Is paint protection from the dealer for my 2018 Toyota 86 worth it?
Asked by Sue
I have just purchased a 2019 Toyota 86 in Black, is it worth getting paint protection from the dealer? I believe it is the ceramic one.
Answered by CarsGuide
11 Jul 2020Buying the dealership’s paint protection certainly won’t do any harm, Sue, but it can be expensive as mark-ups are often huge for these products. You might do better with an aftermarket paint protection product from an independent specialist. But here’s the proposition I’d be putting to the dealer selling the car: If you can’t, in 2020, sell me a car that won’t fade or have its paint peel off, I fear we are wasting each other’s time. In fact, you could make the same argument for all those dealership add-ons, the upholstery protection, window tint and extended warranties.
Here’s another fact to consider: Regardless of whether you do or don’t buy the paint protection, the car’s finish is protected by the factory warranty just as the rest of the car is protected against faulty parts of poor assembly. Toyota even spells it out, saying that the factory warranty covers every part, panel or factory accessory. So you’ll only ever need the optional paint protection after the factory warranty has run out. Will a paint protection applied now be of any use five years – and a couple of hundred car-washes – down the track? That’s up to you.
