What do you need to do when you buy a new Stinger - Rust proof, Ceramic coating etc...

[Nicotinebar]

Hi All,

I just booked my Stinger today and thee dealership was really emphasizing to get rustproofing protection. Should ya'll suggest I should get it?

Also, I am a new driver and will be my first car ever and based out of Toronto.

What do you suggest doing to my car in terms of taking care of my car?

Any help would bee great as I really love the car and want to take real good care of it.

Thanks.

 

[Blamo]

I got it done as a precaution, but mostly cause of where we live. Honestly even if you store it during the winter i'd still do it. One thing you can do is look around at prices vs the dealerships cost.

 

[RedCal]

Agreed, shop around dealerships overcharge for these services.
What part of the GTA are you in?
Keep it clean, (no touch car washes if you can't hand wash) and don't skimp on maintenance are the absolute basics.

 

[PHL Mike]

Hello and welcome ! If you have a driveway and a hose outlet where you live you may want to go to YouTube and look at car detailing videos. If you spend an hour there you will learn quite a bit from guys like Pan the Organizer and Dallas Paint and Correction. Meguirers and Turtle Wax both have VERY good products, YouTube channels and systems that you can do yourself. Many are easy on / off with spray bottles if you don’t want to use liquid or pastes.
For ~$100. you can go to a local autozone or Walmart and get all set up. Invest in good microfiber towels. This is smart money and she’ll look great after every wash. People think my car is brand new with 32k on the Odo.
I learned about clay bar products too from videos. Now I use it occasionally when the paint has tiny bumps and road contamination on the surface. You won’t see them but you can feel them with your hand in a plastic bag running over the paint surfaces. Since you live in a cold climate you may want to have a professional poly coat protect the front fascia & hood. That way, flying rock salt, pebbles and cinders won’t tear up those areas.
The dealer will overcharge you for a ceramic job and add into your payment long term. You can apply these yourself MUCH cheaper and when you step back and see what’s the final outcome it’s a priceless sense of satisfaction!! Zurich application is a dealer high profit grab. You can buy a Zurich kit online and save HUNDREDS over what they’d charge you.
Rust protection is another dealer money grab. Pass on that.
The finance office in a car dealership is the most profitable per square foot area of a car dealership BY FAR! Just keep saying no!! RE: wheel protection... Also look at your auto policy for coverage on your wheels. They’re expensive to replace if you hit a pothole and you might only be on the hook for your deductible not the fullcost of wheel replacements.
Good luck!!

 

[GenesisG70]

The car is rust protected from factory so just keep it clean, put a good ceramic coat on it and don't let ice accumulate under your car for too long, there cars are very reliable and other that common sense care like oil change you don't need anything special. Regarding maintenance prices its a joke compared to German car maintenance costs so you really would have to get ripped off by a mechanic for you to feel it in your pocket. I paid 1500 USD for 5 years of maintenance, in perspective I pay almost 400 USD just for oil change on my Porsche. Congrats and welcome to the forum.

 

[Buklau]

If you plan on driving it a lot like I did, get front end PPF ASAP. I got my Stinger in Late January and after driving 30,000km across Ontario, I have dozens of rock chips on the front end. I don’t tail gate or follow too closely on the highway but still get hit by some rocks, especially since there is more construction on the 401.

Personally, I would do
- Window tints
- PPF (front end atleast)
- Ceramic coating
- Rust Proofing
- Oil Catch Can (if you plan on keeping it long term)

 

[MerlintheMad]

Howdy, and welcome to the forum.

Products are a money making proposition. So, in my humble opinion, go simple and then add on products as you notice a need.

I started by just washing my car by hand using hot, soft water and terry cloth towels. Then I added in dedicated drying microfiber towels; huge improvement and time saver. Then I tried Optimum No Rinse (ONR) with a gallon of distilled water. Amazing! It cleans really well and protects the clear coat from scratching as you wash the car down. Use white terrycloth towels to avoid using a dirty towel: you can see instantly if the white is getting brown or gray, and flip to a clean surface (you have eight surfaces per towel to work with). That way the water and towel that you apply to a section of your car is always dirt free. You dry as you go.

Bottom line: do not let grime accumulate, i.e. wash often and keep your car dirt free; that is the number one rule of paint/wheel maintenance. I wash mine every time it gets rained on. Sometimes that means several days in a row; and occasionally I've washed my car twice in a single day. This method doesn't take long. I call it "the half hour car wash". If you get OC about the details, it can take longer, of course; but never even a whole hour (unless you simply slow down to enjoy yourself, of course ).

In the event that the grime from a single crappy (stormy) day is so heavy that you'd have to ONR wash twice to get clean, I would take it to a hand wand wash place and spray out the wheels and wheel wells and spray off the major muck; then drive home and finish with ONR.

