[Captain_H]

Hi everyone, just wondering if anyone went with the dealer's BMW Protect X sell up?
At £399 , it is a bit cheaper than doing full body ceramic coating (lowest I have seen was around £700) but is it as good or even comparable?

[Speedbird1]

Hi, congrats on the new car. I picked mine up 3 days ago. I went for the protect X on my G01 and I have always gone for this option with previous BMW's. On the face of it, it appears expensive but you do get a comprehensive blanket of protection on the car. The bodywork is protected with nano-wax and the interior leather and carpet fabrics are also protected. I believe it really contributes to the long lasting looks of the vehicle as a whole. It also offers an insurance policy against stains on the interior fabric / leather and also any damage to the exterior paintwork e.g. bird dropping damage to the laquer clear-coat. The dealer will correct these issues under the protect-x warranty.

When I sold my last X3 (F25) the purchasing dealer (BMW) asked specifically whether I had had the protect-x on that car and offered me additional cash at trade in. i believe it is quite a cost effective way of gaining additional protection for the car from day one without having to go to the expense of professional detail or ceramic coatings etc. Horses for courses, bit I think it's worth it. You also get a comprehensive bag of products for ongoing care including, shampoo, wheel cleaner (the type that changes colour), leather treatment. plastic care. windscreen wash, and glass cleaner together with sponges, micro-fibre towels etc.

Hope that assists a little with your deliberations.

[teaston]

Absolute rubbish waste of money! You'd be better off flushing that money down the loo!

[Speedbird1]

Clearly, I would have to disagree with the last post after singing it's praises so highly. And, as far as a waste of money is concerned, well I think I saved substantially more than the initial outlay when the dealer repaired my clearcoat after it was damaged after I went on holiday for 2 weeks and was unable to clear a bird dropping off the centre of my bonnet. It didn't cost me a penny when they repaired it back to 'as-new' condition. As an insurance policy, of course you may well never use it, but it's good protection if you do.

[Speedbird1]

Certainly can't argue with that shine

[supersebbo]

So my dealer asked me if I knew what Protect-X was and continued to explain it to me. I was expecting the up-sell but at the end of his speech he just said he'd included it and discounted it off the sale price.

How do I actually tell if it has the coating on? Do they apply it at the factory or in the dealer? Should I get a warranty card with it?

[supersebbo]

Originally Posted by Speedbird1

Certainly can't argue with that shine

That looks incredible.

[Speedbird1]

You'll get confirmation on your invoice that the protect-x has been applied and if you request it from your dealer they should be able to give you a break down of what it covers in the event you have any issues with your clearcoat or stains / excessive wear on leather etc including the claims process. As for how to tell whether it has been applied, a) the car will look like this :-) and b) they will leave the BMW holdall with car care kit in the boot and a sticker in the windscreen showing it has been applied.

[Speedbird1]

Sorry, forgot to add - it's applied at the dealer as part of the pdi.

[Speedbird1]

In fact, in the picture, you can just see the protect-x confirmation sticker in the top right hand side of the windscreen as you look at the car. I also managed to get a discount on the price of the package so all in all, with the ongoing 'insurance' cover, I think it's very good value indeed.

[Captain_H]

Originally Posted by Speedbird1

Certainly can't argue with that shine

Very nice photo, great choice of colour as well! Most pictures in the forum are in Phytonic Blue; I chose Sapphire Black as well.

[Captain_H]

Thanks to both for your comments; I appreciate your input, positive and negative!

my car won't be delivered until March but I'm planning really early because the detailer who would be doing the ceramic is getting booked pretty fast.

[Mike_H]

As an avid car detailer, I personally would never use main dealer applied paintwork products as I can get a better result spending a few hours and doing it myself.

The main problem is that before any long term protection is applied, the paint will usually need to be corrected by machine polishing, even on brand new cars, to remove swirls, scratches and holograms from the dealer prep. In my opinion dealers will not have the skills or time to do this properly so any protection they apply is then sealing in those defects.

As a result some people prefer to pay for a car detailer to do that correction work and then protect the surface with one of the many ceramic products, which gives the best result in appearance and longevity, but at a price.

