After Market Shop in NoVA

[the_danimal]

Don’t have my M3 yet but beginning to do the necessary research to protect the paint and make some minor cosmetic adjustments upon delivery.

Is there a shop someone recommends in Northern Virginia, preferably in Fairfax County, that has done work on your car?

More specifically I want to add a clear bra (whatever it’s called) to protect from rocks/nicks on the front/hood as well as add a center console wrap.

Thanks!

 

[boaterva]

See my sig, had my X completely wrapped, still a wonderful job ten months later. Exotic does Xpel, Suntek (which they recommended at the time because of its easier to wrap around edges), and also do Ceramic. They also do custom cuts on everything, so, no seams on the whole car except on the mirrors, which are pretty impossible to do in one piece.

 

[slade037]

I had the front bumper done on my Model 3 by American Shine Detailing in Sterling. I work in Reston if you want to take a look. They did do it in two pieces so there is a seam on the lower bumper.

 

[jfrieden]

Xtreme Auto Details in Sterling has been AWESOME... they really go above and beyond and do a bang up job!

 

[the_danimal]

Thanks all!

I wouldn’t get the whole car wrapped, just the front most likely. What’s the best balance between protection and cost? I’m already in over my head in convincing the wife to let me get the M3 LR AWD!

 

[KenF]

I am in the same boat.

I have never tinted a car before much less paid to have it wrapped and then coated in ceramic. Not sure whether to get the whole front wrapped or just the bumper.

 

[jfrieden]

If you're going to do one or the other... Definitely do Ceramic over wrapping is what my detailer told me. Wrapping is nice, but if you haven't had a problem with previous cars with chipping and such, you likely won't have it for this car. If you do, it will cost about $700 to repair which is still a fraction of the cost of wrapping the vehicle.

 

[the_danimal]

I have rock chips in my Lexus that drive me nuts. I want to get it specifically for rock chips which I know ceramic won’t protect against.

I cannot justify both to the wife.

 

[Fudd]

I have rock chips in my Lexus that drive me nuts. I want to get it specifically for rock chips which I know ceramic won’t protect against.

I cannot justify both to the wife.

I'm supposed to pick up my car on 8/21 and want to get PPF protection on the front impact areas right afterwards. Did you end up going to XTreme in Sterling or pick someone else?

 

[wbhokie]

I called all of the local shops in NOVA, Exotic being the first one since they are mentioned most often here on the forums in the area, to get quotes. Exotic was pretty competitive for the standard front-of-the-car wrap prices, but when I asked for a quote, they did not offer tinting at that time, and wanted $1k just for exterior chrome delete, which is "Tesla Ludicrous". The best quote I've received for the whole package, and with a lot of email feedback, was from "Laid not Sprayed" in Fredericksburg (PPF - higher price than average, Chrome Delete, Ceramic, Tint).... but I haven't heard anyone that has used them so I am a little hesitant. Still, I like when a company has quick and detailed communication. (Their tint and chrome delete prices are good though)

Too bad that I'm not in Cali, there are so many good shops out there with good prices.

 

[jfrieden]

FilmSource Ashburn, and ProShield, Inc. both have very competitive prices if you just want to do wrapping. Both of them are in the $1,600 range for full front wrap (including full hood, mirrors, bumper, etc.).

 

[wbhokie]

yeah Exotic quoted me $1999 for the full front wrap, and they said full car on average was like $7k.

Laid Not Sprayed had a higher number for full front $2200, but $2700 for full car vinyl wrap, $220 for tint, $85 chrome delete around window each side (didn't specify mirrors or logos so might be a little more) - I'd have to verify the tint they quoted me on though.

Detail Authority Quoted me $1150 for chrome delete, $850 for tint, $1995 for "Premium Package" wrap kit (front of car, it's on their website)

I want to do
Full Front Wrap - Or full car depending on price difference
Ceramic Coating
Chrome Delete
3m Crystaline Tint
Console Wrap (Might do this myself with a Kenriko kit)

So trying to see who would be the best for all at one place, but might be better to take it to 2 places price wise.

