Can you trust a dealership to apply a ceramic coating?

It depends on the dealership. Some will have an in-house detailer with the proper equipment and facilities, who takes pride in his work. Some call in a professional detailing company. Others will subcontract to an agency who hire people on minimum wage and zero-hours contracts -- tomorrow they might be packing fruit in a warehouse. Some dealerships may use a combination of both.

For the dealership, a ceramic coating is an up-sell. If the salesman can get you to buy some kind of coating, he gets the commission, but there is a likelihood the guy that is supposed to apply it gets nothing. The salesman might even give you a ceramic coating for free as a sweetener, as he is getting a bigger commission on the sale of the car. Either way, the salesman has a big incentive to sell it to you, but the detailer/valeter/cleaner may have no incentive to apply it properly.

It is sometimes the case that a contractor will turn up once a week and have to wax and polish dozens of cars. Sometimes the agents that supply the labour make the contractors buy their own products, such as wax. As they may only be getting a couple of pounds per car, they may well use the cheapest wax they can get, and only wax down to the door handles.

Over the years, we have seen many problems with cars that had polymer and ceramic coatings applied at a dealership. Sometimes coatings were not applied at all. Sometimes it was only applied to the upper surfaces of the car, and sometimes it was applied over the top of wax, and so wasn't bonded to the paintwork. We should also mention that the vast majority of cars that comes to us for coating, direct from the showroom, have scratches and wash marks that require machine polishing before a coating can be applied.

The larger part of the cost of ceramic coating a car is in the man-hours that go into preparation of the paintwork before application -- a great way to cut costs and increase profits, is to just not bother to do the prep. 

With all that said, some dealerships have fantastic guys, or teams of guys who are highly professional. If you are offered a ceramic coating at a dealership, we recommend that you ask to see their detailing bay and to meet the detailer. Ceramic coatings are less about the product and more about skilled application.

What this question is really about

When you ask if you can trust a dealership to apply a ceramic coating, you are really asking two things. First, whether the product itself is any good. Second, whether the people actually touching your paint have the time, tools and training to prepare the car properly. A coating is only as good as the preparation and the person applying it.

The awkward truth is that some dealer setups are excellent and some are little more than a quick valeting package with a fancy label. The challenge is telling which is which before you sign.

How dealership coating packages usually work behind the scenes

Most dealership ceramic packages follow a similar pattern, even if the brochures look different.

• The coating brand is chosen centrally and sold as part of a finance or “lifetime protection” bundle.
• Application is often done by in-house valeters who also wash, hoover and dress cars for handover.
• Time allowed can be tight, especially on busy days, which limits how much proper machine polishing can be done.
• The warranty paperwork is handled by the dealer or the coating supplier rather than the individual technician.

None of this is automatically bad, but it explains why you can see big differences between dealerships using the same product.

When a dealer applied coating can work well

There are situations where the dealership route is perfectly reasonable.

• The car is genuinely new, straight from the factory, with very few defects to correct.
• The dealer has a dedicated preparation bay and staff who apply coatings every day rather than as an occasional extra.
• You have seen other cars they have coated and are happy with the standard of finish in real daylight.
• You prefer the simple option of rolling the cost into the finance and having one point of contact for car and coating.

In these cases, the key is that preparation, time and environment are actually in place, not just assumed.

Red flags with dealership ceramic coatings

Certain patterns suggest you may be buying more marketing than meticulous paintwork.

• The coating is sold at the last minute in the finance office as an add-on, with very little detail about the process.
• No mention is made of decontamination, machine polishing or cure time, only that the car will be “protected for life”.
• The car is in and out of preparation very quickly, despite arriving with obvious swirls or transport marks.
• There is lots of talk about magic chemistry, but very little about aftercare, inspections or what is not covered by the warranty.

On its own, any one of these is not proof of a bad job, but the more of them you see together, the more cautious you should be.

Comparing a dealership package with an independent detailer

If you are on the fence, it helps to compare like for like rather than just looking at the price sticker.

• Preparation time - ask both how long they will actually spend on your car, and what that time is used for.
• Correction level - will they carry out proper machine polishing, or just a quick glaze to gloss over defects?
• Environment - is the coating applied in a clean, well lit bay, or in a general wash area with the doors open.
• Product transparency - can they tell you exactly which coating is used, show you the bottle and explain its strengths and limits.
• Aftercare and inspections - who will see the car again, how often, and what support do you get if there are problems.

An honest, clearly explained independent package will often give better long-term results, even if the brochure looks less glossy.

Questions to ask before saying yes to a dealer coating

A few simple questions can quickly show you whether a dealership takes coatings seriously or treats them as a quick upsell.

• Who actually applies the coating and how much training have they had on this specific product. Are they accredited by the brand of coating they are offering to apply?
• How long will you have my car for and what are the main steps in your preparation process?
• Do you carry out machine polishing as standard, and what happens if you find defects in the paint.
• What does the warranty really cover, and what counts as fair wear rather than a claim? Is the warranty transferable?
• What aftercare routine do you expect me to follow, so the coating lasts as advertised.

If the answers are vague, rushed or heavy on sales talk but light on practical detail, it may be wiser to decline and speak to a specialist.

Best practice if you want ceramic on a new car

Whether you choose the dealer or an independent detailer, a few principles always help.

• Decide what level of finish and longevity you want before you are sitting in the handover office under time pressure.
• Get any coating package set out in writing, including preparation, timeframes, warranty terms and aftercare.
• Inspect the car in good daylight at handover. If something looks wrong in the paint, raise it immediately.
• Plan your first few washes carefully, following cure time and product advice so you do not spoil the coating early on.
• If you are not convinced by the dealer option, it is perfectly reasonable to take delivery clean and bare, then book an independent correction and coating while the car is still new.

Handled this way, the question is not “can you ever trust a dealership”, but “has this particular dealership earned my trust with the way they handle ceramic coatings”.

Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 02/12/2025 17:21