New Car Protection Costs

[chrismahoney23]

Hi All,

I’m new to the forum and have my M3P on order eta end of the month.

I’m looking to get the car protected but I’m trying to figure out what the best option is. I’m not made of money but expect to have the car for at least 10 years.

I’ve had Full Front PPF, Ceramic Pro Gold Package, Windshield llumar ceramic tint, All side and rear window formula one stratos tint. Around $4k

it seems like a lot of money to slap down but it seems the best protection for 10 years at this point?

other option is to not do the ceramic coating which would save around $1700

thoughts from anyone who has done these would be greatly appreciated.

cheers everyone

Chris

 

[MightyThings]

PPF will give you far more protection than ceramic. I recommend getting as much of the car covered in PPF as you're comfortable with budget wise. There's some marginal benefit in applying ceramic over PPF, but it's certainly not necessary.

That said, if you can't wrap the whole car in PPF, getting ceramic on the parts that aren't wrapped will offer some protection, especially against things like bird and tree droppings.

You might theoretically get 10 years life out of a quality PPF, and at most half that from a quality ceramic that is professionally installed and cured. That's probably best case scenario lifespan though.

 

[Premier Mobile]

Hi All,

I’m new to the forum and have my M3P on order eta end of the month.

I’m looking to get the car protected but I’m trying to figure out what the best option is. I’m not made of money but expect to have the car for at least 10 years.

I’ve had Full Front PPF, Ceramic Pro Gold Package, Windshield llumar ceramic tint, All side and rear window formula one stratos tint. Around $4k

it seems like a lot of money to slap down but it seems the best protection for 10 years at this point?

other option is to not do the ceramic coating which would save around $1700

thoughts from anyone who has done these would be greatly appreciated.

cheers everyone

Chris

Hey Chris. I recommend contacting Hughs Detailing (Hugh's Detailing) in Florida as they are an Authorized Dealer for Spectra Photosync. Most important is to look at a company's work in person and go from there.

 

[chrismahoney23]

Do we think $4k for all that is a decent deal?

 

[Mr. Burrito]

I am amazed at people spending thousands on PPF and/or ceramic coating. Use a nice quality wax 2-3 times a year and give the car a bath when its dirty (use the two bucket method with grit guards and a decent wash mit). I've had various cars 6-10 years old that still look great just doing this. A lot of this other stuff is just massive profit makers for these companies. I love it when they show water beading on a ceramic coat as if that doesn't happen with normal wax.

 

[JeffK]

If I had to do it all over again I would have skipped both PPF and ceramic coating.

The PPF is terribly expensive, rocks are going to tear it and the tears look a heck of a lot worse than a basically 2D rock chip. The only solution is to get those panels removed and reapplied ($$$).

The ceramic coat, when damaged, spiders and cracks. It looks horrible. If this is on top of the film, you'd need the film removed, replaced, and then new ceramic coat applied ($$$).

Let's keep in mind I've had this for a little over a year.

If a rock hits hard enough it'll bust through the film and still chip the paint so it's like you can't win. I'd bet money that I could have had the entire car resprayed for far cheaper than it was to put film and ceramic coat on the entire car.

 

[Black306]

Initially, I was planning on getting a wrap. After additional consideration, I decided against it.

IMO, a wrap is worth it if you want to keep the car in pristine condition for personal reasons; a wrap is not worth it for financial reasons. If it were financially beneficial, wraps would be found on a majority of cars. It’s unlikely the average person is going to pay more money for a car with a wrap. If anything, they’ll consider it a perk if the car has a decent market price. Similarly, the resale value of a car will be minimally impacted if it has typical wear and tear on the paint. Any significant paint damage might not have been protected by a wrap.

 

[TheTonester]

Do we think $4k for all that is a decent deal?

Based on quotes I've received yes, it sounds reasonable. As long as the installer is a reputable one.

 

[TheTonester]

I am amazed at people spending thousands on PPF and/or ceramic coating. Use a nice quality wax 2-3 times a year and give the car a bath when its dirty (use the two bucket method with grit guards and a decent wash mit). I've had various cars 6-10 years old that still look great just doing this. A lot of this other stuff is just massive profit makers for these companies. I love it when they show water beading on a ceramic coat as if that doesn't happen with normal wax.

Yeah, I've gone back and forth with this myself. Which is the main reason I still haven't pulled the trigger on getting PPF and/or ceramic. The Model 3 isn't really a high end car that demands this level of protection. But, there is the peace of mind aspect. To some people it may be "worth it", even if financially it seems crazy. I'm very frugal and practical so I'm surprised I'm even considering it. But I've seen and heard so many times how bad Tesla paint is, and seen so much about how beat up some people's unprotected rockers have gotten, that it leads me to want to do it.

 

[TheTonester]

If I had to do it all over again I would have skipped both PPF and ceramic coating.

The PPF is terribly expensive, rocks are going to tear it and the tears look a heck of a lot worse than a basically 2D rock chip. The only solution is to get those panels removed and reapplied ($$$).

