# Supagard - Why the Hate?



## ClioToby (Oct 22, 2009)

Why does this product get so much hate? 

Ive never really had any experience with it as ive always (through reccomendation) avoided this stuff. Mums just picked up her new merc today and the sickos at the dealership had applied it for free. Its beading well from what I can see, theyve even supplied a case of supagard cleaning stuff too (loller). 

Also what must I do to remove it? Clay + IPA.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

Let the application run it's course and decide, if it is already on, why rush to take it off?
Some hate it cos they like to follow what rumours are around at the time, if it were that bad the company would soon be out of business, btw I have never tried that line of product, but time and experience has shown me that not every shouted about product is good, and not every slated product is bad.


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

Applied correctly it's probably ok tbh, the main bug bear is the fact the dealer may as well throw it at the car, they're slap dash to say the least.


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## PETER @ ECLIPSE (Apr 19, 2006)

just do your normal wash it will be gone soon enough , i think the hate thing is due to the dealers ripping customers off with extortionate charges for it , and half the time not even putting it on the car


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## centenary (Sep 5, 2010)

The dealer applied it to my E93 and frankly, it made the car look dull (it's sapphire black metallic).

I had it removed when the car was professionally detailed when I wasnt happy with the appearance.

I wouldnt recommend any supaguard type product based on my experience tbh.


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## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

Lets be honest, supaguard is meant to be via propper application, i.e. a full clay/machine polish/wipedown etc, which main dealers simply don't have the time to do, hence it doesn't do the job its meant to. 

if applied correctly it wouldn't get so much hate, but as it never is, it does


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## perfect1978 (Jun 11, 2011)

tbh its probably not a bad product if sold and applied correctly,ive worked at car dealerships in the past and not one used or new car gets prepped or paintwork cleansed before supagard or simular is applied,as paintwork should be free from all contaminents.


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## Flair (Dec 11, 2010)

jay_bmw said:


> dealers simply don't have the time to do, hence it doesn't do the job its meant to.
> 
> if applied correctly it wouldn't get so much hate, but as it never is, it does


That is not an excuse for them though, they charge the premium prices for it and the labour, so they should do it right. You wouldnt pay some to decorate your house and then not finish it because they didnt have time.

I hate it because I think It's way over sold, and hate the fact dealers rip people off with the bull**** it will last a life time crap.


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## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

Flair said:


> That is not an excuse for them though, they charge the premium prices for it and the labour, so they should do it right. You wouldnt pay some to decorate your house and then not finish it because they didnt have time.
> 
> I hate it because I think It's way over sold, and hate the fact dealers rip people off with the bull**** it will last a life time crap.


No its not an excuse- its just a fact. Dealers have high turnover and they dont want to pay the valeters any more than they have to.

Just a fact of todays economy i'm afraid


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## RedTim (May 10, 2011)

I've had supagard applied twice in the past and TBH it's not got even close to living up to the dealers promises. I think the earlier posts are right - the application is very poor and over unprepared paint. I will never use again.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

centenary said:


> The dealer applied it to my E93 and frankly, it made the car look dull (it's sapphire black metallic).
> 
> I had it removed when the car was professionally detailed when I wasnt happy with the appearance.
> 
> I wouldnt recommend any supaguard type product based on my experience tbh.


I don't know what an E93 is other than it is a variant of BMW, however one of the members here I did see his Black BMW and it did look smart, when I asked him what wax he used, he said it had superguard on it, the look of the car was not blingy but did have a nice waxed look to the panels.


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## Flair (Dec 11, 2010)

jay_bmw said:


> No its not an excuse- its just a fact. Dealers have high turnover and they dont want to pay the valeters any more than they have to.
> 
> Just a fact of todays economy i'm afraid


I know we used to get £2.50 to apply Diamond Brite and 10 minutes to do it. But It's wrong regardless of what ever the ecomomy is and everything, just because it hard time, doenst meen you can just take money and do naff all for it. But the rest of the world is ether uneducated about there ways, or too shy to complain, and IMO dealers need sorting out big time. If you charge for a service then they should do it properly, the way it is it's just free money. And the companies who are surposed to only let pros apply they special god products, dont do crap ether about it.
We have all seen what happends on here as soon as people get wind of pro detailers not doing a job correctly, people wouldnt accept that so they shouldnt from dealers realy. But It's like pissing in the wind complaining about dealerships.

Dont know anyone has read about the Valeters that worked for a valeting company for the car auction who was doing the whole ******** of you subcontracted etc. Anyway to cut a long story short there union has just surposedly won a legal battle at the supreme court about it and the stupid rates of pay that was not even adding up to minium wage.


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## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

you personally are not gonna change it are you? 

its just one of them things you have to accept that goes on, and just reccomend to anyone you know DONT BOTHER!


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## Flair (Dec 11, 2010)

jay_bmw said:


> you personally are not gonna change it are you?
> 
> its just one of them things you have to accept that goes on, and just reccomend to anyone you know DONT BOTHER!


