I am buying a new Dodge truck. Should I purchase the paint sealant from the car dealership? Is the cost worth the protection? I don't want to hand wax this truck.
Paint sealant from the dealership is little more than a wax job that can be performed by yourself or a detail shop. Some dealerships will outsource paint protection to an independent shop or do it in-house, meaning there could be a second and third party that needs to be paid, adding to the overall cost. By doing it yourself or going to a detail shop, you eliminate the middle man and save some cash. We talked with an independent shop that performs paint protection for local dealerships, and their procedure is to spray wax onto the vehicle, then use a low-speed buffer to buff the wax into the paint. Doesn’t sound too complicated, does it?
According to the Cars.com article “Getting the Best Deal: Financing & Insurance”:
“All new cars are built with rust-resistant galvanized steel (or aluminum or fiberglass) and treated with a rustproofing agent at the factory. Experts say dealer-applied rustproofing is unnecessary, at best. Paint ’sealant’ is a similar story: Factory paint is sealed and durable and can be protected effectively with a coat of wax you apply yourself.”
Learn more
Dealership protection packages are overpriced and use inferior products. Surfside Mobile Auto Detailing of Orange County provides an even better protection package by using superior products and for hundreds less.
I never got the paint and rust protection on a car. I just bought a RAV4. They were very convincing, saying that things are different now and since 2005 the lead was removed from the paint (building on the scare about lead paint in foreign toys) and that makes it fade. Is this true about new paint having no lead so it fades? Also, they said if you don'd hose off the undercarriage the chemicals on the roads will eat away at it. Is this true? I don't wax my cars or wash them often and never had a problem. Are the dealer treatments needed?
Paul, we answered a similar undercoating question for Ask.cars.com here:
Cheapdriverseducation.com offers affordable, fun, easy and hassle free online driver education course and driver training programs for teenagers.
I have a 2003 Saturn Vue. I live in Minnesota. I was told that I should have undercoating put under my vehicle to protect the fram from rusting. And if the fram already has rust, the under coating will stop the rust damage from getting worse. Should I do the undercoating?
Although many people have mixed feelings about the protection plans offered at the dealers I believe that the value is there for long term ownership. Many similar products offerd at places other than the dealers can not offer the same life time warranty. This is key when we are spending good money on the applications, why would we spend this money without any guarantee? The dealers can offer this lifetime warranty which many other places can not. I have had all the cars I have owned paint sealed and it is the miracle product.
Happy customer!!
North Vancouver, Canada
As usual, people when giving advice have a tendency to superimpose their lifestyle and needs onto other people. "Don't buy sealant, just wax your car", but what if I hate to wax and would prefer the preemptive strike of the teflon coating that takes away the need for waxing? "You need to buy sealant", but what if I enjoy waxing my car or just plain don't care? For some people, eating out or take out is convenient or they just prefer to pay to be waited on and for others they prefer to cook at home for myriad reasons. "Don't buy ex-warranties" but what if I can't afford a repair on the off chance something goes wrong? "You have to buy a warranty or your being foolish" but what if I can afford to self insure myself? Stop letting people shoot shotgun advice at you (consumer reports, etc)and taking it like its gospel, but instead take it with a grain of salt and/or find a consultant that will take your particular needs into account when advising you. As always, both ends of the spectrum are extreme and balance is always the best approach. By the way, no one offered my mom the teflon coating on her car, she got tree sap on her hood and when she came back from a week trip it had eaten through the clearcoat, which she paid $1100 to have sandblasted off and reapplied (which wouldn't be a concern to someone who garages their car). Wax doesn't prevent that so someones assesment that it is just a wax is misinformed. Products vary, as usual
I loved that bit about "things are different they removed the lead from paint"
HA HA HA. True.. but about 30 years late.
Teflon guy... you got had or you're trying to put one over on people. Everything the car needs is in the manual. PERIOD. Read the manual.. "wash and wax car get scratches repaired" DO NOT BUY SEALANT.. Its a hoax. I professionally paint cars. HIGH END cars... The ONLY sealant you need on your paint is clear coat and wax. That's from PPG! if PPG was worried about their paint failing.. they'd sell this sealant. But no!, it comes from pyramid marketeers in their personally owned vehicles going door to door. TRUST ME.. I DO know what I'm talking about. I know all about the products. I am a factory and school trained paint / body/ fabrication technician who was working in or hanging out at dealerships since he was 5 months old.. Literally. Over the last 40 years, schemes like this come and go.. but they always go.
Some are malicious, some are just bad science. Most now a days are bad science. Hens teeth and snake oil. When they come to the shop now, I run them off with a bat. I will not have them on the lot. That stuff belongs on a car as much as the bible belongs in a pre-historic anthropology class. They are at opposition to each-other. You don't "sand blast" a car. Pretty much EVER. You can do some.. but I won't get into that. Anyone that lives in the north knows salt will not hurt your paint. Chips in the paint getting to your metal will hurt .. definitely. NO AMOUNT OF ANY INVISIBLE CRAP will keep your car from getting chipped. Can some paint be effected by acids. Yes.. over long times and repeated exposure. But anyone who washes their car quarterly or so won't have to worry about it. Maybe if you park under a large smoke stack or something.
I live on the beach. My car is exposed to hydrochloric acid DAILY. It looks BEAUTIFUL!.. Screw the stupid paint sealant!
Modern clear coat paint finishes are so good today that they lull people into thinking that vehicle paint has protection and shine when in reality there is not really much there, other than the clear coat. The statement that “a sealant has no benefit to the paint ‘because’ there is a clear coat, is baffling, as clear coat is a polyethylene paint but without color pigmentation, its applied to provide the colour coat (base coat) with shine, if a clear coat did not need a protection applied, there would be no such thing as clear coat failure due to oxidation or any of a myriad of clear coat problems. To provide further improvements in appearance and durability the base-coat / clear coat systems were developed and introduced in the late 70’s. The base coat is comprised primarily of pigments held in place by a polymeric resin film (binder).
A smooth and transparent clear coat allows for more light to pass directly through the clear coat for optimal reflectance and shine.
I still drive a 98 Jeep that I bought brand new. Felt a little duped back then when I paid for the paint sealant. Well... 12 years later, I have never once waxed the vehicle. I don't even wash it that often. Yet... It still has the look of a new car finish.
I'm looking to buy a new car soon and I will be contacting the dealer from which I purchased my Jeep and asking them what type of sealant they were using back in 97/98 and I will GLADLY allow myself to be duped again.
No one will convince me that sealants are worthless. My vehicle is evidence of just the opposite.
Maybe I will look into seeing if I can have process done cheaper than at the dealership, but I will have a sealant applied.
See if your question has already been asked and answered
Your question has been successfully submitted to Ask.cars.com. It will now be reviewed by our editors and we'll answer it soon if we think it's a useful question. You will be notified via e-mail when the answer is posted. Ask.cars.com tackles your questions about new cars and the car-buying process. Unfortunately we can't answer questions regarding:
Have our experts answer any of your questions about new cars.
Don't worry — we won't publish your last name or email.
Also frustrating is the Toyota Southeast Region's $699.00 Toyo-Guard add-on beyond MSRP. It's a rip off that encourages customers to buy another brand.