Everything you need to know about ceramic coatings

Have you ever wondered what could be so different about your 2022 2500 series truck that you must bring it in for a quote? Me too.

Have you ever wondered what could be so different about your 2022 2500 series truck that you must bring it in for a quote? Me too.

What if I told you that every ceramic coatings dealer in Grand Junction knows exactly what they are going to charge you for that truck.

They don’t need to see it. Yet none of the major competitors post their prices online, and the majority of them won’t give you a price on the phone.

Why? Well, that is one of several things you need to know before spending $1,500 or more on ceramic coatings.

Who We Are, First an Introduction

Let’s face it. The who matters. This is not some clickbait article written by a marketing company. My name is Justin Krauss. I am one of the owners of Auto Detailing 360, and I also own Garage Flooring LLC.

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My wife and I have been a business owner in the valley for 20 years. I have read more sales books than I care to count, and I have been to more sales training than I care to admit.

When we launched Garage Flooring LLC as a nationwide distributor of garage flooring, all the marketing people and SEO people thought we were crazy.

Too much information… Pricing has to be above the fold… Focus on sales, not education…. Today we are one of the most successful online dealers of garage flooring because we hold true to our values.

We are doing the exact same thing for the Auto Detailing industry in this market. With thousands of Ceramic Pro Dealers nationwide, we are one of less than 80 to achieve Elite status.

Our approach rubs our competitors the wrong way. I am just fine with that. We know, and they know, that you literally can’t buy what we offer anywhere else.

That means everyone else’s job is to convince you their product is better or cheaper.

We don’t have to. It is Ceramic Pro. We know the value, we hope you see it, and we have a package for every price point.

Spoiler Alert

The Ceramic Pro Sport Package is an inexpensive temporary ceramic coating for not much more than a full detail. The ION package starts at under $1,400, including paint correction and has a 7 Year warranty

. Ultimate ION is our lifetime ceramic coating and starts under $1,800.

The Ceramic Coating Quote.

If you have so much as thought about auto detailing, paint protection film, or ceramic coatings, Siri, her sister Alexa, Google, and, of course, Facebook all know.

Those of us in the industry all have the videos and the ads that magically show in your social media feed.

You fill out a form and click “Request Quote,” and the calls, text messages, and emails all begin. To be fair, we do that part too. But that is where the similarity ends.

There is nothing special about your car or truck (well, in most cases). Chances are we have seen it and worked on it before.

We know how long it will take us, how soft or hard the paint is, and we know that even if you had your brand new sports car transported from the dealership to us, as soon as we wash it and put it under the lights, it is going to have swirls and scratches that need to be corrected.

In most cases, we know how long it is going to take us, what polish and pad we are going to use, and how to get your windshield wipers to stay where we want them. It’s our business. It’s our competitor’s business.

So why do they want you to bring in your vehicle for a quote?

The truth is if you drive your vehicle to a shop and meet with a salesperson, you are considerably more likely to make an impulse purchase and not do your homework.

The truth is if you drive your vehicle to a shop and meet with a salesperson, you are considerably more likely to make an impulse purchase and not do your homework. You’ll get a dog and pony show.

You will see how great the water beads, and maybe see a vehicle or two they have coated. The really good ones might even show you the scratches and swirls and take a couple out. It is all part of the science of selling you.

The Pricing Games

To understand the pricing games that ceramic coating dealers play, you have to understand a little bit about paint. New car, old truck, it does not really matter. Chances are your paint has defects.

If we are being really honest about it, that is a good thing for us. If your paint didn’t have defects, you would not need a ceramic coating.

The game goes like this. In some cases, you might even tell them the price you got from someone else. Then they tell you, “we can do that for $500 less”. Maybe even the same price.

We have even heard of competitors writing the deal and then calling the customer later with the upsell.

Wow, once we got your paint in the light, we noticed a lot of swirls and scratches. We can leave them, but when we coat it, they might stand out more because our coating is so glossy. The good news is we can fix it for you. It will be an extra $500 or we can just leave it….. it’s up to you.

“Wow, once we got your paint in the light, we noticed a lot of swirls and scratches. We can leave them, but when we coat it, they might stand out more because our coating is so glossy.

The good news is we can fix it for you. It will be an extra $500 or we can just leave it….. it’s up to you.”

The truth is the day we get a vehicle in our shop that we don’t spend hours doing paint correction is the day I go out and buy a Powerball ticket.

It doesn’t happen. Ever. Some are a little better than others. Some are a little worse. Most are about the same.

Other pricing games include charging extra for windshields, wheel faces, plastics, shop fees, and the list goes on.

