ftlay

When I bought my Acura, the sticker price was 35,195 for auto with Nav plus $139 for the splash gurads and about $300 for "paint protective coating". I understand about the splash guard but is thr paint protective thing legit??? I didn't pay for them, mind you, but was just wondering if this is another one of those phantom things that the dealer add to bump the price up. Also, the dealer wanted to charge $169 for "VIN number registration" because the VIN s supposedly etched on to the glass. Is this legit also? Any input would be apprciated. Thank!

NGNOUS

In regards to the "VIN etching"......I went to one dealer which tried to sell me the "VIN etching". I ended up buying from another dealer who informed me, after I had bought the car, that the "VIN etching" is actually already on the windows. Sure enough it is there. DO NOT PAY FOR IT.

maxTL

Never heard of the "paint protection" or "VIN etching" from the dealer when I bought my TL.

ftlay

Well, I had never heard of the paint protective thing either so didn't oay for it. The VIN etching thing, he said the etching is laready there but I didn't to register it. I was so excited about the car that I wanted to get the paperwork out of the way so actually paid for it. Kicking myself for it now. Anyway, the reason I asked is because Honda actually called me during the week for a satisfaction survey about the dealer. I mentioned about dealer adding on costs to bump prices up and how this is what I don't like about dealing with dealers . Well, they passed on my concerns to the dealer and I have a few voicemail messages from the dealer (manager and the salesman) saying they were disappointed that I didn't give them a high enough rating so I thought I'd clarify things before calling them back.
OK, I've rambled on enough! Thanks for the input

batting_cleanup

The paint protection it total BS! The idea is if your paint gets damaged minus all the ways that are excluded in the contract then the company is supposed to pay for your car to be repainted. Somewhere buried in more fine print is a line that says the company has the option to refund the cost of the "protectant" in leiu of actually paying to repaint the car. It basically works out that they either keep all of your money or give it back to you after holding it and earning interest until you file a claim. You will be much better served buying a high quality wax and keeping the car clean.

TireSmoke

The thing dealers are trying to "add" onto is the sticker.

JoganJani

Splash guards you can get it for free if you are paying close to MSRP. PaitProtection is BS and so is VIN etching. You can get VIN etching kit on Internet for $20.

dysd

VIN etching and paint protection are scams used by most dealers to jack up the cost.

DC5_Integra

isn't the paint protection like a Diamond Coat? Its a few hundred bucks....

I've got it done aftermarket: Exterior, Interior, Under Coating

ftlay

So you're saying the Paint Protection the dealer wanted to charge is the real thing?

imax

Can you say bend over . . . :bananahump:

edavies

Picked up my TL this week, dealer attempted to up sell paint protection(Diamond Gloss) and undercoating protection (Gold Shield) from Ziebart @ $499 Canadian for each product. They also pushed ACURA Plus extended security plan, 7 year/1600,000 km costs $2000, given two weeks to make up my mind. Declined all three offers, and when I was completing the paper work they asked me to sign waiver forms that if problems occurred and corrosion appeared it was at my cost to repair. I declined to sign both forms. Is this typical of ACURA Dealers?

Liquid _Courage

Is this similar to what you're talking about?

http://www.diamondcoatpolish.com/

If so, ftlay can purchase this and save $250 from the dealer's bogus mark up. You can also visit the WASH and WAX portion of this forum and read up on numerous tips to clean/protect your car. Because of the forum, I went out and bought the Zaino products for my TL. I was amazed and very happy with the results.

Liquid _Courage

I'm not sure, but good call. The undercoating is one of the oldest tricks dealers use to get extra cash. If you wanted to, you can get it done aftermarket for less than $100.

jjsC5

I agree with this. The fancy "protection" finishes dealers sell have been typically polymer waxes before they became popular. As the post above says, it's nothing more than a Zaino type finish. Zaino is around $12 a bottle. They can do about 10 cars with one bottle. So the question is, how much do you want to pay them labor for applying a coat of Zaino?

As to any paint "warranties", you might want to check the Acura warranty book first. I seriously doubt if the paint protection warranty covers anything the factory does not already cover. Even if it does, you are paying a shitload of money for the warranty that you would likely never use even without the wax.

DC5_Integra

Its something like the link above... The dealers usually have like a plastic board with the pictures and or hand outs.

rets

Welcome to the forum.

Supposedly, the only papers requiring your signature are the deal-like documents and car registration. IMO, you dealer seemed to push you to the limit and make you re-consider any of those three offers. I wouldn't sign them.

I'm sure those two paint/coating protections, they are apparently the incentive deal to your dealership. Also, if the "extended security plan" means "extended warranty", well, you should be able to get it with a little additional surcharge any time before your factory warranty expires.

Road Rage

Those items are known in the trade as "the pack". They are low cost to the dealer BS items used to inflate the MSRP, so that as you try to negotiate, they are in a btetter position, since your discount is diluted.

My car had both as I bought off the lot. As regards the paint protection, I told them I would remove it the first day I got home, which I did. The $700 in "free" "booster wax jobs" I immediately scratched off the price. As for the etching, it was not the VIN, but some code with an 800 number, no doubt to some "service" that willl be gone in 4 years. For that, I told them that they had permanently disfigured the car, and I asked them to remove it. Of course they could not. So i estimated $100 a window as consideration for my "loss", and actually it helped lower my deal - so I used it to advantage, by turning a "gimme" for them in to a "gotcha" for me.