Please Stop Me from spending $$$$ on the Exterior

[Crispix]

OP, I'll talk you out of it: deep down, it's just a car. You don't have to spend $ on the exterior unless you want to.

I haven't wrapped mine, put a coating on it, or done anything special to the exterior. I hand wash and wax (yes, wax!) it myself every couple months and it looks shiny new all the time. Yeah, it will get a rock chip one day, big deal. My last car had two small chips on the hood after 7 years and I was the only one who ever noticed or knew they were there. It also looked shiny new after 7 years, same treatment

 

[MiddKid]

No wrap or coating here. My car is our family workhorse. I have 3 kids ages 9, 7, and 4...this is our family car and it's going to look like a family car. Fingerprints on the windows, shoes on the back of the seats. That's not to say I keep it dirty, I don't. I hand wash it every few weeks which I've NEVER done with any previous car. But then the next day I pick a kid up from soccer practice with muddy cleats and shorts. I couldn't justify the cost of a wrap to keep the exterior "perfect" because the car wasn't going to stay perfect no matter what I did. Two weeks ago we even took it camping and a 600 mile road trip.

I have noticed two pin-sized paint chips on the right front of the hood. Not a big deal (to me). I'm the only one who notices. Everyone else is so amazed by the retracting door handles that they probably couldn't even tell me what color my MS is ;-)

After 6 months of ownership I'm more than happy to put those wrap $$$ to other things.

 

[BlueTan85]

What puzzles me is how shy everyone is -- owner and detailer alike -- in 'fessing up on exactly the dollar values that are only mentioned as $$$ on TMC.

I would like to know exactly what people are paying for Xpel this and Opti that and the rest of these wrap solutions. Right down to the penny.

Nobody was ever hesitant to talk about how much their car cost, the options cost, even what they paid for auto insurance. But when it comes to paint protection and wraps, sssshhhhh. How come?

 

[invisik]

I haven't done anything to the exterior of mine either..... but I'd really like to be able to take it through a automatic brush car wash... I have no time to hand wash it and touch-free washes don't really get anything clean. I had very noticeable swirls down both sides after just a handful of times through a brush automatic that I've used for years with other cars. So do I spend $1-$2k to get Opticoat or whatever it's called on there, just so I can use a car wash? The jury is still out on that one.

If you are planning to keep it forever, then I'd do the exterior.

-m

 

[jerry33]

What puzzles me is how shy everyone is -- owner and detailer alike -- in 'fessing up on exactly the dollar values that are only mentioned as $$$ on TMC.

I would like to know exactly what people are paying for Xpel this and Opti that and the rest of these wrap solutions. Right down to the penny.

Nobody was ever hesitant to talk about how much their car cost, the options cost, even what they paid for auto insurance. But when it comes to paint protection and wraps, sssshhhhh. How come?

No idea. I spent about $5k for a full Suntek wrap.

 

[LarryC]

Mine is 2 months old with only the factory armor film. While I've gone back and forth on wrapping and tinting a dozen times, in the end, I think it is not worth the added expense. I've owned a fair number of nice cars including a Ferrari and never had any of them wrapped or tinted and all of them looked great with only an expected number of small chips after 1-5 years of use. All except the Ferrari were daily drivers and I sold every one of them at high market value. I do not think I could have recaptured the investment if I had spend thousands on wrapping and coating them.

 

[mejojo]

Thanks guys....I feel better now. Whew!