uworich

hey guys...

1. i'm wondering whether acura dealerships do tinting and rust proofing and how much it costs?

2. what is the legal tint limit in Toronto/Ontario/Canada?

3. Is it worth getting the all-season floor mats?

Thanks,
Rich

I10O0I1

iTrader: (1)

very worth getting the all season mats and trunk tray.. they both saved my ass a few times and im glad i got them...

dom

1. Not sure they do tinting but they do offer rust proofing. Some dealers do it in house others send the car out. There are alot of places that will rust proof the car for less $$$ than the dealer. Some like the dealer offer a one time spray option thats guaranteed for life and there are places like Krown rust where the car goes yearly for about $100.

2. Not sure.

3. You will absolutely need the All weather mats. I leave em in year round.

itec

Dealerships usually offer rustproofing however its very expensive, over 600$ cdn. You should be able to get the mats thrown into the deal if your shopping for an 04/05. I think they look much nicer than the cheap ones you get at crappy tire.

TSXDude

Floor mats are essential if you want your tsx looking good. They are easy to take out and clean. They are designed so that they fit 100%. Some of the ones in Crappy Tire won't fit because of the floor-hinged pedal.

My dealership offered the life time guarantee rust-proofing. They'll spray it once and is good for life. I'm still skeptical, but time will tell.

t_dot_porkchop

1. tinting...i dont know. even if they dom they would contract it out to an area shop. you can save some $$$ is you find a good shop yourself. as for the rust proof, i got mine through acura. it cost $400, but the good thing is i dont have to go back every year for applications (like krown) and its a wax spray, not oil like other companies.

2. dont know....check with the ministry of transport or ask a cop.

3. all season mats: YES....especially in toronto. the slush and salt will destroy your carpet.

VeniceBeachTSX

Most decent quality modern cars don't need any rustproofing above and beyond what the factory puts on. I haven't lived in anyplace with salted roads for a while, but my experience was that it was a complete waste. Washing your car (especially the undercarriage) after snow/salt was more important.

Some dealers offer tinting services, but in my experience it's always "sent out" to a local place and marked up significantly. Better to just find a good place to do it.

Floor mats are an excellent thing to have.

Dan Martin

t_dot_porkchop

easy to say when you live in cali....

sometimes after the salt trucks salt the highway, there is salt going everywhere. the salty slush then splashes on your car and gets all over the place....inside panels, under weather stripping, wheelwells etc.

i think $400 is worth it for protection and insurance (in case rust does come, they will fix it).

VeniceBeachTSX

Used to live in New York, Utah, and elsewhere.

Advise was always that it was a waste of time. Experience suggests that this is true. Last car I had rust was a 1980 Datsun 510 I drove growing up in Connecticut.

This article points out several issues: http://www.apa.ca/template.asp?DocID=11

1) You're unlikely to see any problems for at least 5-6 years, possibly longer.
2) Most rustproofing treatments are poorly applied and won't do much of a job anyway.
3) Many of them have hidden "gotchas" like the requirement for annual inspections in order to keep the warranty valid or other loopholes that effectively make them un-responsible for any future rust.

t_dot_porkchop

1. true
2. somewhat true...
3. also true

i have a funny story though regarding the last point. my dad bought an 88 accord demo back in 1989. he got honda to do a rust proof treatment. he took it every 2 years for inspections. after about 4-5 years, the thing developed CRAZY rust, but only at the back. i told him that the car was in an accident because that is not normal. we are talking HOLES, not just surface. the front of the car was mint; even the wheel wells were good (you know hondas). when he took it for rust check, they were like "WTF!". they inspected the car and they told him the car was in an accident. he found that funny since he bought the car from the same dealer and they never mentioned such. basically, they were not going to fix it and my dad threatened to sue them. all said and done, they handed my dad $800 (i think the rust proofing only cost $200)....

moral: they will sell you anything and then try to not back it up....its up to the consumer to know their rights and know how to fight the problem.

drphilmd

uworich,

From my 2005 purchase agreement:
Rust protection: $495
Paint protection: $320
Fabric protection: $250
Total: $1,065

I got a package discount of $547.61

That leaves me at $517.39

I thought it was a pretty good deal, and it's a good way to ensure that you get the quality for the years of protection you should receive from it. I figure it would be more hassle than it was worth to find my own rust proofer, even if it is somewhat cheaper.

dom

I still don't know what paint protection is?

and Fabric protection, in a leather interior?

