imported_weekendwarrior
New member
What happens if an installer boogers up an install today, the warranty is 5 yrs, and they go out of business in 2 yrs? Who pays to fix it?
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weekendwarrior said:I still dont see where anything will change. A detailer can slip in Gloss Coat, claiming it is OCP, just like they were doing with 2.0.
weekendwarrior said:I still dont see where anything will change. A detailer can slip in Gloss Coat, claiming it is OCP, just like they were doing with 2.0.
Thomas Dekany said:You are so pleasant Andy!
Anthony Orosco said:Sure.....BUT what about the warranty? They have no Optimum identification as them being a certified installer. Now in order for someone to be lied to they themselves have to be ignorant in that they would not research a product....any product, they are purchasing.
Lastly, how is it Optimum's fault, or Nike, or Mongoose bikes, or Magpul's fault if someone seeks to dupe customers with half-truths and counterfeit products? Companies can only set guidlines and attempt to control the posers. The rest is up to the consumer themselves.
Anthony
Anthony Orosco said:Rasky, changes are coming. These concerns are and will be addressed.
Envious Eric said:Too many variables to really offer a warranty...which is why I have never told a customer "it comes with a lifetime warranty"
"Its going to protect well, look amazing, and be more scratch resistant than any wax on the market....simple as that. No false assumptions that it will last a lifetime, or that it wont ever scratch, or that water spotting wont be an issue. (some coatings are simply better at different things)"
gpshumway said:My father in-law was pleased with the results of the Opti-Coat I applied to his daughter's mini-van, and asked me if I would do his cars, which I was happy to do. So, I head to optimumcarcare.com to replenish my stock of OC2 and find a new product, Gloss-Coat in its place. The description sounds very similar to OC2, but just to be sure I come here to check it out and find this thread. I have to say I'm very disappointed in OPT for their decision to stop offering OC2 to the public. Unless there is some mea-culpa from OPT, my recent purchase of power-clean will be the last product I buy from OPT.
I'm making this post in the hopes that OPT will reconsider. I doubt they will, but I'm putting in the effort any way.
IMO, this decision takes OC2 away from the market which it provides the best value - the non-enthusiast daily-driver market. I've used OC2 on three vehicles, my parent's cars and my sister-in-law's mini-van. None of them would spend $800 to have a pro perform the same service. Their lack of interest and time for car care means they don't do a proper semi-annual paint protection and they often use automatic car washes. My parents live on a dirt road for Pete's sake, any deep-gloss shine their car may have is ruined 30 seconds into the first time they drive it. To all of them the immediate value is that the car is easier to keep clean, OC2's lack of slickness is no issue and the "look" is immaterial, they're not bothered by minor spider webbing or auto-wash induced marring, but it's nice that the coating is more resistant than the typical asian-car paint. They like that the fact that OC2 should prevent clear-coat failure 8 years hence, but most of them have never seen the problem even on cars they've neglected in the past, so its just not an issue for them.
On the other end of the spectrum you have people like Dan. They're perfectionists and are going to detial their cars at least once a year, coating or not. While OC2 is more resistant to marring than some factory paint, it's not impervious, so the perfectionist is going to polish it any way, and reduce the life in the process. To them the benefits of a coating over a traditional LSP are quite minimal. So all we have left are car-guys (and gals) with lots of money but little time who are willing to pay pro detailers to keep their cars in excellent but not show-car shape. That seems a very small market, possibly the most profitable market, possibly not, OPT is about to find out. There are lots of companies who's products I like, but who's business practices prevent me from buying the product, OPT has just been added to the list. The fact that they have a superior product on the shelf which they refuse to sell me in order to control the market and protect other customers tells me everything I need to know.
Before any pro-detailers try to say their services are a "good value", that point can be debated, but it ultimately only matters what the owner believes is a good value at the time of purchase. As pros have stated in this thread $800 is a tough sell to many people who regularly employ their services, people like my SIL and parents who don't employ pro services at all are never going to see the value in it, the sticker shock is just too great.
I understand the dilemma for pro detailers, ultimately coatings are not great for their business as they reduce repeat business. An LSP that needs to be re-applied every six months has an inherent repeat business advantage. They have to charge more for the coating for it to be viable business. I also understand why most pros insist on paint correction before applying the coating. They want every car that leaves the shop with their name attached to be "perfect" as their reputation is on the line. But to people like my SIL, "perfect" has little value, they don't even notice the small flaws, let alone are bothered by them. The difference between a full correction and a simple paint cleaning likely doubles the cost of applying the coating. Most of what they're paying for is labor, not materials, and that labor is only valuble to a select few perfectionist enthusiasts.
