Hello everyone, I haven't seen anyone talk about this so I thought I would just throw this out there... When I bought my car my dealer offered Ziebart protection for $799 (which covers interior fabric protection, underbody protective coating/rust protection and "diamond gloss" paint protection -all with a 10 year warranty) , which was a discount from the normal cost of around $1300 they normally charge. Anyway, thanks to PriusChat, I was aware of the paint "issue" with the Prius and thought the deal might help, so I agreed to do it. Now, I'm due to bring it in next week and was just curious if others here were offered the same deal and if they liked the results. Also, I was wondering if I should also consider doing a bra or bug guard, even with the "diamond" paint protection -or am I really overthinking this. What do you guys think?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Angelique @ Jun 15 2007, 02:18 PM) [snapback]462447[/snapback]</div> Just my opinion... you're overthinking this. It's a car that you're gonna drive, not a piano that will be in a roped-off room. What I'm trying to say is, bugs will hit it, it will eventually get a scratch or a ding, and you can drive yourself nuts worrying about all of that... or not.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Angelique @ Jun 15 2007, 01:18 PM) [snapback]462447[/snapback]</div> Some people swear by it. Others think it is useless. Every manufacturer rustproofs their cars. If the spray on coating plugs a weep hole you've just created a new problem.
I think you are wasting your money. You would be better off paying someone to wax your car every 6 months. That $800 would be good for about 10 years of wax jobs. Most of the car washes around here will wax your car for $50. There is nothing special about the wax that they put on the paint. It is a scam.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Angelique @ Jun 15 2007, 02:18 PM) [snapback]462447[/snapback]</div> I used to have my own body shop. This is an enormous ripoff and I hope you seriously reconsider doing it. The diamond paint protection does not help you with dings, dents or scratches that occur with normal daily use (okay - occur more frequently with the substandard "enviro" paint on a prius). There is no way in hell your car needs an undercoating or a rustproofing of anykind. Cars are undercoated and sealed, as well as treated, by the factory now. Many of the panels on a Prius are aluminum - they don't rust!!! Take your money, leave it in your bank. Keep your car clean, wax it periodically, and when it gets salt or other corrosives on it - spray it off. Period - nothing Ziebart has will help you more, can even trap things in the car drainage systems that will create problems for you. The reason no one talks about Ziebart anymore is because manufacturer's have done an excellent job of treating their panels and frames such that it is no longer a viable product. Don't waste your money - or add the weight to your car. Buy a nose bra, but take it off regularly and clean/wx under it or it will scratch this touchy paint. Normal care and some protection will do much more for you then spraying your car's interior panels with tar, and someone buffing in a polymer wax that is worth about $35 at your local car wash/detailer. Lasts about 3-6 mths, that's it. Good luck - love those dealers!
