Feed the creative machine: 3M Car Care Review, Baner-Pashan Link road, Pune

Next on my list was the 3M car care treatement. Owning the car for four year has it’s own impact on the overall looks. The paint has become dull. And to add to the woes, my car was recently splattered with distemper paint all over the body. The paint marks were very small, not noticeable from a distance. Also the silver colour was hiding the paint. I didn’t fix it for last few months. I was looking at it daily but was not making up my mind to take professional help. I also wanted to do the under body rust coating which helps in preventing rust and also helps in reducing road noise (as claimed by 3M). I started reading reviews on different forums and realised that overall response to 3M Car Care is good. So decided to visit them one Saturday. I had decided to stay at the facility to watch the entire process. I was greeted by Mr Tapas (owner). He explained all the packages and it’s benefits. I gave him go ahead and job card was prepared immediately.

I choose two packages
1. Paint sealant – advanced with Powershine for exterior surface protection
2. Under body coating 5 years warranty (Body shutz).

Following steps were involved in the overall process.
1. Sanding
2. Rubbing
3. Under body wash
4. Under body coating
5. Foam wash
6. Waxing and detailing
7. Interior vacuum cleaning

Things which I liked;
1. Extremely well maintained facility
2. Separate areas for washing, cleaning, waxing, underbody treatment etc.
3. All the equipments were latest
4. Well stocked 3M products
5. Separate customer lounge

Things which I dis-liked
1. Generally a car takes minimum 6 hours for basic treatments. Being Saturday, there were many cars being worked on. Cars should not be taken after certain cut off time especially on weekend.
2. I had to pin-point few areas during cleaning which they missed. However the staff was thoroughly professional.
3. On few instances, I felt that the ground staff was not clear about the next job for a particular car. I found disconnect between the staff and the manager.
4. Magazines in the customer lounge were very old

Overall I am satisfied with the end result. Silver Arrow is looking like a new.
Cost breakup
1. 3M Paint Sealant – Advanced (With Power Shine) – Rs. 4046
2. 3M Anti Corrosion Treatment (With 5 years warranty and 10 free checkups) – Rs. 3195
Total – Rs 8135 (including 894 service tax)

The prices are bit on higher side. On a side note, if you take very good care of the car (especially washing, vacuum, waxing) then I think these treatments may not be required. Also another factor you may have to consider is, if you plan the keep your current car for next 5+ years then definitely go for 3M.

Cheers,
Mayur

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