paint/upholstery protection plan?

[Hughlee]

I've ordered a 2006 OB 2.5 SE and need to decide on paint & upholstrey protection plans.

My dealer offers a 6 yr paint option with surface rust warranty for Cdn $400 and a 6 year fabric guard with a rip/tear/burn warranty for Cdn $300.

Take both and you save $100.

Have you had any experience making a claim or are these plans good value?

Thanks

[bheinz57]

I did it when I purchased the car and I am dissapointed about one thing...I went to get mine renewed and the local dealer told me I had to go to the dealer that sold the package.

So basically if the dealer where I bought the package was no longer around, no one else would do the work.

Check on that before you purchase it.

Brian

[blastoff99]

First, welcome aboard, and congrats on the new car!

I'd ask a few questions here. Who is the warranty through? The dealer? Some aftermarket company? I've never heard of a rip/tear/burn protection plan, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

If you're a slob, or have kids, I'd certainly do *something* with the fabric. I don't know exactly what's involved there, but it's entirely possible you might be able to do just as good a job yourself with a couple of cans of Scotch-Guard or similar. (I'm contemplating that myself.)

As for the "paint sealer," as it's often called, I dunno. You live in an area where they salt the crap out of the roads, so it might be a good thing. How long do finishes usually go before surface rust sets in? Probably people from your side of the continent should chime in here.

Remember two things: 1) all this stuff is negotiable. There's a very high markup on it. 2) The big print giveth, the fine print taketh away. Read carefully.

Good luck.

[Hughlee]

The company offering it through my dealer is SYM-TECH.
I haven't made the committment and I know that these options are a cash cow fro the dealer. So I'll find out the if these options have value and try to negotiate with them.

As I see it, if I say no to these options, the dealer has lost the opportunity to generate marginal dollars from me so "x' dollars over their cost is better than zero. I don't think they have more cars than customers.

[chrisx]

Also check if there is any obligation on your behalf such as annual inspections/reapplication (for a fee of course).

[Ottiehund]

I never heard of such plans - and they sound like a waste of money to me.

If you must, why not put the same amount of money into a seperate bank account earning some interest and use that if you have any issues with paint or upholstery.

Insurers offer these policies for one reason - they take more in premiums than they pay out.... maybe you could take the money and buy shares in the insurer instead of the savings account?

[TwoWheels00]

DON'T DO IT!!!!!

You can buy GREAT leather protectant for $20, and it will last you a LONG time. They don't have some space-age product that no one knows about, it's just a service charge for profit.

The paint protection is BS also. They rely on Subaru's efforts with the paint and clear coat. You can buy your own waxing set w/ acrylic paint sealant and get a nicer job done, with yearly re-coats.

You could buy the best products on the market to clean and protect your car (and do it whenever you want) and it still wouldn't be as much ast the protection plan.

[snowon]

is the paint plan JUST against rust? the fabric one sounds like a joke

[Hughlee]

Thank-you so much for all your thoughts and insight.
I'm not going to spend the money the paint protection or fabric guard.
I'll get several cans of Scotch Guard that will do the trick and keep the car clean and polished.

I don't know about the paint protection. It might be a clear coat but again I'm not buying.