Jbreezie

Local shop in San Diego is going to discontinue using Opti-Coat as the owner believes Ceramic Pro 9H is a better product for the cost. The shop still has Opti-Coat products and quoted me $500 to do my 3is! The owner said he is not going to offer warranty since they're going to discontinue use. The shop has a 5-star rating on yelp and the owner claims they've done 300+ optic-coat jobs. Deal or stay away since there's no warranty?

I love the looks of CQuartz but I do not have $750+ for a paint protection!! He also quoted me $990+ base for the Ceramic Pro!!

popping

Does that price include paint correction? If so, 750 is a steal for finest with paint correction.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Is that for opti-coat pro or another opti-coat product (2.0 or gloss-coat)? If it is OCP, that is below the contract price that they are allowed to sell it at... Also, they are not allowed to sell it without a warranty anymore. OPT changed the rules in August of last year. Since then, opti-coat pro can only be purchased as a warranty pack (warranty through optimum).

If it is OCP and the $500 includes necessary cleaning and polishing, that would be a steal (as I mentioned, it is below their minimum allowable sales price set by OPT)... If the shop is reputable, then I'd take them up on that deal.

Be cautious of what you hear about Ceramic Pro 9H. While I'm sure it is a nice product, many installers are not clear on the scientific claims they are making and are advertising false info (not saying your guy is, just speaking in general about that organization based on my experiences with them.)

Let me know if you've got any questions.

-Zach

FSportIS

iTrader: (13)

I have Opticoat 2.0 on both cars (with NO warranty) and they protect my cars very well for more than 7 months now. The only thing I don't like is that it is not slick and not super glossy like sealant/wax.

Having testing out various Carpro products especially the sealants Hydro2 and Reload, I'm more impressed with Carpro products. If I have to decide again on the coating, I would recommend Carpro Cquartz coating and if you have more money to spare, Cquartz Finest is the way to go. You can't go wrong with Carpro brand, seriously. I'm actually thinking of switching my coating to Cquartz too sooner or later.

popping

I went to a detailers shop for a wash clinic. He happened to have two finished cars waiting for pick up. One with finest; one with OCP. I was leaning towards OCP until this point in time. Finest is way slicker, and Glossier.

Jbreezie

The price does include paint correction Most places quoted me $750+ for finest.

It's Opti-Coat Pro. I guess since the dealer opted out of their installer program they do not have to warranty the customer. He guarantees a perfect install though! Looks like they have a bunch of good reviews on the coating too. Yeah, I'm not sure about Ceramic Pro yet.


I do like Carpro products. I just bought Hydro2 to see how it works. The gloss of CQuartz is unmistakable as well, I guess it comes down to cost right now. Kind of tough paying upwards towards $1k for coating. It's almost like a paint job! The deal I have now sounds promising though. Another shop just quoted me $675 cash discount but wants $35 extra per wheel coating!! they also said lifetime warranty! Decisions! I wish I had the skills to do this!

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

For $500, if you feel it is a reputable shop, that is a VERY good value including one step of correction. I charge around $500 for a one-step correction and basic sealant or wax application (assuming ~7 hours of work)... assume Opti-Coat lasts you a solid 2 years before you decide you want to have your vehicle polished again and re-coated. That is $250/year... this is less than it would cost to visit a detailer 2-3 times each year for a reapplication of a polymer sealant. If you're someone who does not enjoy waxing their vehicle every month, or applying a few times a year, a coating is certainly a great choice.

FWIW the Optimum Warranty is not worth anything in my opinion, so I wouldn't let that bother you. It is void if they think you "didn't maintain the vehicle properly".

also... $1000 is nothing like the cost of a quality paint job

-Zach

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

For $500, if you feel it is a reputable shop, that is a VERY good value including one step of correction. I charge around $500 for a one-step correction and basic sealant or wax application (assuming ~7 hours of work)... assume Opti-Coat lasts you a solid 2 years before you decide you want to have your vehicle polished again and re-coated. That is $250/year... this is less than it would cost to visit a detailer 2-3 times each year for a reapplication of a polymer sealant. If you're someone who does not enjoy waxing their vehicle every month, or applying a few times a year, a coating is certainly a great choice.

FWIW the Optimum Warranty is not worth anything in my opinion, so I wouldn't let that bother you. It is void if they think you "didn't maintain the vehicle properly".

also... $1000 is nothing like the cost of a quality paint job

-Zach

Jbreezie

Thanks for the advice, I'll post the results when I do it soon!

popping

This is the truth! $1000 gets you a Maaco job.

FSportIS

iTrader: (13)

I have to agree with the quality painting job part. I wanted to do a custom color change in my IS350 and various shops quote me from $4500 all the way to $9,000 but this is for a custom unique paint that is kind of exotic, though. I also get quotes for wrapping entire cars and it runs around $3,000 to $6,000.

Oh well so I am back to coating. I was lucky to find a guy who did 2 step polishing + Opticoat 2.0 for less than $500 so I'm happy. The coating has been holding strong for 7 months + now.

FSportIS

iTrader: (13)

I have to agree with the quality painting job part. I wanted to do a custom color change in my IS350 and various shops quote me from $4500 all the way to $9,000 but this is for a custom unique paint that is kind of exotic, though. I also get quotes for wrapping entire cars and it runs around $3,000 to $6,000.

Oh well so I am back to coating. I was lucky to find a guy who did 2 step polishing + Opticoat 2.0 for less than $500 so I'm happy. The coating has been holding strong for 7 months + now.

Jbreezie

I almost got one for my other car! Probably would've been disappointed!


Yeah, it can get pricey! Is the guy a forum sponsor here? I got quoted for around the same price for 2.0.

Talked more with the detail shop. They said one coat on everything with a one step polishing. I hope I don't need paint correction. I did the car dealer wash about twice and the rest is hand wash with the two bucket system every two weeks or so. Always garaged too.

FSportIS

iTrader: (13)

Yeah John from ExclusiveDetail in Southern CA did good jobs on both of my cars with the Opticoat 2.0 and I believe he is a ClubLexus sponsor here https://www.clublexus.com/forums/cl-...-specials.html

I text him to see if he uses Cquartz the other day but he did not respond. I don't think he is official Cquartz Finest installer though.

Jbreezie

That's a pretty good deal! I wonder if it's a big difference from Pro. Another shop that's local from me quoted me $265 and a 20%discount ($212). No warranty! hmm I wonder if it's enough paint correction. They're new and I didn't see any yelp reviews.

http://www.firstclassdetailingsd.com/#!services/ceb2