Why PPF?

[Schulz1983]

Ah, interesting. Will have to read up on this. Thanks.

XPEL makes the film and I checked into it. My installer didn’t recommend it as it has to be replaced yearly. The film wears from the windshield wipers. At $400 I didn’t want to replace it every year or even 2 years. I have a $0 deductible on glass so if it chips I will just replace it. I’ve already had it replaced once.

 

[Daekwan]

How often do you apply this on the car? I don’t like throwing away money either and would consider this option.

In my area doing the entire front will cost me this:


“$1700 is the lowest we can go for full front end.

If you wanted to do a full front bumper, partial hood, partial fenders and mirrors it would be $950”

I've only applied it once back in May and its still working very well. The instructions on the bottle say to apply it twice back to back for up to 1 year of protection. My guess is since I applied it once its going to last about 6 months.

6500 miles so far. Think there might be one tiny rock chip on the front bumper. Something you can’t see from more than 5ft away.

 

[Spidey616]

What brand PPF is thought to be the best? I have an installer here that uses a XPEL and Ziebart uses their own brand. Both 10 year warranty. Ziebart is about 300 bucks cheaper to do full front end.

 

[Schulz1983]

What brand PPF is thought to be the best? I have an installer here that uses a XPEL and Ziebart uses their own brand. Both 10 year warranty. Ziebart is about 300 bucks cheaper to do full front end.

XPELs warranty is nationwide. I can’t speak to Ziebart.

 

[Pstreicher1]

I'm a little OCD, so paint damage drives me crazy. I have PPF on my Miata on the front bumper, hood, and side mirrors. I agree that the ROI on it is probably not good. I did this on the Miata because I plan on keeping it for a long time and I want it to look good. My last Miata had a bumper that looked sandblasted after just a few years. If you turn cars over a lot, I think it makes little sense to get this done. If you don't mind a few paint chips, it's probably not worth doing. I also don't think it's worth doing the whole car. Some areas are much more prone to damage than others, so you have leverage there. When my Tesla comes in, I'll probably cover the same areas as on the Miata, although I may pass on the hood this time depending on the quote.

I was one of those that said, 'Fxxk it' and did the full wrap for the MYLR a month after getting the car. Within a couple of months I backed into the garage like I always do, and wasn't paying enough attention and scraped the rear quarter panel in two places against the workbench. I have not went to see how much it will cost to replace this one small piece. I think the PPF saved the paint though but I am just procrastinating finding out. So, you just never know when or what will ding the paint. Any protection is better than nothing. Of late I installed a tape light with motion sensor that gives me enough light to see how close I am to that workbench now. Oh, and I also just last week bought and installed some reflector tape and attached a piece to the black foam that I screwed onto the workbench. That reflector tape shows up nicely and helps keep me straight now.

 

[nonoyes]

Just my opinion, but PPF is stupid and a waste of money, unless you have money to burn. *sugar* happens, and we move on to the next car.

 

[toshman]

I love tech. I love cars. I love my M3.

At the end of the day, it’s a car. A depreciating asset. I’m with the OP, I think PPF is overkill. Like when your grandma covered her new sofa with clear wrap!

 

[alexgr]

Sure, the front of the Tesla MY is more susceptible to chips due to the no grill, but in a worst case scenario one could have the front repainted at a good body shop for less than the cost of PPF.

No, you may easily look at over $2k to repaint the hood, the fenders, and the bumper. After nearly 3 years under PPF, my M3 front looks absolutely like new. Cleaning is super easy too. When I get any other car, I do PPF again, no question. My other car's front that has no PPF looks like $hit.

 

[gr8tdane24]

I love tech. I love cars. I love my M3.

At the end of the day, it’s a car. A depreciating asset. I’m with the OP, I think PPF is overkill. Like when your grandma covered her new sofa with clear wrap!

