Model 3 surface care for the layman

[garsh]

No way. My wrap was only $1700. Its all white carbon fiber. I don't have chips in my wrap. There is no way in the world you can get a professional OEM ( non orange peel ) paint job for $1700 on an S.

First, congratulations on not having chips in your wrap. My quick internet searching uncovered several other people who said that chips in the wrap are a problem.

When I investigated paint jobs, I found this page, which states $1000-$1800 for a "mid-quality" paint job, and $2400-$7500 for a "high-quality" paint job.

For wraps, I found this page, which states $3600 for a paint-replacement wrap. This page states $1500-$4000.

So, prices appear to be in the same ballpark, depending on the company you go with.

 

[TorqueIt]

To the OP, I live in your area and did opti coat and wrapped the front end in XPEL PPF.

There are only a handful of shops that do Opticoat in ontario so it should be a quick google.

When I get the model 3 I will have to think long and hard tbh if I will do it again since it's more of a "normal" car.

 

[Boourns]

Even if they were priced the same I would think completely repainting a car might hurt the resale value. I would be suspicious if I were looking for a used car and found out that it was repainted.

 

[cronosx]

For my BMW they say not to use rainex because it gums up the level sensor. I can tell you that it's true because when I first leased the car the sensor wasn't working because the previous lessee used it.

Level of what?
You are talking about the rain sensor?

 

[S3XY]

Level of what?
You are talking about the rain sensor?

No, the wiper fluid level sensor.

 

[cronosx]

I never had a fluid level sensor.. i kind of understand how could be get gummy, but .. what a shame. it's just another thing with rain off product or similar.
If it doesn't work, who care? i mean.. it get stuck at on elevel i suppose, so in the wrost case you don't know that you don't have water to spry.. i can accept this.. maybe..?

 

[eisbock]

You guys are really starting to worry me.

Do real people in real life actually put this much thought, care, attention, and money toward keeping a new car looking nice? I honestly have never heard of wrapping or clear coat or whatever crap you guys are on about before I came to this forum. At least not solely for preserving the paint job.

Is this something I should be looking into? Are wraps common? Are you guys the only 10-15 people who will be going to these great lengths to maintain the paint job, or is this something everybody who buys a 3 will be doing? Is this only really common on super expensive luxury cars?

Everybody I know who has bought a new car just buys it and drives it. Maybe go to the car wash every couple months while it's new to keep it looking new, but eventually realizes it's a car that spends a lot of time outside and soon the car washes become more and more infrequent until acceptance of the inevitable sets in. It's a car. It will not stay perfect forever, and you will spend a lot of money and time and stress trying to keep it that way.

Are you guys buying this car to drive it? Or to park it on display on a giant pedestal in front of your house?

Is the intent to sell it as soon as possible to stay up with newer models? Seems like a lot of work and money to have to buy and sell a car every three years, on top of constantly worrying about resale value, freaking out over aesthetic maintenance, and biting your nails every time you return to your car in a crowded parking lot in a shady area of town. What happens then if you get a ding or back into a snowbank? Does that flush all this hard work keeping the paint pristine down the drain?

This is all insane to me.

 

[Boourns]

^ Many people on this forum who bought their S or X new dropped in excess of $100,000. So spending a few grand to keep it pristine is less of a big deal than it will be to 3 owners.

I personally have never wrapped or coated a car I have owned, but I do try to wash them regularly and wax them once a year or so. I suspect this is more than many 3 owners plan on doing. That will be OK.

 

[mspohr]

You guys are really starting to worry me.

Do real people in real life actually put this much thought, care, attention, and money toward keeping a new car looking nice? I honestly have never heard of wrapping or clear coat or whatever crap you guys are on about before I came to this forum. At least not solely for preserving the paint job.

Is this something I should be looking into? Are wraps common? Are you guys the only 10-15 people who will be going to these great lengths to maintain the paint job, or is this something everybody who buys a 3 will be doing? Is this only really common on super expensive luxury cars?

Everybody I know who has bought a new car just buys it and drives it. Maybe go to the car wash every couple months while it's new to keep it looking new, but eventually realizes it's a car that spends a lot of time outside and soon the car washes become more and more infrequent until acceptance of the inevitable sets in. It's a car. It will not stay perfect forever, and you will spend a lot of money and time and stress trying to keep it that way.

Are you guys buying this car to drive it? Or to park it on display on a giant pedestal in front of your house?

