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How to detail a car that has permaplate ?

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  • #1

    How to detail a car that has permaplate ?

    Hi again.

    So my wife's VW Tiguan SUV had the PermaPlate thrown in for free, along with its maintenance wash and I guess liquid maybe synthetic wax bottle... Whether its a con or not i have no idea. Probably only an ordinary wax right is my guess? The youtube videos are quite convincing. See for yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McMxftiLh_Y

    Anyway, how should i best tackle this car ? I am ready to take to it with a meguiars clay bar, polish and ultimate wax... However will it take off the permaplate ? Does it even matter if i take it off, cos the Meguiars clay, polish and wax is better anyway.... OK SERIOUS QUESTION HERE ! Could I spray a dollar sign on a car treated with Meguiars clay, polish and ultimate wax, and take to it with a blow torch and it be ok like they're doing on the permaplate promo videos ? I really do not know the answer, so I'm putting it out there. I guess i'm trying to figure out if there's anything special (outside of an actual warranty) on the permaplate vs a full meguiars detail, and i'll be foolish to take off what permaplate there is with my clay bar.
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  • #2
    Re: How to detail a car that has permaplate ?

    It's a gimmick by the dealer to get more money out of someone. It's nothing more than a sealant. Ultimate wax is a better product. The polish should remove whatever is on there.

    My questions back to you is why would you spray paint a $ on the paint and why would you even think about taking a flame to your paint?

    I pulled these quotes from another forum (Adams Polishes) about this exact question.

    I worked in the car business in sales and finance for about ten years so I can give you my 2 cents. Each dealership has their own 'exterior paint protection' gimmick that they try to sell you in the finance office (I had to.....was part of my bonus). They get you one of two ways. The first is that they claim every car/truck on the lot has it and it's added to the dealer accessory part of the window sticker. The pricing is totally up to them. I've seen it listed at $299 up to $999 or more. Now I can't speak for every dealership in the country but the ones that claim they all have it on them already are lying up their #(%*! It's pure inflation to the price of the car. The second option is for you to voluntarily purchase it in the finance office and factor it into your monthly payment. All that happens is you make an appt to bring your car back to the dealership and the same minimum wage workers that scrubbed it with a dirty brush when you bought it will do it again and apply, via filthy cheap microfibers, some type of generic sealant. Most usually have TONS of fillers to help hide blemishes in your paint but trust me, there is no paint correction going on with that. LOL. Again, if you buy this, 100% of it is pure dealer profit (referred to as back end gross).

    I've been able to get my hands on various dealer paint protection products over the years. permaplate being among them. What's in that bottle is no different that what's in a bottle of Liquid Paint Sealant, and in many cases its watered down or full of mineral spirits.


    What carries the value is the warranty, but what most dealers won't get into is the fine print. There are a lot of things that instantly void that warranty and something as simple as not showing up at a regular pre-determined interval for another application is one of them. They're banking on you not honoring your end of it so they don't have to honor theirs. Not all dealers are horrible about this, but many are and sadly they're the rule, not the exception.


    The warranty really amounts to an insurance policy the dealership leverages against your car, so if you do meet all the requirements and something happens thats covered its like an insurance claim and its fixed, but in all the years I've been in this business I've heard relatively few cases where the dealer protection package worked out in the customers favor.


    Long story short - polishing will remove the sealant. claying will remove the sealant. time and exposure to the elements will remove the sealant. Since you didn't pay for the package I say strip that paint, correct it, and maintain it as you usually would.
    99 Grand Prix
    02 Camaro SS

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    • #3
      Re: How to detail a car that has permaplate ?

      Well said Guz.

      I think (hope) the comment about spraying a $ sign on the hood and taking a flame to it was hypothetical. He just means if hypothetically you were to do that on a car which has been detailed and sealed in the normal way, would you get the same result? My feeling is yes* The paint has not even cured yet, so of course it's going to wipe off!

      * Disclaimer: I may be wrong - Do not try at home!
      Originally posted by Blueline
      I own a silver vehicle and a black vehicle owns me. The black one demands attention, washing, detailing, waxing and an occasional dinner out at a nice restaurant. The silver one demands nothing and it looks just fine. I think the black vehicle is taking advantage of me, and the silver car is more my style. We can go out for a drive without her makeup and she looks fine. If I want to take the black one out, it is three or four hours in the "bathroom" to get ready.

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      • #4
        Re: How to detail a car that has permaplate ?

