I recently placed an order for a new car. The dealer offered me ceramic coating + windows tinting for $1,800 which I said no to and they brought it down to $1,600. I said I'll think about it. I've read that never go with dealer's ceramic coating but just wondering how bad is it? I got a quote from third parties from $800 to $1400 depending on the quality etc just for the coating and $800 minimum for windows tinting. To me this feels like same cost as to what the dealer is offering even if they will use low quality coating. What has been other's experience?
Car Dealer's Ceramic Coating Reputation
LTH4K on 28/04/2025 - 14:30
Comments
Sorry should've mentioned car details, its toyota kluger hybrid
That's a pretty big car so prices seem pretty fair to me. Ask what coating is used by the dealers mob that does the work for them.
Interesting, i didnt know they outsource ceramic coating. I thought their detailing team handles it
They likely outsource the tinting as well. They are in the business of selling and servicing cars not expensive /time consuming detailing.
When I went to Tint A Car a lot of new Mazdas from dealers were there.
@dcep: I guess that is the premium you pay for dealer to take responsibility if tint-a-car screw it up.
I thought their detailing team handles it
You mean the part-time person who soaps and rinse the cars that comes in for service?
The tinting sounds very expensive. Shop around, but I wouldn't bother with the dealers.
Tinting and coating are outsourced.
Dealer options, which these are, are usually good quality but are expensive compared to what you could get if you sourced it yourself.
Add factory fitted windows tinting to your car order if toyoto is capable of doing it. (I doubt it is, after all it is toyoto).
As for ceramic coating, DIY use turtle wax hybrid ceramic for $30 or so.
As for ceramic coating, DIY use turtle wax hybrid ceramic for $30 or so.
That's not the same thing.
A professionally-applied ceramic coating is another layer of silica that is chemically-bonded onto the clear coat layer of the car's factory paint. Generally, this involves intensive surface preparation first (decontaminating) along with colour-correction before application to make it look as seamless as possible along with performing the entire process in a temperature/humidity-controlled environment to stay within application temperature ranges for professional coatings.
What you're referring to is just a polish/wax layer that stays on for a few months at best (though that's a bit of a stretch with many of those spray-on coatings) and can vary wildly in protective quality/finish appearance depending on how invested and knowledgeable the person doing it is (which a lot of people aren't as they just spray and pray without even doing a pass with a clay bar first after washing).
A professionally-applied ceramic coating layer will eventually degrade and break down but properly maintained it can last for years (they also make it much easier to keep your car's paint clean). It is possible to do it yourself at home (read: if you have an actual workshop), if you have hundreds in professional-grade products ready to go plus the equipment plus the time (it normally takes anywhere up to a day to actually do the surface prep and application and then several days to cure it fully) but generally speaking, the average car enthusiast just doesn't know enough about detailing and doesn't have enough experience to achieve anywhere close to the same result a professional can.
I always thought "ceramic coating" was absolute BS having only experienced it once after a dealer gave it to us for free having stuffed up our order. But then on my latest black car I went to a professional and the difference was night and day. The dealer coating was not even observable whereas this true ceramic coating is a translucent layer over the paint, it feels smooth, looks great and I only need to use the brushless car wash and the paint looks brand new again (8 months in). I'm a believer now.
The funniest thing is when the ceramic coaters tell you that they can do it in your driveway….. :)
Wouldn't be surprised if they just palm it to Tint a Car who do all of that and they are taking a margin.
I got a 4WD + SUV done for $500 each for Tinting……. That was by Tint A Car themselves.
But I have seen my local Ford/Hyundia dealer take their new cars just around the corner to Tint A Car who do the work.
Don't do it find a reputable detailer in your area and give them the job you will get a way better result and service. Dealers don't do anything themselves and charge crazy prices.
Echoing pretty much the sentiment of everyone else. Tint a car is where most dealers send their new cars for tinting and probably ceramic coating too. Tint a car franchises seem to set themselves up just down the road from major car dealers so proximity wins out over everything. Given, in my experiences tint a car doing a pretty ordinary job of window tinting, I wouldn't let them touch any car for ceramic coatings.
Having said that there are also some rogue operators out there - look for a reputable detailing business who have a dedicated undercover premises fitted out for car detailing as opposed to someone in their backyard or 'mobile'. Packages vary in price mainly due to the amount of prep work involved. Many packages will include only a chemical decontamination as a way of paint prep - this keeps the cost down but may not be the best option. When comparing packages make sure the scope of the prep is comparative. A package that includes Chemical decon + machine polish may be better value for money. As a way of comparison I paid $1300 for chemical decon + machine polish + coating with 5 yr warranty. Probably would expect +$250 on top of that for Kluger sized large vehicle.
