Dealer's "Appearance Protection"

Took delivery on Thurs. and of course there was an attempt to sell stuff including "Appearance Protection." Part of this is insurance, but the other part is a treatment that "molecularly bonds" to the car. After he went through his seemingly unavoidable pitch(saying, as if he'd done me a favor by letting me opt out, "normally I would insist that one purchase this but for you I'll waive that requirement"). They didn't have brochures on what the actual substance put on the car is, but someone told me that it is "Finishing Touch" which sounds like a commercially available product. Every dealer would be different, but I'd like to know if anyone has elected to get a product like this. I'm concerned for mine because of the black and socal sun and lack of covered parking.

You did a good job of not accepting the stuff. I used to work at a dealership, and "appearance care" was one of our highest margin sales items... we'd charge (at the time) $375 for the product, and it cost the detail shop around $10 per bottle + about 2 hours of an employee's time to apply and remove it (at around $8/hr). From what I could tell, it wasn't anything more than a standard cleaner wax - I used leftover product on my car from time to time, and I never got more than 2-3 months protection from it. Now, granted, this was 10 years ago, and it wasn't at a Honda dealer, but the game's usually the same.

Just use a quality wax or protectant of your choice on a regular basis, and you'll be miles ahead in the long run (not to mention a little more wealthy, thanks to saving the $$ you would've wasted on the "Appearance Protection."). :)

There's Zaino ( www.zainobros.com ) and other waxes/polishes on the market today that also form a molecular bond with the finish on the car. The difference is, they cost a hell of a lot less than what the dealership wanted to have put on your car...it's almost like a Honda dealer wanting to sell you a fabric protectant for the Element, even though it already has the FXC fabric :roll: I've heard of that happening at some sales, and it's just ridiculous. Good that you didn't take it. A salesman cannot "insist" or MAKE you pay for any added dealer feature that is not required for the car. It's kind of like him "insisting" you buy mudflaps after the sale.

Dave.

When I bought mine a month ago they wanted to charge me 900+ for the "appearance package". Whic as far as I can see was pin striping and proctective covers over the door edges. It may have included this wax job. I offered them $0 for it.

What they were trying to sell you was Simoniz system 5. Which is great for the dark models. It helps immensely with waterspots. But as the other posts said it is over priced. I got this pic from Ebay. It is sold there all day long. Bought mine for 30 bucks and did it myself.

What do others think about this? Sounds good but is it redundant due to the clear coat the paint has(I don't know what the clearcoat is exactly and should look it up but I'm guessing it's not Teflon like this)? The fact that it's technically only offered through dealers according to www.simonizusa.com is daunting to someone who doesn't want to spend that much time on the car and certainly would rather pay than damage attempting to apply myself.

Too late. Just bought it. Why haven't others talked about this instead of wax alone. This product makes tremendous claims. Will wax be redundant now?

And why don't dealers or manufacturer's just put this on and make every car in America beautiful?

yea, whats up? is this stuff hard to apply or what? I want to get some but not if you need a PHD to apply it!

Very simple to apply.....just use the wash solution mixed with one gallon of warm or hot water let it dry to a haze then rinse your vehicle until the water runs clear. This will get all the impurities out of the paint. Kinda like a clay bar would do. Then apply the polymer like a wax. rub on let dry to a haze then buff out by hand or buffer (low speed). Your vehicle will get more and more shiny over the next 48 hours. Beautiful :twisted:

I do apologize for the apostrophe in manufacturers in the post before last.