I'm in the same camp - depreciating asset. I swear many Tesla owners are some of the most PPF obsessed of the bunch. Only case I personally would get PPF is if I wanted a complete color change or matte finish, which I totally get. Otherwise, its not a supercar or rare numbers matching classic, so just drive it and enjoy it (or spend the money on something tangible like AB, suspension, wheels and tires, etc...).

 

[snpk]

PPF on a Tesla Model Y??? Model Y's are ubiquitous as is. It's no GT3.. or 458 speciale. It's a family car, meant to be used and driven. The next guy won't give you 2k more for it just because it has PPF, I guarantee that.

 

[Destiny1701]

Summing it up:

PPF camp: car remains looking new for years. OVD type…every kick or chip causes high B pressure lol, provides comfort especially in northern climates where ice and snow are ‘brushed off’ and cause swirls, peace of mind, perhaps longer term ownership 5yrs+ so amortized cost over time, enjoy seeing a new blemish free car every day.

Non PPF camp: waste of $, cost to repair similar, won’t see a return, cars are not meant to look new forever, it’s not a Ferrari, spend on more practical things. Ie. Upgraded tires, suspension, boost

What’s intriguing is I see benefits on both sides. I wrapped a new model S in 2018 partial but included the rear bumper. 2 weeks in, a car rear ended me lightly but requiring a replacement bumper. Ppf: zero safety and cost me to replace it as insurance wouldn’t cover that part.

Fast forward 2 yrs…driving on highway, stone chip hit the front hood and caused a 1cm rip/tear in the ppf but didn’t touch the paint. I had the ppf replaced for $350, looked showroom and it was still oem original paint.
Ppf: prevented a full hood repait.

I’ll say overall ANY upgrade one does to a car will never see more then 50% return…if that. Used car buyers will pay what they pay regardless of ppf, boost, tires etc and will always see these items as bundled with the car. Ie. Negotiated in the final $

I can agree non- ppf for those who simply don’t care, happy to drive and go and come what may. Works for them And I see that logic as well…I just know myself lol.

For me ppf is about always keeping the shoe shined. And one day hopefully a 5 yr old used car that looks brand new could simply sell faster and perhaps for a tad bit more …but I’m the end I wake up each day with a brand new looking car. There is an intrinsic benefit to that

 

[Daekwan]

I've only applied it once back in May and its still working very well. The instructions on the bottle say to apply it twice back to back for up to 1 year of protection. My guess is since I applied it once its going to last about 6 months.

6500 miles so far. Think there might be one tiny rock chip on the front bumper. Something you can’t see from more than 5ft away.

Forgot I posted this in August.

6-month Update. 14,200 miles and 11 months of ownership. Daily driven. Just did a full detail on the car. Hand wash>clay>2nd quick wash>Turtle Wax hybrid ceramic wax. The entire front end looks absolutely beautiful after a year of ownership.

Not perfect tho, there are definitely a few rock chips. I would guess about 8, all very tiny about a millimeter in size. Looks like little specks of dirt.. I know because I couldn't get them out with the clay bar lol. Trust me I tried! I would say they are visible from about 1-2 feet away. I have no doubt a bottle of touch-up paint and they would be completely invisible from any distance. The first picture was taken from about 3-4 feet away. About as close up as I could get, while capturing the entire front bumper & hood.

The chips are so hard to see, that I'm not spending $30 on a bottle of touch-up paint. And this is coming from a person who already spent $30 on a bottle of satin black touch-up paint, to fix the curb scrapes on my black 20" Induction wheels.

As you can imagine. I'm am so glad I didn’t waste money on PPF for anything in the front. Even more so, given there I’m most likely selling this car sometime this year.. and upgrading to something else. Possibly 2022 MYP, once Austin starts cranking them out with 4680s.

Cant say enough great things about the Turtle Wax hybrid ceramic. Spray it on very lightly.. literally two sprays per panel. Let is haze, buff it off a few minutes later. I do this once a year (they recommend you do it twice for a full year of protection) and my paint absolutely pops. Even my wife who could not care any less about cars.. wants to me to make her car shine the way my car shines lol.

