Does anybody NOT wrap their cars?

[oktane]

You'd be surprised how poor Ferrari paint is from the factory, they come with all sorts of defects and swirl marks.

There are several downsides in repainting your vehicle, aside form quality issues, potential loss of value and down time of the vehicle its always best to keep OEM paint and bodywork when possible. Wrapping the full vehicle is definitely not for everybody, just know without any protection damage and chipping will occur, if you can live with that then save the money. When I purchase a new iPhone the first thing I do is buy a screen cover and a case, and there is only a few hundred dollars. I cringe at the people that have the courage to carry their new phones without any covers or cases, nothing wrong with that just not my preference! I like many of you, work very hard for my money and value the things I purchase with it, for me spending a fraction of that purchase to protect it and give me peace of mind, is more than worth it.

Wouldn't a Tesla be worth more with a high-quality aftermarket paint job? Tesla's paint is really, really bad IMO. I can understand your argument against a car that comes with good factory paint.

What results are people getting with 22ple? Anyone other than Canuck using it?

 

[essmd]

Wrapped, Xpel Stealth, and it looks AWESOME !!!

And if the next owner don't want it, they can remove it and reveal a perfect paint job

 

[rjdoc74]

I was on the fence and at times reconsider it. The big reasons for me not doing it are:

1. No added tangible value. Sure it adds mental value, but no one will pay you more because you wrapped it, assuming you plan to sell it.

2. The cost is a bit high and can be spent on better things, in my situation anyways.

3. When you get into an accident or need a piece replaced, you'll need to wrap it again. I don't think all insurances cover it or will cover it.

4. I've stopped caring to have a car looking like it was just painted/new.

5. Without it and almost at 12,000 miles, the only thing it MIGHT have helped with, was the river rock slamming into the bumper and chipping some paint. Not very noticeable anyways and everything still works

My reasons for getting the wrap:

1. I bought a significantly discounted inventory car allowing to financially justify wrap, dash cam, powdercoat wheels, etc.

2. I have a local shop I have a relationship with who gave me a fantastic price on wrap including seat backs, door sills, door handles, tint, etc.

3. Midnight silver gets very dusty/dirty (almost like black) and I don't time/desire for weekly hand car washes. Wrap significantly cuts down on visible dust IMHO.

 

[BLKMDL3]

My reasons for getting the wrap:

1. I bought a significantly discounted inventory car allowing to financially justify wrap, dash cam, powdercoat wheels, etc.

2. I have a local shop I have a relationship with who gave me a fantastic price on wrap including seat backs, door sills, door handles, tint, etc.

3. Midnight silver gets very dusty/dirty (almost like black) and I don't time/desire for weekly hand car washes. Wrap significantly cuts down on visible dust IMHO.

Which shop did you do it at? Considering some XPEL or ceramic coat. Thanks.

 

[rainforest]

I'm pretty impressed how XPEL is not even noticeable on the car. I can't even tell that it's there.

 

[BLKMDL3]

I'm pretty impressed how XPEL is not even noticeable on the car. I can't even tell that it's there.

I have seen a few XPEL'D cars. You can not even tell it is there

 

[MichaelATX]

I wrapped my P90D MX with a 3M titanium vinyl simply because I liked how it looked. The Tesla paint choices are very limited and there are four MX with the exact paint color in my condo building. It was a simple way to have fun with the vehicle, and for an extra $4k, an easy choice for me. I am not doing it for trade-in value, etc. It is the same reason I paid for the after-market wheels. I know I will receive zero return on either item.

 

[essmd]

I wrapped my P90D MX with a 3M titanium vinyl simply because I liked how it looked. The Tesla paint choices are very limited and there are four MX with the exact paint color in my condo building. It was a simple way to have fun with the vehicle, and for an extra $4k, an easy choice for me. I am not doing it for trade-in value, etc. It is the same reason I paid for the after-market wheels. I know I will receive zero return on either item.
View attachment 227175

That looks great.

I can't tell, but did you also wrap the chrome around the windows? If you did, it looks like they stopped at the mirror, which is a known challenge. That give me a great idea since the thicker Xpel stealth looks great on my door handle to mute the shiny chrome and prevent fingerprints, but the issue is that mirror contour.

As far as the zero return, I disagree, since the vinyl will give you some degree of protection and can replaced far easier and cheaper if damaged than the paint surface can be.

I already had two dings that would have damaged the paint if it were not for the wrap. One will cost me $75 to get re-wrapped, the other is barely noticeable and may minimize once the wrap heats up in the summer.

Plus, once you go to sell, it can be removed revealing a pristine paint job for the next owner, unless they want to keep it.

So definitely a good investment

 

[MichaelATX]

That looks great.

I can't tell, but did you also wrap the chrome around the windows? If you did, it looks like they stopped at the mirror, which is a known challenge. That give me a great idea since the thicker Xpel stealth looks great on my door handle to mute the shiny chrome and prevent fingerprints, but the issue is that mirror contour.

