New car paint sealant sales push by dealer.

[Great_Gig]

Just about to pick up my first ever new car and the dealer is still trying to push a

[taowulf]

It is called an upsell man. They don't make squat these days on the commission of the car itself, so they sell crap like this to make up for it.

 

Don't do it. You REALLY don't need the fries with that.

[dr_bowtie]

Paint sealant (clearcoat protectant) and upholstery protectant are bad ideas...but I would NOT get them done at the dealership....they have a pretty high mark up...

 

 

I would consider getting it done but at another place who would give you a better deal or better yet do it your self....

 

all of that stuff can be bought at the local auto parts store and done yourself....

 

the same with underbody coatings...if you have winters and they salt the roads like they do here then I would highly recommend the under body coating...saves on rust down the road...

[Silverfox]

What car is it? And what colour?

 

Firstly, you can get an Auto Glym Life Shine PDI kit for

[Great_Gig]

What car is it? And what colour?

It's the new Fiesta - Titanium model in black.

 

Thanks for the advice guys, picked the car up today and very pleased. I declined the rip-off wax job and suspected it was such, but wanted a second opinion, as I have never bought a new car before and knew the car manufacturers now use water based paints, instead of lead - but hey, it would be pretty crap if you bought a new car and the paint job was not up to everyday wear and tear?. A couple of friends also agreed, in fact the only person who thinks it's a good idea is the salesman - funny that!

 

I shall take your advice re the AutoGlym stuff too, have heard of it but never used it before, checked it out this afternoon in Halfords and it looks good.

 

PS. Silverfox, that Focus looks cleaner than my new car!

[Silverfox]

Give that stuff on eBay a go. Spend a whole day doing it and you will NOT be disappointed.

 

Ultra Deep Shine works well for Panther Black. The Titanium spec is awesome. I love my Titanium! Bluetooth and touch-screen sat nav is ace. Give me a shout if I can be of any further help - I take car cleaning by hand (no rotary polishers though) fairly seriously

[Great_Gig]

Ultra Deep Shine works well for Panther Black. The Titanium spec is awesome.

 

Blimey, you know your cars - it is indeed Panther Black, pretty good colour too, the dark blue fleck is ace. I love the spec too, I can talk to it and tell it what to do - really neat. I also had a USB port put in, which is brilliant for my music, just plug and go. I can see why it has won so many awards and is the top small hatch with What Car and even Top Gear. Ford have a winner there.

[Silverfox]

Blimey, you know your cars - it is indeed Panther Black, pretty good colour too, the dark blue fleck is ace. I love the spec too, I can talk to it and tell it what to do - really neat. I also had a USB port put in, which is brilliant for my music, just plug and go. I can see why it has won so many awards and is the top small hatch with What Car and even Top Gear. Ford have a winner there.

 

I know them fairly well. I know Fords best though - obviously On my third Ford in 5.5 years. (Fiesta Chicane MKIV, Focus ST170, Focus MKII Titanium)

 

The USB interface thing is brilliant. Mine doesn't have that (3.5mm aux socket, 6CD changer and a single slot MP3 CD player), but it's definitely handy to have no doubt. I like shouting at my car to change the temperature, radio station, track number etc. When it's really cold, you can tell it to turn on the heated windscreen and blowers as well! Unbelievably lazy, but funny all the same.

 

My old ST170 was Panther Black. When it was clean, it was the most stunning looking car ever. If it was cleaned well, people would always look and wonder how it wasn't rolling out of the showroom! However, it's a difficult colour to keep clean, as well as prone to swirling and holograms on the paintwork, because it is dark (nowt wrong with the paint itself). While it might seem weird, get a lambswool mitt (and two buckets of water - one to clean and one to rinse) and NEVER take a sponge to the car or go through an automatic car wash. You will be asking for trouble otherwise!

 

Ford in Europe are pretty good from the factory, so unless you are a total freak, you shouldn't need machine polishing correction. Some people like to get this done as soon as they take delivery of their car, but for most of us, it's not needed. Just grab that Auto Glym kit and apply as directed. Job's a good'un.

[Great_Gig]

Well I must admit to being a little in the dark about car cleaning stuff and never really thought about it, having had older cars before! Anyway, your ^ post went a little over my head, until yesterday when I said in the office I was going to give my car a quick wash. A guy I work with asked what I was going to do, so I said use a sponge and some car shampoo (just been to Halfords and bought a 3.99 cellulose sponge not the cheap 1.99 foam one!). He gave me a look like he had been eating a lemon, before going on to explain the way he cleans a car. He must do the same as you as he explained about the two bucket method, a lambswool mitt and microfibre towels! He uses Zymol and told me to look at this http://www.autouseful.co.uk/productinfo.php?productid=526 I nearly fell off my chair!

 

Anyway, the sponge is going back and I am now doing what you and he have advised - never knew there was such a science to car cleaning? Thanks for the tips too.

 

I love the car and now have the knack of the speech recognition stuff, which is really good on a long journey.

 

This I now know is BAD . . .

 

Edited April 7, 2009 by Great_Gig

[Silverfox]

Shame on you!!

 

I'll post some links to stuff I use when I get in from work. It's all quite cheap really, so long as you are willing to shell out a few quid to get the decent stuff that will last

[neddamttocs]

check out http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/index.php

That will help about detailing and protecting.

 

They also have people all over the UK that do paint protection alot cheaper and better then what that guys selling, HERE

 

 

EDIT:

 

I just did my car with Zaino, looks amazing ill see if i can get some photos later.

[Silverfox]

I use a pair of these to dry my entire Focus with.

 

Towels

 

 

And one of these to clean with:

 

Mitt

 

 

A clay kit for basic removal of contaminants:

 

Clay Kit

 

 

And that link way up top there for the AutoGlym kit will do you nicely. You'll have the same finish that the garage offered you for less than a third of the cost - and you'll know it's done properly.

 

There are loads of shampoos/polishes/sealants out there, and if you buy from a relatively decent retailer, you can't go wrong. Knowing what you are doing is key!