Hi folks. Quick question. The dealership have offered to treat the car I’m interested in with ceramic paint and leather protection for £599. Doesn’t sound too unreasonable to me. Though I am wondering how I’d know that they had done this and also I don’t actually know whether they may have done this already! Any thoughts welcome!

I always say no thanks

I'd prefer to take it to an independent detailer.

Same with the MOT protection, tyre insurance and any number of other extras they try to sell me.

I too always say no. But it doesn’t sound a bad price.....

A professional independent detailed will be able to give you a better idea on price. Worth a call to one and see what they would charge. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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its an interesting question to know if its been done or not after you've paid for it.... ... - .- -.




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Bmax01 wrote:

Hi folks. Quick question. The dealership have offered to treat the car I’m interested in with ceramic paint and leather protection for £599. Doesn’t sound too unreasonable to me. Though I am wondering how I’d know that they had done this and also I don’t actually know whether they may have done this already! Any thoughts welcome!

It wont be a top grade coating for that sort of money and no doubt the Dealership will put the lowest grade as possible on.

It would be a no from me and rather get a certified detailer to do the job for you.
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Thanks guys, very informative! The product they’d be using is Gardex cx2 but I think it’s not so much the product but how well they apply it. I agree that perhaps a good local detailer maybe a better option. If I finally get to buy a FF I’ll put up some photos.

The coating is one thing - but its a bit like varnish - it tells you nothing about the prep - removing swirl marks, scratches etc before applying it.

Spend a lot less than £600 on some good detailing gear, look at some YouTube tutorials and DIY.

At least you’ll know it’s been done properly and you’ll have loads of gear left to do it again in the future

Alistair wrote:

The coating is one thing - but its a bit like varnish - it tells you nothing about the prep - removing swirl marks, scratches etc before applying it.

Bmax01 wrote:

Hi folks. Quick question. The dealership have offered to treat the car I’m interested in with ceramic paint and leather protection for £599. Doesn’t sound too unreasonable to me. Though I am wondering how I’d know that they had done this and also I don’t actually know whether they may have done this already! Any thoughts welcome!

That sound way way way too cheap to have the car prepared properly, applied, and cured.

It is a big old beast, it will require a lot of product, surely you'd want the wheels etc done as well? And are they actually trained and accredited to apply this?

I picked up my wife's BMW M2 Competition from https://www.unique-detail.co.uk last week. They've done an amazing job, but as mentioned above you'd be amazed how bad the paint is on a new car. It still has to be prepared properly, you don't want to get all those swirls locked in. But even for a silver with a hint of primer flat grey it worked really well.

Click image to enlarge

If you want it ceramic coated get it done by a good independent detailer. Whatever you do, do NOT let the garage wax it first which is what they are offering. That is not a proper ceramic.

To get it done properly will cost about £1200-1500 for a guaranteed 3 year coating with glass coating as well. All LR cars from 1984
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Here’s a couple of mine I had detailed and ceramic coated by an independent specialist. From memory they cost £700-800 each including a 3-year guarantee. After a quick wash they look the same years later.

Ive had several "Nice cars" detailed and they can take a week to correct the paint defects!

As above, take it to an independent

Think I overstated the cost, just looked at the invoice in 2018 and it was just over £900, including glass.  All LR cars from 1984
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That is still fairly cheap for the size of vehicle. Did it include paint correction and preparation? How many layers of ceramic coating? And curing time? What about wheels off and wheels, hubs and callipers as well?

Rethorical questions

The point is that it is a menu of options on what anyone wants doing. The key is that the paintwork has to be in tip top condition before doing this. No main dealership I’ve ever come across has that capability to do that. And also for amateurs it will require a lot of practise. And then the good stuff won’t be sold to individuals to protect their brands as it should be applied in controlled (temperature and dust) conditions and may need curing equipment.

The results then, as per above are absolutely stunning. Almost magical.

But, never ever use the “hand car wash” again. And make it very clear when going to a dealership or anywhere else to not have it washed with the reason stated so you can charge them if they “forget”.