All I know is $1000+ for chrome delete is stupid expensive.

 

[Fudd]

I just spoke to Dave at ProShield. Nice guy, told me that their packages are available with flat pricing, online: http://proshieldinc.com/available-packages. I think they're reasonably priced, and use Suntek, 3M and another PPF I've never heard of.

On that note can someone tell me which is better... SunTek or XPel? My friend recommends Suntek over XPel (less visable), but I'm wondering how they compare when it comes to self-healing?

 

[wbhokie]

I'm going with Suntek personally.

 

[slade037]

I used American Shine in Sterling to do my front bumper $500. Not custom so there are seams and not every edge is wrapped. Also got my tints ($500) done through them as well. Suntek CIR 70 front windshield, 40 front windows, 30 rear windows and 30 in the back (one piece). The rear in one piece has some issues that I hope to have them resolve soon.

If you do get tints, make sure they use towels to catch all the water that they squeegee out. Especially on the front windshield.

 

[wbhokie]

FilmSource Ashburn, and ProShield, Inc. both have very competitive prices if you just want to do wrapping. Both of them are in the $1,600 range for full front wrap (including full hood, mirrors, bumper, etc.).

Thank you for the recommendation. Been talking with Mark at FilmSource, who seems like a really straight forward guy and knows a lot. I am really considering using him for my car. (And also said Suntek is cheap and not to use it) He also recommended telling Tesla to leave on the protective shipping film on the car and driving it straight to them as-is to do a paint analysis from the dealership. (Dealerships usually just peel it off instead of the recommended steaming to properly remove all of the adhesive removed, and then it gets buffed which many times causes swirls) They said if they are doing the work they would let you know if anything is outside of what they would do for paint correction (for PPF / Ceramic) and what to tell Tesla to fix. He also says dealerships are notoriously bad at fixing paint anyway.

When I got my model S, it was a showroom model with about 1200 miles on it and had 2 paint chips on the front. They literally just dabbed 2 blobs of touch up paint on them and said "Fixed!" I could have done it better.

 

[Ancient1]

Did you decide on who would do your car?

I just took possession of my model S. After reading this thread an others I decided to go with RJ at Raja Speed & Tech Motoring at 1 (703) 565-4508 in Aldie, VA not too far from Dulles. I dropped off the car today.

Every company/tech took their time to walk us through the process and their experience is vast. But in end RJ had the best price, years of experience, referrals/testimonies and pictures of his work that made us comfortable. After speaking with so many shops I had a lot of questions about the process, to wrap or not to wrap, which tint was better and would not turn yellow, which top coat would you apply on the satin film, do you apply opticoat on the interior back seats and the door sills and entry to prevent/minimize scuffs, etc., and he took his time to answer every question without bias and when it came to the tints, he explained the benefits and differences between Suntek, Huper Optik, Xpel and several others. In the end, my wife said he didn't try to convince to go with him but rather educate us and make sure we knew what we wanted plus his prices are very fair and competitive.

We went with the full wrap in Xpel Satin on my silver Model S. For the tint, I went with Xpel Prime XR.

I think the key for getting the wife on-board is to make sure she's involved early and often, but I still got the look and heard "no more".

The key is research and go with the company/tech you feel comfortable with. For us, RJ did everything we wanted, within reason, and within our budget. If you decide to use him, mention Mitch with the Silver Tesla.

 

[wbhokie]

I used Film Source. Sounds like you did good research as well. Those are the kind of stories I like to hear.

 

[MacGreiner]

I'm interested to hear how long it would take to do just the front bumper on a 3 at one of these shops. A couple of hours?

 

[Ancient1]

I'm interested to hear how long it would take to do just the front bumper on a 3 at one of these shops. A couple of hours?

I depends on their workload. Most of the shops I contacted had about 3-4 Tesla's being worked on. Full body wrap including prep work and curing is about 3-4 days. After wrapping, I believe the car is exposed to the heat lamps so a couple of hours for just the front bumper make about right.