I do not take my car through car wash tunnels of any description anymore: my wheels end up getting rashed in there. I was, until recently, using car wash tunnels only to get road salt off the undercarriage. But now I've decided to invest in a hand wash place that gets the car in the air to wash out the undercarriage. It'll cost seventy-five bucks each time. But two or three times per winter should do the job. Rust preventative is redundant, as Kia makes their cars to be rust resistant: and they tell you in the owner's manual to wash out the underside at least once a month. If I got really, totally slimed by heavy road salt, I'd not wait a full month to get it off.

 

[Luc343]

Whatever you decide, don't have it done by the dealer as their markups are 2 to 3 times the price of anyone else.

 

[Nicotinebar]

Agreed, shop around dealerships overcharge for these services.
What part of the GTA are you in?
Keep it clean, (no touch car washes if you can't hand wash) and don't skimp on maintenance are the absolute basics.

We are in Burlington. This is my first car ever. Could you share tips on how many car washes I have to do during winters and other seasons? what maintenance is required? what does no-touch car wash mean?

 

[Nicotinebar]

If you plan on driving it a lot like I did, get front end PPF ASAP. I got my Stinger in Late January and after driving 30,000km across Ontario, I have dozens of rock chips on the front end. I don’t tail gate or follow too closely on the highway but still get hit by some rocks, especially since there is more construction on the 401.

Personally, I would do
- Window tints
- PPF (front end atleast)
- Ceramic coating
- Rust Proofing
- Oil Catch Can (if you plan on keeping it long term)

Thanks for this list. PHL Mike suggested to do rust proofing by yourself. Will definitely get these done. Where can I get PPF done in GTA?

 

[Nicotinebar]

Howdy, and welcome to the forum.

Products are a money making proposition. So, in my humble opinion, go simple and then add on products as you notice a need.

I started by just washing my car by hand using hot, soft water and terry cloth towels. Then I added in dedicated drying microfiber towels; huge improvement and time saver. Then I tried Optimum No Rinse (ONR) with a gallon of distilled water. Amazing! It cleans really well and protects the clear coat from scratching as you wash the car down. Use white terrycloth towels to avoid using a dirty towel: you can see instantly if the white is getting brown or gray, and flip to a clean surface (you have eight surfaces per towel to work with). That way the water and towel that you apply to a section of your car is always dirt free. You dry as you go.

Bottom line: do not let grime accumulate, i.e. wash often and keep your car dirt free; that is the number one rule of paint/wheel maintenance. I wash mine every time it gets rained on. Sometimes that means several days in a row; and occasionally I've washed my car twice in a single day. This method doesn't take long. I call it "the half hour car wash". If you get OC about the details, it can take longer, of course; but never even a whole hour (unless you simply slow down to enjoy yourself, of course ).

In the event that the grime from a single crappy (stormy) day is so heavy that you'd have to ONR wash twice to get clean, I would take it to a hand wand wash place and spray out the wheels and wheel wells and spray off the major muck; then drive home and finish with ONR.

I do not take my car through car wash tunnels of any description anymore: my wheels end up getting rashed in there. I was, until recently, using car wash tunnels only to get road salt off the undercarriage. But now I've decided to invest in a hand wash place that gets the car in the air to wash out the undercarriage. It'll cost seventy-five bucks each time. But two or three times per winter should do the job. Rust preventative is redundant, as Kia makes their cars to be rust resistant: and they tell you in the owner's manual to wash out the underside at least once a month. If I got really, totally slimed by heavy road salt, I'd not wait a full month to get it off.

Thanks for this. Will definitely follow these and keep it in mind.

 

[RedCal]

We are in Burlington. This is my first car ever. Could you share tips on how many car washes I have to do during winters and other seasons? what maintenance is required? what does no-touch car wash mean?

In the winter I wash my cars if there is going to be 3-4 days of clear weather after some snow or messy conditions to get the salt and grime off. Check out the Shell or Esso car washes they both have no touch washes (no brushes or cloths that touch the car) they are they only option when it's negative 10 degrees out lol otherwise hand wash in the warmer months. Shell does car wash passes makes it much cheaper without have to fill up to save.
Outside of following the owners manual, it's all the little things, keep the tires properly inflated, check your fluids and if anything needs fixing to it right away.... and don't buy random no name fuel

 

[Smeeps]

Petro Canada has wash passes deals every now and then. I bought 10 supreme car washes for 55$ which are traditionally 13$ each wash. I tend to use that when it gets cold and because i dont have a water outlet at my rental place.

I think getting the front end 3M PPF is going to be a good idea if you plan to drive a lot. Every other add on is on your preference but not necessary.