I payed out for paint protection on my new car. At the time the salesman told me it would prevent damage from bird muck, and that in the unusual circumstance where I did get paint damage then the company would pay out to have it rectified.
Now, only a few months later I have actually got paint damage from bird muck - left the car at at the airport and return it had bird muck on it. I washed it off, only to find the paint underneath has cracked.
I got in touch with the protection company, who today sent me a letter explaining that the only way I could get paint damage was if I didn't wash the muck off within 24 hours.....and their contract says they only pay out if you wash it off within 24 hours. Obviously, I'm paraphrasing, but that's pretty much what they said.
So, a few points come to mind here:
1. This 'guarantee' seems totally worthless. The chance of ever being able to claim on it seem approximately 0%. As this is the basis under which it is sold, it seems highly suspect and possibly fraudulant to me.
2. I never saw sight of any conditions, and nobody ever told me I had to wash bird muck off within 24 hours. Had I been told I would have been unlikely to have bought the protection. Basically this condition means you aren't covered if you go on holiday - what use is that?
3. As the only time I've ever had bird muck damage to my paint in the last 20 years of driving has been on the only car I've had with paint protection, I seriously doubt that this stuff does anything whatsoever to protect the paint!
I think the Small Claims Court is likely to sort this one out - there's no way they can wriggle out on the basis of a clause in a contract I never saw.....has anyone else had any experience of getting money out of these characters?
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Good luck but I honestly don't think you got much chance of successful outcome with this.
Remember the old adage for future? " If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!"
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It's a well established principle of law that you can't retrospectively invoke clauses and exclusions on a contract that the purchaser was unaware of when they entered into the contract. Fair enough for them to have the exclusions - but they should make them clear at the point of sale, not hide them until you try to claim. Clearly the reason they don't make them clear is that they would put purchases off. The fact that it was emphasised how great this was becuase it removed the risk of bird muck damage by the salesman just compounds the issue.
It seems to me that the whole manner in which this product is sold is highly dubious and should be stopped. Maybe trading standards would be interested?
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I'd go back to the dealer rather than the paint protection company-after all they're the ones you paid.
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Notice a lot of older cars on ebay, such as Cortinas, have in the ad "Ziebarted from new" or something like that.
Is this the paint protection you had? (The cars on ebay which state this are certainly in very good nick!)
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Ziebart was a rust inhibiting underseal/cavity seal not a paint treatment. I've had a few cars that were treated with it and they certainly seemed to survive better.
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Ziebart is/was underbody and cavity protection pretty much as all cars have now anyway.
Paint protection is not required IMHO, whether it is a con or not is open to question however.
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Your contract is with the dealer who sold you the paintwork protection. Go back to them and explain what has happened, telling them you expect the damage to be repaired.
Small claims, www.moneyclaim.gov.uk has proved to be useful for me in the past. For a £30 fee you can start the process off, but the other party usually pays before it actually gets to court, they also pay your fee.
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Ahh, thanks, thats cleared that up. Yeah, ziebart seems to do the trick, but in this day of wax injection into cavities etc, probaly not needed.
As for paint protection, I never wax/polish my cars (I'm into bangernomics by choice!) and bird 'lime' has never affected my paint. This paint protection you paid for is probably no better than a good polish. Get in touch with the dealer, but don't mention the bird poo!
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Yes, this the the paint 'glaze' (i.e. posh polish), rather than under-body treatment.
Good point about the dealer - I guess the responsibility to correctly inform me on the details of the contract is with them. Hopefully they will "do the right thing" - the second (not cheap) car I've bought from them and it'll cost them peanuts to fix it, so a sensible analysis by them would indicate it's worthwhile keeping my custom. It'll be interesting to see their reaction though!
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My car came with paint protection - it was already done and was included (without my knowledge) in the negotiated price, so was effectively free.
However, because the protection warranty is an insurance product, the dealer had to get their FSA qualified person to go through the forms with me, in the same way they do now with finance products.
If this is the case with your product, then you might be able to complain the Financial Services Ombudsman (if that's still the correct route) on the basis that the product was mis-sold. Even gently suggesting that you might do this could be enough to get them to repair the car.
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My car came with paint protection - it was already done and was included (without my knowledge) in the negotiated price, so was effectively free.
FREE is all its worth! I was conned into it on a 2nd hand car I bought (£250) and it didn't add £1 to the value of car on trade in. You can the same or a much better result with £30 worth of car care products and 2 hours of your own time IMHO!
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A complete con really.
