Just walked out when buying a truck, because of $995 for 'ceramic paint coating'.

[mrsilv04]

Was this an option you could choose or it had already been done and you had no choice?

It (supposedly) had already been done. No choice. Not sure how one would ever be able to tell or not, or how good of a job was done.

Odd that all of the dealers want to sell you 'invisible' things that you can't tell that if they've done or not... Paint protection, fabric protection, nitrogen in your tires, BG fluids...

The salesman sent me an email and asked me IF he could get the $995 fee waived, would I still be interested. Nope. Sorry. You had your chance.

 

[nicholas]

On the one hand, a pro-quality paint correction and ceramic coating at a high-end shop costs a lot more than that. But on the other hand, the dealer probably didn't do any paint correction and probably just used the same spray-on coating you can get at the parts store for about $12. And never offered you the choice.

I would bet it's a high school student putting on some crappy amazon cheap coating.

Total rip off dealer nonsense

 

[GON]

It (supposedly)

Bingo. Magic invisible actions for big bucks. Great pass on your part- you choose not to participate with a dirty dog dealership. If others had your discipline- these crooked trade practices would end. But plenty of dealership consultants pushing these unfortunate business practices as powerful profit centers for dealerships.

 

[ecotourist]

When I bought my Honda there was an extra charge for permanently marking the windows as a window theft deterrent. I said I didn't want it. They said, "it's a good thing we haven't marked them yet", and took off the charge. They did leave the "windows have been marked" sticker though which I suppose is some sort of window theft deterrent.

Come to think of it that sticker was on the windshield which has been replaced. So am I at risk of having the windows stolen? Considering that the car stays in our garage and is driven a dozen times a year so my wife can go to book-club meetings at friends homes in upscale neighbourhoods? I'm not losing any sleep over it.

 

[proveitwithdata]

always ask to see this unremovable addon in person, you bet most wont be able to show you proof.

 

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

Very well done for sticking up for what is right. I had a similar experience.

A nearby dealership added LoJack to all of their vehicles which was an $800 add-on. Looked at the vehicle and told them I'll take it for the listed price but I'm not paying for any additional features. Back and forth with sales, "well at least cover our costs at $400." "We've already installed it and can't take it off", etc. Nope.

They eventually folded and removed the fee but it was a hassle to say the least.

Your goon hacked up the factory wiring harness and you want me to pay money for the privilege of having a faulty electric system?

 

[Leo99]

You have to focus on the out the door price. If it's $30,000 and the paint stuff is free or if it's $29,000 plus an extra $1000 for the paint stuff, it's the same price.

 

[64bawagon]

The RV business is just as bad. We bought our fifth wheel in 2021 and turned down all of the add ons (it was ordered for us) when it came in we declined everything to the finance manager over the phone. The business manager must not have thought the finance manager leaned on us hard enough because he called about 15 minutes later to "make sure she had explained all the advantages to us" since we didnt buy any add ons. The worst one was the "disinfecting service" before we picked it up so we could be sure the Covid wasnt in the trailer. I laughed pretty hard at that one expecially for $500. I told them I would walk through it with a can of Lysols when I got home, and besides, werent they supposed to clean it for us already ?

 

[buster]

Was finally told by the salesman that there was an additional $995 dealer charge for a "ceramic paint coating". This is on a less than 2 year old pickup truck with 19,000 miles.

All of my vehicles are kept inside, and are inside 99% of the time... as I work from home now. Maybe if the vehicle sat outside 99% of the time, I'd feel differently. But I wasn't given any choice on this.

I walked away from the deal. I'll keep looking elsewhere. I have zero tolerance for dealership rubbish like this.

Good for you. Also, that coating is likely not a coating. It's probably very low end Sio2 based sealant. What some of these dealerships do is borderline criminal.

I can lose my patience quickly around car salesman.

 

[WeyounDS9]

Actutally if it was properly done, I'd love to get a ceramic paint coating for a grand.
I think at the reputable shops its about twice that for a SUV/pickup.
Some places in Europe even charge 3k for it.
But there is no guarantee its properly done.

 

[dwcopple]

Some places in Europe even charge 3k for it.
But there is no guarantee its properly done.

Sounds like a business model I should pursue...didn't realize there were suckers spending 3k on paint protection these days...hmmmm

 

[97prizm]

Was finally told by the salesman that there was an additional $995 dealer charge for a "ceramic paint coating". This is on a less than 2 year old pickup truck with 19,000 miles.

All of my vehicles are kept inside, and are inside 99% of the time... as I work from home now. Maybe if the vehicle sat outside 99% of the time, I'd feel differently. But I wasn't given any choice on this.

