Northern Virginia group buy for PPF / ceramic?

[slade037]

I don't see the value at wrapping the entire car especially at the 5k+ mark. I did spend $500 on getting the front bumper done and spending $180 to do the hood myself. If i really wanted to, I could have done the front sides but they don't get hit by road debris as much so I didn't feel it was worth it. I did it in my garage, so there are some spots with debris. Nothing really noticeable until you're real close.

@Bamagirl68 I put Geyon Mohs on top of my Suntek Ultra and as far as I can tell it still self heals. I scratched it up rubbing a bubble out with a microfiber (there was still dust on the hood). The car was parked outside at work and when I got back, no scratches. You just need a little heat.

@Paik4Life Gyeon Mohs was pretty easy to do. I did mine a few weeks ago. It's the paint prep that'll kill ya. Let me know if you have any questions I can help answer with your DIY. Haven't had a need to wash yet. The rain and driving at 40MPH is like a free car wash. Everything just slips off.

 

[Reaction26]

Then if I were you I would put the money into it and see the reward when you drive and your laziness will increase

 

[Paik4Life]

@Paik4Life Gyeon Mohs was pretty easy to do. I did mine a few weeks ago. It's the paint prep that'll kill ya. Let me know if you have any questions I can help answer with your DIY. Haven't had a need to wash yet. The rain and driving at 40MPH is like a free car wash. Everything just slips off.

That's the part I was most hesitant about doing myself. I got a Griots DA and some orange pads. We'll see how it goes. LOL. I figure the investment of like $400 for everything including the film (I only got Scotchgard Pro). In the end, I'm not particular enough to notice swirls, so as long as I don't totally screw it up, I think I'll be happy enough to do my best on the film and the Gyeons on top.

~Paik

 

[MacGreiner]

I'm interested in doing just the front in XPel - quotes I have is sub $1k for that.
I ceramic'd my own car. Prep is a pain, but application is very easy.

 

[Reaction26]

I totally get it - the cost is very hard to swallow - but we have waited for this car more than 2 years and I was so close to trade my car in for the P3 but after spending all the money on the car + another 25K was not worth it. I most likely will keep it for a few years and then get the roadster.

Let me know how it turns out when you get do it yourself. I have to and pack for my Europe trip in the morning and will be back. When I get back we can go over who is interested and I can talk to Bobby to see what is the best price he can for the # of the cars we get PPF film done and ceramic done.

Hope everyone has a great holiday and will def miss my Tesla when I am gone.

 

[slade037]

That's the part I was most hesitant about doing myself. I got a Griots DA and some orange pads. We'll see how it goes. LOL. I figure the investment of like $400 for everything including the film (I only got Scotchgard Pro). In the end, I'm not particular enough to notice swirls, so as long as I don't totally screw it up, I think I'll be happy enough to do my best on the film and the Gyeons on top.

~Paik

I used both the 3 and 6 inch Griots DA's. I think they worked great. I mostly used the BOSS Correcting Cream. On some of the more swirly spots, I need the Fast Correcting Cream and microfiber bad. If you can do it over a couple of days, I would recommend that. I did all my correction in one day and it's very physically and mentally fatiguing in a hot steamy garage in the middle of the summer.

 

[Paik4Life]

I totally get it - the cost is very hard to swallow - but we have waited for this car more than 2 years and I was so close to trade my car in for the P3 but after spending all the money on the car + another 25K was not worth it. I most likely will keep it for a few years and then get the roadster.

If I could afford a Roadster, I would probably have no qualms spending the money for professional correction, ceramic, and PPF. : )

~Paik

 

[gtshoward]

Taking delivery of my P3D+ in white 9/18 at Tysons. Interested in PPF for the front and ceramic if something gets rolling in this thread.

 

[KenF]

Been calling around this past week and there are substantial differences in pricing for PPF and ceramic coating — up to 80% for the same product/service.

Anywhere from $1000 to $1500 for Opticoat Pro Plus (I though this had standard pricing?)
Anywhere from $1000 to $1800 for XPEL on the bumper, full hood, fenders, and mirrors

 

[wbhokie]

Been calling around this past week and there are substantial differences in pricing for PPF and ceramic coating — up to 80% for the same product/service.

Anywhere from $1000 to $1500 for Opticoat Pro Plus (I though this had standard pricing?)
Anywhere from $1000 to $1800 for XPEL on the bumper, full hood, fenders, and mirrors

To be fair, I have called around a lot of places too, and where I thought there were a lot of big price differences, what was true most of the time was that the differences were also in what was included. When I saw a price of $1000 or $1500 on Ceramic coats sometimes it had to do with how many coats they did on the car, or things it did not include (some did not include things like the wheels or paint correction) or how long they guaranteed the work for. For the same PPF product, when I would hear two major different prices on the same product from a company (and not an individual) if they said "front of the car" it was not the bumper, full hood, fenders, and mirrors on both, but one would only be the bumper and partial hood and the other would be the full nose. Do they wrap around the edges or just cut to fit? I'm not saying this is necessarily true in your case, but I did call like 10 places and this is usually what I ran into. Sometimes the initial price would be good but left out a few little things and to add them back would end up being more expensive.

