Protecting the Paintwork and Upholstery of a new car

tiya1990

Following on from my previous post , I will be taking delivery of a new Toyota Rav4 with grey leather seats within the next few weeks.  
I have been offered Paintseal ( Teflon £349 or Gen-3 Glasscoat £449 ) which can be done on the day of delivery. 

Is this worth it ?- I am especially  keen to save the colour of the light grey seats especially with my teenage boys!
I have seen prev posts regarding Supaguard and forumites were largely unimpressed. 

Is Paintseal any better ?
What would you use for your new 'pride and joy' ? 
I have heard that some of these products are available cheaply as standalone products but are they easy to apply by a complete novice or will I cause more harm than good and need a professional  ?

Grumpy_chap

I cannot advise on the protection products.
I take it you went for the pre-reg.  Was there an additional discount?

sweetsand

We've never gone for anyhting extra like that and when we resell our cars they still look like new.

DUTR

tiya1990 said:

Following on from my previous post , I will be taking delivery of a new Toyota Rav4 with grey leather seats within the next few weeks.  
I have been offered Paintseal ( Teflon £349 or Gen-3 Glasscoat £449 ) which can be done on the day of delivery. 

Is this worth it ?- I am especially  keen to save the colour of the light grey seats especially with my teenage boys!
I have seen prev posts regarding Supaguard and forumites were largely unimpressed. 

Is Paintseal any better ?
What would you use for your new 'pride and joy' ? 
I have heard that some of these products are available cheaply as standalone products but are they easy to apply by a complete novice or will I cause more harm than good and need a professional  ?

Well you'll be equally unimpressed with what they are offering, at that price go to a proper detailer , they will polish and seal the paint, and do the seats, for little under £200,  faux leather is actually easier to keep good than upholstery, but stay on top of a regular cleaning, eg weekly vacuum, and gentle wash, polish and wax at least twice a year.

Scrapit

You could spend that money on some detailing gear and make it look better than the dealer ever could.

Mercdriver

sweetsand said:

We've never gone for anyhting extra like that and when we resell our cars they still look like new.

Well at 10 months they would.  I'd be wincing at the depreciation.  That would make the extras look thoroughly good value

photome

I wash, polish, wax and seal my cars every 6 months or so, with just a couple of washes in between, paintwork looks like new and always beads when it rains. I wouldn’t pay the dealer anything for any extra treatment as long as you don’t mind a bit of effort a couple of times a year

facade

If you have money to burn, do as DUTR suggests and take it to a detailer for ceramic coating. This keeps the car shiny (if you wash and carefully dry it) for a couple of years.

The best paint protection is to cover it with that clear fablon we used to cover books with, this is stupendously expensive, and is called "protection film" and still needs detailing before it goes on, and they have to shrink it on with hairdriers.

If you love hard work, polish it yourself and use carnuba wax. This lasts about a fortnight, but everyone reckons it is the best shine.

If you want best value, polish it yourself with something like autoglym resin polish, and then seal it with polymer sealant, this lasts about 6 months, and is dead easy to do in the first flush of owning a new car when you are enthusiastic.

Or you could do what I do, which is nothing except wash any salt from underneath, I've washed the top surfaces of my car twice in the last 14 months, which is a bit excessive, but I was testing out a snow foam gun (waste of money) 

Penelopa.Pitstop

Or you can just clean your seats reguarly and they will be fine. No need to pay for protection. Baby wipes are good or you can buy special leather cleaner.

Stubod

..these extras are a total rip off, you can buy the stuff and do it yourself for a fraction of the cost....

bigadaj

People can scotch guard upholstery themselves but there's growing evidence that it's a potential carcinogen.