As far as the zero return, I disagree, since the vinyl will give you some degree of protection and can replaced far easier and cheaper if damaged than the paint surface can be.

I already had two dings that would have damaged the paint if it were not for the wrap. One will cost me $75 to get re-wrapped, the other is barely noticeable and may minimize once the wrap heats up in the summer.

Plus, once you go to sell, it can be removed revealing a pristine paint job for the next owner, unless they want to keep it.

So definitely a good investment

View attachment 227179

I did wrap the chrome with a gloss black, but you are right they didn't do the mirror. I didn't want them to take it apart to wrap the mirror. Perhaps it is trivial, but neither of us wanted to take the risk.

You are right about repairs. I replaced one panel after brushing up against a cable and it was only 150.

Thanks for the compliment.

 

[rainforest]

I did wrap the chrome with a gloss black, but you are right they didn't do the mirror. I didn't want them to take it apart to wrap the mirror. Perhaps it is trivial, but neither of us wanted to take the risk.

You are right about repairs. I replaced one panel after brushing up against a cable and it was only 150.

Thanks for the compliment.

Wrapping one panel only costs $150? That sounds low.

 

[MichaelATX]

Wrapping one panel only costs $150? That sounds low.

It was the back bumper. That was the cost. The installer had leftover material so that might have reduced the cost.

 

[oktane]

I once had a car wrapped and the installer accidentally cut the paint in certain areas. I only found out 2 years later after I removed the wrap.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

I once had a car wrapped and the installer accidentally cut the paint in certain areas. I only found out 2 years later after I removed the wrap.

Did you get him to cover the repair costs?

 

[jmanning]

Anybody use the touch up paint that Tesla sells?? Is it worth getting if I have a few spots that could use touch up??

 

[Sawyer8888]

I was on the fence and at times reconsider it. The big reasons for me not doing it are:

3. When you get into an accident or need a piece replaced, you'll need to wrap it again. I don't think all insurances cover it or will cover it.

Geico covers $3K worth of "modifications" which includes Xpel for only $10/6-month policy (probably differs based on your location). The amount of coverage is completely adjustable. To cover the $6K I paid for a full Xpel Ultimate wrap (a little high, but the company is known for their quality) the amount Geico wanted was $52 or so per 6 months. $3K of coverage is plenty.

The shop also replaces the Xpel for the first damaged panel for free (over $800 for just the front bumper).

By the way, the cost to repair or replace my bumper (not including Xpel) after taking a little ding from a carriage bolt bouncing around on the highway:

• Repair and repaint: $3,358
• Replace and paint: $3,765

The latter is recommended by the Tesla-authorized repair shop since they have a concern with attempting to repaint and its possible impact to the sensors. Apparently it's best to replace the whole bumper and paint fresh to avoid sensor interference.

 

[Emmies]

i thought about it until the guy told me i couldn't take it to a car wash anymore. wait a second, i need to pay $2,000 so i can hand wash my car? No thanks! I'll touch up paint and dings in a few years if necessary.

 

[vandacca]

i thought about it until the guy told me i couldn't take it to a car wash anymore. wait a second, i need to pay $2,000 so i can hand wash my car? No thanks! I'll touch up paint and dings in a few years if necessary.

What?!? Maybe if you plasti-dip your vehicle you should avoid car washes, but I've never heard of having to avoid car washes with a wrap.

I've taken my XPel wrapped vehicle to the car wash 11 times in the last 11 months.

 

[rjdoc74]

i thought about it until the guy told me i couldn't take it to a car wash anymore. wait a second, i need to pay $2,000 so i can hand wash my car? No thanks! I'll touch up paint and dings in a few years if necessary.

That's BS.

 

[The Spark Lab]

i thought about it until the guy told me i couldn't take it to a car wash anymore. wait a second, i need to pay $2,000 so i can hand wash my car? No thanks! I'll touch up paint and dings in a few years if necessary.

Definitely not correct!!!

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

One of the places I went to for an Xpel estimate said no to my question about taking my wrapped car through the car wash. He said I should still use the two bucket method. The place where I had my front wrapped, said it was OK to go through the car wash. Not sure if I would do the car wash, but definitely wouldn't do the two bucket method. Maybe do a waterless car wash on it instead.

I got my car mid December so I didn't really get a chance to see it clean and in the sunshine until recently. I did notice some swirling and lots wax powder residue when I picked it up. I pointed this out to my DS and he said they owed me a detailing. I didn't realize how bad it was until I saw it on a sunny day recently. Tesla swirled the sugar out of it with their pre-delivery "detailing". I'm not sure if I trust them to try to fix it or not. I'm worried they will only make it worse. Where the Xpel is on the front you can't see any swirl marks because it acts like a clear coat. I think if you want to have a black Tesla you should put that $1,000 savings into getting the full Xpel wrap. I'm 95% sure I'll end up wrapping the rest of it. I didn't get black to save a $1,000 but because it's my favorite car color. It's very beautiful except for the swirlys.