Posted: Oct 06 2004 at 9:24am | IP Logged

What you got maybe a good paint sealant...maybe not,... but I guarantee you they ripped you off on the price...Everything Ive ever read about car shopping said to stay away from the "undercoating", "paint sealant" and "scotch guarding" options, as they were nearly all profit for the dealership. In fact, while shopping for my Titan I was approached by a salesman while l was looking at my "future truck". The first thing I said to him was that I was NOT going to consider, or even haggle over the $495 "environmental protection" they had added to the sticker price. I told him I knew that it was total B.S. and that if I wound up making him an offer on that truck, it would not include that $495!!...He just said OK and went and got the keys for our test drive.....lol....

With that said, you have already paid for the option...if you are happy with the truck, then I wouldnt worry about it.......just tuck that away for the next time trade autos...keep on truckin.

Posted: Oct 06 2004 at 5:39pm | IP Logged

I voted Zaino..

I've used it before with excellent results..

Posted: Oct 06 2004 at 11:37pm | IP Logged

With that said, you have already paid for the option...if you are happy with the truck, then I wouldnt worry about it.......just tuck that away for the next time trade autos...keep on truckin.

Posted: Oct 07 2004 at 12:46am | IP Logged

Yeah, if it increased the warranty for the paint, just look at it as insurance..... I have never priced a paint sealant service, but I assume that the various articles were implying the cost of such a service is mostly labor & profit. My personal opinion is that what you get probably varies from one dealership to the next. I honestly think that some dealerships get the autos off the truck, pay some teenager $7.50/hr to wash and wax them, (which they do anyway) then add $500 to the sticker as an "environmental protection pkg". Others may actually use some type of "paint sealant" product that provides some protection/value, but I highly doubt that anything they do could be worth $500. I also suspect that their "Scotchgard" treatment isnt much better than what I can accomplish with a $6 can of Scotchgard fabric protector from Auto Zone. 

 BTW, my cousin worked at an auto dealership one summer, and that is exactly what he did...wash / wax cars, and vacuum the interiors. I also know from a personal experience I had as a teen getting some vinyl graphics on my truck, that the dealerships have an 800% mark-up on their pinstripes. While I was waiting, the girl working on my truck stopped 2-3 times to put pinstripes on cars from a dealer around the corner. She charged them $10 each, and they added $80 to the sticker price !!! ...took her all of 5-6 minutes to do each one....lol.