This is going to be my first purchase of a brand new car.

Does anyone know if the Dealer Paint Protection is worth it? Or is it better to take it to a detailer shop and have them apply one of their paint protection packages?

 

Not worth it. I would not bother with any paint protection.

Ref 1: Five Costly Car Dealer Options to Skip | Fox Business

Ref 2: Is Car Paint Protection Worth it? | ChipsAway Blog

 

Save the money. Just put a coat of wax on it. I drive dirt roads, country roads, city roads, and highway. I let the rain do most of my washing but when I wash it myself I just grab some dish soap and go to it. That sound you hear are people freaking out over the dish soap. Every few years I will get a good detail with wax. I keep my cars over a decade and run them over 300,000 miles in the brutal Florida heat. I have never ever had any paint issues of any kind. So I say keep the dollars in your pocket and spend it on something better.

 

When you get into the finance department, realize they are gonna try sell you everything.

READ EVERYTHING. You'll find that even though you didn't say yes to any of their crap, they will often print all the paperwork as if you did, and you may end up signing paperwork for 30,000 or more financed.

Say NO to the "Pro Package", or as some call the "Proctology Package". They might say that they have a dealer contract to sell it with the car, but absolutely FIGHT them on it. If you accept it, like I did, you will end up paying an extraordinary amount of money, most of which is 100% profit for the dealer, and only a few hundred bucks is actual product.


Go into the dealer with this intention
1. Pay the MSRP or whatever you can get them to work the offer to.
2. Expect to add Tax onto the ownership.
3. Expect to pay the registration fees and some of the other fees associated with buying the car.


The key things you want to say NO to in the finance department are:
1. Credit Life Insurance - They may not explicitly indicate it as such, but that's what it is.
2. Extended Warranty - Just say you want the default manufacturers warranty. It's plenty good enough.

You MAY want to buy the GAP insurance, for about $750 or so. Thing is, you might be able to get this with your car insurance carrier after the fact, for cheaper too possibly.



I just want to see you avoid some of the pitfalls I stumbled into. If you don't, like if you accidentally sign the Credit Life Insurance and the Extended Warranty, you might be up $4200 or so on your finance, and even though you can cancel it for a full refund, you will NOT be able to lower the Monthly Payment that it would have increased the car payments to. Something to keep in mind.

 

Say NO to everything. The only thing you should pay for- the car, sales tax, registration fee (and if you have them register the car for you, a small amount for that- in NY it's limited by law, don't know about your state).


Everything they add on is a waste of money and they will SELL SELL SELL because that's where they make all their profit.

 

Wise words right there.

 

Wow thank you so much for the advice! I was in the finance room with a friend buying a brand new civic last week and the guy offered an extended warranty for $600 for an additional 4 years after the manufacturers warranty. I was debating if it was worth it.

 

I had clear bra XPEL paint protection and tint installed by a friend/professional installer yesterday. The paint protection install took several hours. I watched the entire process. Excellent!

Very happy with the entire job. Dealerships mark this up for crazy $$$. If you are going to have it done, do your research and do it after your purchase. FWIW.

Cheers!

 

Before I sold my 1995 Infiniti in 2010 I washed and waxed it. It didn't look as good as new but it still looked pretty nice. This was 15 years later, a car that was never garaged, driven through NYC winters on salty roads, and parked 2 hours a day 300 days a year 15 feet from the ocean.


What exactly does 'paint protection' do that clear coat doesn't?

 

Here is their website-

XPEL.com
Hope this helps

 

It is total BS. I have a friend who is a Gen Mgr at a Ford dealer. Says it is nothing but a wax job put on by a drop out. Costs him about $10.

 

XPEL.com this is real paint protection. The dealer is selling you a wax job.

 

If it's decent, it'll be a paint sealant. Good for 6 months to 2 years depending on the quality. Check out pricing and reviews for detail shops for new car packages. It should include a decontamination wash, claying, polish, and sealant. Ask for product names, and research them (autogeek is a good place to start).