I hope OPT reconsiders. I found OC2 to be no harder to apply than KSG, the consequences of poor application may be greater, but the difficulty is not. It's a great product for the car guy in the family (me) to apply to their relatives cars to help them maintain appearance and value over the long term. OPT's proffesional customers aren't loosing any business, the market segments are completely distinct, no overlap. There are other ways to discipline hack professionals besides removing the product from the market. Look at PPF, there is a well-functioning pro-installer market (though still with plenty of hacks), but the products are still available to DIY-ers. I'd even be willing to pay a bit more for the product with the understanding that pros get a big volume discount, but removing it from the DIY market entirely is very short sighted.
Just MHO.
gpshumway said:My father in-law was pleased with the results of the Opti-Coat I applied to his daughter's mini-van, and asked me if I would do his cars, which I was happy to do. So, I head to optimumcarcare.com to replenish my stock of OC2 and find a new product, Gloss-Coat in its place. The description sounds very similar to OC2, but just to be sure I come here to check it out and find this thread. I have to say I'm very disappointed in OPT for their decision to stop offering OC2 to the public. Unless there is some mea-culpa from OPT, my recent purchase of power-clean will be the last product I buy from OPT.
I'm making this post in the hopes that OPT will reconsider. I doubt they will, but I'm putting in the effort any way.
IMO, this decision takes OC2 away from the market which it provides the best value - the non-enthusiast daily-driver market. I've used OC2 on three vehicles, my parent's cars and my sister-in-law's mini-van. None of them would spend $800 to have a pro perform the same service. Their lack of interest and time for car care means they don't do a proper semi-annual paint protection and they often use automatic car washes. My parents live on a dirt road for Pete's sake, any deep-gloss shine their car may have is ruined 30 seconds into the first time they drive it. To all of them the immediate value is that the car is easier to keep clean, OC2's lack of slickness is no issue and the "look" is immaterial, they're not bothered by minor spider webbing or auto-wash induced marring, but it's nice that the coating is more resistant than the typical asian-car paint. They like that the fact that OC2 should prevent clear-coat failure 8 years hence, but most of them have never seen the problem even on cars they've neglected in the past, so its just not an issue for them.
On the other end of the spectrum you have people like Dan. They're perfectionists and are going to detial their cars at least once a year, coating or not. While OC2 is more resistant to marring than some factory paint, it's not impervious, so the perfectionist is going to polish it any way, and reduce the life in the process. To them the benefits of a coating over a traditional LSP are quite minimal. So all we have left are car-guys (and gals) with lots of money but little time who are willing to pay pro detailers to keep their cars in excellent but not show-car shape. That seems a very small market, possibly the most profitable market, possibly not, OPT is about to find out. There are lots of companies who's products I like, but who's business practices prevent me from buying the product, OPT has just been added to the list. The fact that they have a superior product on the shelf which they refuse to sell me in order to control the market and protect other customers tells me everything I need to know.
Before any pro-detailers try to say their services are a "good value", that point can be debated, but it ultimately only matters what the owner believes is a good value at the time of purchase. As pros have stated in this thread $800 is a tough sell to many people who regularly employ their services, people like my SIL and parents who don't employ pro services at all are never going to see the value in it, the sticker shock is just too great.
I understand the dilemma for pro detailers, ultimately coatings are not great for their business as they reduce repeat business. An LSP that needs to be re-applied every six months has an inherent repeat business advantage. They have to charge more for the coating for it to be viable business. I also understand why most pros insist on paint correction before applying the coating. They want every car that leaves the shop with their name attached to be "perfect" as their reputation is on the line. But to people like my SIL, "perfect" has little value, they don't even notice the small flaws, let alone are bothered by them. The difference between a full correction and a simple paint cleaning likely doubles the cost of applying the coating. Most of what they're paying for is labor, not materials, and that labor is only valuble to a select few perfectionist enthusiasts.
I hope OPT reconsiders. I found OC2 to be no harder to apply than KSG, the consequences of poor application may be greater, but the difficulty is not. It's a great product for the car guy in the family (me) to apply to their relatives cars to help them maintain appearance and value over the long term. OPT's proffesional customers aren't loosing any business, the market segments are completely distinct, no overlap. There are other ways to discipline hack professionals besides removing the product from the market. Look at PPF, there is a well-functioning pro-installer market (though still with plenty of hacks), but the products are still available to DIY-ers. I'd even be willing to pay a bit more for the product with the understanding that pros get a big volume discount, but removing it from the DIY market entirely is very short sighted.
Just MHO.
Thomas Dekany said:Do you mean like how carpro takes you off the installer list without letting you know? Is that what you mean?