Is this really worth the money?

If say it costs £600, and lasts 2 years, what's the difference over washing your car weekly?

If you paid £7 per wash/dry/wax weekly, that would work out roughly the same cost over the same period.

Ceramic coating won't take away the need for regular washing, it will make the washing easier.

A nice profitable add-on for the dealer. Not worth £600 in my opinion but then I'm a nutter who enjoys washing cars. 🙃

If you're paying £7 for a car wash I can only assume that's done with a gritty rag/brush and will be creating swirls in the paint immediately.

Doesn't matter so much on a white or silver car but on black or dark blue it looks awful in the sunlight.  Ceramic coating is stronger than factory lacquer and should reduce the amount of swirls, keeping that slick mirror finish for longer.

I've never paid for it either. In the past I've used the alternative theory (especially on company cars) - don't wash it and you don't get swirls!😀

 

I've not been quoted £600, but it's what an ex work colleague paid around 4 years ago He said it lasts 2 years, and you don't need to wash it, just throw a bucket of clean water over it. He was known to be a bit of a bull@*££er though.

I've been using this car wash place all year, and they don't make/leave any swirls on it.

It's whether I trust them with a brand spanker though! 

If you can't see the swirls (they will be there!) then I don't think you'll get the value from a ceramic coating.

My new Focus arrived straight from the dealership with swirls in places, so I'd be very impressed if a cheap car wash can avoid making any.  It's also possible that their wax is covering them up.  I often used quick wax/show shine for that purpose.

They only use a liquid wax Tom, that they spray on after they've washed it, and before they hand dry it. To be honest I thought you only get swirls on a standard paint car, and not metallic paint?

I hope my new car doesn't have any swirls on it!  🫣

2 minutes ago, Bomb Jack said:

They only use a liquid wax Tom, that they spray on after they've washed it, and before they hand dry it.

I hope my new car doesn't have any swirls on it!  🫣

Yes, that spray will be full of clearcoat fillers to hide the swirls and give it a smooth finish.  Looks good initially but those fillers wash out over a few weeks of rain.

Probably best not to look too closely at the paint on the new one.  As well as swirls from a poor quality valet, I also found orange peel, uneven panel gaps, and a few fitment marks.  Worth noting mine was built during covid though, so quality control probably wasn't top of the list.

Did also see a chunk out of an alloy, but lucky that turned out just to be a bit of rubber from the tyre fitting!