Aftermarket Paint, Fabric, & Rust Protection

Pure dealer profit IMHO.

 

Worth the price? Figures may vary from store to store, but here is a listing of the gross profit for various operations at a major chain of dealerships.

New Vehicles .......................7.8%
Retail Used Vehicles ..........14.3%
Wholesale Used Vehicles ......2.9%
Finance & Insurance ..........99.6%
Service & Parts .................48.1%

The items you mentioned fall under the F&I category and are some of the most profitable items there are. Judge for yourself, but 99.6% profit. Wow!


Source: 2004 Annual Report, Lithia Motors Inc. As i have an equity position in them I'd advise you to buy 'em if your buying from Lithia . :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

IMO these protection packages are scare tactics. You can do the same job for the cost of a few spray cans, if you really feel that they are necessary.

The interior fabric is microfiber which is naturally super easy to clean. if you want to worry about it then buy a can of spray protectant and do it yourself for $5.00

Rust protection is covered under warranty. If you are concerned about very long term ownership, then you will have to wash and care for the car anyway (or else they will deny you coverage) so you're not likely to gain anything with their coverage.

The paint protection is similar to rust protection, you still have to do some sort of maintence (some companies tell you up front, most don't). This consists of going back and giving them more money to refreseh the alleged lifetime coating (obviously it wears off). Search for my other posts on PC about how to properly care for the exterior. Its not that hard and your car will always look good.

$1000 can buy several lifetime worth of wax and sprays. Save your money and enjoy your car.

 

I have the rust protection simply because it dampens sound. IMO the car is much quieter with it than without.

 

Boy, they gave you a super heavy cpating of product, mosty of the time you cannot tell the difference. It is actually quite difficult to reduce the noise levels einside a car to any satidfctory degree. Check out the Dynamat posts on PC to see what I mean.

(I used to be in the auto business; rust proofing/sound deander/undercoating was a good way to make a fast buck with a quick spray of very little material.)

 

Similarly, pretty much every Prius out here in NC has the $619 Toyoguard (or $699 Toyoguard Plus) package aboard. Is anything in that package NOT a ripoff? I've read that the ivory fabric inside is very easily soiled and sometimes hard to clean -- I'm hoping I can make enough noise about this "fabric protectant" to get them to do something if I'm in that boat.

 

If you live in the Rust Belt then it may make sense to have a *good* rustproofing done. This usually entails an annual oily spray into the crevices and all underneath the car.

I've used Rust Check for over 20 years and it's about the only product that seems to work as advertised:

http://www.rustcheck.com

AFAIK Rust Check is only available in Canada.

 

If I remember correctly, all the protectant packages are mosrly profit. I have the beige interior and have not had problems cleaning it. Keep in mind that its micrifiber, not cloth. Ig you are worried about it just gat a can of aftermarket fabric protectant for a dew dollars and do it yourself.

if you are ion an area that is prone to severe rust, keep in mind that tje Prius already has an anti-rust package and or rust resistant alloys and is covered by an anti-rust through warranty (check out your specific coverage). The reason that aftermarket rust protection applications work so well now is that tpdays cars are a lot more rust resistant than 20 years ago. YMMV

 

Around here you can spot 4 year old cars and pickup trucks already starting to rust. If you carefully read the rust warranty for a new vehicle, many types of rust damage are not covered.

Ford in particular has had a lot of trouble with rusting doors and rocker panels on pickups only 3-4 years old. They claimed it was the owners fault for not "properly" maintaining the truck.

IOW if you read the manual you're supposed to use fresh water to hose off the underside monthly, t make sure the body drain holes are not plugged, etc. How many folks do that? None that I know of.

Some makes, like DC, only offer a 3 year rust "warranty" in Canada.

I have a 1984 Ford F150 that I purchased new. The paint is faded so it could use a paint job, but look underneath and the truck is like it just rolled off the assembly line.

I used to Rust Check it every fall until I stopped using it for a daily driver.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NCPrius\";p=\"104305)</div>

I am ambivalant on Toyoguard, but it is hogwash that the tan seats won't clean. I ordered a Prius with leather seats but did not like the Tideland Pearl when it arrived. The car I took did not have leather so I was going to replace the seats with leather until some wonderful threads in this group showed me how easy it was to clean. All you need is a damp sponge, not wet, and everything cleans well.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Fredatgolf\";p=\"104550)</div>

I'll second that. The cloth seats are *very* easy to keep clean. I've spilled coffee a few times and no problem. Even had some crumbs from a candy bar stuck to the seat, came off no problem.

 

Good to hear -- I'm glad I was originally misinformed!

 

I got blue ink off my tan center console...

Then we got seat covers (a whopping $130) and saved ourselves the worry.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee\";p=\"104915)</div>

I'd be interested in that, anything to make my life easier. Are they compatible with the seat-mounted airbags?

 

Yep. check out my album for pics, I even show the side airbag area. I got GTcovers (and they come with a center console cover) for $130 at toyotapartsstore.com. I believe the GTcovers site wants in the $150 range.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee\";p=\"105094)</div>

Thanks!

 

Anyone using Rust Doctor? Seems Enviromentally Sound... Easy for Do It Yourselfers.
At $ from 29 dollars + S&H? & free quart or grease doctor... for enough to 1-800-460-6167 therustdoctor.com

I had a break in someone smashed my front window into almost a million pieces.

Torrential Rain Flooded My Car and I was away for 6 months. The Water shorted the JBL NaV system. When retuned to attend to the car repairs. We removed all of the interior and dash found rused parking brake mechanism, several connected wires that are brittle and must be replaced.

So now looking over the interior floor panels, and examining the toyota pdf, I can tell you that the steel reinforcenment pieces are rust traps ( every single rusted area is a steel reinforcement panel) and need to be prior to leaving the factory. Maybe by the time the 2007 hit the build floors. I am also interested in the fact that although the electric wiring harness connections are corroded and snapping as you disconnect them.
Not good in an electric vehicle.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gen2 @ Jul 2 2005, 12:49 PM) [snapback]103476[/snapback]</div>

Where do you buy them, thanks!