If however you don’t worry about any of the above or don’t have the time, then as long as it’s heavily discounted, the dealer protection offerings are better than nothing.

ETTO.

Mike

[Worzey]

Sticker and a holdall?

The dealer threw in Protect-X to sweeten the deal and all I got at collection was a photocopied certificate (after I asked how I could tell if it was added).

Should I have got a holdall and what's in it?

[RichM50d]

Originally Posted by Mike_H

As an avid car detailer, I personally would never use main dealer applied paintwork products as I can get a better result spending a few hours and doing it myself.

The main problem is that before any long term protection is applied, the paint will usually need to be corrected by machine polishing, even on brand new cars, to remove swirls, scratches and holograms from the dealer prep. In my opinion dealers will not have the skills or time to do this properly so any protection they apply is then sealing in those defects.

As a result some people prefer to pay for a car detailer to do that correction work and then protect the surface with one of the many ceramic products, which gives the best result in appearance and longevity, but at a price.

If however you don’t worry about any of the above or don’t have the time, then as long as it’s heavily discounted, the dealer protection offerings are better than nothing.

ETTO.

Mike

After having a couple of cars professionally detailed, I’m inclined to agree. I’ve watched the guys work, and seen how long it takes.

On my brand new M40i, the detailing company spent a whole day correcting the paint, so I don’t believe for a minute that a dealer would take that much time prepping the paintwork.

[Speedbird1]

First off, I 100% agree that a professional detailer will take the finish to the next level. No question about it.

However, as an amatuer detailer who takes great care of my cars, I have had a good look at the finish with my Scangrip sunmatch detailing lamp and there is no evidence of swirls, scratches or 'love-marks' etc anywhere, so maybe I was very lucky in getting a good team to work on my car (shout out to Park Lane BMW!).

When combined with the 3 years of warranty against damage to clear-coat and interior materials that BMW provides if you have this done, I think it's quite good value for money, but I do take the point that it is all about who is doing the job.

As for contents of the included kit, in my case I received a nice BMW grey holdall with the following BMW car care products: 1L shampoo, leather conditioner, nano-wax car wax (for topping up the hard protective finish after a year or so), glass guard, windscreen wash concentrate (makes 5L), interior plastic cleaner spray, carpet impregnator spray, exterior bumper shine, tyre shine, and a wide collection of sponges, cloths, brushes etc

Oh and thanks for the kind words supersebbo - it's actually Carbon Black !

[supersebbo]

Originally Posted by Speedbird1

Oh and thanks for the kind words supersebbo - it's actually Carbon Black !

I meant to ask which black it was! Funny how the Carbon looks so blue next to a ‘true black’ car but on its own it’s hard to tell.

Well now I’m doubly excited about receiving mine as it’s also in Carbon Black. :-D

[supersebbo]

Originally Posted by Worzey

Sticker and a holdall?

The dealer threw in Protect-X to sweeten the deal and all I got at collection was a photocopied certificate (after I asked how I could tell if it was added).

Should I have got a holdall and what's in it?

It should be listed on your New Vehicle Order sheet, which I assume will be the ultimate proof needed in the event of a claim.

I am always dubious about their actual application of the product however, and I don’t know how you would tell. I purchased the land rover equivalent of Protect X on my last vehicle and all I got given on handover was a zip-lock bag containing a bottle of nano-tech sealant and an applicator. Inevitably I found out later from the forums that this is what they were supposed to use in the dealership to apply it, not give to the customer. They of course insisted that they had actually applied it and the one I got given was a ‘spare’. Hmmmmm.

[weez]

Originally Posted by Mike_H

As an avid car detailer, I personally would never use main dealer applied paintwork products as I can get a better result spending a few hours and doing it myself.

The main problem is that before any long term protection is applied, the paint will usually need to be corrected by machine polishing, even on brand new cars, to remove swirls, scratches and holograms from the dealer prep. In my opinion dealers will not have the skills or time to do this properly so any protection they apply is then sealing in those defects.

As a result some people prefer to pay for a car detailer to do that correction work and then protect the surface with one of the many ceramic products, which gives the best result in appearance and longevity, but at a price.

