Supagard - advice please

[shaz4473]

My mum is changing her 12 year old  solid red Fiesta which is still looking great having been polished every year and waxed regularly by myself.  I am no longer able to polish the car due to a back problem and she has been offered Arnold Clark 'protect' on the car which I believe is supagard at a cost of £275. On reading the leaflet I thought that this would be a great thing for a red car as it would protect the car paintwork with a sealant and it has a 5 year warranty with it which we signed up for.

Now on looking online I am reading a lot of comments saying that it is a waste of money but the reviews do tend to be from years ago and I can't find any recent advice/comments.

The car is not due in until the end of February and I assume that the protect would be applied at the dealership so I am wondering if anyone has advice on if it is a good product that will help keep the shine on the car and protect the paintwork,  how do you know that the product has been applied properly and has anyone had any experience of going back to Arnold Clark within 5 years to say that they have an issue with the quality of the product?

Can anyone also advice if I could back out of having it in the order?

Thanks in advance for any advice 🙂

[DG97]

Hi, 

I think that paying for these sort of products is not a bad idea but... ideally not at the dealership you bought it from. 

You are better off finding a private and professional detailer in your area as he will likely charge roughly the same amount but should do his job better. In my experience, dealerships rush these sort of jobs and don’t do it as well as they could and should given they charge a high price. 

So doing it privately would be my advice. 

Also, I find that although the warranty is a 5 year one, i’m not a 100% the product applied lasts for as long as that so I wouldn’t see it as a extra long term or lifetime solution. 

[DG97]

As long as they haven’t done the work, you can back out without any problems 🙂 

[TomsFocus]

I was always sceptical about Supagard, but my Mk3 Focus was covered in it and even 3 years later it was still effective on the paintwork.  The interior one didn't seem to make any difference though.

However, it's the sort of thing I'd haggle in for free, certainly wouldn't pay that much for it.  As suggested above, a pro detailer will be able to provide a better coating for a lower price.

[Ryan_Tango]

Find a professional detailer in your area and pay him/ her £275 will likely last much longer and the car will be prepped correctly before application and for that price you could likely have a ceramic coating applied, my local detailer charges £250 for a detail with ceramic coating.

[nathanphillips]

11 minutes ago, DG97 said:

Hi, 

I think that paying for these sort of products is not a bad idea but... ideally not at the dealership you bought it from. 

You are better off finding a private and professional detailer in your area as he will likely charge roughly the same amount but should do his job better. In my experience, dealerships rush these sort of jobs and don’t do it as well as they could and should given they charge a high price. 

So doing it privately would be my advice. 

Also, I find that although the warranty is a 5 year one, i’m not a 100% the product applied lasts for as long as that so I wouldn’t see it as a extra long term or lifetime solution. 

Totally agree with this. I had it “applied” by Evans Halshaw 3 times and they never managed to get it right- seats were the ones to watch as there was absolutely no beading at all. I would get it applied by a pro detailer rather than it being applied by the garages in house valeted.

 

 

[Luke4efc]

NO NO NO NO! Supaguard is a complete waste of money for a cheap protective wax! The stuff is exactly the same as what was used years ago and hasn't kept up with the times. There's far better products on the market now that do a better job at protecting the paintwork. I can only assume supaguard is still in business due to the public naivety towards proper car cleaning.

This is the dealership conning you into sub-par product for a premium price and isn't anywhere near as good as what's claimed. It's applied by a valeter who isn't paid enough to give a dam for starters. If you could be certain that the car would be given a thorough pre-clean (with traffic film remover and snowfoam) followed by a thorough clean and decontamination with 2 buckets and a grit guard then perhaps you could justify the cost.

At the same time a decent detailer can put a longer lasting finish on for probably a lot cheaper and you can be 100% sure he is passionate about the job and can see what he's doing on your driveway.

TLDR: Supaguard is a big con and don't get it unless it's free! At least some sealant is better than none.

[shaz4473]

Thank you all so much for giving your advice and I have already emailed the salesperson to take this extra off the order.  I am going to do some research to find out a good local detailer and get in touch with them. 

 I have been using Autoglym rapid autowax on the current car since I stopped polishing it myself and find it easy to use and seems to be a good product, any other recommendations for an easy to use wax?   With my back issue I can't use anything that takes a lot of elbow grease to apply and take off.

thanks again:)

[TimST2]

I assume you mean Autoglym Aqua Wax? It's good stuff to use regularly, especially as a top-up. I think if you can be bothered, something like Autoglym HD wax will give you a more durable finish lasting 6 months, and something like Gtechniq C1 ceramic paint protection will give you a more durable finish lasting 3-5 years!

[shaz4473]

Thanks - I think that would be where I would get a professional to step in and do the job!!

[shaz4473]

This is the response from the salesperson after I emailed to say that I had done some research and come to the conclusion that it would not be required and to take it off the order, still keen to give me one more chance to keep it on the order.

thats a shame about the paint protection because it really does protect the colour from fading seeing as your buying a non metallic car. It will fade over the years where as the protection will protect it from sun fading. But i will remove it from the order for you?

 

[cjay1]

if you follow the instructions in the owners manual, wash it once a month and polish/wax it twice a year it won't fade

[Luke4efc]

56 minutes ago, shaz4473 said:

thats a shame about the paint protection because it really does protect the colour from fading seeing as your buying a non metallic car. It will fade over the years where as the protection will protect it from sun fading. But i will remove it from the order for you?

More like "that's a shame, I was looking forward to my £50 commission on selling you a rip off product that doesn't actually last for the 150 years I claimed previously!"

There are many better products out there that will also prevent the paint from fading that doesn't cost over £250 to have done. Seriously if you want the paint in as good of a condition as it will get then a detailer will do a new car clean for you.

Just to add, you don't polish the car each time you wax it. You have to remember it's like using very fine sandpaper on your car to remove a small layer or lacquer. Eventually you'll remove all the lacquer and be polishing the base coat. Polishing is only for when you have to carry out paint correction (such as scratches) If you are polishing all the time to remove swirl marks then you're washing your car wrong.

[TimST2]

Just to add, you don't polish the car each time you wax it. You have to remember it's like using very fine sandpaper on your car to remove a small layer or lacquer. Eventually you'll remove all the lacquer and be polishing the base coat. Polishing is only for when you have to carry out paint correction (such as scratches) If you are polishing all the time to remove swirl marks then you're washing your car wrong.

I don't think I've ever polished any of my cars, but I do apply Aqua Wax after every wash (about once a month). During the Winter I rinse the salt off with the pressure washer between washes too. I think you'd want to polish before applying a ceramic coating though wouldn't you as it locks in the paintwork for several years?

[shaz4473]

Thanks for the advice, I have really appreciated the help given on this forum.

  I am going to be washing and waxing the car regularly to keep the colour looking good.