Paint Protection Film - Worth It?

[interbear]

Explored this further with the pro detailer I’ve used before to apply ceramic coating on previous cars.

To apply PPF to the entire Model 3 is in excess of £3.5k. No chance of me doing that.

His recommendation was that on the Model 3 it makes sense to apply PPF on the front bumper area as the lack of grill makes it quite prone to stone chips. Xpel PPF have a template to do just that. And then apply ceramic to the rest of the car plus a product to apply hydrophobic coating on the glass. I think I may go down that route as the ceramic coating, while it doesn’t provide protection vs stone chips, does make a real difference to keeping the car looking good and easy to clean. So I’m looking at around £1,200 for that. Seems a more reasonable option while protecting the area most at risk from stone chips.

 

[WannabeOwner]

I don't know how many stone chips I've avoided with PPF (as they don't leave any "evidence"), but I have had lots of scratches on sides (snuggling up to countryside hedges mainly), they linger long enough so that I am aware that they have happened (I haven;t got to the point of getting the hair drier out, so they have presumably self-healed parked in the sun)

Maybe Ceramic coating would handle that too ..

Beware if Insurer won't cover the car if "wrapped"

 

[Avendit]

Explored this further with the pro detailer I’ve used before to apply ceramic coating on previous cars.

To apply PPF to the entire Model 3 is in excess of £3.5k. No chance of me doing that.

His recommendation was that on the Model 3 it makes sense to apply PPF on the front bumper area as the lack of grill makes it quite prone to stone chips. Xpel PPF have a template to do just that. And then apply ceramic to the rest of the car plus a product to apply hydrophobic coating on the glass. I think I may go down that route as the ceramic coating, while it doesn’t provide protection vs stone chips, does make a real difference to keeping the car looking good and easy to clean. So I’m looking at around £1,200 for that. Seems a more reasonable option while protecting the area most at risk from stone chips.

If only the bumper want the hardest part :-(. Guess that's what you pay for! Take it the£1200 includes a full detail too?

 

[interbear]

If only the bumper want the hardest part :-(. Guess that's what you pay for! Take it the£1200 includes a full detail too?

Yes indeed.

The full detail with ceramic coating is, if I recall rightly, £695. The PPF on the front bumper panel is about £400. I also considered getting the “full frontal” PPF which includes the bonnet, wings, mirrors but that was an additional £650 ish. Beyond my current budget and as I’ve had good experiences with ceramic before I’m happy to do most of the car with that.

I honestly don’t think getting full PPF cover is worth it, I’ve never had to get a stone chip repaired on any car in 30 years of driving. If I was buying a vintage car that appreciated in value, I’d consider it. But not for the Model 3 which I will likely keep for about 5 years.

 

[JCremonini]

Before you go ahead with any PPF application ask them if they cut the film to shape in place or whether the fIlm is pre-cut to size. Makes me cringe the number of PPF businesses which use knives to cut rather than invest in either proper templated film or templating machines or their own.

As far as insurance is concerned, PPF film is not a wrap . A wrap changes the colour of the car ( and can make the car more attractive to no gooders) . If your insurance company is suggesting it is a wrap then they are wrong.

I have say I am not sure of the benefit of PPF with a ceramic coating applied over it which I know some people are being sold. Decent PPF is more then enough protection.

 

[MrBadger]

As far as insurance is concerned, PPF film is not a wrap . A wrap changes the colour of the car ( and can make the car more attractive to no gooders) . If your insurance company is suggesting it is a wrap then they are wrong.

I would specifically confirm that point with your insurers.

FWIW, we had detailing, ceramic coat, XPEL rocker kit (so sills, lower doors, trailing edge of rear wheel arch and boot lip. Came in at around £750 but probably a bit more for a more complete wrap on edges - we are having our PPF redone as I didn't know about the different wrap methods so got caught out as what we got by default didn't offer the level of protection I was expecting.

I'm not overly concerned about not wrapping against stone chips or door dings as they are unfortunately a part of long term car ownership, but a have a problem with sills and wheel arches potentially being shot blasted to bare metal simply from salt and grit being sprayed up from the tyres. So PPF and mud flaps.

 

[spon88]

We've just completed full Premium Shield PPF. There is also a "top coat" of Gtechniq "Halo" which a) protects the film from weathering (new films are very good but can still "yellow" slightly after a few years and b) makes it super shiny and hydrophobic. It's designed specifically for the task and doesn't affect the self-healing properties of the film.

We had the car fully detailed (M3P) and on close inspection the paint was pretty dire. Also soft. This is not just an internet myth, the paintwork quality on Tesla's is still questionable it would seem. Based on this alone we decided to protect it as much as possible. We paid £3k for the full job but the guy needed 5 full days and did say he'd charged too little as the prep took a lot longer than he expected. One of the biggest issues was with the panel edges where he showed me that the finish was very uneven and then the paintwork on top of that was very thin in places. I actually witnessed this under his lights and he also compared the paint thickness and finish to other cars he had in his workshop. He said this was typical for the Teslas he'd worked on which is a bit sad given that the rest of the car is really rather good.

It's a chunk of cash but at least now we have some peace of mind that the paint is much better and also (importantly) well protected. It's a pain to have to spend another wedge of cash on top of the £55k car but we think it's worth it in this particular case.

We also run a VW Up which we bought as a runabout at the same time as the Tesla (we'll change when there is viable small city EV) and it's fair to say that the finish on that is some way ahead of the Tesla. The Tesla is way ahead elsewhere of course but I think it's fair to acknowledge the bodywork shortcomings which still exist and which we've opted to address.