The ceramic coat, when damaged, spiders and cracks. It looks horrible. If this is on top of the film, you'd need the film removed, replaced, and then new ceramic coat applied ($$$).

Let's keep in mind I've had this for a little over a year.

If a rock hits hard enough it'll bust through the film and still chip the paint so it's like you can't win. I'd bet money that I could have had the entire car resprayed for far cheaper than it was to put film and ceramic coat on the entire car.

Have you had any such issues with your ppf?

 

[focher]

A new car isn't "worth it", so wrapping one isn't going to be "worth it" either.

Cars that are "worth it" are not to be driven. They sit in showroom conditions and get dusted every day.

So once you get the "worth it" test out of the way, do what you want if it's going to bring you pleasure and you can afford it.

 

[afadeev]

Do we think $4k for all that is a decent deal?

It could be a GREAT deal if you are getting quality PPF applied (3M, Xpel, etc), or it could be a SH*T deal if you are getting pre-cut cheap-o film that will discolor after 6-18 months.
You haven't provided enough details for us to call it one way or the other.

I’ve had Full Front PPF, Ceramic Pro Gold Package, Windshield llumar ceramic tint, All side and rear window formula one stratos tint. Around $4k
[...]other option is to not do the ceramic coating which would save around $1700

It sounds like the PPF, by itself, was quoted to you for under $2.3K.
That is a suspiciously low price point, that omits references to paint correction and smoothing (very labor intensive).

Most shops using quality PPF film quote around $400-500 per panel.
10 panels on a model 3 should add up to ~$4-5K.

Thus, they must be quoting pre-cut film patterns (you will likely see edges), quick install without removing trim and lights (you will see edges), and cheap-o film.

Good luck either way!

 

[Jim R]

I am amazed at people spending thousands on PPF and/or ceramic coating. Use a nice quality wax 2-3 times a year and give the car a bath when its dirty (use the two bucket method with grit guards and a decent wash mit). I've had various cars 6-10 years old that still look great just doing this. A lot of this other stuff is just massive profit makers for these companies. I love it when they show water beading on a ceramic coat as if that doesn't happen with normal wax.

Agree. I found it strange the OP listed only two options. Waxing your car is the other.

 

[C141medic]

In my case I have PPF over entire car. Very satisfied with it so far. Be sure to also get your headlights/fog lamps protected. Reason I say this is I had something hit the front of my car not too long after I got PPF and discovered that it was my headlight. It looked like a decent gouge and I thought I’d have to replace the headlamp. Took it to my PPF installer and to my amazement he peeled off the PPF to replace the film and there was not one mark on the headlamp. If it was me, I’d forego the ceramic and place PPF on more areas of the car like the doors, rocker panels, etc. Then if you have any funds left over just get ceramic over the PPF. The most important thing is to have it done by a reputable installer. Here’s some links that may be helpful:


Why I have XPEL on my Model 3


XPEL and sensors


PPF / Ceramic Coat - Autopilot?


Wrapped Proximity Sensors


Paint Protection, Ceramic, etc

 

[kbecks13]

I think about it like this - what would make me more sad, spending $4-5K or noticing a small rock chip on your car when looking very closely and probably not seeing it 90% of the time.

Personally i chose to skip the PPF and just deal with any paint chips as paint quality is not going to be a major contributor to resale value in the future (certainly not worth $4-5K)

 

[chrismahoney23]

PPF quoted is Xpel Ultimate Plus for Full Front Only. Then Ceramic Coating in Ceramic Pro Gold Package. All installed at a Ceramic Pro official instal location.

 

[chrismahoney23]

SA told me today that the base coat of the car is black so in the White I have gone for he said paint chips will tend to show much more on that color choice. He has the grey and said it hides the chips pretty well.

that has essentially made up my mind.

 

[Idkorcare]

I had precut Xpel whole front end done for $1600, looks perfectly fine. You really have to look to notice. My last car took an absolute beating with nothing on it and the front looked horrible after 100k miles of mostly interstate driving. Right at 7k miles now and front still looks great with one knick in the xpel, cant tell if it got all the way thru or not.

tint whole car and windshield with one piece rear for $625 ceramic Rayno S9 whole thing 20%

 

[JeffK]

Have you had any such issues with your ppf?

Yes, all the issues I mentioned in a little over a year of ownership. My commute is 50 miles a day during weekdays.

 

[JohnNick72]

If I had to do it all over again I would have skipped both PPF and ceramic coating.

The PPF is terribly expensive, rocks are going to tear it and the tears look a heck of a lot worse than a basically 2D rock chip. The only solution is to get those panels removed and reapplied ($$$).

The ceramic coat, when damaged, spiders and cracks. It looks horrible. If this is on top of the film, you'd need the film removed, replaced, and then new ceramic coat applied ($$$).

Let's keep in mind I've had this for a little over a year.

If a rock hits hard enough it'll bust through the film and still chip the paint so it's like you can't win. I'd bet money that I could have had the entire car resprayed for far cheaper than it was to put film and ceramic coat on the entire car.

This is the correct answer to the pondering. Save the money and fix the damage that’ll invariably happen along the way if/when you want to. PPF doesn’t protect against much.