Is the intent to sell it as soon as possible to stay up with newer models? Seems like a lot of work and money to have to buy and sell a car every three years, on top of constantly worrying about resale value, freaking out over aesthetic maintenance, and biting your nails every time you return to your car in a crowded parking lot in a shady area of town. What happens then if you get a ding or back into a snowbank? Does that flush all this hard work keeping the paint pristine down the drain?

This is all insane to me.

Some people here are compulsive about their cars. They are $100,000 cars and they want to keep them pristine and can't bear the thought of a scratch or chip. They can easily spend $3,000 to $6,000 for a wrap or other special coatings, etc.
On the other hand, I think most people (myself included) look on this as "just a car" and are willing to take the lumps and bumps that life offers. I wash the car and wax it occasionally. If the scratches and chips get too bad after a few years, you can always have someone work on the finish and your total cost will probably be less than if you spent the money for a wrap at the start. I have a 15 year old Land Rover where the clear coat deteriorated and various chips and scratches were unsightly. I had it repainted for $1100 and it looks good as new.
With the Model 3, which is a much less expensive car, I would say don't worry about it. Just treat it kindly and it will be fine.
BTW, there is an urban myth on this forum (and seemingly nowhere else) that Teslas have "soft paint" due to low VOC paint. I haven't been able to find any references to this problem anywhere else and I don't believe it exists. Low VOC paints are now commonly used in the industry.

 

[S3XY]

I never had a fluid level sensor.. i kind of understand how could be get gummy, but .. what a shame. it's just another thing with rain off product or similar.
If it doesn't work, who care? i mean.. it get stuck at on elevel i suppose, so in the wrost case you don't know that you don't have water to spry.. i can accept this.. maybe..?

It didn't tell me the level. There was a constant nag message on the dash. It didn't really bother me. The sensor was replaced as part of BMW's CPO program.

 

[alseTrick]

A new Ford Fusion Sport or Hyundai Sonata 2.0T starts at ~$34,000. Would anybody wrap their Fusion or Sonata?

You guys are really starting to worry me.

Do real people in real life actually put this much thought, care, attention, and money toward keeping a new car looking nice? I honestly have never heard of wrapping or clear coat or whatever crap you guys are on about before I came to this forum. At least not solely for preserving the paint job.

I wrap all of my Ford Fusion Sports and Hyundai Sonata 2.0Ts (both around $34,000).

Oh, wait. No. No, I don't.

I'm with you. I never heard of it before but I've never owned a $100,000 vehicle like the S or X. I understand why those owners would do it (or even an owner of a fully-optioned 3). I don't understand why a sub-$40,000 vehicle owner would do it. (Model 3 owners are probably less affluent than S and X owners and therefore less able/willing to afford a wrap.) At least not at the prices I've seen mentioned on here. People paying several thousand dollars for only a partial wrapping of the car? If it were something like $500 for the whole car, yea, I'd do it. But it's not, so I'd rather not.

The one issue I have is that apparently a lot of Teslas have been keyed and it'd really suck to have it keyed just a few months after delivery. But I plan on getting dual cameras in the car, so maaaybe that will help.

 

[garsh]

My wrap was only $1700.

If they do a good job, that sounds like a great price.

Given that any color other than black or white will add $1000 or $1500 to the price of the Model S, this sounds like a reasonable alternative. Order the car in white, and get it wrapped in the color of your choice. When you go to trade it in, tear off the wrap and the paint underneath should be in great shape.

I'm hoping that the color choices for the Model 3 aren't as expensive as those for the S.

 

[jsanford]

My current car takes most of its damage from retail parking in compact-only spaces at popular places such as Costco and movie theaters. People squeeze their non-compact cars in next to mine and slam their doors into the sides of my car. The sides are full of door-ding creases.

I suspect the same thing will happen with my Model 3, and doubt that a wrap, ceramic coating or otherwise will protect it.

 

[Thomas Allen]

If your car spends the daytime hours in a garage, wrapping may be a good (but expensive) thing. If you have to park outside during the day, probably not. Try goggling "removing car wrap". You'll soon find out how hard it is to remove the wrap. Also, even though wraps like Xpel offer a 10 year warranty, leaving the wrap on for more than 3 years (if you park outside during the day) is generally not recommended. The sun dries out the adhesive, and it becomes permanently part of the paint. The stories I read were enough to scare me away from wrapping my Model S.

 

[juanmedina]

I hope we get the option to get a clear bra from the factory