A lot of dealers offer Diamond Bright or similar products for up to £200 or so on new cars. I bought this product on EBAY for £10 and used it on my car, it was okay but essentially NO better than any good wax polish. It certainly doesnt last a fraction of the time they state, ie years.
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No car wax or poish really seems to last. I reckon a good double wax about twice a year helps to keep most pollution etc at bay. Total cost, about £4-5 per year.
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No car wax or poish really seems to last. I reckon a good double wax about twice a year helps to keep most pollution etc at bay. Total cost, about £4-5 per year.
I was sceptical as anybody, but after 18 mths it does *seem* to make a difference. Car is very easy to clean, and, although a dark colour, seems to come clean first time. Surface still feels smooth. Bird Poo doesn't mark and comes off easily.
My daughters black Ibiza is the exact opposite of everything above.
Regular waxing may be as good, *if* you've got the discipline and inclination to do it!
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Is it a con? YES
Cost to the dealer approx £15 plus an hour or so to apply. Cost to you £200 - £250.
Question to ask the salesman when he tries to con you into it - "Is the paintwork on your vehicles so poor as to need this? and if so why?"
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Its a con - I used to apply it for a main dealer!
First they say it takes like 6+ hours to apply - it doesnt, try 2hours on top of the usual valet if that, secondly, I applied it to my old Daewoo Matiz when it was new and while it says it protects against stone chips, mine actually became more prone to them and lastly, my dealer paid about £30 for the pack and charged £250 for the application.
Anyone who buys into this rubbish is a complete fool along with all those who think Autoglym is worth the stupid prices...
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Stu - if not autoglym - what to do you suggest - out of interest.
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I actually find Autoglym to be the best and really not much more expensive than other products.
--
\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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I agree and so hence was keen to learn from Stu.
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I use Autosmart cleaning products. I have tried other things, including Autoglym, but none matches it for value and quality or range of products. Its not dressed up for retail either so they call a spade a spade.
I normally use their Mirror Image polish on my customers cars - it has ever such a slight amount of cut in it, so removes road film and it leaves a deep lustre even on cars not polished often. Its also easy to work and doesnt require much effort, so great for a quick job with a touch of quality.
I have a couple of customers who keep their cars immaculate who request Carnuba wax when i polish their cars. A tub of that costs me £7.00 and it is excellent.
The normal polish i use cost about £14.00 per 5 litres - roughly £2.80 a litre - look how much you get in one bottle of Autoglym and work out the price per litre... it was pretty scary last time I looked.
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stunorthants - Is there anyway of getting some of this mirror image polish, I noticed some autosmart trade products are being sold on e-bay but not this stuff.
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Yes - go to their website and there should be a number to locate your nearest distributor. They do trade and private business and if you pay in cash, its cheaper.
This is the contact page - I think you ring them and they will tell you your nearest distributor:
www.autosmart.co.uk/ContactInformation.htm
Its also worth looking at the product range so you can choose the best one for you.
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There's a good roundup of waxes in Auto Express from a couple of months ago:
www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/producttests/6631...l
I'm a big fan of the Zymol cleaner wax myself, very nice results indeed! Even weeks later it looks like it was just applied, although that's partly due to regular use of Meguiar's mist & wipe spray to get rid of the dust and other stuff that descends on the car. The paint is just so smooth and silky, I know it's wrong but I can't help touching it!
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If in the small print it says to treat the paintwork in exactly the same way with regards to bird poo as in the car manual, then of course it's a con. It can't protect if you still have to treat the paintwork in the same way!
The dealer a friend works for tells customers that they're getting it cheap at £250 because the dealer buys in bulk, and that it would usually cost nearer £500 if done aftermarket! It's also a nice little earner for the salesman, so is pushed heavily on every purchase.
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Mike Farrow
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What actually is this stuff? Is it a 'polish' or a clear coating? It's a rip off anyway at 1000% mark up, but that doesn't in itself mean it's useless.
I'm surprised no distinction has been made between metallic and flat colours. At one time I would never pay extra for metallic, now I do - partly because of resale, but also because the paint is much more durable with its clear coat. I wouldn't expect much benefit from another coating on top, but if the treatment is equivalent to putting the clear coat on top of a flat colour, perhaps it is useful, and it is just the cost that is a problem?
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my husband is a car valeter and he normally advises his customers to buy good qaulity waxes and paint sealants as they last much longer than diamondbright or similar.
these products form a hard glaze over the clearcaot and look good for a few weeks but you are supposed to use their products to shampoo the car or the glaze deteriorates quickly. very poor qaulity at 250.
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