No hence why I left working for ford, because the methods etc.

But It still gets to me :lol:

Here is the thing I was on about with the valeters. http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2011/07/final-victory-for-self-employe.html


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## CliveP (Feb 1, 2009)

Point above about you wouldn't pay decorators to do a sub-standard job, and that's true. The difference with Supaguard and similar products is you can't see they've done a sub-standard job, so they can 'get away with it'. Ethically I think it's bad, but I'm high on the ethics, in my book you do fair work and effort for fair reward.

However, as above, I can only recommend people not to do it - it isn't aimed at 'us' as a target market, it's aimed at the mass market which thinks it is buying convenience.....I'm sure correctly it would go some way towards that....but alas, I fear few dealers apply it as it should be. 

Regards,
Clive.


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## ClioToby (Oct 22, 2009)

jay_bmw said:


> you personally are not gonna change it are you?
> 
> its just one of them things you have to accept that goes on, and just reccomend to anyone you know DONT BOTHER!


Well yeah. I think so. Im the silly **** that needs to maintain it while I live there.


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

As said its prep as ever is important the fact the dealers charge so much for a product that is so easily gone. We got stung for it years ago.
Never again.


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## chrisc (Jun 15, 2008)

supagaurd trim ant tyre spray best stuff i have ever used never gives up.sheets off plastics like mad and dont stain.And best of all cost £1.50 a tin at rufforth market


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## Flair (Dec 11, 2010)

Not supagaurd, but the diamondbrite Interior protectant is realy good.


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## JenJen (Jun 30, 2010)

We (Robert & I) at a Porsche dealer in Aberdeen discussed this, the profit margin is massive on this product really for what it offers you. 

The dealer (who used to run his own detailing company) said they buy it in for around £30 then charge the £350+vat or whatever price it is. They have a hour to get the car ready so the prep work is never done, thus the product not being applied properly and the product will never be to the best of its abilities. Thus being said, I cant see how Supraguard should be allowed to be sold to the public as I remember one dealer who tried to sell it to me many moons ago and they claimed it gave at least 3 years protection and in reality its nothing close to that... I would make say 6 months max.


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## Hoppo32 (Nov 18, 2008)

Flair said:


> Not supagaurd, but the diamondbrite Interior protectant is realy good.


Actually, the supaguard interior stuff is decent as well, probably their best product.


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## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)

I have detailed a car with Supagard on that had been there for at least 18 months and was still going strong, the only issue is the car was white pearl and the supagard was muting the colour...essentially soaking up the sun rays and yellowing, once it was removed out came the pearl effect....so it does its job in protecting when applied correctly, but it does have the afore mentioned downfall....

I have gone down the route of Ceramic now as seen on the Bentley Continental in the Studio....


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

I still use the fabric guard kit. It does its job. I always leave the left over can for the client to reapply after hoovering there car just to ensure its still there protecting. As for the sealant. I test drove it for fun on my old van and seen 6 months before it started failing. Its not a miracle sealant like its sold as but what it is is and actual sealant that isnt bad durability wise when applied after clay / cleanse or polishing preparation. The profit margins are huge when purchased from main delaerships. Salesman gets between £25 - £50 per sale. kit costs between £35 - £75 so profits as you can see are insane and kit is sold for up to 4 times its actual cost.


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## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

I used it and as a sealant per se, it wasn't too bad.

I spent a lot of time with Lifeshine applications and again, it wasn't a disaster but it just wasn't what they tried to sell it as.

AG Lifeshine lasted 5 weeks before failing. Although the interior protector lasted just 3 weeks.


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## jimbokeenlyside (May 10, 2011)

I got Guard X application with my new car. An extra £100 I thought wasn't too bad. So far been very impressed (about 4 months now). 
I went for the warranty it offered (8 years) in protecting my paint. As my car is parked very close to trees and I get tree sap and bird droppings all the time hence I went for max protection option. Plus the interior got scotch guarded - very useful with kids. Already been tested. The kids drink just sat "on top" for very easy cleaning and again this was guaranteed for 8 years.


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## ClioToby (Oct 22, 2009)

So am I going to be able to remove this with clay?

I want to do either a Blackhole/Carbon finish or a Wolfs Body Wrap finish not sure yet.


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## Matt_Nic (Apr 15, 2011)

So is this Superguard stuff only available via dealers?

If I ever get offered it, I'm going to put the salesman on the spot and ask him how it works and how it's applied. Then own his **** with facts.


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## _normski_ (May 31, 2007)

My wife got a new black Golf GT TDi a couple of days ago and every single time we were in the dealership to get finance quotes etc. the "business manager" was trying to push Superguard at £410.

When he said,"Your car won't be worth as much when you trade it in if you don't have it" I had to bite my tongue and just tell him he was a knob and that if it was that important then it would be done as standard.