I walked away from the deal. I'll keep looking elsewhere. I have zero tolerance for dealership rubbish like this.

Yeah it's a bummer that they do this but many people look at time vs money on this stuff. There are a couple of great ceramic coatings out there that work. When I worked at a Lexus dealership they charged $800-$1,000 for tint and clear 3M protection film and gave it a lifetime warranty. For most people sure scheduling a separate tint, clear film, or ceramic coating job is cheaper but if you're dropping $100,000 on a vehicle and the dealership only charges a small amount in comparison to the purchase price.

 

[Oillover]

The second last car we got the MIL was a 2011 Sonata (back before the 4cly issues were known).
It was an ex-rental being sold at a Hyundai dealership with all warranty dialed back to 0.
Since it was a year old, there was already some poorly completed paint repairs done on the front bumper by the dealership's own paint shop.

When we went to take delivery, the finance manager tried to sell us on coverages and paint protection....I kindly reminded them of the poor-quality paint repair done on the front bumper and that there was no way I was paying anything more for additional warranties/coverages. He begrudgingly accepted and we completed the deal.

 

[proveitwithdata]

Yeah it's a bummer that they do this but many people look at time vs money on this stuff. There are a couple of great ceramic coatings out there that work. When I worked at a Lexus dealership they charged $800-$1,000 for tint and clear 3M protection film and gave it a lifetime warranty. For most people sure scheduling a separate tint, clear film, or ceramic coating job is cheaper but if you're dropping $100,000 on a vehicle and the dealership only charges a small amount in comparison to the purchase price.

Not directed at you but most of these products are a VAS, and they are profit centers. If the dealership did an actual correction, and PPF the cost would skyrocket and take rate would drop.

These days its resistall interior and some sort of sealant after running it through the free dealer swirlmachine.

 

[AZjeff]

The salesman sent me an email and asked me IF he could get the $995 fee waived, would I still be interested. Nope. Sorry. You had your chance.

How long did it take to get the email?

 

[CKN]

The RV business is just as bad. We bought our fifth wheel in 2021 and turned down all of the add ons (it was ordered for us) when it came in we declined everything to the finance manager over the phone. The business manager must not have thought the finance manager leaned on us hard enough because he called about 15 minutes later to "make sure she had explained all the advantages to us" since we didnt buy any add ons. The worst one was the "disinfecting service" before we picked it up so we could be sure the Covid wasnt in the trailer. I laughed pretty hard at that one expecially for $500. I told them I would walk through it with a can of Lysols when I got home, and besides, werent they supposed to clean it for us already ?

No-the RV business is FAR WORSE. With very few exceptions-RVs have no MSRP from the manufacturer. Consequently-the dealer provided prices are marked up to the moon and back.

 

[sloinker]

I heard that Amazon is selling new cars now. You deal with them and pick up the car at a dealership. Time will tell if it removes the fraud from the process.

 

[Owen Lucas]

With the markups you can tell the dealer "sure leave the ceramic coating, just take $995 off the bottom line". This trick is used on made up and inflated "mandatory state filing fees". Sure you can leave it on the invoice, just take the $$ off another part.

Post pandemic this is harder to do but I think the car market is cooling down and the dealers will be more open to negotiating.

 

[CKN]

I heard that Amazon is selling new cars now. You deal with them and pick up the car at a dealership. Time will tell if it removes the fraud from the process.

There isn't any difference. It's basically Internet buying-just like you can on a Dealer's website. Amazon is just a platform.

Quote-

Your new Hyundai Santa Fe or Sonata won’t be delivered to your front door in a gray van, though. Once you’ve selected your vehicle from a local Hyundai dealer’s inventory, you’ll pick up the car at a dealership, just like any other time a customer purchases a car.

Laws in most US states protect auto dealerships from automakers who might want to sell directly to consumers. Being able to literally buy a car online has been a source of contention for Tesla, Rivian and other automakers that prefer to deal directly with customers.


“It’s not like you’re going to buy it, and then the car will be delivered to your house the next day, like you’re a Prime member or something like that,” said Jessica Caldwell, an industry analyst with Edmunds.com. “If that is the expectation then that needs to be managed, because I would imagine that would lead to quite a bit of disappointment on the consumer end.”

end quote

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/16/business/hyundai-cars-for-sale-on-amazon/index.html

State franchise laws HAVE NOT GONE AWAY.

 

[AZjeff]

I heard that Amazon is selling new cars now. You deal with them and pick up the car at a dealership. Time will tell if it removes the fraud from the process.

Most people buying new cars have trades. Wonder how that will work. Still room for dealer’s tricks probably.