Turtle Wax 53409 Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating - 16 Fl Oz.
by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYPS3PS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_56KEHGW9DQ012S0MY92C

 

[whydontwe]

This thread is refreshing. I've spent $$$ on PPF on previously owned Teslas. I ended selling those to dealers and private parties, and none care about the PPF. It's peace of mind, and maybe it's needed if you drive on gravel often. For my next Telsa (MYP on order), I am going to get tint, and that's it. In the past, before I owned Teslas, I never even knew of PPF. In all honestly, TMS forums made me get PPF in the past lol.

 

[Maxw72]

Being from Utah, I believe that PPF AT LEAST on the front of the car is 100% necessary. I do understand the depreciating asset but I think if it were possible to see, you would have a lot more interest in selling a car with PPF due to the fact that chips in your front bumper and hood, when buying an expensive vehicle, are hard to ignore. Once my MYP arrives it is going straight to my detail mechanic and it will be put on.

 

[whydontwe]

AT LEAST, as in only the front bumper (Model Y). I find that to be reasonable in terms of cost (less than $500 installed). So no need to do the two front fenders and hood?

 

[Destiny1701]

AT LEAST, as in only the front bumper (Model Y). I find that to be reasonable in terms of cost (less than $500 installed). So no need to do the two front fenders and hood?

I do my bumper, hood, fenders and side mirrors for $1200. To me…worth it. Peace of mind and that’s really the main area. I also do the side rockers up to the line on the doors and around wheel wells where dirt and salt build up. $300. stone chips/scratches seem to occur on the rockers and rear flare area before the wheel well. So total $1500 expel ultimate and I don’t think abt it.

Also I have black which is the most unforgiving colour around. If I had whitec, I prob would just stick to bumper/hood. Can’t see imperfections on white.

 

[GBMaryland]

I learned early on with my Model 3 LR that the paint was very prone to chipping.

I also dislike waxing my car, and the roads around here seem to have issues with debris, etc.

So I had the entire car wrapped with Llumar PPF and coated with a ceramic coating.

My wife accidentally scraped my rear 1/4 panel on a container in the garage which backing in, and the paint transfer wiped right off with a wet cloth. I took out the heat gun and it went right back to normal. Looks perfect.

Keep in mind that if I had to have that repaired due to paint damage, it would have been around $2k.

Car remains shiny with no need to do anything by take it to the car wash when there it's crazy bug season.

Yeah, it's expensive. ...but it's VERY effective and useful.

 

[nate704]

I guess it comes down to personal preference. the PPF does not increase any resale value and dealers do not care if your cars have a few chips or scratches when you try to sell your used car to them.
The PPF can protect the surface from light scratches, but it will not protect the car from moderate or deep scratches and any ding or crash.
Also, the ceramic coating on top of the PPF is absurd since the coating will wear out within a few months and do nothing basically. It is only for shiny looks for a few months.

 

[GBMaryland]

Surprisingly, the Ceramic coating seems to have lasted several years. Moreover, Llumar has a version of the PPF with it embedded in the film itself.

 

[Maxw72]

AT LEAST, as in only the front bumper (Model Y). I find that to be reasonable in terms of cost (less than $500 installed). So no need to do the two front fenders and hood?

I guess I should have better clarified. I'm with @Destiny1701 , When I have the front end of my cars done they do a portion of the hood, the entire bumper and light housings, a portion of the front fenders, and the mirrors. My mechanic did my wife's Hyundai Palisade with all that for $900. I currently have the same quote on the MYP unless I want to do the entire hood and a few other spots for $1200. In Utah we have heavy salt use on the roads for the snow and ice. The snowplows also tear up the roads and it is normal for me to get a rock chip in my windshield about every other month. So that is what is hitting my windshield, while I don't have to imagine it because my current car doesn't have PPF on the front of it, and the front bumper has chips all over it, the PPF is just a must for me. I do understand though, it is different for everyone.