Other times when the prices varied, they would use lower quality products for things like tint or wouldn't mention the brand of PPF used, etc. Any time I got a quote I had to nag them on the exact brand and product used in the quote. Just saying "3M" or "Suntek" or "Xpel" didn't tell me which version of that brand's product they used. For instance... Xpel tint... is it Prime XR, Prime XR Black? Prime XR Plus? Makes a difference.

 

[Bamagirl68]

Wbhokie, it looks like you walked the dog on this. Can you tell us what you had done, where, and how much it cost?
Thanks for doing the leg work. Good to know that ceramic coating should include the wheels. Always the worst part of cleaning a car!

 

[wbhokie]

Wbhokie, it looks like you walked the dog on this. Can you tell us what you had done, where, and how much it cost?
Thanks for doing the leg work. Good to know that ceramic coating should include the wheels. Always the worst part of cleaning a car!

I haven't had it done yet! haha. I've just been calling every place I could find, or that was mentioned here, asking what products they use, getting quotes on everything, seeing what places support what.

The biggest thing I noticed is most well known places here are booked way ahead of time. So any concept of a group buy is going to be thrown out the window with those companies since you probably would be waiting until next year to get your car scheduled. I was just looking for general information. Who likes what products and why. Pictures of those products. Prices of those products. Which I'd bother paying for.

I also knew I was doing things like PPF, Chrome Delete, Tint, Ceramic coating, and chrome delete on my car. I'd prefer to have it done all at one place. Mostly, because scheduling would be a nightmare otherwise. Things like chrome delete can be done easily first of course, but if you do any paint correction work before ceramic or PPF (most people won't bother) then you need to look into that, and you would want to do your chrome delete work or PPF work before ceramic coating so that all of that gets coated. Wheels aren't necessary for ceramic coating but does make it a lot easier to spray clean them. I would ask what brand tint they used, and always specify that the rear window would be one piece.

A lot of people have good points though... all of this stuff costs money, and a lot of people could do it themselves, so it is up to them on how comfortable they are doing it. If I could watch someone do it one time I am pretty sure I could do it but I'd rather just have it done and be done. I've had PPF on a car before and it saved me multiple times... but only ever on the front. Never done ceramic but from what I've seen i'm excited to try it. Still, if you know of an installer (an individual) who does it well, it will save you a lot of money over a shop you take your car to. It's not worth the money you put into it, but I'm splurging a bit this year.

I'm big on communication too. I like people who get back to me quickly, or who are located in a convenient spot. (You can easily go see their work) Long established companies are nice if their prices are good because if you do have issues they will usually correct it at no cost.

(I will be editing below here adding some info)
Here are some examples of quotes I got:

Exotic Vehicle Wraps - The most talked about place in the area for the most part
Problem : no availability until October atm
Front End PPF (Suntek Ultra) $2064
Optional (Door Edges, Door Rils, Door Cups, Luggage area $399)
Chrome Delete $1000
Ceramic Coating ( Includes Paint Correction, Layers of (9H, Light, Rain, and W&C) on Paint, Wheels, Wheel Barrels, Windshield, and WIndows - $1,600
There are a lot of ceramic add-ons so I will not include them.
Time for installation is 1 week.

They do not do tinting, but would work with sunshinecontrol for tinting. For 3M Crystaline (all windows and 1 piece rear window they said would be $900)

Laid Not Sprayed Vinyl Workz (Fredericksburg, VA)
Full Car VINYL wrap $2,700 (good price)
Front Nose PPF ($2,200) high price
They never got specific on tint and chrome delete prices but they were much lower than the others. If I wanted a full car vinyl wrap I would go here. (They said $85 a side for typical chrome deletes.. I'm assuming this is window trim only) and (Window tint all around w/o windshield is $220 but I didn't find out what product)
They also offered ceramic coating.
I did not find out what brand PPF they used nor what kind of tinting they used yet.

Detail Authority
Chrome Delete - $1,150 (price is high)
Tinting (Xpel Prime Plus) $850
PPF Premium Kit $1995 (Front of the car - mirrors forward) XPEL Ultimate Plus
Opti Coat Ceramic (Did not get quote)

Pro Shield Inc (spoke with David Saya) - Their prices are actually very good over all.
PPF Nose Cone $1,600 (hood, fenders, bumper, headlight, mirrors)
Ceramic Coating (Prep, Polish, Brila Coating) $1000
Ceramic Window Tint (Suntek CIR) with one piece rear $400
Initially said they didn't do chrome delete, but had a guy who would do it for $350

I'm also talking with FilmSourceTinting, which seems to offer all of the services as well.
Xpel Ultimate Plus PPF, Xpel Prime XR Black Tint, Ceramic Coating, limited chrome delete work (their normal vinyl guy was in an accident, so it depends) Their prices seem to be in the normal range for the area. Good communication and they offer things like paint correction as well but not included in prices.

