VX Protect and similar

[EarlofDrift]

Looking at buying a new car or so I thought. I saw a 9 month old model at a main dealer which I usually avoid but this one is well established and family owned and seems to get good reviews. It's not the same make of car the main dealer sells so it was keenly pried and high spec. At less than a year old it was about £8k cheaper than if I'd bought new without the added options so decided to proceed.

Anyway agreed a price and then the salesman started asking did I want this and that. One thing was VX protect and scotchgard which I knew was just an attempt to recoup some of the money I'd got off the price. I wasn't interested because I clean and wax my own cars but I thought I'd kill time and listen to what he said anyway.

First thing was VX protect which I assume is a vauxhall product like a wax which he said 'you won't need to wash your car for a year' and 'the dirt doesn't stick to it' which I took with a pinch of salt. The next was to Scotchgard the interior which I use regularly around the house. A spray of Scotgard Auto is about £6.

So just curious to find out the cost I was amazed that the VX protect would be £350 and Scotchgard would be another £150.

Do people take these products because surely a curing wax would do the same job for less than £20 and their scotgard is no better than the stuff out of a £6 spray.

Edited by EarlofDrift on Wednesday 13th November 11:25

[eybic]

Some refer to the products as snake oil but in themselves they are quite good at protecting/ maintaining the finish but not at the prices dealers charge for them. I worked at a MINI dealer years ago, we bought the kits in for around £35 and the valeter spent a couple of hours applying it yet they were charged out at something like £450.

If you want to apply something to the paint, get a detailer to do it with potentially better products for the same sort of money or less.

[EarlofDrift]

I saw the VX protect kits on eBay for £20, surely it's not the same thing and they are charging over £300 to apply it.

[eybic]

EarlofDrift said:

I saw the VX protect kits on eBay for £20, surely it's not the same thing and they are charging over £300 to apply it.

It will be

[Fluffsri]

I thought about ceramic coating my new paint job. I saw companies charging £400 to £900! You can buy a kit from £25 to £150 and DIY. The guy who painted my van said they are a waste of money, they aren't a hard protective coating and a decent wax will do the same job.

If the info I have received is balls, dont shoot me down LOL. My idea of looking after paint is a wash, Autoglym red and then Autoglym gold.

[Frankthered]

eybic said:

EarlofDrift said:

I saw the VX protect kits on eBay for £20, surely it's not the same thing and they are charging over £300 to apply it.

It will be

Actually, I've just had a quick look at eBay and those kits look like the ones you get to maintain the coating, so probably not enough to do the whole car (if I'm looking at the same things).

I've indulged the dealers with Supagard (which I guess is similar to VX protect) a couple of times and it's ok as far as it goes - dealers charge through the nose for it and you could do it yourself for much less.

With the newest acquisition, I have taken eybic's advice and opted for a detailer to apply a ceramic coating (Fireball) for £450 as opposed to £350 for Supagard and the difference is amazing. OK, it's only been on a week , but the car (had it since September) is super shiny and water beads like the best polish ever.

With the dealer applied Supagard, its presence wasn't really noticeable - I mean, the paint lasted well, but the cars certainly needed washing fairly regularly - with the ceramic coating, it is early days, but I do get the impression that the dirt won't stick.