A dealership 'detailing team' is pretty much limited to car washers, or valeter if you want to give them a fancy title.
That's a very good insight, thanks for sharing! I got 2 of the detailers offering to do the job at mt own place 'mobile' charging around 1k. The reputable one in my area wants me to bring the car to their workshop and charge 1,400 just for ceramic coating and paint correction. Funny i thought paint correction is not needed for new car.
Funny i thought paint correction is not needed for new car
If you're going to the effort of dropping $1k+ on ceramic protection it is.
Funny i thought paint correction is not needed for new car.
To someone who doesn't care for a nice finished duco.
Even the most exotic of cars require paint correction from new.
Brand new cars will have swirl marks, water marks, light scratches and possibly sanding marks. There is no point ceramic coating a car and locking in these imperfections.
All a dealership does prior to delivery is wash your car (probably with a brush too) and spray on some detailer spray to make it look great. To the majority of the population they think this looks amazing. To enthusiasts like myself it looks half arsed bordering on pathetic.
Have a Rav4, went private for ceramic coat and paint correction. 100% would do again.
Although on here, youll get nothing but people telling you Turtle Wax from BigW is the same. It's not.
Dealer modtly uses the same product are other detailers, its just that some detailer do a better prep work(wash / clean , fix tiny scratches etc ) which makes the differences!
haha…if you say so. :p
Although I'm adding nothing to what has already been said, I'd highly recommend that you find a reputable professional detailer close by for the paint correction and ceramic coating. Chances are that the dealer will do nothing more than get a hydrophobic spray wax or paint sealant of some description applied. Sure it will look and feel shiny when you pick it up, and maybe even the first few washes, but it definitely won't last very long and will offer very little protection. If you then go back to ask about it, they will likely say that you have used harsh car wash products that stripped the coating off - thus it's your fault.
Get the tint through the detailer if convenience is important to you, but you will overpay by $200 to $300 versus just going to a tint shop yourself. Check google reviews to find one with plenty of good feedback.
Thanks for your insight, I'm definitely going to get it done from a proper detailer. Better to pay few hundred more to get it properly done. The area I'm at have heaps of them. Just a matter of finding one of the good ones i guess.
Never buy anything like window tinting, ceramic coating, rustproofing etc from stealerships. You will pay significantly less if you just shop around with local installers, who the stealership mostly likely uses anyway and adds a huge markup.
You will pay significantly less if you just shop around with local installers, who the stealership mostly likely uses anyway and adds a huge markup.
Also, unless you are paying cash for the car, all of those extra costs are in the total price on which you will be paying interest.
So, even more expensive than the quoted cost to you.
2024 Kluger Hybrid owner here - we didn't get either the ceramic coating, or the tinting when we ordered.
Glad we didn't - the default tinting is actually very dark already. Really not worth the cost to add anything more.Are all the door glass comes tinted or is it just the boot?
All windows barring the front windshield and front/passenger windows were pre-tinted.
Awesome! Bloody dealer told me the boot and back door glasses comes tinted but "its not a good tint". Thanks for sharing! I'm not going to worry about tinting now!
@TH4K: Yeah they told us the same thing, but we're happy with the default as we can barely see into the back half of the car. That said, definitely go private if you want darker.
Consider checking out some Kluger's on the road to get an idea of the default tint - i've never seen any without tinting (Some of the photos online look like they don't have any tinting). Even the ones at the dealers should be default - so you'll get an awesome idea without spending any $$.
@akunno: Thanks @akunno very helpful! I'll keep an eye out on klugers on road. It seems like the driver and front passenger seat might not have it or maybe its lighter than the back windows as seen on some of the photos in dealer webpages. I might stick with the default and see how it goes.
@TH4K: A lot of cars built for the European market do not tint the front side windows (or use a much lighter tint) with factory tinting due to design/safety rules in that market.
For example.
And another
One more because I'mnice
Recently I was offered a stupid pain chip insurance from the stealership and I said no. Apparently they come to you to do the chip repair but I bet they find many excuses not to come….
Toyota just kindly remind me if I need some extra service like this yesterday, before my car is shipped.
I said no.
What car? $800 seems a lot for tinting.
Dealers don't/rarely do ceramic coating. They just outsource it.