Dan Martin

I would also like to point out that Krown's warranty is pretty well exactly the same as Acura's warranty when it comes to surface rust:
I'll have to look it up but I believe Acura's warranty is 5yrs/100,000km on perforation corrosion. So assuming it's $200 for the initial spraying and $130/yr for reaplication (according to the APA link), by the time the factory warranty is up you will have paid $720. I'm pretty sure you can get just about any body panel fixed and repainted for that if you ever had a rust problem from yr 5 and on.

dom

But once rust appears there's no getting rid of it.....

I use Krown simply because I know a few people who have been taking there cars there for years and there's not a speck of rust on any of them. The peace of mind is worth the $100 a year IMO.

Dan Martin

Ah, piece of mind..... A salesman's best friend.

tony4311

most dealerships have a different place do the tinting anyway so I'd find a different place to do it.

GET
THE
MATS!

Dan Martin

Mats are definitely a good idea. The only problem is that the grooves aren't very deep to hold melted snow. I'm happy with my $40 generic mats that I trimmed to fit.

VeniceBeachTSX

Paint protection = a hard sealer wax. They talk about "penetration" etc., which is BS from a chemical perspective. No sprayed on liquid is going to penetrate a layer of clearcoat in any significant way.

Fabric protection = Scotch Guard or similar material.

Like I said, the "guarantees" usually have holes big enough to drive a TSX (or even an MDX) right through.

The Krown type treatment (which needs to be applied each year) is far more helpful than the "apply once, protect forever, with the following exclusions..." type of protectants.

Xtremespeed2102

woaah whys the TSX so dirty man???? looks like you have the whole beach in there dude!!

lokman

I won't argue about whether or not you should go with rustproofing, etc. but I can tell you that I wouldn't get it done through the dealership. As many have said, most of the time that stuff is outsourced to a local shop anyways, and secondly, the dealer usually makes a huge markup on it.

What I did was call around to several places that would do that stuff, talked to them about their process, get their thoughts on what other shops do, and eventually found a very good shop that all the new family vehicles have gone to (they did all the new Lexus cars from the dealership before delivery). The results were much better than I expected and cost a third of what the dealership wanted to charge. You might want to phone up a few dealers, noting how well their cars look and just ask them where they have their cars done.

lokman, who wonders if that shop is still in business.

t_dot_porkchop

i dont know how bad of a deal it is...

i mean, acura charged me $400 for undercoating and rust-proofing the panels. if i went to a local shop, they charge like $100-150 and you have to back EVERY YEAR to get it re-applied.

the acura deal has me set for 8 years....at that rate, i would have given the local shop somewhere between $800 to $1200.

once the 8 years is up and there is no rust...then i would consider going to a local place for upkeep.

tony4311

winter
sand from the parking lots and other areas.

Proo

I wouldn't trust it if they didn't say you have to come back in every year or 2 for at least an inspection and touch up of the rustproofing (possibly free). Mine was like that. I agree that factory rustproofing shouldn't be too bad these days, but it doesn't hurt to have an extra layer. It may not actually help that much, but if nothing else you're buying insurance (and they're selling insurance). Everybody wins..

I got the leather protection and paint protection as well. I don't think paint protection does anything, but it was part of the package. Leather protection proabbly does do something. I think it's making it useless to put any kind of leather care product on; it doesn't seem to do anything but sit on the surface until I wipe it off.

One thing's for sure though, those prices are definitely huge in profit margin, and have a LOT of room for negotiation.

Anyway, the winter mats are good, but I'm thinking it's too bad cuz they're covering up the nice default floor carpets that come with it. I'm afraid to take them off because I know the light coloured carpets would get stained. How ironic..

As for the trunk tray, the more I think about it the better an idea I think it is. I'm in the market for one now; where's the best place to get an OEM one? E-bay?

t_dot_porkchop

looks like acura.com lists the MSRP on the trunk tray at $145 CDN....you can find it on ebay for like $70 USD