

sraza

i've used claybars quite a bit but have never noticed cleat coat get affected..
ive used zaino - smells great looks great - doesnt last long-- dupont, 3M, MB polish, meguairs- all awesome- i dont like turtle much anymore- good for resin pens though..

cookstar

was looking through my documents for 2moro and found a booklet ( page about paint attached) so it seems the pain (paint) protection is coming from MB direct and not a dealer thing ( they also confirmed its not third party over the phone)

sraza

thats interesting-- i was offered the same protection which was also going to be done by MB but at the MB dealership - i wasnt told it comes from the factory..

blittle

There is nothing fishy about it ...... It's a polymer wax that so called "bonds" with the paint .....it's a stretch to say you "never need to reapply" ..... I guarantee you that if you haven't waxed the vehicle after 12 months of ownership it will not look as nice as the day you picked it up! My point is that there are self ( and easily ) applied products available that do exactly the same thing for a whole lot less money.

cookstar

no it does not come from factory, what I meant is that the MB dealership does not outsource it to a 3rd party detail shop.

Maybe Fab can give us his take on this.

cookstar

I am going to raise that issue today, I think what they do is charge you X times more than it costs them and they warranty it for 5 years so if anything goes wrong within that time frame and they need to fix something they have up charged for it in the beginning, its more of a time saver than anything else IMO. using a clay bar on a car of this size takes quite some time, not to mention the roof which you need a ladder to get to.

grane

Things like paint protection sealers, wheel insurance on oversize wheels and so on are profit claw backs the dealer sells usually through the finance manager to add to the profit lost on the lease deal.

If you are leasing or buying the car don't bother. If you want it shiny just follow the directions in the OM or go to a good body shop that knows the new paints and have them detail it. Get a check from the dealersip because they don't have to do the job.. Then wash regularly and wax 3-6 times a year as OP have said.

And, keep you car in a garage, otherwise drive it like you stole it.

Are you buying it to keep or just leasing it?

cookstar

I purchased this time, garage wont even fit a mazda 3.

grane

If you purchased and are going to keep it, I would find an authorized installer of 3M/Ventureshield. Don't have it done at the dealer; they will charge 3x more. Light colors use 3M and dark use VS, now owned and improved by 3M. The installer will tell you how they want the car delivered (ours still had the delivery plastic on!) since they wash and prep the paint properly.

When we did our white 13 GLK with 3M they were completely wrapping a Ferrari 458 or something. They said they did the same thing to an SL65 a few days before.

If you want to keep the car this is the way to go. Then you only have to worry about the wheels and the undercarriage.

If you can't keep it in the garage the films have UV shield and if you have snow it just slides off. Well almost...

cookstar

Just like to update everyone, my Gl which is less than a year old has the back bumper covered with rail dust, it would take a person hours to clay bar it, I am taking the vehicle to my dealer tomorrow to see how they will fix it, I figure I will have to do this every 8-12 months. 600 seems worth it over 5 years as you would spend around 250 each time going to a detail shop (which I don't trust any). at least if MB screws up you know it will be fixed.

Trimmer2

I used the EXO product from Gtechniq and can't be happier. Both my Porsche and Mercedes had a complete color correction, lacquer and EXO protection immediately after delivery. I had the local Gtechniq guy who's also the North America rep do the work at his place.

ALL of the factory paint defects were removed and the Porsche has been through a tunnel car wash at least 20 times and still ZERO swirl marks. In fact just a a heavy rain and drive around the block often is enough to keep the car clean!

They also sell the product and there's plenty of video and information on the Net to peruse.

http://www.gtechniq.us/about.html

My black GL looks PARTICULARLY nice The downside on both cars is that finger prints stick out like a sore thumb on the paint area....ie valet or friends closing doors not using the handle

cookstar

Just dropped off my car and got a courtesy taxi ride home, if I would have called in advance I would have received a courtesy vehicle for the day as well, I think the only option which gives you ROI is the paint and rim protection LOL! No hassle or excuses from the dealer, will update how it turned out yesterday, currently its a disaster with rail dust absolutly everywhere

doctorG

This is the first time I have heard of this rail dust issue and clay bars, etc... We live in MI so lots of snow. In this a problem with white cars only? What about the diamond white metallic...is it more "immune"?

Thanks!

doctorG

This is the first time I have heard of this rail dust issue and clay bars, etc... We live in MI so lots of snow. In this a problem with white cars only? What about the diamond white metallic...is it more "immune"?

Thanks!

cookstar

I am extremely pleased with the results, all the rail dust and other gunk is gone from my vehicle, I figure this will need to be done every 6 to 8 months, its impossible to not get rail dust on a white car no matter what "paint protection you use.

cookstar

It is a problem that 100% of white cars will get ( as far as I know everywhere in North America regardless of climate), I think Diamond white is slightly darker than the standard white so maybe it shows it a little bit less, by than I mean a marginal difference of 5 %

grane

What is "rail dust"? Never heard of it....

cookstar

Tiny red/orange specs in the paint.

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?for...13815057726909
http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/pho...edium/rust.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5108/...ebe4bcfa1b.jpg