What Honda Australia says about Paint protection to new Honda

[m0nty ITR]

It's all crap. At Mercedes Benz we don't offer any paint protection products. Mercedes Benz use a ceramic paint which doesn't require any sealant or coating to retain it's colour. After working in dealer land for 6 years I have never heard of paint protection reducing fade. They have just sold you a car so cheap they're trying to put more money into the deal. Walk away now.

Paint protection won't protect against paint fading or rusting within 5 years. I think the sealant wears out within 2 years or so.

And in their T&C they also mention using only their shampoo products and returning every 12 months for reapplication at an additional cost. It's all a complete scam.

[praja6]

Hi guys

THe customer relationship guy from Honda rang me again(not the sales guy i got deal of the car)and asked am i interested in paint protection for 695, plus extra 1 for matt and extra 1 for tint. I told him big no.... He said why don't you get it, this paint protection is by Honda, not after market...and Honda paint protection comes with lifetime warranty. YOu right, for the life time warranty who knows how many pages of fine prints you have to read.... This is the first time i heard someone saying Honda is doing this paint protection business, He said he is trying to help me.. I asked him to give me matt for 1, he said No sir, we already sold you the car for very good price more than 7k off for the normal drive away price with accessories rear sensor and 5yr warranty..I told him i will lookafter my car carefully..

Oh man, seems he is very keen on getting some money from me with these paint protection stuffs...Now i realise how annoying with these sales and customer relations people when purchasing a new car. I bet you guys, even if i take my car this end of the week, this guy gona keep asking me for the PP stuffs ....

[aaronng]

That is how they make the money. They will keep dropping the price on your and giving you discounts until you say yes. And there is no such thing as Honda paint protection.
They make a lot of profit from non-Honda extras like tinting, reverse sensors and paint protection. For Honda accessories like the floor mat, they make less profit, so they will be reluctant to give it to you for cheap.

You can see the list of official Honda extras here: http://euro.honda.com.au/optional-extras.aspx
They have leather protectant cream, but no paint protection listed there. Even the reverse sensor is not there.

[praja6]

Hi Aarong,

In the genuine Honda accessories, the reverse sensor is there with the name called "rear park assist" under protection, just before mudguard set. Thats why i pushed him to give me Genuine Honda rear park assist(the invoice/contract says Honda rear park assist), which they mention normal rrp is 950 something and the after market one(you can get from same as in ebay for under 100)is very cheap.. He tried to give me local rear park assist and said its excatly as same as honda genuine rear park assist, I told him i need only genuine one and then he said Ok without any smiles..

But now my question is how do we differenciate between aftermarket rear sensor and genuine Honda one.....

Would they cheat?.. I doubt a big dealer like Rick would do such thing...

Thanks

[aaronng]

Hi Aarong,

In the genuine Honda accessories, the reverse sensor is there with the name called "rear park assist" under protection, just before mudguard set. Thats why i pushed him to give me Genuine Honda rear park assist(the invoice/contract says Honda rear park assist), which they mention normal rrp is 950 something and the after market one(you can get from same as in ebay for under 100)is very cheap.. He tried to give me local rear park assist and said its excatly as same as honda genuine rear park assist, I told him i need only genuine one and then he said Ok without any smiles..

Ahh, I missed that. Yeah, genuine is the way to go. They make less profit and he must have been unhappy that he couldn't sell you the cheap one for bigger profit.

But now my question is how do we differenciate between aftermarket rear sensor and genuine Honda one.....

Would they cheat?.. I doubt a big dealer like Rick would do such thing...

Thanks

Hope not, but you can look at it and comparing the design to the proper one. The Honda one has a thin ring around it.


The other way is to compare the zones. The Honda park assist has specific beeping frequency for each distance range. You can test with this:
ZONE 1 - 90 ~ 140 cm - 3 beeps per second
ZONE 2 - 60 ~ 90 cm - 5 beeps per second
ZONE 3 - 30 ~ 60 cm - 8 beeps per second
FINAL ZONE - 0 ~ 30 cm - Continuous tone

Source: http://www.honda.com.au/wps/wcm/conn...r+Park+Assist/

[praja6]

haha Yes mate, i think thats why he showed me his unhappy with refused to give me floormatt for cheap and asking me pay 200 plus for it.. yes he did tell me the normal price difference between genuine and after market one is 400 something. Yeap, he was trying to justify the after market one is same as honda genuine one, except pricing. Just wondering, are these Honda salesguy are let to drive Honda car such as Euro or accord something? Seems like they just read the manual and just explain yada yada....As he could not answer one my question when i asked about the left side mirror flip when change the gear into reverse...He was blank.... Then i show him in the car which was in display. Then he said Ah yes yes i know what you mean...geee....

[denot]

Hey Raja,

If you really want to go with paint protection, dont get it from Honda dealer. period.

get it from somewhere else where the owner/worker is a car enthusiast as well (e.g. Dave from RefflectEffect)

cheers mate

[HunterZero]

Yeah, paint protection is a scam. Just get it detailed and sealant added by someone like Dr Detail every 1-2 years or whenever you think it needs it, car will look very good for a long time.

Trying to tell you that paint protection stops stone chips though is blatantly dishonest. I'd be demanding to talk to a different sales manager if they tried that on me.

