Refund-worthy PPF job?

[Lumens]

Hi guys! Been stalking these threads for a while and decided to join in order to ask the community's opinion on whether or not this PPF install merits a refund.

I had a 'full frontal' PPF with ceramic coating applied over it at a shop recommended by other users here. After install the shop said they made no cuts by hand in order not to "cut the car" and that they have a machine which prints the cutouts. They said their machine must have botched the disfigured circle shown in one of the pictures and that it's normal to have these several-inches wide gaps since that's what the template is for the Model 3...

To me the job looks extremely sloppy with overhanging film everywhere. The left and right sides aren't very symmetrical, the Tesla logo is a little crooked and in many cases it doesn't wrap over the back edges- but I'm a noob who picked it up late and didn't notice these things until the next morning when I found corners peeling a tiny bit with dirty building up- which makes me ask, wouldn't a proper coating of ceramic over the PPF prevent this? I might've known better when they completed the job in 5 hours instead of the 5 days another shop quoted me.

Anyway I hope to hear your thoughts. They said they'd fix the front lower portion for me, but at this point I'm wondering if I should try and get a refund and go elsewhere. Problem is I'm not sure about mixing ceramic coating from 2 different places... Thank you!

 

[jjrandorin]

I have a return question for you. You mention that, specifically:

To me the job looks extremely sloppy with overhanging film everywhere

Since this is your opinion, and you are the one paying for it... if 20 people responded to this thread and said "naw its fine, you are being picky" or some such (not that I think that), would that change a single thing about how you feel?

I suspect that the answer to that is "no" you would still feel like:

To me the job looks extremely sloppy with overhanging film everywhere. The left and right sides aren't very symmetrical, the Tesla logo is a little crooked and in many cases it doesn't wrap over the back edges

So, what anyone else says or thinks here doesnt really matter. You already have your answer, you dont like the job. The question is, do you trust them to "re do it right" or do you get a refund and go elsewhere?

FWIW, that doesnt look like a job I would have been happy paying for, but I also dont think my opinion on this matters in your case either.

 

[Lumens]

I have a return question for you. You mention that, specifically:



Since this is your opinion, and you are the one paying for it... if 20 people responded to this thread and said "naw its fine, you are being picky" or some such (not that I think that), would that change a single thing about how you feel?

I suspect that the answer to that is "no" you would still feel like:



So, what anyone else says or thinks here doesnt really matter. You already have your answer, you dont like the job. The question is, do you trust them to "re do it right" or do you get a refund and go elsewhere?

FWIW, that doesnt look like a job I would have been happy paying for, but I also dont think my opinion on this matters in your case either.

Good point, I think I was mostly caught up in the emotion of REALLY looking at the pics as I was uploading them and posting. If a few people came in and mentioned their jobs looked similar or that I'm absolutely being picky, I'd likely live with it. Good to know your opinion, thanks for your input!

 

[tempest2001]

It looks like the shop you went to used a precut kit vs a custom cut which may be the issue. I guess it depends on the agreement you had with the shop. I'm getting mine wrapped as we speak but by a shop that specifically said they wrap and tuck all possible edges if it does not interfere with car's safety or functionality and also they cut around all sensors. But definitely from your photo it looks sloppy especially that sensor photo. How you do it is up to you but if it was up to me, I'd first contact the owner of the shop then my next call if that doesn't work is call my credit card company to put a hold and then I would definitely tell the shop you're going to be submitting the proper reviews. Reviews these days are very important at least to me, I wouldn't go to a shop that has bad reviews.

 

[Lumens]

It looks like the shop you went to used a precut kit vs a custom cut which may be the issue. I guess it depends on the agreement you had with the shop. I'm getting mine wrapped as we speak but by a shop that specifically said they wrap and tuck all possible edges if it does not interfere with car's safety or functionality and also they cut around all sensors. But definitely from your photo it looks sloppy especially that sensor photo. How you do it is up to you but if it was up to me, I'd first contact the owner of the shop then my next call if that doesn't work is call my credit card company to put a hold and then I would definitely tell the shop you're going to be submitting the proper reviews. Reviews these days are very important at least to me, I wouldn't go to a shop that has bad reviews.

Honestly despite the research I did before getting the PPF done I didn't know to ask about whether or not it was custom vs precut. But good advice- I'll see if they can get it right next time or I'll have to contact my credit card company and take it somewhere else.

Would the corners be peeling like that if they laid a proper ceramic coating over it? Could be my lack of knowledge on the subject but I feel like the ceramic would help keep the PPF in place/prevent dirt from getting under it 1 day after install. The PPF pulls right off (they removed a piece while I was there) so I'm hopeful I won't see any paint damage...

 

[tempest2001]

I'm no expert either but I don't see how ceramic can prevent peeling. Ceramic coating just makes it easier to wash and protect certain containement from getting to the ppf. No where in my research has shown ceramic can prevent peeling. I watched a ton of videos on how to wash ppf cars so you might want to take a look on YouTube as well. But peeling will be a high possibility due to a poor install job. And also PPF manufacturer do not provide warranty based on me speaking to them directly on none certified PPF installer of the specific PPF manufacturer. They told me they just don't know if the defect is due to poor install by someone they haven't gone through their training or due to actual product defect. So you might want to see if the installers are certified by the manufacturer.

 

[DeltaOne]

I might've known better when they completed the job in 5 hours instead of the 5 days another shop quoted me.

I just booked PPF and ceramic here in central Maryland for mid-August. They wrap all edges and the Tesla emblem is removed and then replaced over top of the PPF. It looked like your PPF was not under the Tesla emblem. They remove the fender cameras and then re-install after the PPF is done.

I don't see how this could be done in 5 hours. As for the 5 days...my shop quoted 10 days. I jokingly said that'll kill me...can you get it done in 5 days? He said the 10 day quote is to set expectations, later when I pressed him he said to expect it to take 7 to 8 days.

 

[byeLT4]

To me it looks like they stretched too much where they shouldn't have (over the sensors) and not enough where they needed to (edges). If the pricing was on par with other shops I'd want it redone or a refund.

 

[N54TT]

As another member posted, it depends what your agreement was….custom vs pre cut. For custom I definitely would not be happy. Gaps and edges are too big. Theres some edges you can’t wrap around without taking off panels or headlights etc. But it doesn’t look like they wrapped around any of the edges. My ppf wraps around the edges on the hood, fender edges by the hood, wheel arch’s and along the edge by the doors…basically any accessible edge that didn’t require removing something….other than the emblem(that they did remove).
You said the shop was recommended by other members here….are their ppf’s similar to yours?

 

[KenC]

Pre-cut, with only one image showing where the film didn't stick on an edge, down by the front grill. As someone who DIY'd my PPF, that doesn't look all that bad to me, but I know how hard a pre-cut is, because you have to stretch the film the way the pre-cut requires you to.

If you get the pre-cut too close to the edge, it won't stick, and you get dirt under, so that's why it stops about 1-2mm away from edges.

 

[tempest2001]

There's also the cost factor too, but obviously beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If it only cost minimal like $1000 then I guess it's a $1000 job so you can't expect a 5K job for a 1K payment. Most places at least in SoCal charges anywhere from 5K to upwards of 7500+. But yeah 5 hours is pretty ridiculous, I dropped my car off this past Monday, I don't expect it to be done until maybe this coming Wed/Thur if I'm lucky, so full 7-10 days is pretty normal.