Paint protection or detailing ?

Expecting delivery of my 2018 in a few months and I am still deciding what I want to do in terms of paint protection.

I figured I have a few options, but have been going back and forth on which one with every new information I get. Hopefully I can pick your brain to add to my information about this dilemma and maybe figure this thing out before delivery.

#1 - Ceramic coating on first sight it sounds like a no brainer, easy to wash and should last a long time. After looking passed all the marketing around these product I found out there is more to it. The fact you have to do maintenance on the coating to keep warrantee and when you have any sort of damage, scratches or rockchips you can't simply fix it and be done.

Full ceramic pro 4+1 + wheels + plastics = $1800

#2 - Clear bra or full front. The ease of mind will prolly be the biggest selling point for this option. Low risk of any damage from road debris. The only issues I see is damage that the film does not stop means reapplying the film after reapairs and the added cost that comes with that. And I am worried the film will be a hell to clean with squashed bugs and tar and such. Plus the still unprotected part of the car will require detailing.

Clear bra or full front = $1200 to 1800 + w/e detailing is required.

#3 - Just save the money for professional detailing once or twice per year and any paint correction or rock chip removal every 2-3 years. Added benefit is that twice per year the car will look brand new and keep the option to "cheaply" repair any damage or rock chips.

Price should be about $200-400 twice per year

Car will be a weekend low traffic fun car for a max of 6k miles per year, been going back and forth and I just feel option #3 seems the best pick. Flexible and good results with a low upfront cost.

Cermaic coating does almost nothing against paint chips. It's basically a more advanced wax. It is NOT a replacement for actual paint protection.

Rock chip removal is a last resort to paint correction and it will usually never be restored to its original look. It's main purpose isn't to make the car look nice, it's to protect the spot from further damage and rust.

Get it professionally detailed to get rid of the swirl marks and orange peel from the factory/dealership. Then get it clear bra'ed. Preferably the entire car, but if you are worried about cost, then just do the front bumper and the lower side panels where the wheel well is. That's the 2 places that will get the most rock chips. If you are concerned about rock chips penetrating the clear bra, then you can put 2 layers on. Then use sealant or wax. Clear bra is just as easy to clean as regular paint.

I know this route seems like a lot of money, but it's the only way to properly protect your paint. Plus it will be better and cheaper in the long run.

1800 for ceramic pro is a boat load. Even with all the prep. I had cquartz pro done on my year old car with full prep for less.

I wish i did at least the front bumper in ppf especially bc now the roads near my work are constantly under construction and the winter is tearing apart roads.

Ppf is the only thing that will protect against scratches chips and damage.

Ceramic coating is something you can easily do yourself. I'd get the full frontal done and ask them to polish the whole car while they are at it. They should be polishing the areas they are covering anyway. The polishing/paint correction is the magic in all this.
Then you apply the coating yourself. You could even just use a good sealant. I used Carpro's Hydro 2 on my Yukon XL that I use to tow Snowmobiles mostly because I am lazy and its big. The finish is holding up great after 4 months of sand and salt every weekend.

I have Xpel on my car, and it's self healing to a point. It's super easy to clean and you can even coat it as well. It's actually saved me damage from a tree limb and countless rock chips.

The paint on these cars is thin! With no PPF the nose of your car will look sand blasted after a couple years.