----

ProShield seems to have the most realistic prices. Not a fan of Suntek CIR tint, but tint is something you can do anywhere too. Anyway, I just like to provide information, and you can all make up your own minds!

 

[Driver X]

I just ceramic coated my vette. It was pretty easy but spent like 8 hours on it. I can’t see paying someone 1k for it.

 

[vlm7]

Check out Mobile Detailing by Corsair. He applied SB3 Ceramic on my 3.
Mobile Detailing By Corsair

 

[Mazari4life]

I just ceramic coated my vette. It was pretty easy but spent like 8 hours on it. I can’t see paying someone 1k for it.

If you have time I can bring over my M3. I will buy you dinner

 

[Bamagirl68]

I haven't had it done yet! haha. I've just been calling every place I could find, or that was mentioned here, asking what products they use, getting quotes on everything, seeing what places support what.


Exotic Vehicle Wraps - The most talked about place in the area for the most part
Problem : no availability until October atm
Front End PPF (Suntek Ultra) $2064
Optional (Door Edges, Door Rils, Door Cups, Luggage area $399)
Chrome Delete $1000
Ceramic Coating ( Includes Paint Correction, Layers of (9H, Light, Rain, and W&C) on Paint, Wheels, Wheel Barrels, Windshield, and WIndows - $1,600
There are a lot of ceramic add-ons so I will not include them.
Time for installation is 1 week.

They do not do tinting, but would work with sunshinecontrol for tinting. For 3M Crystaline (all windows and 1 piece rear window they said would be $900)

Laid Not Sprayed Vinyl Workz (Fredericksburg, VA)
Full Car VINYL wrap $2,700 (good price)
Front Nose PPF ($2,200) high price
They never got specific on tint and chrome delete prices but they were much lower than the others. If I wanted a full car vinyl wrap I would go here. (They said $85 a side for typical chrome deletes.. I'm assuming this is window trim only) and (Window tint all around w/o windshield is $220 but I didn't find out what product)
They also offered ceramic coating.
I did not find out what brand PPF they used nor what kind of tinting they used yet.

Detail Authority
Chrome Delete - $1,150 (price is high)
Tinting (Xpel Prime Plus) $850
PPF Premium Kit $1995 (Front of the car - mirrors forward) XPEL Ultimate Plus
Opti Coat Ceramic (Did not get quote)

Pro Shield Inc (spoke with David Saya) - Their prices are actually very good over all.
PPF Nose Cone $1,600 (hood, fenders, bumper, headlight, mirrors)
Ceramic Coating (Prep, Polish, Brila Coating) $1000
Ceramic Window Tint (Suntek CIR) with one piece rear $400
Initially said they didn't do chrome delete, but had a guy who would do it for $350

I'm also talking with FilmSourceTinting, which seems to offer all of the services as well.
Xpel Ultimate Plus PPF, Xpel Prime XR Black Tint, Ceramic Coating, limited chrome delete work (their normal vinyl guy was in an accident, so it depends) Their prices seem to be in the normal range for the area. Good communication and they offer things like paint correction as well but not included in prices.

----

ProShield seems to have the most realistic prices. Not a fan of Suntek CIR tint, but tint is something you can do anywhere too. Anyway, I just like to provide information, and you can all make up your own minds!

Wbhokie: What are your thoughts on the vinyl wrap from Laid Not Sprayed? Cheap, but will it protect the car the way PPF will?

 

[Driver X]

If you have time I can bring over my M3. I will buy you dinner

Dude, you can bring your car over and buy me dinner anytime!

 

[wbhokie]

Wbhokie: What are your thoughts on the vinyl wrap from Laid Not Sprayed? Cheap, but will it protect the car the way PPF will?

Any Vinyl wrap does not protect as well as PPF. (PPF is much thicker and has self-healing properties) - A Vinyl wrap though gives you the opportunity to change your color to virtually anything, including some unique textures, covers your entire vehicle, and still will protect your paint. If you do Vinyl and Ceramic, it will look amazing, but major rock chips and minor accidents will likely not be protected. It is a way to make your car truly unique. I've seen some really pretty Vinyl colors.

This silver for example!

 

[KenF]

To be fair, I have called around a lot of places too, and where I thought there were a lot of big price differences, what was true most of the time was that the differences were also in what was included. When I saw a price of $1000 or $1500 on Ceramic coats sometimes it had to do with how many coats they did on the car, or things it did not include (some did not include things like the wheels or paint correction) or how long they guaranteed the work for.

Who did you end up going with?

 

[wbhokie]

Who did you end up going with?

I ended up using Film Source in Chantilly. I met all of their guys there, and their owner also knows a friend of mine I knew from college. The owner was very responsive to me over email and even after I had my work done is still in contact with me answering questions and fixing some minor issues. (One they pointed out on the tint when I picked up the car they said they would re-do later, the other was the PPF on one of the side mirrors I asked to be re-done) They weren't the cheapest, but they did a good job and got me scheduled in right away and took great care of my car. Location was good for me too.