There seems to be so much crap on the roads these days. I’m not defending the paint quality but a rock hitting you car at speed is likely going to leave a mark. Full front clip PPF is a must on our cars. It’s not necessarily cheap but worth every penny.
just don’t tailgate other cars... haven’t much of an issue with any of that..
How much was the coating?Although I can't agree or disagree about paint quality, I think this is just one of the reasons to have the front of the car professionally ceramic coated. I had mine done after purchasing the my Mustang, and in 5,500 miles I have only hand washed it three times. Yes, it's kept in the garage and while I lived in Oregon, only driven on days that didn't rain. Now that I'm in Arizona, I drive it quite frequently and have to clean the windshield more, although the front of the car stays relatively clean. I have to say that the 1300+ mile 2 day road trip from Oregon to Arizona down I-5 and across I-10 was uneventful other than running out of gas because of a saddle tank transfer module failing, and I only received 1 small paint chip, although the Mustang front end was so full of bugs that you couldn't tell what color it was, and the bugs, tar and other stuff easily came off with a hand wash. I will never buy another car without having it professionally ceramic coated.
Not sure whether or not you had your ceramic done by a pro but if you did I hope they didn't sell you on it as a protectant. The main purpose of the ceramic coating is ease of maintenance, followed by additional gloss. Protection is a very distant third. The coating will not protect against rock chips. For protection you need PPF. Then you add the ceramic on top of it. This is what I did and it is working extremely well. At this point you cannot add PPF as it will not properly adhere to the coating. Yuo would need to have it removed from the panels to be covered and then reapplied.Although I can't agree or disagree about paint quality, I think this is just one of the reasons to have the front of the car professionally ceramic coated. I had mine done after purchasing the my Mustang, and in 5,500 miles I have only hand washed it three times. Yes, it's kept in the garage and while I lived in Oregon, only driven on days that didn't rain. Now that I'm in Arizona, I drive it quite frequently and have to clean the windshield more, although the front of the car stays relatively clean. I have to say that the 1300+ mile 2 day road trip from Oregon to Arizona down I-5 and across I-10 was uneventful other than running out of gas because of a saddle tank transfer module failing, and I only received 1 small paint chip, although the Mustang front end was so full of bugs that you couldn't tell what color it was, and the bugs, tar and other stuff easily came off with a hand wash. I will never buy another car without having it professionally ceramic coated.
A truly unanswerable question due to many, many variables. If you are looking to have it professionally done, the main cost is due to the necessary prep work. The actually coating part is not that difficult for the pro. Costs could be anywhere from $600-$700 up to $800-$2000 Depends on the installer. Reputation is everything, actual product not so much.
+1 And have paint protection film added to the car as soon as you can when you buy the car.
I said it was coated in just the front, actually the whole car was ceramic coated. It took 2 days because of the drying/baking process and cost $800. I'd do it again even at twice the price, after seeing how it's held up for over a year. The $700 was half the price of the Katzkin Leather interior I put in the Mustang, and again, I'd do it again. Both the coating and the Katzkin interior had the same warranty, 3 years or 36,000 miles.
I am sure the Meguiar's is a great product (I've used many over the years) but have you ever owned a car that had a pro level ceramic coating applied by a detailer? The reason I ask is that there is most certainly a difference between the two. Back when I had my 15' Ruby Red EB I thought the shine was the very best it could be. I then saw one coated at my detailer. I was so wrong. That's why I got my 19' done as soon as I got the car.
I have and honestly I see no diference other then not having to recoat it for 2 years. The liquid hybrid (not the spray) just came out a few months ago so its still new and most impressive non pro coating I've ever used.
Hey, did you ask to see the failed module? I've seen this failure mentioned enough times that it's starting to worry me a little. To my understanding, the 'module' is not electrically driven, but 'venturi-driven' instead, meaning no moving parts, so wonder what the hell is failing. Or maybe it's electrically driven, hence my question. Would like to have more info on this damn module, and exactly where it is. Maybe we can buy a spare one, in case that happens... if it's easily accessible from one of the 2 caps under the rear seat. I'm sure it's not fun to run out of gas when you think you have half a tank. By the way, I assume your car was showing half a tank, correct? Thx.
I'm sure Meguair's is a good product, although I doubt it resists flying objects harder than a bug. My wife has a 3M clear bra on her SUV and although it does stop rocks from chipping the paint, it still leaves a mark on the paint underneath the 3M bra. In 1300+ miles of open freeway driving at and above posted speeds I did encounter rocks, and have two small chips in the Mustang's windshield to prove it, but only one very, very small chip in the paint, which the shop that put the ceramic coating on can take care of. For me, it's well worth it, and the coating is guarranteed for 3 years.
The module is electronic, and I'm not sure where the "venturi-driven" thing came about. It senses the amount of fuel left in one side of the saddle tank...not sure which one...after the other side is pretty much empty. I did not see where it is mounted although it's outside the tank and hooked into the fuel pump/computer wiring harness. I'm assuming it may be accessible from under the seat, although I didn't ask.
Pretty much nothing will resist paint chips. Even film if hit right and hard enough will see damage. Pro ceramic isn't going to protect from chips any more than the hybrid ceramic. For myself I don't see a point in spending a large amount of money when what I'm using is doing exactly what it claims to do.