Car wash and detailing

[DITB]

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The potential cost reduction opportunity I see is if we can batch up cars to get treated at the same time. This spreads his fixed costs for flying in the Japanese application expert among more cars plus the efficiencies from doing the same model car multiple times. Probably too late for the Sigs, but for the next batch of Tesla deliveries in August (please please please no more delays) if we can book a number of slots by mid June, we can discuss with Keith about a discount.

This seems like the best alternative to me at this time. I am open to participating in a group activity to get non yellowing protection and better pricing here or elsewhere.

Great report, EBill!

I am quite interested. I suggest you start a separate "xpel ultimate" thread where we can sign up. One issue about booking together is how far in advance we know the delivery date, and how closely the deliveries will be grouped together.

It would be interesting to ask Tesla Motors if the xpel treatment could be incorporated into the delivery process. The car will most likely be idling for days or even weeks, before we can get it. These days could be better spent by sending it off to the EDP shop for xpel treatment, so when we get the actual, official delivery, we don't have to drive it to EDP right away. That's like getting married then send your spouse away for a few weeks right after the I do's ... also, with these cars most likely arriving in batches, EDP could work directly with Tesla to come and "borrow" each car as Tesla don't work on them, and when it suits EDP.

If I go through with this I would be looking at a whole body job.

How does xpel work in case of dents and bruises, can you fix one panel or section separately with a good result?

Can they do any colour, or only transparent?

 

[Alipapa]

Too bad there isn't room in HK for eveyone to detail their own car.

There is a staff Call Denny (I forgot...) from Tesla HK is very experienced in Car detailing, and I had a very nice chat with him on this topic when he came over to test the charger last week.

I told him he should stat a little workshop in the new Tesla service center to teach or share his experience with us during the weekends.

 

[EBill]

There are a few different versions of xpel. Ultimate is the most expensive one and the hardest to install. Lots of good coverage on this topic elsewhere in the forum and on the web. I bring this up to avoid confusion among the different products.

You can fix panel by panel. So if you get a dent or a bruise that rips the surface of the wrap, you just replace that panel. My understanding is the xpel ultimate comes in clear only put I could be wrong. Avery, 3M and others come in lots of colors but offer different levels of protection.

I think that there might be a liability question on the car if any applicator took the car before delivery and title passes to the owner. This would become a dealer installed item versus an owner installed item. I like your analogy above, but then again, having to wait another week after almost two years isn't that bad. What's another week when we are still trying to determine the month?

I suspect your car and mine will arrive on the same boat. As well as the others in the first non-sig batch. So as soon as we get a date range we can get an estimate of how many cars overall and interest level to get a quote. By that time the sig that is getting wrapped should be done and they can give us a better cost estimate.

I like Alipapa's idea about getting Denny involved.

 

[sonywong]

Apologies for the lengthy note: I've been researching this for awhile and wanted to share what I learned so far.

In addition to the outside parking problems with bird droppings and airborne industrial grit, many of the internal garages have ceilings with peeling paint. Particularly during the humid spring months. It hasn't been unusual to see my car with large pieces of dried ceiling paint on the hood or roof. Lots of paint correction required afterwards. In one case I got the building management to actually repaint the roof of a previous car.

I plan to get my car either partially or completely wrapped. The xpel ultimate looks like the right product after reading the many reviews in this forum. On youtube there is a video for xpel ultimate and the self healing properties. I reached out to xpel corporate and they recommended EDP HK in Wan Chai for xpel ultimate (versus the other xpel products). I went to inspect their facilities and workmanship last week.

My observations and what I learned from Keith at EDP
- Quite a number of high end and limited edition cars in their spotless workshop.
- Pretty much flawless application of the xpel ultimate film
- They do paint correction before they apply the wrap
- They rarely do a complete wrap on cars, just the frontal areas that could get hit by rocks
- The areas that aren't wrapped they apply a coating to protect the paint. I did not get the name of the coating. Of course they can wrap the entire car if asked.
- One of the Sigs in the first batch is already scheduled for xpel ultimate in July
- White cars are apparently the hardest to wrap because they show all the dust underneath. Of course my car is white!
- He showed me some 1 year old 3M film they removed from a white Porsche. It had turned yellow and they removed the 3M film and replaced it with the xpel ultimate.
- The Xpel ultimate has a 10 year warranty which also covers yellowing. In reviewing the xpel threads elsewhere and in some PMs it seems that even after a year plus in hot and humid coastal clients in the US yellowing is not a problem with xpel ultimate so far. This seemed to be a reasonable approximation of conditions we face here in HK.
- EDP also does interior treatments
- This company was started by enthusiasts to do their own cars and recently has expanded to do business with the public.
- There is a six week lead time to make an appointment. As SonyWong mentioned, they bring in a guy from Japan to apply the xpel ultimate. I am assuming this is the same company as SonyWong mentioned. Reportedly the xpel ultimate product is harder to apply then other films and he has the experience to do this.
- They effectively charge by the hour. So bringing in a car direct from delivery is generally better than waiting awhile. Keith mentioned that they often pick up the cars direct from the dealer and drive them before the owners drive them. Many new cars require paint correction direct from the factory. This is mentioned elsewhere on the forum that Tesla is no different than many other new cars requiring this treatment.
- They provide estimates for the project which is based on the numbers of hours they think it will take. Every car is different and with different expectations from each owner, there isn't one fixed price. I was quoted between HK$25k-$40k depending on what I want done. Reviewing the US pricing, this seems a little more expensive, probably because they are flying in specialized help.

The potential cost reduction opportunity I see is if we can batch up cars to get treated at the same time. This spreads his fixed costs for flying in the Japanese application expert among more cars plus the efficiencies from doing the same model car multiple times. Probably too late for the Sigs, but for the next batch of Tesla deliveries in August (please please please no more delays) if we can book a number of slots by mid June, we can discuss with Keith about a discount.

This seems like the best alternative to me at this time. I am open to participating in a group activity to get non yellowing protection and better pricing here or elsewhere.

- - - Updated - - -

Does anyone have a recommendation for an auto body shop in Kowloon or NT?

A delivery truck recently exchanged paint when it kissed my Lexus. No dents but I need two panels repainted before I sell my car to make room for the incoming Tesla.

Yes, I got the Hk$80k quote for whole car wrap from EDP. I didn't go to their shop, just got the quotation from one of the founders of EDP. I will probably go for Impressive Wrap for whole car wrap with Suntek films ($40k), comes with 5 year warranty covers yellowing. You said EDP quoted you 25-40k, so 40k is for whole car?

 

[DITB]

Yes, I got the Hk$80k quote for whole car wrap from EDP. I didn't go to their shop, just got the quotation from one of the founders of EDP. I will probably go for Impressive Wrap for whole car wrap with Suntek films ($40k), comes with 5 year warranty covers yellowing. You said EDP quoted you 25-40k, so 40k is for whole car?

25-40K, I'm in, 80K, no way.

 

[sonywong]

if 40k is for whole car wrap with paint preparation, very good deal.

 

[Lerxt]

Count me in for the xpel ultimate, September is my expected delivery date.

 

[EBill]

Let me validate if the price quoted is for the whole car. I share the sentiment above that at $40k I'm in, $80k I find alternatives. The suntek alternative may be better. I don't expect to have the wrap on for more than five years before having to replace it or at least parts of it. This makes the ten year warranty less valuable. My concern is yellowing and a good installation.

Is there any experience with the quality of Impressive Wrap's work?