We absolutely have some add-on packages. We can do your interior or pull the entire wheel off and coat both sides and the caliper. Perhaps you want to add a clear bra. But the price we show on our website and give on the phone is our real price.

No games. No gimmicks.

We Can Have That Done Today.

This is a favorite in the finance department at many dealerships. Not just for ceramic coatings. We had one customer with a brand new car have the cost of her ‘clear bra’ included in her financing.

For $900, she got a thin strip of 18″ plastic across the hood. We would have done a thicker piece and covered the bumper, part of the fenders, the mirrors, and door cups for that.

We see dealers and competitors offer ceramic coatings in less time than it takes us to detail a car. How is that possible?

We see dealers and competitors offer ceramic coatings in less time than it takes us to detail a car. How is that possible? In short, it isn’t

Ceramic Pro® offers a sprayed ceramic. They call it their ‘Sport Package.’ If a customer wants to protect their vehicle but they are not ready to invest yet, I would prefer they purchase that than a $750 bronze package.

They are better off waiting and getting ION or Ultimate Ion when they can afford it.

We sell spray ceramics to the general public. They are outstanding alternatives to waxing your car. Spray ceramics break down over months, while waxes break down in weeks. They take under an hour to apply. Water beads.

Water beading is not the primary advantage of a ceramic coating. You coat and wipe your vehicle down with WD40 (don’t do it), and water will bead.

That is a far cry from the abrasion resistance, UV resistance, chemical resistance, and overall performance of a ceramic coating.

If that is what you want, we will show you some good DIY products or install the Ceramic Pro Sport System that also includes wheel faces and windshield. You are simply buying time at best.

Annual Inspections

If you buy a new vehicle, never change the oil, and then try to warranty the engine, you are in for a surprise. Similarly, every major manufacturer requires annual inspections.

During this period of time, they will inspect and address any issues and are likely to take some minor steps to rejuvenate the coatings.

Our approach to this is simple. When you schedule your inspection, we charge you for an exterior detail. We do the exterior detail and the inspection.

We save time on polishing and put that into the inspection. If you want a full detail we can include it in that.

I have seen prices for these inspections approaching $500. As of the publication of this post, we charge $175-$225 for an exterior detail.

Is Ceramic Pro® Warranty Real?

Ceramic Pro warranties are assigned to the VIN and documented on Carfax, the transferable warranty, provided through a Ceramic Pro Elite Dealer, ensures that the customer can have the peace of mind that their vehicle is truly covered throughout North America

Brett Benito, CEO of Ceramic Pro

Our customers tell us that our competitors play down the Ceramic Pro Warranty or take the approach of “there is no such thing” as a permanent coating. It is hard to blame them.

Ceramic Pro’s mid-end product has a better warranty than most companies’ best warranty. But is it real?

Yes. On the off chance we screw up the installation, that is on us, and we will fix it. An installation issue typically shows up right away.

To my knowledge, we have never let a ceramic coating go out the door with a coating issue. Once the product is installed correctly (and properly maintained), it goes into the Ceramic Pro system and is valid across North America.

“While a nice facility and good staff are important, what is truly powerful about Elite Dealers such as Ceramic Pro Elite Grand Junction is that they are part of an exclusive network that ensures that all future services will be provided at the same level, in all of North America,” stated Brett Benito, CEO of Ceramic Pro.

Benito concluded, “People move, vehicles are sold, and those owners move. Since all Ceramic Pro warranties are assigned to the VIN and documented on Carfax, the transferable warranty, provided through a Ceramic Pro Elite Dealer, ensures that the customer can have the peace of mind that their vehicle is truly covered throughout North America.”

This quote is an excerpt from a recent Ceramic Pro Elite Grand Junction Press Release.

Other Brands of Coatings

Auto Detailing 360 has carts full of other brands of coatings that we tested or even installed. In some cases, we have a backstock of coatings we will no longer install.

We did not just wake up one day and decide to sell Ceramic Pro. We have worked with the best of the best, and the bottom line for us was Ceramic Pro came out on top every time. The new ION packages are so far beyond the older Gold and silver packages.

IGL and Gyeon both make great products. If Ceramic Pro vanished tomorrow, they are probably the only two brands I would consider.

We will give you the names of other applicators we would trust here in town. Color Auto and Finish line are two of the ones we would trust. Why would we say that?

At the end of the day, I am very confident in the product we sell, our installer(s), and our pricing. We have no interest in using tactics designed to manipulate potential customers.

We simply have the best of the best and are proud to have been selected to be one of a handful of Elite Dealers nationwide. No one else around has that. Period.

Tools Matter

Auto Detailing 360 believes the tools used in the preparation of your vehicle will contribute to the overall finish. We are factory trained on the Rupes polishing system and a local and online distributor of their products.