        Yep don't worry fella's, I'm not about to take to ANY of my cars with a can of spray paint and a blow torch.. I would still like to know though if Meguiars wax protection would be able to withstand a similar torture test. Perhaps ANY car wax would? I personally thought it was quite a good marketing trick..

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        • #5
          Re: How to detail a car that has permaplate ?

          Perhaps someone with an old beater, or a test hood from a wrecking yard can try and let us know?
          Originally posted by Blueline
          I own a silver vehicle and a black vehicle owns me. The black one demands attention, washing, detailing, waxing and an occasional dinner out at a nice restaurant. The silver one demands nothing and it looks just fine. I think the black vehicle is taking advantage of me, and the silver car is more my style. We can go out for a drive without her makeup and she looks fine. If I want to take the black one out, it is three or four hours in the "bathroom" to get ready.

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          • #6
            Re: How to detail a car that has permaplate ?

            lol, i just checked out the patent, thinking that perhaps their chemists had perhaps discovered something that others had not... Hey it can happen... Anyway the patent dates back to 1957 ! so hardly cutting edge technology.

            Good to use the word 'patented' technology though during the demo videos.

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            • #7
              Re: How to detail a car that has permaplate ?

              Yeah, a good friend of mine got sucked into something like that just last year when they bought their new Jeep Cherokee. They aren't car cleaning people at all. If they make through a car wash once a month and a vacuum twice a year, that is good for them. And they are ok with it. They are change the oil, put the key in and if it starts and goes it does what it was meant to do kind of people. So, right after they bought it I didn't see it in the parking lot, I said, where is your new car, she said, oh it is at the dealership getting some special wax sealer thing put on it. She said, seals the new paint and protects it. They told us the car will never have to be waxed ever. She said, that is perfect for us since we don't like to or do that anyways. I said, tell me you didn't pay for that So, I said, how much was this "special wax" She said, I don't know, they never told us. But it only raised our payment by $3 a month. I would have taken what ever they paid and waxed it once a year for them. LOL. Anyways, Doesn't help the OP, but just another dealer story of them taken advantage of someone that doesn't know any better and believes the lies. I tried to tell her there is nothing on the market that will keep you from having to wax ever. It wasn't a CQ package. I think it was a Simonz.
              2017 Lexus RX 350 - Satin Cashmere Metallic
              2016 Honda Odyssey Touring - Crystal Black Pearl
              2010 Ford F150 Lariat 4x4 - Royal Red Metallic

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              • #8
                Re: How to detail a car that has permaplate ?

                I got suckered into this back when I bought my first brand new car (which I promptly pulled the right-hand side of the bumper off when backing out of the dealership inclined cement driveway.) I guess at $3/month for $36/year for $180 for a 5 year finance on the car is not all that bad but still as "The Guz" posted - it typically is voided the minute you fail to follow some very granular procedures.

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                • #9
                  Re: How to detail a car that has permaplate ?

                  Curious me, just called Permaplate, asking if it was ok to clay bar my car, saying i was worried that i'd take the 'original' permaplate sealant off, given that claying removes waxes as part of a new wax prep. Not even sure the lady i spoke to knew what a clay bar was. Anyway she said it was fine, go-ahead it will not take off the protection. Then i asked if the maintenance treatment (probably just some synthetic wax/sealant) was any different from the original application. She said it was more or less the same.

                  I didn't want to give her a hard time, she seemed sweet enough, but there was no way the sort of knowledge, you'd expect for what people pay for this product. As for me, i told the sales guy throw it in for free and we'll sign the deal, so they did. But the video's did have me thinking, well maybe something to it... Hence the questioning.
                  Still would love to know if meguiars or any other high end sealent provider allows paint and a torch torture test. Perhaps it was a complete trick... wouldn't be hard, to make the paint same as a dry board marker, just for a few videos.

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                  • #10
                    I have worked on many cars with permaplate, the cars that get regular car washes are always in better shape then the one's that get neglected. Along with the rest of you guys here I also agree it's a sealant but a good one. Nothing special though.

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                    • #11
                      You deserve better answers from them regarding their permaplate.. If I were you I'd call back and inform them that you're interested in knowing more about the permaplate they applied on your car. And I don't mean in a rude way or anything.. More like just a new car buyer looking to maintain his vehicle the best way possible. If you'd like to know about all the specifics regarding the product they sold/gave to you, then there surely oughta be an expert ready to answer all your questions about it.

                      They sure don't hesitate to try and upsell it to Every new car buyer that makes it into their lot, right?

                      [shoddy customer service bugs the heck out of me]...

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