When I ordered my car, I was pressured to buy a dealer installed "clear coat" for $600, but I refused. Is this "clear coat" a scam or is it legitamite? They also had an interior protection option for ~$300 or so.

 

Sounds like a scam to me. Your car already has clear coat on it. I assume what they are trying to sell you is some special wax, applied by the dealer, presumably to protect your paint. Instead of throwing another $600 of your hard-earned money to the dealer, buy the Zaino Total Protection Show Car Kit for $85 and wax and polish the car yourself.

 

Probably meant a clear bra.

 

I doubt it's a clear bra, unless it's the OEM kit from MINI.

If this dealer will charge you $300 to spray Scotchgard inside your car, I doubt he'd charge "only" $600 for a clear bra.

Cheers,
Matthew Z.

 

Old-school scam....a wax job and a can of ScotchGard. I'd walk on them just for insulting my intelligence. How will they try to screw you next?

 

reminds me of a furniture store where I bought my couch.

$1.5k for usual couch, nothing fancy, then I hear "$275 for
Scotch spill protection!" I was like naw, she comes back
'after talking to her manager' "we can do it specially
for you for $199!" I told her naw, she comes back crawling
"we can do this for $75!!! but keep it a secret."

I told her I can buy ScotchGuard spray at Michaels for $5
a can which does the same thing. Her boss comes to me
and tries to put some sense into me. "we'll do it for
$50." I told him selling a $50 for $275 sounds like fraud
to me....and he finally backed off.


Just wax your car with polymer wax and use ScotchGuard
for cloth interiors if needed.

 

Is that some kind of wax system like the old Perma Plate?

http://www.permaplate.com/

 

Is that like the Protector? Usually dealers trys to sell The Protector
can't seem to find their site..

 

Is that the one that comes in two or three stages and comes in a black box? We had something like that years ago. We gave it to someone else to use on his car. I don't remember if it worked or not.

 

Clear Coat
It's also know in the trade as ADP (additional dealer profit).

 

It’s the PermaPlate system. Marketed as a paint guard that bonds with and seals the paint surface creating a protective finish.

I purchased an 05 Cooper S off the lot and it already had the PermaPlate installed. Being that the mini is red, it will be interesting to see just how well this stuff works. Having owned red vehicles in the past they all left red pigment on the applicator during waxing even being “garage Queens”!

I did notice that the new Mini with the PermaPlate showed no signs of this on the initial detailing (Klasse & Blitz) …..so maybe there is something to this stuff. Will see.

 

I believe the red has clearcoat on top of the paint. At least, the other LY does.

I don't know if your previous red cars had clearcoat over the paint but my old Mustang didn't and even with Permaplate there was a little red on the polishing towels.

 

Could this coating be a chemical that was developed by Dupont for Rick Hendrick Motors? I know thats what I was told when I got my MINI form their dealership in Charleston.


Art