Once you've signed on the line, then you have no real chance to haggle for genuine accessories like mats etc. But since dealers make such a huge margin on paint protection, that's why they're putting the hard sell on you for that.

I remember when they tried to sell paint protection to me... The lady in charge of selling 'protection' products had a folder that was 1/2 nice metal, 1/2 rusted bubbled metal, which I found very funny, much to her chagrin. After I politely declined all her wares, she looked huffed and as she left she said, "Well don't blame me when your car looks like this!", indicating the rusty folder! LOL!

But Honda clearcoat is notoriously soft and sticky. If you don't have undercover parking, it is a good idea to use a paint sealant. But you can easily apply it yourself or employ a detailer to do it, don't pay the dealer a premium to do this for you. There's a good chance that the person the dealer employs to do the 'paint protection' will be an inexperienced numpty, and leave your car in bad condition, with swirls/holograms in the new paint.

- HZ

[EGB18CT]

yeah its a scam.

If you really want it get a detail from finalinspection (Damian) or Dave at reflect... Forget Honda crap put on by a shitty panel shop or num nut.

I got a huge discount on our car to 7-8k, and also tried this (guy showed me only made $250 on the car thru their p&l) He already knew i was informed about honda's, knew heaps so they didn't really push hard - it was more me egging him on that we will service at his dept etc. pfft whatever lol They even quietly said they will hand me over to the aftermarket sales chick trying to sell me her crap lol... so they knew. I let her explain (wasted her time lol) then said, nah i got friends in the biz that can do it for me and that was it, she quickly packed up and left lol/

Just be firm, if they keep persisting, tell them to g.f.

[omda71]

from experience, go with the paint protection.
I bought my euro late 07 and was brand new black in color and the dealer suggested paint protection for 600$ and i refused. and it was a fatal mistake, if anything drops on the car it leaves a permanent mark or stain. I had a second hand 03 prado and never faced this problem, both car parks at the same place and both used to drive to the same places, so when I traded in my old prado for the new prado, I made sure it was paint protected the classic protection and the environmental one by motor one they charge around 200$ each and the dealer quoted 600 each and the use motor one!!!!!!.
paint protection is must, it makes the car easier to clean, less prone to damage from tree sap and bird droppings.

[denot]

from experience, go with the paint protection.
I bought my euro late 07 and was brand new black in color and the dealer suggested paint protection for 600$ and i refused. and it was a fatal mistake, if anything drops on the car it leaves a permanent mark or stain. I had a second hand 03 prado and never faced this problem, both car parks at the same place and both used to drive to the same places, so when I traded in my old prado for the new prado, I made sure it was paint protected the classic protection and the environmental one by motor one they charge around 200$ each and the dealer quoted 600 each and the use motor one!!!!!!.
paint protection is must, it makes the car easier to clean, less prone to damage from tree sap and bird droppings.

paint protection is a must, but not from dealer... like I said my bro in law got one $800 (but discounted to $550) and the next day, you can see all swirl marks etc on his new black Jazz... I dont get any paint protection from dealer, just detail the car myself (lazyly) still get better result than his 1 day old car with $800 paint protection.

[HunterZero]

from experience, go with the paint protection.
I bought my euro late 07 and was brand new black in color and the dealer suggested paint protection for 600$ and i refused. and it was a fatal mistake, if anything drops on the car it leaves a permanent mark or stain.

I assure you, you could have got the same deal for substantially less directly from a detailer.

I have a mid-07 black Euro, and it still looks great. But then, I do maintain the paint properly, and garage it. A good sealant will last a good part of a year, and proper washing technique will avoid swirls and scratches.

paint protection is must, it makes the car easier to clean, less prone to damage from tree sap and bird droppings.

BZZZT, wrong. In my experience, paint protection does little to nothing. It won't stop paint burn from acid in bird droppings, and if this does happen, it can infact cost you big $$$ to have the protection re-applied.

Tree sap typically sticks and is a pain to remove with or without paint protection. Usually the damage is done actually trying to remove the tree sap.

Swirling and marring from washes are the biggest problem with dark paint, and no amount of paint protection will stop these appearing if you are washing the car wrong.

I have no paint protection, and find the car dead easy to clean, using the right gear - a lambswool or microfibre wash mitt, separate mitt for the wheels, microfibre towels, using two buckets, plus giving the car a regular application of top quality wax. Plus I keep quick detailer in the boot for touch-ups or bird poo. And a clay bar is magic for decontaminating paint prior to re-applying polish, sealant and wax.

My wife had a red Holden and opted for paint protection, but it faded just as fast and stained just as regularly as if it didn't have the protection. They even re-applied it for us free of charge, but within a couple of months it had faded again. If the car is losing its finish sooner, it's more likely to be bad quality paint or bad care.

It's quite telling that for every positive thing someone says about paint protecton, there are 20 people who say it isn't worth it. Learn to apply a good sealant yourself, and if you aren't into the DIY detailing, don't buy a dark coloured car, you will save a lot of $$$.

And definitely don't get it through the dealer, go direct to a detailer. Don't get a 'paint protection system', just get an application of a decent sealant.

What colour was your Prado, silver?

- HZ