Pay for a color or get it wrapped?

[Bertuzzi44]

Hey I’ve got my order in for a Model 3. I still have a week to decide on color, I’ve been contemplating paying the extra for the midnight silver but a friend is suggesting going with the white and then getting the car wrapped? Does it matter if a white car is wrapped in a dark color? I’m new to this. Also would I still need to get the paint protection if I get it wrapped?

He has owned his M3 for a year now and his biggest regret is not getting the paint protection done

 

[JACMS3]

Getting it wrapped will cost more.

I suggest pick up the colour.
Ppf the hood
Then ceramic cost all car.

 

[TheRFMan]

Vinyl wrap is fairly thin (a lot thinner than paint protection film), and will not offer as much protection. It's also a lot more expensive than paying for the Midnight Silver, and it's not particularly easy to remove either.

Unless you want a colour that Tesla doesn't offer, I'd recommend skipping the wrap.

 

[5abi]

im in same boat. $1300 for non white paint, $2500 for wrap or $4k for ppf on white. i chose $1300 on non white paint. didnt want to worry about door dings, scratches etc that would rip off the wrap then pay few hundred more to hopefully try to fix it. never had ppf or ceramic coating on any of my other cars over the years so i look at it that way why do i need it for a tesla as its not cheap; could get new wheels, lower the car and a system for the same price lol

 

[TheRFMan]

im in same boat. $1300 for non white paint, $2500 for wrap or $4k for ppf on white. i chose $1300 on non white paint. didnt want to worry about door dings, scratches etc that would rip off the wrap then pay few hundred more to hopefully try to fix it. never had ppf or ceramic coating on any of my other cars over the years so i look at it that way why do i need it for a tesla as its not cheap; could get new wheels, lower the car and a system for the same price lol

You don't really need PPF on the whole car. Hood, bumper and front fenders is enough for most people is a lot cheaper than doing the whole car.

 

[5abi]

You don't really need PPF on the whole car. Hood, bumper and front fenders is enough for most people is a lot cheaper than doing the whole car.

that’s about $2k

 

[TheRFMan]

that’s about $2k

It depends what you want. If you want full hood and full fenders with paint correction done beforehand, it might reach $2k. If you're OK with the factory paint condition and just want PPF over the front part of the car to protect against chips, it's not going to be nearly that much.

If you have some time to spare and are moderately handy, you can get a pre-cut PPF kit and install it yourself. There are lots of instructional YouTube videos on this; it's not that hard to do. Carzilla.ca sells a full kit for the Model 3 (bumper, from of hood- 24" inches in from front, front of fenders, headlights and mirrors) for $384.

 

[MexiCanuck]

You don't really need PPF on the whole car. Hood, bumper and front fenders is enough for most people is a lot cheaper than doing the whole car.

That was my approach when I bought my Prius v in 2014, although I was more thorough. I had the bumpers, front fenders, hood, mirrors, rocker panels, and a strip above the windshield PPFed.

Within a couple of years I had chips in various areas of the car that were not PPFed.

When I bought my TM3 in 2019 I had the whole Campbell River PPFed. So far (53k km) I have no chips.

 

[Goodtohave]

Vinyl and PPF have nothing to do with each other and can’t be compared.

PPF is to protect paint.

Vinyl is purely a cosmetic change offering little to no protection from chips.

Vinyl is also temporary, if you don’t remove it after a few years it will be nearly impossible to remove and will ruin the paint underneath in the process.

 

[NorthofYYZ]

I paid for the Midnight Silver Metallic and then decided to do a vinyl wrap. While I realize it doesn't offer the same level of protection as PPF, from the looks of things it does protect from the minor dings I've picked up in 3.5 yrs of driving. If I had it to do again, I'd go with the basic white and wrap.

 

[Vancouver ClearBra]

Hey I’ve got my order in for a Model 3. I still have a week to decide on color, I’ve been contemplating paying the extra for the midnight silver but a friend is suggesting going with the white and then getting the car wrapped? Does it matter if a white car is wrapped in a dark color? I’m new to this. Also would I still need to get the paint protection if I get it wrapped?

He has owned his M3 for a year now and his biggest regret is not getting the paint protection done

Yes, a white car is costly and time consuming to wrap to a dark color although we offer it. Vinyl wraps may last a few years tops generally and do very little to stop rock chips and scratches.

Combining vinyl wrap with clear bra is pretty costly although can be done. This said there's colored clear bra nowadays and normally around 6K or more to do it right especially on a white vehicle as we need to take off the doors and many other parts to make it look good, much like a vinyl wrap to do it right. The colored clear bra has a 10 year warranty and self healing surface like the satin and gloss clear bra we offer.

You can do ceramic but won't change the color, will not stop chips or scratches, all it will do is make cleaning easier for 1-3 years depending on how you wash your Tesla, and warranty is void the first time you go to a drive thru car wash... whereas clear bra is going to protect the vehicle for 10 years or more.

This all said, another option is we can do Xpel STEALTH and change the gloss to a satin finish with all the clear bra benefits and warranty for 10 years. This will make your white Tesla look like a pearlescent white color and people have almost all loved it.

