Is PPF or ceramic coating necessary?

[FUNco]

I had a Model 3, spent the money, and installed the PPF. As I recall, it was about 3K. Now I have the Plaid, and I won't install it this time. If you are traveling down the highway and an 18-wheeler passes you up doing 75 plus MPH, and it kicks up a rock, the PPF is worthless. My wife had a great idea. We will save the money and not wrap the Plaid. In 2-3 years we will go to a body shop and then fix all the chips.

 

[Blackbart]

We have two 3’s. Mine has front end covered in PPF (full hood and mirrors) - wife’s has nothing. Couple of years in I would say the PPF definitely helps. My car doesn’t have any chips on the front end (I drive about 14,000 a year). Her car gets driven about 1/2 as many miles and definitely has chips. That said - they aren’t that bad and we touch them up once or twice a year. Her car is white and the paint is hard to match perfectly. But - it still looks pretty good. All of which is to say - the film seems to clearly make a difference. The question is - what’s it worth to you? I think if we both got new cars tomorrow she would again pass on PPF and I would probably get it again.

 

[DankySmurf]

I got some touch up paint instead of PPF. I had 1 spot so far at 3,000 miles (door ding). Front is still like new. Can't see the paint chip fix I did now.

 

[DRM4]

Well, since I'm leasing, I went with a hybrid ceramic wax. Good gloss and water repelling and cheap. Teslas are kind of notorious for soft paint. My 2019 had several rock strikes/paint chips that I touched up with touch up paint. Advice - never park under trees (bird poop, sap) or drive blind trucks/dump trucks!

 

[Trey99ek]

Nothing is necessary. PPF will protect from small chips and scratches. Ceramic can help against small scratches but I use it to get keep it clean. On a new car in doing PPF on the front and ceramic coating everything.