Take my opinion for what you paid for it -- and the others as well.
Many things work. The problem with ceramic coatings is that a coating that sheds water like grease on the top side also has to bond with the clear coat underneath. I've seen many cars where the ceramic coating began to peel off the underlying paint after a few years. If you lease, pass it along to someone else to worry about. I keep my cars for a decade or longer so commercial coatings are not attractive, not to mention the cost. But if you must use commercial car washes and can't (or don't want to) wash your own car, they can be OK in the short run.
I have an '05 GTO Bright Blue Metallic (almost identical to the Stinger MicroBlue) that looks like new. Never been through a car wash. Always hand washed and waxed at least every 6 months. I have had excellent durability from Black Magic which has apparently been discontinued, but any polymer or silicone wax is good if you use it. I am currently using Meguire's Gold Class Carnuba/polymer paste wax on my Stinger. The best waxes go on and come off easily but the best waxes are a little more expensive. Some are outrageously overpriced as well.
So it depends on how much time and effort you want to take to keep it clean and waxed, or if you lease and trade every couple of years and just want to run it through a commercial car wash. Many have had rims and tires scuffed by the guide-tracks in some of these systems, and of course swirl marks from "soft" brushes or inadequate cleaning from "no hands" pressure sprays. Nothing beats frequent washing and waxing in my book. Hand washing using a good lubricating soap and soft, clean lamb's wool mitt gives you a chance to look carefully for rock chips, door dings and other things that need immediate attention. JMHO. I'm sure others will disagree.
Thanks for the info. Part of what I was trying to get a sense of, and why I put up the poll, was to see how often people were waxing. So far I've heard between 2 months and 6 months. With my Saab (which cost less than a professional ceramic coating), I took it to a car wash about 20 minutes north of Seattle called Keeboo, and then spent about 30 minutes or so going over it with microfiber clothes to keep it looking good. People often asked how I got the car to look so amazing, and were surprised when I said I just took it to a good auto car wash. Of course, you have to spend the time after the wash---you can't just drive away as some people do. For the Stinger, I wanted to learn best practices. Aside from the $2,000+ cost for a professional ceramic coating (same as just having the paint touched up at the end of the lease--which would still be required due to rock chipping), I didn't like the extreme gloss of the results I'd seen. Nice for a car show, but too extreme for my preferences. If I had, say, a cherry red Ferrari, then I'd get it ceramic coated and wrapped. So far with my Stinger, I've just hand washed it. Initially I didn't use a wax, because I was thinking of doing a ceramic coating, where the less crap over the clear coat the better, and the less time to prep it. But, my second wash, what I did was first hand wash it, then run it through the touchless wash--mainly for the drying, but also for the protective coat.
I like my cars to always look extremely clean and well cared for, so will continue my weekly washings with the Stinger, and try to sort out a a good wax schedule and routine. If I need to spend a few hours with clay bars and such every two months, that seems reasonable to me. The paint protectant TV3 recommended (Meguirs Fast Finish) looks pretty awesome, and that or a similar protectant is certainly something I'll look into as well.
One of my main concerns for the summer is hard water in Idaho, so protection from that is important too. I'll be using a car cover when traveling across the border.