I paid cash for the car. Once upon a time that made me the best customer. Now if you don't take a dealer PCP, service package, Superguard and warranty they seem hard done by.


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## dominic84 (Jan 27, 2007)

A lot of people say that these products claim to work miracles and last for x number of years. The fact is they don't, every long term protection system comes with a method of applying on-going top ups.

The warranties for example are only valid if you follow the top-up procedure. So none of these companies are claiming that you get their system applied once and never have to do anything else.


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## Matt_Nic (Apr 15, 2011)

I would imagine the dealers dont even know what is required to do it properly, let alone have an interest in doing it.


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## Flair (Dec 11, 2010)

dominic84 said:


> A lot of people say that these products claim to work miracles and last for x number of years. The fact is they don't, every long term protection system comes with a method of applying on-going top ups.
> 
> The warranties for example are only valid if you follow the top-up procedure. So none of these companies are claiming that you get their system applied once and never have to do anything else.


In the small print yes, but walk into the dealerships or read the advertisements in the big letters you get the Life time guarantee. And at ford where I was working the sign shows that and Once treated with Diamondbrite, you'll never have to polish your car again. It's cleaverly marketed and worded, because to an average customer that wiil plant the seed I don't have to do anything. They seem to rely in the low amount of knowledge people have in car care. I could good out and reapply any product once a month and make it last a lifetime.

And this is to quote supagaurd, who do make those claims.



> The unique formula allows a one-off application that does not require top-ups or monthly conservers. Once applied, it's there to stay for at least 3 years and that's our Guarantee!


But one thing I always thought.
On a warranty claim, how do you prove it was applied right. How do you prove it you used there wash products to maintain. And to an average customer they will never know its not there or it's worn off. I suspect there warranty claims are realy low. And can say now too, that every car that has come from the ford I worked at in the god knows how many years. There Diamond Brite has never been applied by and authorised person, he has been shown, trained and approved by the company that supplies it too.


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## twissler (Apr 6, 2009)

People only agree to Supagaurd or similar because of the lifetime durability claim, which if were true would make the £400 cost very reasonable. But as we all know that claim is completely false so Supagaurd are also playing their part in duping the customers and are therefore as bad as the dealers. 

It says it all IMO that only the dealers sell this stuff, they're the only bent b*****ds willing to tell the public the complete set of lies that is the marketing claims of Supagaurd!


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## walker1967 (Sep 12, 2010)

I've got more of the stuff than you could shake a big stick at:lol: must have about 30 of the sealant sponges but i just decant them into a bottle. It's nowhere near as bad as its made to be as long as its applied correctly.


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## Flair (Dec 11, 2010)

twissler said:


> People only agree to Supagaurd or similar because of the lifetime durability claim, which if were true would make the £400 cost very reasonable. But as we all know that claim is completely false so Supagaurd are also playing their part in duping the customers and are therefore as bad as the dealers.
> 
> It says it all IMO that only the dealers sell this stuff, they're the only bent b*****ds willing to tell the public the complete set of lies that is the marketing claims of Supagaurd!


Supagaurd dont claim a lifetime, Its three years, Diamondbrite are the ones with the lifetime Guarantee. It's the dealers who are the ones to blame for the price. You can find alot of approved valters who will do the same treatment, and proberly properly and have had the correct training for alot cheaper than any dealers.


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## Flair (Dec 11, 2010)

walker1967 said:


> I've got more of the stuff than you could shake a big stick at:lol: must have about 30 of the sealant sponges but i just decant them into a bottle. It's nowhere near as bad as its made to be as long as its applied correctly.


Fancy trading some supagaurd for Diamondbrite with me and doing some DW world style testing on them both.


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## twissler (Apr 6, 2009)

Flair said:


> Supagaurd dont claim a lifetime, Its three years, Diamondbrite are the ones with the lifetime Guarantee. It's the dealers who are the ones to blame for the price. You can find alot of approved valters who will do the same treatment, and proberly properly and have had the correct training for alot cheaper than any dealers.


Three years is still a lie, and it's dealers who provide the majority of applications of this stuff. Don't tell me Supagaurd don't know what's going on. Tbh though I think most people put Diamondbrite/Supaguard in the same boat, which essentially they are one just lies a bit more than the other. I agree with you about the dealers, but these people are in bed with them.


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

When I got my 520d the BM salesman was waxing lyrical (no pun intended) about the super UV protectant that fills scracthes an christ knows what else,I'm stunned he didn't tell me it cured cancer lol. But when I mentioned I would be getting it machine polsihed an paint corrected via rotary etc he piped down instantly. What makes me laugh is I could get a full paint correction nearly for the £450 he wanted for diamond sh1te or whatever it was lol. But lots of people fall for it,an people just don't want to be as bothered as us about clean cars. At the end of the day we OCD`ers are a minority,but it does **** me off knowing they are charging a fortune for a product its claims can't hold upto.


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