So my car had "paint protection" done to the car -- the dealer called it "luxcare". It's not the 3M film (which is what I *though* it was), it's "something else" -- perhaps not a **** thing. The dealer says it's a "paint sealant". If nothing else they said it gets me a 5 year warranty against paint stains or other damage (I'm thinking that it was just a ripoff TBH). Supposedly they did a full paint prep too, which I can't confirm or deny. The car looks awesome to me, so there's at least that.

Anyone clue me in on what was actually done, and if I need to do anything different with caring for the paint? I actually enjoy claying/waxing/etc. but if it's pointless and/or inadvisable with whatever was done I'd like to know.

 

Just another rip off to pad the dealer's pocket.

 

It means they waxed the car and charged you several hundred bucks for it...

 

Its usually a Simoniz paint sealent or something similar. Its worth it if you can talk them down in price because you get the warranty on paint scratches & chips.

 

Worth it for the warranty. But when and if i get another new car i would request the dealer to not even touch the car soon as it is delivered.

 

Several years ago I bought a new Expedition, & the dealer talked me into buying the $300+ paint protection. When I went back to watch their detailer apply it, I was pretty disappointed. I figured everything would be taped off & this fancy stuff would be sprayed on. What I saw was basically this $20 bottle of stuff applied with a rag, & then wiped off. Like others have said, you're paying for the warranty.

 

Right - they claim its a 'polymer'. A bottle added to the wax. But the warranty has been worth it.
After severe water spots (my error) they did an acid wash, complete detail, and reapplied it N/C. The Dealer has also done a detail for swirl removal after that N/C. It also included some undercoating.
And after 4 yrs, water still beads up like crazy when I wash it like it was new.

On my other car I used 5 Star Shine and so far its holding up great as far as shine and water beading after 2 years, but has no warranty for water spots or acid rain. But I'm wiser now as far as avoiding water spots.

 

Heh, I used that 5 Star stuff on my first stang, did ok, but I was nervous trying it.

 

I used to own a esthetics's shop and did the prep for some car dealers. From Ford, they give me a fancy box from LAR product, containing one small bottle of paint sealant we had to apply straight forward no prep to the paint before ( lowest cost possible ) 1-28oz of wax, 1-28oz of car soap that we leave in the car for the customer. For the warranty to apply, the customer had to use these products for maintenance, so waxing the car couples times a year and use there car soap.

After testing, ( I'm always curious ) the sealant lasted approx 15-20 wash, with soap in a bucket, if straight on the mitt, 5-10 wash, if you use anything under the sink ( dish soap for ex ) 1 wash !

Beside the warranty, if they don't hide behind the excuse book " did you wax, did you use the soap in the box, did the car been in a car wash ect ... " Its not worth the money. They make more profit on these protections ( paint, tissues, rustproofing ) then on the car itself. Your better off leaving your car once a year to a professional that will prep the car right and use high quality product that will last.

 

Bingo.

To the untrained eye.. everything is going to look perfect, hunky dory shiny and new. To someone who is really into detailing and cares for the apperance of their car, they could look at your car and point out swirls, random isolated deep scratches, etc. etc. etc.

For the amount of money the dealership charged, you could have bought enough detailing supplies and a porter cable polisher and detailed the car yourself ten times over.

 

Looked at a six month old Mustang just before I bought my 2013 GT, and it had swirls on the paint. Dealers hire people who aren't familiar with how to wash a car. Told dealer to not touch the outside of the car when it arrives. Have always done it myself and so far NO swirls. Very important to me.

 

That means the dealer just conned you a few hundred dollars by systematically destroying your paint.

 

In short ................ you don't get your moneys worth !

 

READ THE WARRANTY FINE PRINT!!!

the first new car I bought was a 1985 camaro(sorry). Burt Greenwald Chevrolet in Akron Ohio's sales guy said 'required' this bodygard thing on every car they sold, so what the heck...well, they buffed it on, burned thru the paint on both quarter tops and door edges, went to pick the car up after 'detailing' and instead it was going to the paint booth. about a year later the hood/roof started peeling in sheets- 85 was gms first year for waterbased basecoats...took car back, they told me the bodygard (fine print) warranty clearly required 6 month 'inspections' to maintain warranty, and better yet, IT VOIDED THE FACTORY PAINT WARRANTY, even though GM had recall/known issues with this color in waterbased base coat, the 500.00 bodygard bull**** denied any warranty... be careful, dealers love to pile this kinda stuff on for a quick profit, long term, the sales folks likely could care less.
every time it rained, SHEETS of paint lifted off, have a piece still here in the cars folder thats almost as big as the window sticker...
eventually I stripped/repainted with Deltron(first paintjob- came out way better than I woulda thought possible) but never visited that dealer again, warned others of the paint crap every chance I got...

most newer stuff is just a overpriced wax, just watch the fine print, in case inspection requirements are in there,and be certain it dont mess with Fords warranty.