[bmq]

I bought my new 330i SG/Black Leather over the past weekend and they offered me a paintguard/leatherguard service called PermaPlate. I have a few days to decide if I want it or not.

It will cost me $500, at they claim that it will keep me from ever having to wax or buff the exterior again, and will maintain the factory shine . Also provides leather protection so that the leather does not dry or stain or crack. A five year guarantee is included.
Web site: www.permaplate.com

Keeping in mind that I am not the kind to spend a lot of time with Zaino, etc. on my own, what is your opinion of this?

Anybody else have any experience with this? Is it worth it?

[Chesmu]

with two kids, four sneakers, and sippy cups.... permaplate is way worth it. We were at the dealer looking for my new car, and my kids were in one of the floor models. when we got out, there were dusty footprints on the floor models (presumably not perma-plated), but my wife's X5 stays fairly pristine.

[bimmernotbeamer]

I don't have direct experience with Perma plate in particular, but similar products I do know of are a scam. Read the contract. They will most likely stipulate that you have to wash your car x number of times a year and use a follow up sealant on the paint and spray on the carpets to maintain the perma plate 'protection' and warranty (if one is offered). No sealant will last the life of the car without frequent renewal.

You can get the same protection on your paint using Zaino, and on your carpets using something like 3M Scotchguard for a FRACTION of the cost.

Perma plate is just a way for the dealer to make money. Don't be fooled.

[E90RWC]

Originally Posted by DavidN

I don't have direct experience with Perma plate in particular, but similar products I do know of are a scam. Read the contract. They will most likely stipulate that you have to wash your car x number of times a year and use a follow up sealant on the paint and spray on the carpets to maintain the perma plate 'protection' and warranty (if one is offered). No sealant will last the life of the car without frequent renewal.

You can get the same protection on your paint using Zaino, and on your carpets using something like 3M Scotchguard for a FRACTION of the cost.

Perma plate is just a way for the dealer to make money. Don't be fooled.

I agree.

[eleven24]

Right from the PermaPlate website (regarding PermaPaint Paintguard)

To retain this good head start, we recommend the Perma-Plate Maintenance Kit. Available as part of the Perma-Plate protection system, our Paintguard Renewer and Wash Concentrate make it easy to maintain your vehicle's brilliant finish well into the future.

There is NO product on the planet that will keep a car's factory shine in tact without any waxing or buffing. Same goes for those "once a year miracle waxes". As the old saying goes, you get what you give. In this case, if you don't want to give your car the attention (i.e. waxing & buffing on a regular basis), you can't expect it to have any semblance of a factory shine.

[shimshimhada]

What a CROCK OF SHCRAP! Who's "they"? The dealer?

[Diego]

we got it on our 335i black sedan. it's looking good so far =]

[ideliver]

in a word....NO

[Envious Eric]

pass...do it right, either spend some time and money on supplies and maintain it yourself, or pay a detailer to.

its not going to stay looking brand new a year down the road, let alone 5 years!

I regularly maintain a lexus ISF and that thing is a little over a year old and it looks brand new, minus the fingernail tears on the driver door! The leather is fine, the paint is near perfected, and the gloss is good! imagine not ever touching the car for a year and picture what it would look like...and he has only paid me about $600 for 4 visits!

[ianbiz]

Dont get it. Its better to pay a decent detailer $100/yr to keep your paint up to date. Wash it properly on a regular basis, and pay the detailer if youre too busy to diy it.

[Houman21]

You can buy a ton of detailing gear for $500 - do that instead.

[TOGWT]

Lifetime Paint Protection

Xzilon, Simonize, Perma-Plate, DuPont PTFE™, etc -there is no polymer, synthetic or natural wax, or after-market coating available that can provide a five year or lifetime protection to a paint film surface; this technology doesn't exist, read the fine print in the contract offered by car dealerships.

There is normally a clause that states you should return the vehicle for a "maintenance" application of the product (at 3 or 6 months intervals) failing to do this will void your warranty or the fine print will basically exclude every condition you could claim against

The primary protection provided for a modern water-based colour coat is a polythene paint that has a thickness of (127 - 178 µ) comprise a Primer coat of 2Mils (50 µ) a Colour coat of 1-2Mils (25 -50 µ) and Clear coat 2-3Mils (50 - 75 µ) An applied paint protection product is the entire barrier that provides protection for automotive paintwork besides the clear coat paint and this renewable barrier is probably less than 0.001Mil (0.0254 µm)

[Mr.335iCoupe]

NO. I had my car permaplated and I can't even tell what the hell they did with it. You're better off with clear bra or detailing supplies.

