Hi All,

I'm due to pick up my 21 plate Octavia next week from the dealer. They've offered to apply "Gen 3 Glasscoat" by PaintSeal Europe... for a price!

https://www.gen-3glasscoat.com/

In the past I've been offered products such as Diamondbrite and always declined. However, some of the reviews online suggest this is a much better product, if applied properly.

 

Does anyone here have any experience with having it applied? As the car I'm picking up is black, I'm probably a bit more interested in having something applied that can keeping it looking good for longer!

 

 

 

“…if applied properly.” 
 

Which it probably won’t be. 
 

How much they asking for to do it?

Just now, SC03OTT said:

“…if applied properly.” 
 

Which it probably won’t be. 
 

How much they asking for to do it?

 

Yeah that's my concern with the application. I think they wanted about £400 but I can't remember, so I've just asked them what they quoted. I only remembered as I was going through all the other insurance leaflets they've supplied for GAP insurance, Tyre and Wheel insurance, SMART insurance, etc, etc, etc.

I’d be a hard “pass” at that price. If truth be told, I wouldn’t take it at all, but I have a cupboard full of decontamination, washing, sealing etc products at home. So it’s not for me. 

Anyway, I think £400 is extortionate. You could go to someone who’ll know what they’re doing and also take their time doing it. 

 

1 minute ago, SC03OTT said:

I’d be a hard “pass” at that price. If truth be told, I wouldn’t take it at all, but I have a cupboard full of decontamination, washing, sealing etc products at home. So it’s not for me. 

Anyway, I think £400 is extortionate. You could go to someone who’ll know what they’re doing and also take their time doing it. 

 

 

That was my gut feeling, but I thought I'd ask on here in case it was a decent product.

 

I've got a couple of boxes full of various car detailing products. Before having children I got quite into detailing with cleansers, clay bars, polish, wax, etc. Nowadays I don't get the time at all. 

4 minutes ago, JamesK said:

 

That was my gut feeling, but I thought I'd ask on here in case it was a decent product.

 

I've got a couple of boxes full of various car detailing products. Before having children I got quite into detailing with cleansers, clay bars, polish, wax, etc. Nowadays I don't get the time at all. 

To be fair, I’m not really questioning the product.  More who and how it will be applied. 

The folk that do this at the dealer will have a line of other cars to do that day. It’ll be done as quickly as possible then move on. 

11 minutes ago, SC03OTT said:

More who and how it will be applied.  The folk that do this at the dealer will have a line of other cars to do that day. It’ll be done as quickly as possible then move on. 

Fully agree, as always to get the most out of these products it's really the preparation that's done before product application which is most important.

 

I have asked the dealer *who* would be applying it, just out of interest. But in reality I will try and find a local detailer who could do a better job.

Like others I would also pass this offer. To apply a ceramic coating, the car needs to go through a certain process. Which requires time. And the coating also requires to cure. Which also requires time.

And congrats on your new car! 👍   

21 hours ago, SC03OTT said:

To be fair, I’m not really questioning the product.  More who and how it will be applied. 

The folk that do this at the dealer will have a line of other cars to do that day. It’ll be done as quickly as possible then move on. 

And that’s if they do it at all. 
 

Ceramic coating is a good thing - it doesn’t replace proper paint care but makes it a lot easier to keep your car looking showroom fresh. I’d get a proper car detailer to do it for you as soon as you get the car, some offer packages for new cars which might include ceramic coating. 
 

However if you’re the sort of person who just takes your car to drive through hand car washes then don’t bother paying any extra for anything. 

3 hours ago, MiniNinjaRob said:

However if you’re the sort of person who just takes your car to drive through hand car washes then don’t bother paying any extra for anything. 

 

😂 I'm still the sort of person that hand washes our cars, if I can once a week. I'm sure my wife thinks I'm mad, she's never really understood why I use two buckets! I just don't get the time to polish, etc, these days

If you were contemplating spending £400 on the glass protection from the dealer I'd search for someone locally who does a new car detail package. I'm sure you could get the whole car done for similar or less money by someone who'll spend most of the day working on your car.

I echo , Livesy above , go to a pro who has insurance and relies on customer feedback. Who knows who in the dealership will apply ceramics or other products. Double buckets , i doubt that in the dealership

On 06/01/2022 at 21:09, Greezy56 said:

I echo , Livesy above , go to a pro who has insurance and relies on customer feedback. Who knows who in the dealership will apply ceramics or other products. Double buckets , i doubt that in the dealership

Same here - I went for a local expert shop applying a ceramic coat after paint correction for £400 2 weeks ago which my Skoda dealer volunteered was far better quality than an Autoglym application and actually cheaper than the £500 they wanted. 

I had similar put on new cars in the past and over time never seen the value, they still get dirty and need a wash, yes for a bit they are a bit easier to clean but if you want to keep it in showroom finish you will need to do proper car cleaning and detailing which for me its just not worth it. However each to their own as I don't see my car as special, its a daily user, so don't really care for it in that way, when i had proper sports cars they got cleaned more but even then it was a hand-wash and polish by me, I am a bit sad as I liked hand-washing and seeing the results!! Sadly I see it as up-selling where they get even more commission from selling you a car. 

Agree with the sentiments on here, from experience of working with a dealer it all comes down to who the car goes to in the valet bay. Some of them just rattle through everything and try get up the road at 4, there are a rare few who will stay on at night to make sure the job is done right on their list of cars. £400 feels steep, there are mobile guys locally here who charge anything from £110-150 for a full valet which includes all the extras such as sealant. They tend spend 4 or 5 hours which is a luxury dealers just don't have with the volume of cars they are trying to fire out. 

If you’re getting a ceramic coat done it’s going to be £400 easy due to the time it takes to get to the point where it can be applied. It’s worth it though. 
The good thing about using a pro retailer is that they can help you choose which products to use in the future and the processes you need to use to keep the car looking great. 

21 hours ago, MiniNinjaRob said:

If you’re getting a ceramic coat done it’s going to be £400 easy due to the time it takes to get to the point where it can be applied. It’s worth it though. 
The good thing about using a pro retailer is that they can help you choose which products to use in the future and the processes you need to use to keep the car looking great. 

From memory ceramic coating tends to take a couple of days doesn't it and the price varies by how new the car is? I.e. the longer you wait the more they tend to charge, as they'll do additional paint correction etc.  The standard dealership stuff tends to be polymer based instead which is decent enough but no where near as hard wearing. 

I suppose if it’s a brand new car there won’t be much correction needed - the longer it’s left the more expensive it will be!

 

FWIW I just got my new Skoda and it came from a dealer in Cambridge and it’s had an excellent wax job done on it - impressive water beading!!