Take a look at our Tesla only Website as we are forum sponsors where you'll see some examples of the satin white. Would love to help out no matter which way you go. We even offer high end window tinting to stop infrared heat from coming into your new Tesla.

 

[Vancouver ClearBra]

Vinyl and PPF have nothing to do with each other and can’t be compared.

PPF is to protect paint.

Vinyl is purely a cosmetic change offering little to no protection from chips.

Vinyl is also temporary, if you don’t remove it after a few years it will be nearly impossible to remove and will ruin the paint underneath in the process.

Totally agree

 

[Vancouver ClearBra]

That was my approach when I bought my Prius v in 2014, although I was more thorough. I had the bumpers, front fenders, hood, mirrors, rocker panels, and a strip above the windshield PPFed.

Within a couple of years I had chips in various areas of the car that were not PPFed.

When I bought my TM3 in 2019 I had the whole Campbell River PPFed. So far (53k km) I have no chips.

Very true and I seen it earlier last year... A lady brought her Model 3 to us and had about 3000 km's on it, as didn't know about clear bra our clear bra offering at Vancouver ClearBra. Once she heard of us, she came to us for installation right away to help stop the progression. This poor car had rock chips or scratches on every panel sadly. The chips on the front bumper were so bad, we avoided putting on the film till it was painted, which cost her near 1500 alone for the front bumper

 

[Bertuzzi44]

Yes, a white car is costly and time consuming to wrap to a dark color although we offer it. Vinyl wraps may last a few years tops generally and do very little to stop rock chips and scratches.

Combining vinyl wrap with clear bra is pretty costly although can be done. This said there's colored clear bra nowadays and normally around 6K or more to do it right especially on a white vehicle as we need to take off the doors and many other parts to make it look good, much like a vinyl wrap to do it right. The colored clear bra has a 10 year warranty and self healing surface like the satin and gloss clear bra we offer.

You can do ceramic but won't change the color, will not stop chips or scratches, all it will do is make cleaning easier for 1-3 years depending on how you wash your Tesla, and warranty is void the first time you go to a drive thru car wash... whereas clear bra is going to protect the vehicle for 10 years or more.

This all said, another option is we can do Xpel STEALTH and change the gloss to a satin finish with all the clear bra benefits and warranty for 10 years. This will make your white Tesla look like a pearlescent white color and people have almost all loved it.

Take a look at our Tesla only Website as we are forum sponsors where you'll see some examples of the satin white. Would love to help out no matter which way you go. We even offer high end window tinting to stop infrared heat from coming into your new Tesla.

Thanks for the informative reply, I’ll be in touch once mine comes

 

[Vawlkus]

Very true and I seen it earlier last year... A lady brought her Model 3 to us and had about 3000 km's on it, as didn't know about clear bra our clear bra offering at Vancouver ClearBra. Once she heard of us, she came to us for installation right away to help stop the progression. This poor car had rock chips or scratches on every panel sadly. The chips on the front bumper were so bad, we avoided putting on the film till it was painted, which cost her near 1500 alone for the front bumper

Here’s a question: what do you think the Cybertruck will need once it arrives? I’ve started seeing suggestions pop up, so I’m curious what you guys think.
I’m on the East coast, so I’m highly unlikely to ever be in your customer base.

 

[Vancouver ClearBra]

Here’s a question: what do you think the Cybertruck will need once it arrives? I’ve started seeing suggestions pop up, so I’m curious what you guys think.
I’m on the East coast, so I’m highly unlikely to ever be in your customer base.

There'd be no reason to assume it would need anything other then the same thing as any other vehicle on the road would need, being protection from rock chips and scratches, especially being on the east coast. From there for ease of cleaning, the ceramic coating comes in very handy then to stop the UV rays from slowly ruining the interior and shutting out some of the heat, a quality window tint like Xpel PRIME XR would be highly beneficial. When the time comes and you're ready for protection services let me know as I may be able to help you and guide you in the right direction to a local installer as I also visit NB a couple times per year since I have family and land on the east coast

 

[Vawlkus]

There'd be no reason to assume it would need anything other then the same thing as any other vehicle on the road would need, being protection from rock chips and scratches, especially being on the east coast. From there for ease of cleaning, the ceramic coating comes in very handy then to stop the UV rays from slowly ruining the interior and shutting out some of the heat, a quality window tint like Xpel PRIME XR would be highly beneficial. When the time comes and you're ready for protection services let me know as I may be able to help you and guide you in the right direction to a local installer as I also visit NB a couple times per year since I have family and land on the east coast

My local EV group (EVAAC) has pretty much all the locals on speed dial.
Thanks for the offer though.

 

[oakvillemike]

You could do a wrap over PPF - did it with our Model Y. Initially wanted to go with a full matte PPF but the Tesla paint job was so bad that the dust underneath the paint and clearcoat would show up like little specks. Not noticeable normally but you won't be able to un-see it once you do. My installer tried a test run with the matte PPF and it looked real bad.

He suggested doing partial PPF to protect the vital parts of the car and wrapping with matte black afterwards. Saved some money vs full matte PPF wrap while protecting and achieving the look I wanted. Ceramic coated exterior and interior as well, he did a great job.