[jopa489]

This and most other dealer paint/interior treatments are all raw profit for the dealer. As others have said, either DIY or pay a detailer a couple of hundred bucks a year to do it right. Nothing will last forever (or more than 6-9 months for that matter) on your paint. There's no point making the huge investment in this when a $30 bottle of JetSeal, BlackFire, or any other quality sealant will give you the same or better results.

Don't waste your money.

[JayeJaymes]

Originally Posted by Mr.335iCoupe

NO. I had my car permaplated and I can't even tell what the hell they did with it. You're better off with clear bra or detailing supplies.

^^^+1........my dealer had this done on my car and i cant say there has been any benefit from it or if its even on my car

[chemgeek]

I have mixed feelings on this.

If you are someone that doesn't want to put in the time to bi-annually polish/wax the car, then maybe. Such a person is not one to find a good detailer and that might lead to one or more poor details. Nothing scarier than thinking about a subpar polish job by someone using a high speed orbital polisher with a wool pad!!! If you know a good detailer then go with that once or twice a year. If you never plan to spend the money to have it detailed, then, I say "why not" to the dealer option, it's better than nothing.

On the other hand, doing it oneself is always an option and will likely be cheaper. Of course people regularly checking a wax/detail section of a BMW online forum are going to say "no" buy some of "this stuff" and do it yourself.

[Zero.7]

Speaking from personal experience....I had cilajet applied to my entire exterior and interior. I don't have a lot of time for cleaning and detailing weekly. And with a BSM car, I thought I'd give it a try. It wasn't cheap that's for sure. I think I paid about $800 for the entire exterior and interior. I was even told that it would protect against swirls. Well, suffice it to say....after a month with it, I went back to the dealership and told them about my experience. When I had it done, the person selling it was so confident OR so willing to upsale me, that he even signed something that I wrote into the agreement about preventing swirls. Any ways, it DEFINITELY DID NOT prevent/minimize swirls, and the car obviously still lost its shine after a few weeks. Long story short, I was refunded the full amount less labor.

I did however like the way the interior smelled afterwards. Kind of like a FRESH and clean smell to it. Still there. I don't drink in my car so can't say how it works with spilled liquids. My interior leather still looks great, but my car is still less than a year old...so not sure about leather protection at this time.

[dmillerj]

If anyone is aware of an off the shelf product that will pay for repainting or replacing interior if stained or damaged please let me know. Until then I think about $80 per year for 7 years of warranty is a damned good deal. I recently had an experience with a Perma Plate claim and the repair represented more than I paid for the coverage. What is so difficult to understand about this.
Be aware that most of these programs do not include actually repairing anything but their limit of liability is simply to have the damaged area professionally detailed which will do nothing for a blood stained interior or etched paint. Now if you actually believe there's a product that will protect your paint for 7 years after one application then by all means buy it. Some DEALERS require a customer to return for a reapplication of the product which is also bogus. They just want to get the customer back to the dealership to sell them service/maintenance Use some common sense. People who make a living detailing cars will never advise you to purchase anything like Perma Plate. They're arguement against such products are simply the products will not protect your paint or interior for years after one application and they would be correct. I doubt any of them will guarantee to repaint your hood if it's damaged by bird droppings, tree sap, among many other materials that can damage paint and/or interior.

[SHEEDI]

Originally Posted by ianbiz

Dont get it. Its better to pay a decent detailer $100/yr to keep your paint up to date. Wash it properly on a regular basis, and pay the detailer if youre too busy to diy it.

+1

[Rickstir]

It's a waste of $$$ ! You can buy a can of scotch-guard for $5 and get the same results. No protectent will last 5 years.

[FI PETE]

Originally Posted by bmq

I bought my new 330i SG/Black Leather over the past weekend and they offered me a paintguard/leatherguard service called PermaPlate. I have a few days to decide if I want it or not.

It will cost me $500, at they claim that it will keep me from ever having to wax or buff the exterior again, and will maintain the factory shine . Also provides leather protection so that the leather does not dry or stain or crack. A five year guarantee is included.
Web site: www.permaplate.com

Keeping in mind that I am not the kind to spend a lot of time with Zaino, etc. on my own, what is your opinion of this?

Anybody else have any experience with this? Is it worth it?

If you're ever going to have any coating applied to your car make sure is done by a REPUTABLE detailer and not your corner car wash or dealership.