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VA/MD/DC Collective bargaining/group buy for paint armor/wrap

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andrewket

Well-Known Member
Dec 20, 2012
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I'm expecting my MS in April, and plan to get the car wrapped in Xpel or 3M. I thought I'd start a thread to see if there are other owners in the metro DC area that would be interested in collective bargaining or a group-buy for this. There must be cost savings an installer can realize by doing multiple cars of the same type at the same time. If no, I'm sure they would be willing to provide a discount just based on obtaining a large amount of business in one transaction.

Any interest? I'm willing to do a fair amount of the leg work, unless someone here already has a good relationship with a professional shop.
 
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I would be interested, thanks. I have not finalized yet, but need to do so in the next couple weeks for a March/April projected delivery. The last couple of cars I had done, I used a mobile service and they charged me like $500 for bumper, 1/3 hood, 1/3 fenders, mirrors. I honestly don't recall the product or the service, unfortunately, but could probably find out. :rolleyes:

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@andrewket, @tegibso: I was able to find the company I used on my last 3 cars. I'm not supposed to give out their name here (you can figure out why), but can PM you with it. I did speak w/ the owner this morning and he is definitely able to work with us on a group discount; he just doesn't want to give the discount up front as he's had bad experiences with not everybody showing up for the work and already giving the discount to those that did. Their product is 3M Scotchgard and Ventureshield as well as Xpel Ultimate if you're doing a full hood. He didn't think the Avery Nanoguard looked as good on the Model S's he's done. I will email him my info and will contact you guys w/ what I get from him.
 
What is the longevity of these wraps? How much weight do they add to the car?

My experience is that after about 4 years, the wraps start to cloud up, and don't look so good. At that point, you either just live with it, or you get the car re-wrapped. In many cases, before the film begins to cloud up, a fender bender precipitates a re-wrap anyway (my wife, not me).
 
@andrewket, @tegibso: I was able to find the company I used on my last 3 cars. I'm not supposed to give out their name here (you can figure out why), but can PM you with it. I did speak w/ the owner this morning and he is definitely able to work with us on a group discount; he just doesn't want to give the discount up front as he's had bad experiences with not everybody showing up for the work and already giving the discount to those that did. Their product is 3M Scotchgard and Ventureshield as well as Xpel Ultimate if you're doing a full hood. He didn't think the Avery Nanoguard looked as good on the Model S's he's done. I will email him my info and will contact you guys w/ what I get from him.

If you want to PM me the info that's fine, or you can take the lead and negotiate for us since you have that relationship. To counter the shop owner's concern about making a deal and then not having everyone follow through, one solution is that he take a deposit (10%?) from each of us before he begins work on the 1st car. Or something along those lines. You'll have to tell us which shop it is before we commit, though. People need the opportunity to check out their work, reputation, location, warranty, etc.

A
 
good idea on the deposits, Andrew. I'll pm you. btw, that's shaping up to be a mighty fine stable of cars you'll have :).

Hm, I don't have a much of a stable here. Where are you seeing this? My current ride is a BMW 335is Convertible. The other cars in my "stable" are quite boring. Darn kids.


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My experience is that after about 4 years, the wraps start to cloud up, and don't look so good. At that point, you either just live with it, or you get the car re-wrapped. In many cases, before the film begins to cloud up, a fender bender precipitates a re-wrap anyway (my wife, not me).

Is this the Xpel you're talking about? I thought they had a 10-year warranty.
 
You're down for a Model S and X, no? Still haven't heard back on discount pricing...

Oh, yeah. Taking delivery on the S for sure. The X is still a maybe. A lot depends on how my wife likes the S. We transport our kids every day to/from school (~30 miles r/t) * twice a day. It's a perfect use case for an EV. A volt/leaf would work too.
 
Yes, we got a little email group together and exchanged some info; here are a couple options.

- cheap way: ordering 3M film kit separately for a really good price and having a good local installer do it at a reasonable price. Full hood is not a viable option here.

- getting a bit of a group discount from a "Tesla approved" installer either for 3M or Expel Ultimate. Full hood is an option here. So far we don't seem to have the numbers/consensus for a deep discount here.

I think there has been no real consensus in the group yet. A couple of us have even had second thoughts on doing the armor at all (including myself); I may just do the front bumper. PM me if you want further details.

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Yes, we got a little email group together and exchanged some info; here are a couple options.

- cheap way: ordering 3M film kit separately for a really good price and having a good local installer do it at a reasonable price. Full hood is not a viable option here.

- getting a bit of a group discount from a "Tesla approved" installer either for 3M or Expel Ultimate. Full hood is an option here. So far we don't seem to have the numbers/consensus for a deep discount here.

I think there has been no real consensus in the group yet. A couple of us have even had second thoughts on doing the armor at all (including myself); I may just do the front bumper. PM me if you want further details.

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I didn't realize you were thinking about no longer getting a wrap. It's still my intent, but I need a car first.
 
Andrew, will probably do just bumper with the 3M kit. I agree, I don't like the lines of the partial hood especially on a black, but do not want to spend way more $$ for a full hood with Xpel, after spending way more $$ on car, ?service plan, wheels, mats, etc.

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I'm taking my S over to Sunshine Control in Sterling on Monday. They are going to wrap the front with 3M film ($750) and install 3M Crystalline window tint ($250). I'm going to get a price for wrapping the entire car while it's there. I was really leaning towards the Xpel product, but 3M offers a 5yr warranty for the film and the installer offers lifetime for the installation. I can let everyone know how it goes if you're interested.
 
I'm taking my S over to Sunshine Control in Sterling on Monday. They are going to wrap the front with 3M film ($750) and install 3M Crystalline window tint ($250). I'm going to get a price for wrapping the entire car while it's there. I was really leaning towards the Xpel product, but 3M offers a 5yr warranty for the film and the installer offers lifetime for the installation. I can let everyone know how it goes if you're interested.

Definitely. The prices you've been quoted aren't bad, depending on what the front includes. Which windows are you tinting?
 
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