[HerkHealer]

Have been debating this. Read up on it, some say absolutely do it, some say dont bother. My car is a 2020 M550xi with 10,570 miles. The paint is chip/scratch free and looks VERY nice.

Contacted a local detailing shop here in Nashua NH, 5 star rated, hundreds of reviews. They regularly detail high end vehicles. The owner is telling me to do it while the paint is still "new" and fresh. Will cost me about $750 for the entire treatment.

Is this worth doing ? Opinions and advice requested.

Thank you,
Mark

[beyondm3]

Originally Posted by gladesteen

Have been debating this. Read up on it, some say absolutely do it, some say dont bother. My car is a 2020 M550xi with 10,570 miles. The paint is chip/scratch free and looks VERY nice.

Contacted a local detailing shop here in Nashua NH, 5 star rated, hundreds of reviews. They regularly detail high end vehicles. The owner is telling me to do it while the paint is still "new" and fresh. Will cost me about $750 for the entire treatment.

Is this worth doing ? Opinions and advice requested.

Thank you,
Mark

$750 for just ceramic coating? What entails "entire treatment"? Ceramic will make it look nice but it won't protect the car from any pitting or rock chips of the sort.

I believe typically, even in new/newer cars, there should be some paint correction first. Not completely necessary however, you get the best results with steps such as claybar and or polish to remove any fine imperfections or anything embedded in the paint. I can even see/feel these things in my 2020 (with 19k) and will be doing such prior to any coatings.

I believe it comes down to personal preference, to whether you want to do it or not. You can probably apply some of the quick detail ceramic coatings on a regular basis and more than likely you'll get good protection and shine and there is less overhead. If you go full ceramic, you are supposed to maintain it... and apply a "topper" frequently enough and use PH neutral wash , but is supposed to last the long run. Each one has it's benefits and pitfalls.

The last thing I'll mention is that it's really not that hard to do it yourself. I almost paid too much money for someone to do this to my wife's car (F15 X5) but one day I started watching Pan the Organizer on youtube and it motivated me to give it a shot myself. I invested in some gear (griots random orbital polisher/pads, griots compound/polish, mother's clay bar kit, avalon king ceramic coating) and gave it a go. I was very happy with the results and overall saved a big stack of cash. If you have any inclination and depending on how deep (or not) you want to go into the rabbit hole, you can get ceramic coating for less than $100 and get it done with some elbow grease. It'll cost you several hours and some back ache but it is gratifying and the results are rewarding.

[dhodory]

Provided you have the time and some basic skills (and your finish doesn't require paint correction, prior to ceramic coat), this is something you can do yourself quite effectively as DIY project. Requires that you have an interior garage space, about $150 for the coating kit, and 4-6 hours of time. If you go this route, I'd recommend CarPro cQuartz UK 3.0 available from many retailers (I bought mine from Detailed Image).

[BeeMdblU]

Originally Posted by gladesteen

Have been debating this. Read up on it, some say absolutely do it, some say dont bother. My car is a 2020 M550xi with 10,570 miles. The paint is chip/scratch free and looks VERY nice.

Contacted a local detailing shop here in Nashua NH, 5 star rated, hundreds of reviews. They regularly detail high end vehicles. The owner is telling me to do it while the paint is still "new" and fresh. Will cost me about $750 for the entire treatment.

Is this worth doing ? Opinions and advice requested.

Thank you,
Mark

750 for an entire treatment is pretty cheap if it includes a hydrophobic treatment

[Joe-BMW33]

You know my position Mark. For me, it's more about the paint correction and removing swirls then the ceramic to make it easy to clean. It depends how OCD you are. I thought my paint was "perfect" and it is by most people's standards, but then that sun hits the roof or trunk at just the right angle and all you see are spiders.

Paint correction, ceramic and full detail next weekend in Atkinson, NH. For me the value in ceramic is the ease of cleaning and of course the wet brilliant shine. It's not going to prevent chips, water spots or swirls if you go through automatic car washes. I don't.

[beyondm3]

clayed, polished, ceramic coated about three weeks ago. didn't get around to taking any pictures.... and yes, I neglected the tires.

[beyondm3]

let's try this again....

[HerkHealer]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

You know my position Mark. For me, it's more about the paint correction and removing swirls then the ceramic to make it easy to clean. It depends how OCD you are. I thought my paint was "perfect" and it is by most people's standards, but then that sun hits the roof or trunk at just the right angle and all you see are spiders.

Paint correction, ceramic and full detail next weekend in Atkinson, NH. For me the value in ceramic is the ease of cleaning and of course the wet brilliant shine. It's not going to prevent chips, water spots or swirls if you go through automatic car washes. I don't.

Awesome ! Cant wait to see pics.

[macdaddy_o]

Originally Posted by HerkHealer

Have been debating this. Read up on it, some say absolutely do it, some say dont bother. My car is a 2020 M550xi with 10,570 miles. The paint is chip/scratch free and looks VERY nice.

Contacted a local detailing shop here in Nashua NH, 5 star rated, hundreds of reviews. They regularly detail high end vehicles. The owner is telling me to do it while the paint is still "new" and fresh. Will cost me about $750 for the entire treatment.

Is this worth doing ? Opinions and advice requested.

Thank you,
Mark

Who is the detailer in Nashua? I've looked around and haven't seen anything less than 1450, which I think is overpriced for what it actually does…

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by beyondm3

let's try this again....

Looks great! Love that wet look. What % tint do you have there and where?

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by macdaddy_o

Who is the detailer in Nashua? I've looked around and haven't seen anything less than 1450, which I think is overpriced for what it actually does…

This is where I'm going. Their prices are very fair and they do a lot more than the other places which charge $1500 for a base package and it doesn't include an interior detail or glass. These guys include everything, including the engine bay.

https://www.precise-details.com/

[G30 B58]

I just got my '17 2500HD w/ 44K miles (my tow rig) cleaned, polished and ceramic coated, my guy did a terrific job. It's a large BLACK truck and I wanted him to focus on the paint, I did my best when washing it but water spots and scaling was building up on the paint and glass. No interior work and no engine bay work or wheels (needs tires anyway), just glass and paint cost me $1300.

It was a lot of money for me but DAMN that black paint looks good. Now I know I must buy a water deionizer in the near future.

[beyondm3]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Looks great! Love that wet look. What % tint do you have there and where?

Thanks. Bought it CPO'd this way. I'm not sure what it measures at.

[Kineshi1]

Currently in my first ceramic coated car, big difference after a wash. The new car gleam. Doubt I would go without in the future