Anyone had a car ceramic coated by a reputable shop
Thoughts?

Myself, I think it's another snake oil product like slick 50. I've always thought if the product is that good why don't the major Mfr's use it? imagine the savings in warranty claims. Now we even have spray and wipe ceramic products. Next the car washes will be offering it

I did the spray and wipe type thing using Mothers? stuff last spring. Did every car I own(4) Washed, clay bar and ceramic. The stuff worked fantastic!Goes on and comes off very easy. Water still beads like mad on the finish after a WI winter beating. Will do round 2 this year. I can only imagine the pro stuff is better. My buddy had his Jag done new 4 years ago...water comes off it in sheets...never spots,etc. YMMV

Stuff works great. Can protect against scratches and no more waxing. Car rinses clean and keeps a wet look. I have 30 years in car appraisal/auto body business. I was very skeptical but it has been around now for years and is good stuff.

It most definitely isn’t slick 50. You should get out more..lol

Apparently so, but I ask again why wouldn't the major manufacturers be using in on new vehicles to prevent warranty claims on paint problems?
Any studies other than by the sellers of the product to prove it's claims? not trying to be an a-s but with an engineering background I like testing and results?

Also any particular product seem better ?

I had my old 65 Coronet done. They done the full paint correction pollish and used Ceramic Pro brand coating applied. It was amazing. I am not sure of long term but I kept the car about a year afterwards and it still looked like it did when i had it done. They have a 1 year warranty, which is 1 coat, a 5 year warranty that is 3 coats and a lifetime warranty that is 5 coats. Must be inspected once a year by any Ceramic Pro installer for warranty. I will do it again when i repaint my Satellite in a year or 2.

Back in 2017 I had my Hemi GTX convertible done in ceramic at a detail shop. First I had a guy touch up a few paint chips, then the detail shop clay barred the car and applied a ceramic coating. The whole process really woke up the paint. I have no way of knowing whether the clay bar, or the ceramic coating, or a combination was key in bringing out the results. But I think it looks pretty good for 50-year-old paint. As far as longevity, It still looks just as good 5 years later. But that doesn't necessarily mean much, because the car is kept indoors under a cover when I'm not driving it so it doesn't get much long-term exposure to the elements.

Ok I will bite. Problem with OEM paint over the years has been delamination. Wax, ceramic, nor any other coating is not going to help with that problem.

The problems have been largely fixed now for a long time at any rate, and there are very few paint warranty issues now.

The "good" ceramic coating applied by dealers is legit. I thought it would be snake oil when it first came out, but it works well. No more waxing and the car will stay cleaner longer in between washes. Has a wet look to it all the time. It also provides more protection against small scratches than wax.

I know a guy through my work connections that does this as a full time business and have personally seen dozens of cars with the process done. Guys that work in the shops have it done to their own higher end personal rides and love the results.

Sorry I don't have any insight into any particular brand being better than the rest.

Just my two cents.

I wasn't sure but got the ceramic coating at cost (well, 1/2 of what they quoted at first anyway) done before delivery on my Hellcat. The hydrophobic qualities are pretty impressive. It's white, so a simple hose off doesn't actually clean it completely, but if I had gotten a medium or dark color it probably would. I can literally just hose it off with water after being a filthy pig with road grime on it and the stuff comes right off such that I can then use a waterless cleaner for the trouble spots.

I haven't tried the DIY stuff but if I don't have to wax this thing for the 5-7yrs I'm not supposed to have to, and rinse off works like this for that long, it will have been worth the $

FWIW I noticed Toyota offers ceramic coating on factory ordered cars, and when I got my car washed on Tuesday the place had a “ceramic” option

The guy who runs the detail shop we use( who is the one who would be doing mine) told me he would do it for 400 bucks. That is exactly 1/2 what they normally charge.
Pretty hard to pass that up.
My Dart is A4 silver, he says it will really pop.