Already a nasty stone chip. Ugh.

[M109Rider]

Passing dump truck gave me this present.

I’ve had more dings in this car over the last 6.5 months than my BMW over 8 years. Typical. ....

 

[reheat]

Sorry to hear, is that on the hood? Have you considered PPF, it could have possibly prevented that paint damage.

 

[Johnstac]

I’ve had to replace my windshield once already. I almost wish I could put film on the windshield. I noticed though that after I had tint installed on the windshield, looking out, I see areas that look a little blurry now. How much worse would film make it? Even the new window has chips already.

 

[Drewbaloop]

Those are insane rock chips.. you sure those came from a dump truck and not some tiny meteors coming in at Mach 5? Geez, makes me want to consider getting ppf for the hood...

And you’re right, BMW’s have some pretty hard paint. I used to do professional paint correction and getting swirls out of bmw paint always took a lot more effort. You should touch up the paint with one of those paint touch up kits, they work pretty well. Something like this: Kit Select - Car Touch Up Paint & Repair Kit - Chipex USA

 

[Premier Mobile]

Recommend getting this touched up and finding a quality paint protection film installer to prevent further damage.

 

[M109Rider]

Sorry to hear, is that on the hood? Have you considered PPF, it could have possibly prevented that paint damage.

That is the hood
I would love to have had PPF. Hummed and hawed over it. Made the wrong call I guess. Not sure if PPF would have prevented the denting, but potentially the chipping.

Those are insane rock chips.. you sure those came from a dump truck and not some tiny meteors coming in at Mach 5? Geez, makes me want to consider getting ppf for the hood...

The truck went over a rail road track, and dumped rocks out. They hit the front hood pretty hard and fast. Then hit the windshield. No cracks on the glass, so I guess the hood reduced the impact.

And you’re right, BMW’s have some pretty hard paint. I used to do professional paint correction and getting swirls out of bmw paint always took a lot more effort. You should touch up the paint with one of those paint touch up kits, they work pretty well. Something like this: Kit Select - Car Touch Up Paint & Repair Kit - Chipex USA

I’m not a paint guy, but I did get chips in the bmw, but overall, I just got lucky, that no major impacts like this, and no significant dings from car doors.
Just bad luck so far with my Tesla.

 

[ATC@LWSK]

@Johnstac I love the color of the rims in your profile picture. Which color is that? Thanks

 

[Johnstac]

@Johnstac I love the color of the rims in your profile picture. Which color is that? Thanks

There is a story with that. First I had them powder coated white. Ikr. Well, hated that. Then I was thinking about black but decided against true black. I found a guy who has a lot of experience painting wheels and he showed me a bunch of samples. Low and behold he showed me a swatch that had a, "Tesla gray". I asked him and he said it was the color they use on the wheels for the Model S. I loved it. Here is a thread on the experience along with some pics: Not aftermarket but.......

 

[remlemasi]

I have one chip on the front bumper than went thorough my PPF. Black plastic is showing through the white paint

Other than that, no other blemishes!

 

[M109Rider]

I have one chip on the front bumper than went thorough my PPF. Black plastic is showing through the white paint

Other than that, no other blemishes!

YA, it sucks, but is bound to happen.
I think my chip and dent would be harder to take, if I had PPF.

I was quoted around $1,000 - $1,300 Canadian to repair.
About $2,000 to replace the hood with new.
They said a new hood comes unpainted, so they have to paint it anyway.
Doesn’t make much sense in replacing with new for a little filler on aluminum.

I could go through insurance, and pay the $500 deductible, but then I now have a claim under my belt for the sake of $700 more out of pocket.

I’ll likely wait for a few more chips, and get it done.

 

[felixculpas]

I did PPF with the savings from going with black. I usually get black but this time was thinking white till the price went up.

Glad I got the PPF. If you commute a fair distance and want to preserve your paint, it's the way to go.

My old vehicle's windshield is very sparkly in direct sunlight from 7 years of commuting. Side mirrors and front are also nicely pitted. Noticed a paint chip after my first car wash (self serve) less than a foot from where the PPF ended.

Not my vehicle but only 36k miles on it:

Now that's soft paint.

 

[ATC@LWSK]

@Johnstac Thanks.

I had my silver 19in slipstreams on my MS painted Tesla Sonic Carbon (as they call it), which I painted for about US$300.

 

[Silicon Desert]

That is a real bummer. I'm surprised by the damage it got. This is not a criticism, but an honest question. How close do you drive behind other vehicles? Sometimes that is the reason for damage. Of interest is that my wife drives mostly local, has on 12,000 miles on her car and lots of pits and chips on the front of her car. She drives so close to vehicles at any speed that it scares me to death. By contrast, I am toooo conservative and drive well behind other cars. I have 30,000 miles on the MX without a single dent or chip. About half that mileage is driving coast to coast. Thus, I wonder how much of the damage that people get on cars is due to spacing at higher speeds. And yup, maybe PPF would have helped that somewhat.

 

[M109Rider]

That is a real bummer. I'm surprised by the damage it got. This is not a criticism, but an honest question. How close do you drive behind other vehicles? Sometimes that is the reason for damage. Of interest is that my wife drives mostly local, has on 12,000 miles on her car and lots of pits and chips on the front of her car. She drives so close to vehicles at any speed that it scares me to death. By contrast, I am toooo conservative and drive well behind other cars. I have 30,000 miles on the MX without a single dent or chip. About half that mileage is driving coast to coast. Thus, I wonder how much of the damage that people get on cars is due to spacing at higher speeds. And yup, maybe PPF would have helped that somewhat.

I’m not sure if you were replying to the poor mini van pic or my chip.
In any case, my chip was caused by a passing dump truck approaching from the other direction.
I avoid following any vehicle that could drop stones.
I’m glad I have a white Tesla, the chip is hard to see.

 

[remlemasi]

I’m not sure if you were replying to the poor mini van pic or my chip.
In any case, my chip was caused by a passing dump truck approaching from the other direction.
I avoid following any vehicle that could drop stones.
I’m glad I have a white Tesla, the chip is hard to see.

Except when it’s on a plastic bumper like mine is; then it sticks out like a sore thumb

 

[TyH2009]

I was on the fence before, but this post put me over the edge to do PPF, have an appointment for tomorrow, doing the forward facing surfaces at the minimum, we'll see what I end up all doing.

 

[Nocturnal]

Model 3 is a rock magnet. It must be due to aerodynamics. No wall of air pushing stuff out of the way. I can't recommend front PPF enough for our cars.

I've been driving for over 20 years and never had a cracked windshield. Just a few months in I caught a rock and it chipped my windshield. I take extra care to not get stuck behind a-hole trucks dumping gravel also.