TOPDECK
New member
This is kind of a long story...
So when I bought a my 11' TE a couple weeks ago, I basically had to settle for black as it was the only one I could find with all the off-road options and JBL nav, and I still had to drive over 100 miles to get to it. I was sold on the car before I even got to the dealer. The biggest hurtle was the color.
The sales person suggested that I get the "Teflon" coating on the car to protect the black finish, and that since the vehicle would be used for long overland trips on and off road, he wouldn't let us leave without it.
Of coarse I was skeptical of such a process because it sounds like a scam. I knew that Teflon, a product of Dupont, does not bond to any surface under around 700 degrees fahrenheit or so. But the sales guy assured me that it was an extensive process and was not just a coat of good wax.
I bought it.
Through my own research I have found that there is such a process of using Teflon based polymers to coat a vehicle. That process can cost between 3 and 4 thousand dollars and is often offered by very high-end detailers. In addition I have learned that the process sold as a "Teflon Coating" by car dealers is nothing more than, as I suspected, a good wax.
I didn't have the coating put on when I bought it since it was late and the service guys had already gone home for the night. I brought it back a few days later and had them put it on while I waited at the dealer (100 miles away from home remember) for 4.5 hours. When it came out, I was not blown away. In fact, it looked basically the same except for the generous helping of tire shine product on the tires. Which by the way flung off all over the side of the car on my drive home.
It had rained for a couple of days earlier this week and after it all cleared up, I decided it would be a good idea to give her a wash. I had been driving all day in the rain picking up supplies and equipment for our first overland adventure in the car, and it was looking quite dirty. What happened next was horrifying.
I sprayed off the car as anyone would do, and filled a bucket with suds courtesy of Meguiar's Ultimate Wash. As I started washing I noticed something strange. As soon as I would wash an area it seemed to dry very quickly and a thick white film streaked down on the paint. It was cool outside and the car was parked in the shade. It was on the windows and everywhere.
At the same time I noticed that soap in the bucket would no longer create suds. I knew from my long stay in the saltwater aquarium industry that when water will not foam, it usually points to an petroleum based contaminate.
I washed the car once over and attempted to dry it, but the white "stuff" was everywhere. My wife walked outside and her face said it all. :wow2:
She was mortified. I was as well but I was trying to hide it.
We washed the car again; I washing and her quickly rinsing and drying behind me. It looked a little better but still really really bad. It looked like it had been neglected for 5-6 years. Not a car with 600 miles on it. There were buffer marks from one end of the car to the other and other "mystery" scratches that were not there before. It seemed like we had simply washed off whatever they put on the car, leaving only scratched and swirled black paint.
I thought it might have been the soap. Maybe it was a bad batch. I washed my wife's car, a metallic black Jetta GLI. No problems.
I called the dealer and they were very apologetic and nice. They told me to drive it down there and they would "fix it". They also said they would cover my gas for the trip and give me a rental car to drive back home so I wouldn't have to camp out in the service waiting room as I did before.
I dropped it off today, and showed the paint to the sales guy that sold us the car, and he couldn't explain it. So I drove my newly rented Nissan Embarrass-mobile home. They already called to say that we can pick the car up in the morning. I am not believing in the least that it will be fixed for the 5 years that it is guaranteed for. To be honest, I want my money back for this wonder coating.
Has anyone else had this put on their car? Has it lived up to your expectations and its purchase price?
I am now looking on just having it wrapped in 3M vinyl. But it is expensive. I hate to pay for a mistake twice. Especially when the temporary solution costs around 3 grand.
Your thoughts?
So when I bought a my 11' TE a couple weeks ago, I basically had to settle for black as it was the only one I could find with all the off-road options and JBL nav, and I still had to drive over 100 miles to get to it. I was sold on the car before I even got to the dealer. The biggest hurtle was the color.
The sales person suggested that I get the "Teflon" coating on the car to protect the black finish, and that since the vehicle would be used for long overland trips on and off road, he wouldn't let us leave without it.
Of coarse I was skeptical of such a process because it sounds like a scam. I knew that Teflon, a product of Dupont, does not bond to any surface under around 700 degrees fahrenheit or so. But the sales guy assured me that it was an extensive process and was not just a coat of good wax.
I bought it.
Through my own research I have found that there is such a process of using Teflon based polymers to coat a vehicle. That process can cost between 3 and 4 thousand dollars and is often offered by very high-end detailers. In addition I have learned that the process sold as a "Teflon Coating" by car dealers is nothing more than, as I suspected, a good wax.
I didn't have the coating put on when I bought it since it was late and the service guys had already gone home for the night. I brought it back a few days later and had them put it on while I waited at the dealer (100 miles away from home remember) for 4.5 hours. When it came out, I was not blown away. In fact, it looked basically the same except for the generous helping of tire shine product on the tires. Which by the way flung off all over the side of the car on my drive home.
It had rained for a couple of days earlier this week and after it all cleared up, I decided it would be a good idea to give her a wash. I had been driving all day in the rain picking up supplies and equipment for our first overland adventure in the car, and it was looking quite dirty. What happened next was horrifying.
I sprayed off the car as anyone would do, and filled a bucket with suds courtesy of Meguiar's Ultimate Wash. As I started washing I noticed something strange. As soon as I would wash an area it seemed to dry very quickly and a thick white film streaked down on the paint. It was cool outside and the car was parked in the shade. It was on the windows and everywhere.
At the same time I noticed that soap in the bucket would no longer create suds. I knew from my long stay in the saltwater aquarium industry that when water will not foam, it usually points to an petroleum based contaminate.
I washed the car once over and attempted to dry it, but the white "stuff" was everywhere. My wife walked outside and her face said it all. :wow2:
She was mortified. I was as well but I was trying to hide it.
We washed the car again; I washing and her quickly rinsing and drying behind me. It looked a little better but still really really bad. It looked like it had been neglected for 5-6 years. Not a car with 600 miles on it. There were buffer marks from one end of the car to the other and other "mystery" scratches that were not there before. It seemed like we had simply washed off whatever they put on the car, leaving only scratched and swirled black paint.
I thought it might have been the soap. Maybe it was a bad batch. I washed my wife's car, a metallic black Jetta GLI. No problems.
I called the dealer and they were very apologetic and nice. They told me to drive it down there and they would "fix it". They also said they would cover my gas for the trip and give me a rental car to drive back home so I wouldn't have to camp out in the service waiting room as I did before.
I dropped it off today, and showed the paint to the sales guy that sold us the car, and he couldn't explain it. So I drove my newly rented Nissan Embarrass-mobile home. They already called to say that we can pick the car up in the morning. I am not believing in the least that it will be fixed for the 5 years that it is guaranteed for. To be honest, I want my money back for this wonder coating.
Has anyone else had this put on their car? Has it lived up to your expectations and its purchase price?
I am now looking on just having it wrapped in 3M vinyl. But it is expensive. I hate to pay for a mistake twice. Especially when the temporary solution costs around 3 grand.
Your thoughts?