If however you don’t worry about any of the above or don’t have the time, then as long as it’s heavily discounted, the dealer protection offerings are better than nothing.

ETTO.

Mike

Yep. I would also recommend instructing the dealership to not clean it before delivery....they're the ones that put swirl marks in the new paint. Problem is now I'm too lazy, broken, and busy to spend the time detailing myself like I used to.

[skier219]

Many of these products are similar to wheel/tire insurance, in the sense that you're paying for some sort of "coverage". What they actually put on the car, if anything, may not be any better than a wax. It's more about the insurance and the statistics. The dealer is betting that you won't have major problems, which is why they sell this to make money. They wouldn't sell it if it favored the buyer or lost the dealer money.

I have bought several new cars where this protection was supposedly already applied and on the window sticker, and had them remove it from the cost since I didn't want it. They didn't blink an eye. That tells me it obviously wasn't a big time/cost investment on their part. I know people who have bought it and all they get is a cheesy looking certificate, an amateurish detail job, and a list of terms and conditions. It reads very much like an insurance policy or warranty for the paint and clear coat. Sometimes they will roll dent removal into it as well. Unless you expect to get lots of dents, who in their right mind would pre-pay for dent removal?

Anyhow, whether there is a benefit is questionable to me, but since it's sold alongside all the other money-grabbing scams dealers use, I always pass on it.

[calintexas]

Originally Posted by skier219

Many of these products are similar to wheel/tire insurance, in the sense that you're paying for some sort of "coverage". What they actually put on the car, if anything, may not be any better than a wax. It's more about the insurance and the statistics. The dealer is betting that you won't have major problems, which is why they sell this to make money. They wouldn't sell it if it favored the buyer or lost the dealer money.

I have bought several new cars where this protection was supposedly already applied and on the window sticker, and had them remove it from the cost since I didn't want it. They didn't blink an eye. That tells me it obviously wasn't a big time/cost investment on their part. I know people who have bought it and all they get is a cheesy looking certificate, an amateurish detail job, and a list of terms and conditions. It reads very much like an insurance policy or warranty for the paint and clear coat. Sometimes they will roll dent removal into it as well. Unless you expect to get lots of dents, who in their right mind would pre-pay for dent removal?

Anyhow, whether there is a benefit is questionable to me, but since it's sold alongside all the other money-grabbing scams dealers use, I always pass on it.

I agree completely. It's very common in the DFW area and in Central California for dealers of virtually all vehicle brands to add an extra window sticker with around $1K or more of dealer value add services and accessories. Some are worth while such as cargo mats, all weather floormats, mudflaps but almost always at inflated prices. Then there are the questionable value items and dealers services such as nitrogen filled tires (an Acura dealer I recently visited was charging $299 for nitrogen fill), paint sealant, upholstery treatment, tape stripes, basic window tint at a premium price. I just tell them upfront that I don't want any of it and won't pay for it. The accessories are easy to get online from a number of dealers at prices (even with shipping) well below what the local dealer wants.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by Speedbird1

First off, I 100% agree that a professional detailer will take the finish to the next level. No question about it.

However, as an amatuer detailer who takes great care of my cars, I have had a good look at the finish with my Scangrip sunmatch detailing lamp and there is no evidence of swirls, scratches or 'love-marks' etc anywhere, so maybe I was very lucky in getting a good team to work on my car (shout out to Park Lane BMW!).

When combined with the 3 years of warranty against damage to clear-coat and interior materials that BMW provides if you have this done, I think it's quite good value for money, but I do take the point that it is all about who is doing the job.

As for contents of the included kit, in my case I received a nice BMW grey holdall with the following BMW car care products: 1L shampoo, leather conditioner, nano-wax car wax (for topping up the hard protective finish after a year or so), glass guard, windscreen wash concentrate (makes 5L), interior plastic cleaner spray, carpet impregnator spray, exterior bumper shine, tyre shine, and a wide collection of sponges, cloths, brushes etc

Oh and thanks for the kind words supersebbo - it's actually Carbon Black !

Maybe Park Lane actually do it properly as they’re the only UK dealership that is owned and run by BMW!?