Regrets not getting PPF?

[honeybadger]

How much are you guys paying to PPF the entire car?

I was quoted about $4.5k for it to be done with Xpel (wrapping the edges).

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[Steve68]

Car should look like this after a few months.

 

[shelbyman]

Car should look like this after a few months.

:lol: Well I have about 5600 miles on mine that included 3 track events and 2 wine tours that lasted 4 days. I had the front and partial hood and some fender area clear bra-ed when I got it and the only dings I have so far is a rock chip in the front windshield...luckily a bit out of direct eye sight...and a very small rock chip on the drivers quarter window. So the clear bra is doing a pretty good job so far. I think it cost about $750 give or take.

 

[thackl]

I immediately had entire front and roof done (gloss black on the roof) along with tint. Piece of mind for $1500 (that was everything and tax). I will likely have the rear quarters done as well after reading this post..

 

[Sammy]

I regret not doing it sooner.

I agree. The paint is so soft on these cars you will see large chips very soon if driving on the freeway. I got my first in 200 miles.

 

[Muligan]

I usually don't go for PPF, but did on this car. I found a local guy who does it remote, so he came to my place to do it - only requirement is that it had to be at least 70 degrees (no problem with the heat in my shop). He did the front part of the hood, the full front fascia, leading portion of the fenders, the rolled fender lip behind the front tires, mirrors, door edges, scuff plate area of door jambs, and the flared area on the rear quarters. Total cost was $795.

Given that my car is black and will see a fair amount of track days, I wanted to keep it looking reasonably nice - although I'm sure I'll still have a few chips and dings in the unprotected area, this should cut down on most of the damage.

 

[btown93]

I did the front bumper and mirrors, front part of the hood and front part of fenders. It really is preference. the only part that I am still a bit on the fence on is how I had only part of the hood done. To me the bumper is 100% a no brainer. Its the whole front of the car, Its low so you will never see it. the edge of the film virtually lines up with the edge of the bumper. Plus, its not really "permanent" on the bumper cover, because in theory you could replace the cover if you had to. Part of me wishes I did either the whole hood or none of it....but I did get hit by a rock in the front part of the hood and the film did its job.

 

[Tank]

I usually don't go for PPF, but did on this car. I found a local guy who does it remote, so he came to my place to do it - only requirement is that it had to be at least 70 degrees (no problem with the heat in my shop). He did the front part of the hood, the full front fascia, leading portion of the fenders, the rolled fender lip behind the front tires, mirrors, door edges, scuff plate area of door jambs, and the flared area on the rear quarters. Total cost was $795.

A house call and all that for $795 :eyebulge: Deal of the century :lol:
Will your guy go to Northern New England?

 

[BoomBoy]

I only regret not getting it sooner. I have a small ding on the hood. I have the full hood, front bumper, fenders, rock panels, mirrors, headlights, A-pillars, and partial roof covered with XPEL. I paid $2500 to get mine done.

 

[jamesb1986]

Couldn't agree with this statement more.

I have almost 2,500 miles on mine (no track days) and I drive it almost every day, even if only on short trips. To me the $4-5k up front after just spending over $60k out the door was just too much at the time (unless I knew for sure I was going to sell it soon in which case I may well of bitten the bullet).

I always figured that every so often I would get a full detail done by a pro that would deal with most of the little scratches and dings and then after a few years I could always respray if I still had major issues and really wasn't happy. It was a certain $4-5k outlay upfront versus an uncertain outlay of roughly the same amount (maybe a tiny bit more) but over a longer period of time.

I knew that for me this is a dream car and I want to drive it, I taught myself to accept that the fun of driving it as and when I feel like, and worrying less about things, ultimately meant that I enjoyed the whole experience more overall. Not discounting that if something does happen it will still sting at the time. I also admit its a very personal thing - each to their own!

I get asked this a lot since I don't have mine wrapped. Now that I have 10k miles on it with a coastal road trip and multiple track days, I feel pretty comfortable sharing my thoughts on the subject.

I'd say it truly depends. If you ever plan to sell the car - get PPF. Really no question. Well, unless, maybe, it's a sunny day weekend car that barely gets driven.

I personally decided against it because I knew with my intended heavy use, my paint would get trashed without a full car wrap. They happen everywhere. The backside of the roof, the spoiler, the trunk, the doors, etc... to me, that wasnt worth $4-5k for temp protection on a car that would cost roughly the same to repaint. Once I'm done driving the car across the country on road trips and terrorizing all the tracks I can manage, I'll get it repainted with a harder clear coat and no orange peel. Then she can be a beautiful show car

Until then, I like to think of them as battle scars.

 

[aham23]

PPF cost for the front clip can range from 1500 to 2500. also depends on what paint correction (detailing) is needed. You dont want to put PPF over a swirled car.

 

[firestarter2]

One of the biggest factors will be the color of your car. My Mercedes was black as is my R, and although I had the front of the car wrapped on the AMG, the rest of the paint still got demolished from road debris, sand, salt etc. And I was meticulous with detailing it, waxing, etc.

I decided to have my entire R coated with XPEL, and it was one of the best decisions I ever could have made. Absolutely 0 stress now in regards to washing the car, I never have to worry about being so anal cleaning it/maintaining it, and I can rest easy knowing small dings/scratches will never happen.

If you can afford the relatively large investment up front, it pays huge dividends psychologically and physically

I would of done the entire car in hindsight. Though arguably I couldnt afford it.

 

[derand]

Get at least the mirrors forward we do it for 1400.00 Canadian dollars.

 

[Cfirekirch]

I am still on the fence with getting it done. It is quite a sizable investment up front, and I've had several reputable shops tell me to plan on replacing it in 5 years, maybe a few more depending on use and care, but it's certainly not a permanent solution. I know Xpel has a 10 year warranty, but that doesn't mean its going to look good in 10 years. So is 2k or more worth only a few years of protection and then pay again to have it redone? Or do you just deal with chips and dings as they come? I don't know. I need to get an idea on how its going to look over my ott stripes, and if removing it will damage them. Then I'll decide if I'm going to do the full front clip or just rear impact areas. Appreciate your guys' insights.

 

[GTP]

I think if you keep your car 5 or more years, you may as well put film on it. Same if you expect to pick up a lot of chips. Or track you car. Or have a black car.

I put on the usual amount of coverage 1 week after getting my car. (Installer was pissed that I drove it 150 miles on the freeway before bringing it to him - lol.)

Front bumper
lights
partial hood and fenders
A-pillars
mirrors
partial roof
door handle cups​

I have been back a few times. My biggest problem was protecting the delicate stripes, since trying to clean off springtime Artillery Fungus caused me to scratch them during cleaning. I had to replace about half the stripes, and more than once. I decided to film over all panels with the stripes.

So here is what I run currently:

Front bumper
lights
FULL hood
partial fenders
A-pillars
mirrors
door handle cups
FULL roof
FULL trunk
Rear bumper - center portion
gas cap door
​

Basically my approach is to cover all the top of the car, the forward-facing panels, the center of the rear bumper, and the often-touched parts. I have had no issues with chips on the sides. (I run ZL1 rock guards and 9.5" wheels all around.)

In conclusion, it depends on a) how much you value having your car look nice most of the time, b) whether you enjoy (or hate) the maintenance, and c) the color of your car.

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