Get onto Amazon, buy a bottle of ceramic spray yourself and DIY, it's about the same time and effort as polishing a sideboard with Mr Sheen, ie 20 minutes will see the entire car done, 40 minutes if you give it a second coat.

I've used Car Plan No1 Super Gloss with great results circa £9 for 500ml, but have now bought some Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray circa £12 for 500ml, which according to tests i've seen online by Project Farm on Youtube (one of the better channels) will last better.

There's lots other makes of couse so take your pick, costs are between £8 and £20 for most with the odd few eye wateringly expensive so take your pick, a 500ml bottle should coat your car several times, the instructions say to use sparingly, avoid windscreen obviously.

The Car Plan stuff i used on my new tractor unit cab three months ago as an experiment, bearing in mind it covers anything from 1500 to 2500 miles a week in all weathers, it gets washed twice or maybe three times a week if i'm on shift depending on the weather with industrial TFR agitated with soft brush and pressure washing...food products, the company is strong on cleanliness and image and yes guilty m'lud some of us still take an old fashioned pride.

What is really noticeable is how the dirt doesn't stick to the paintwork compared to the other vehicles, there's a soft slippery feel to the paint too, so far 3 months into the coat (15 minutes work) its still intact with water beading to die for.

Edited by gordonbennet on 08/07/2024 at 06:44

I'm a bit of a Autoglym fan but there ceramic coating needs the car to be properly prepared first, you can almost guarantee the dealer won't do it, save your money.

Thanks, the feedback seems pretty clear that it's one to pass on.

Yes, it is a petrol, and taking advice on board from this forum, it is a SE Nav+ with the cloth trim, smaller wheels and fewer electric gizmos. Have been on the look for a few months for one that ticked most requirements. Will look to keep it long term so I'm sure I'll be back to ask where/how I should do the rust prevention on the undercarriage, (and perhaps a reversing cam too).

It does however have all weather tires, so not sure what impact that will have on ride and perhaps efficiency (less important probably).

A son bought a new BMW in November.

The garage threw in ceramic coating in the agreed price.

Car looked really good on pick-up.

It was only when my son was looking at the car carefully, after the winter, that he saw the odd fingerprint, partial thumb, some small specs of dust etc under the coating.

Slap dash ceramic coating on top of a "not so clean car" coated but unevenly coated.

Later this month It is going back to get the coating off and car re-valeted/refinished - Garage is paying the Valet Centre directly.