I've read a bajillion posts on films and coatings and noticed that most folks advocate film as protection against rock chips, presumably from freeway driving. For that reason (and to save money), many people do front-only partial covers. But I drive mostly on secondary roads and don't have many chips even after 10 years. Are front films less valuable for suburban speeds? How does film do in a parking lot against an adjacent car door? If I'm going to invest in film, I'm wondering if I should be focused on the side of my car instead? To protect against runaway Home Depot carts, uncaring Escalade drivers, or even just miss-judging my garage entrance, versus the less likely flying freeway rocks? For what it's worth, no matter what I do about film, I'm definitely going to do a coating, because carwash swirls and bird poop drive me nuts.
Thanks!
Obviously, you need to research your options and products, and make you own determine what protection you think this investment in a Paint Protection Film (PPF) will provide to ally your concerns.
Up front, I started looking for just a front bra for highway chip protection, since I had several after just a few years of minimal long distance travel on my Cayenne. Eventually I sprung for the entire car being covered since I fell in love with the matte finish of Xpel Stealth (see my profile pic), pricey, but I get so much satisfaction just by looking at it, the protection is just "icing on the cake"... literally.
A minor car door or shopping cart collision, if not too hard, is usually no match for the PPF, nor is bird droppings or car wash swirls (self-healing properties). And should there be permanent damage to the PPF (so unlikely) which protected the paint, there is a good chance it would have definitely damaged the paint if not for the film. This is the real benefit, cause it costs a small amount to replace that segment of film compared to the cost of a repaint, however I doubt insurance will cover the film cost, but then again with deductibles as they are, it will still come out of your pocket.
Put it this way, any superficial permanent damage to the film that does not extend to the paint is a much cheaper cost, since removal of the film reveals a factory-fresh paint job.... bumpers, bonnet, sides, roof, etc.
I am a solid believer in PPF now, and in my case, if the next owner does not want the matte finish, I simply remove the PPF and it's a factory-fresh paint job.
Just be careful and shop around, as I had quotes for the same job ranging from $3500 to $8000.