 

[tess19]

From a purely financial standpoint, absolutely not worth it.

From a purely cosmetic standpoint, definitely worth it.

Now you can decide where you fall between these 2 options. For me, not worth it.

AKA DirtyT3sla

 

[BayAreaCelt]

Same price (maybe cheaper!) as a colour changing wrap... why not go for that?

 

[Glan gluaisne]

From a purely financial standpoint, absolutely not worth it.

From a purely cosmetic standpoint, definitely worth it.

Now you can decide where you fall between these 2 options. For me, not worth it.

I think I'm probably in the not worth it category.

Last car I sold, after 5 years ownership, had a few paint chips at the front, plus a scuff or two here and there. Before selling it I had one of the mobile chip repair people come around and fix the paintwork defects. The car looked pretty much the same as when it had come out of the showroom, and the work cost about £250. The result was so good that my wife, who hasn't sold her car, had the chap touch up a few scratches and scuffs on her car. A year later and it's still impossible to tell where the touching up was done.

It seems, on the face of it, better value to just accept a few chips and scuffs, and when you can't live with them any longer, just get one of the chip repair people around to sort them out. I've no idea how they do it for the money they charge, as although my white car wasn't too demanding to match, my wife's car is silver and I know from past experience that it can be a bit of a bugger to get paint repairs to match well.

 

[interbear]

Before you go ahead with any PPF application ask them if they cut the film to shape in place or whether the fIlm is pre-cut to size. Makes me cringe the number of PPF businesses which use knives to cut rather than invest in either proper templated film or templating machines or their own.

As far as insurance is concerned, PPF film is not a wrap . A wrap changes the colour of the car ( and can make the car more attractive to no gooders) . If your insurance company is suggesting it is a wrap then they are wrong.

I have say I am not sure of the benefit of PPF with a ceramic coating applied over it which I know some people are being sold. Decent PPF is more then enough protection.

The detailer I use has a dedicated templating machine and subscribes to receive the specific vehicle templates from Xpel. That’s how he showed me the various PPF options for Model 3.

On the PPF with ceramic on top of it, it does seem overkill. I’ve read that some do it to add a hydrophobic layer to the PPF but again, I think I’d go for one or the other rather than both on the same part of the vehicle.

 

[MrBadger]

Whilst Xpel will normally still self heal if a ceramic coat is applied, the ceramic coat probably will not.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Before selling it I had one of the mobile chip repair people come around and fix the paintwork defects

The difference in price is significant, of course, but for me:

Car paint always in spotless condition
vs
Car paint in spotless condition on day one, and the day I sell it ...

 

[Adopado]

my wife's car is silver and I know from past experience that it can be a bit of a bugger to get paint repairs to match well.

Yes, years ago if you had "metallic" paint all your friends would rock back on their heels sucking air through their teeth, "Well, it looks great but just wait until you need a repair ..." In recent years things have changed hugely. I've had significant paint repairs on silver cars by professionals that were all stunningly good.

 

[Kiwiadventure]

I didn't want mud flaps so had some film applied to the sills and a little on the rear bumper behind each rear wheel.

 

[MrBadger]

I didn't want mud flaps so had some film applied to the sills and a little on the rear bumper behind each rear wheel.

I had same done to mine but am still having mudflaps - the crud off the road gets everywhere even though where it ends up is mostly protected.

 

[tess19]

The difference in price is significant, of course, but for me:

Car paint always in spotless condition
vs
Car paint in spotless condition on day one, and the day I sell it ...

The second option also includes money in the bank. Everyone different so each make their own choices.

Mind you, proper PPF will protect against minor keying and carpark scratches. That could be priceless to some.

 

[WannabeOwner]

proper PPF will protect against minor keying and carpark scratches

My car was side-swiped on a roundabout. Looked like it has been scraped along a wall when i got it home, quick wash revealed a couple of small dents that were hardly noticeable from a few yards away, and absolutely no paint damage at all.

Paint film protection can't decide.

Bit long odds that anyone else would have a similar benefit from PPF though

 

[Magneto3]

When decided whether to get PPF on the Model 3 or not, it would be super useful to understand the cost of repairing rock chips and scratches instead.

The nearest TSLA service center told me a brand new Model 3 bumper in my color (white) is $1k, installed. If repainting rock chimp damage was $100-$200 a chip, it might not make financial sense to get the PPF when you could pay to repair the incurred damage for possibly less.

Now, I'm not saying that's the case, which is why I'd like to ask anyone reading this who has paid for paint damage repair, can you share the cost and the scope?

 

[Avendit]

When decided whether to get PPF on the Model 3 or not, it would be super useful to understand the cost of repairing rock chips and scratches instead.

The nearest TSLA service center told me a brand new Model 3 bumper in my color (white) is $1k, installed. If repainting rock chimp damage was $100-$200 a chip, it might not make financial sense to get the PPF when you could pay to repair the incurred damage for possibly less.

Now, I'm not saying that's the case, which is why I'd like to ask anyone reading this who has paid for paint damage repair, can you share the cost and the scope?

PPF, for me, wouldn't be about the costs etc. I can and have done near invisible repairs on other cars, so it's the hassle Vs that looking at your car every am and thinking 'i must fix that scratch this weekend' and never getting time. PPF is about making that go away, whether it's my time or someone else's money.