Just curious if anyone has regretted having the full PPF done? I have had a couple of front end PPF packages done but never kept the vehicle more than a couple of years. We are considering having our MYP fully done in PPF. Usually on our vehicles I would rinse off the PPF and wax the painted areas. All those vehicles were white. The MYP will be dark blue. So worried a full PPF on a dark color might be harder to keep looking shiny if I am not waxing the PPF? We are looking at the glossy Suntek Ultra film. Usually we have had XPEL but the shop switched to SUNTEK.
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Anyone regret have full PPF done?
- Thread starter carcrazyguy
- Start date
Main reason I am even considering the full PPF is we live in the Texas Panhandle where the wind blows like crazy from time to time. It is not uncommon to have 60-70 mph winds with almost brown out conditions. Being the car is going to be darker in color, trying to save the sand blast effect and the unsightly rock chips…
Look at the steps and cost for removal, before installing. Most brands suggest removing before their suggested life ends.
If you are going to rid vehicle say in 5 years, then maybe. If you keep for more than 5 years, remove and replace or just remove will be an issue. Expect the removal labor to be 2x 3x or more of install cost.
If you are going to rid vehicle say in 5 years, then maybe. If you keep for more than 5 years, remove and replace or just remove will be an issue. Expect the removal labor to be 2x 3x or more of install cost.
Candleflame
Active Member
Candleflame
Active Member
if it helps I spent a lot of time on a dual lane rural highway with plenty of rockchips from trucks and oncoming traffic and people driving unsafe 4x4 without mudflaps etc making my car look ancient and the only places I would put any paint protection on are:
- front fender (by far the worst)
- hood (second worst)
- lights
- panel next to the lights where the side cameras are (actually not that bad)
- windscreen
- driver door
- rear quarter panel just in front of the wheels (its the only place where i have ppf atm)
- the long panel linked to the rear quarter panel (rocker panel or whatever it is called) drivers side only
- front fender (by far the worst)
- hood (second worst)
- lights
- panel next to the lights where the side cameras are (actually not that bad)
- windscreen
- driver door
- rear quarter panel just in front of the wheels (its the only place where i have ppf atm)
- the long panel linked to the rear quarter panel (rocker panel or whatever it is called) drivers side only
joebruin77
Active Member
I had a whole-car Xpel PPF installed when I took delivery of my P3D in December 2018. The car is parked outside 24/7 including several months of extremely hot SoCal temperatures. The PPF has held up extremely well at the 4 plus year mark. Xpel PPF comes with a 10 year warranty, so not sure why you would need to remove and replace after 4 or 5 years. I think that applies more to a vinyl wrap, but not a good quality PPF.
It has been no problem keeping the PPF clean and shiny. I do a rinseless wash using ONR or Absolute every 1-2 weeks. I apply a ceramic spray sealant every 3 or 4 months. And I use a ceramic spray topper as a drying aid as part of my rinseless wash routine. The car looks very shiny. I recently had a stranger ask me how I do I like my new Tesla. He was very surprised when I told him the car was over 4 years old.
You can also apply a ceramic coating on top of the PPF. For example, Gyeon makes a ceramic coating specifically formulated to go on top of PPF, but many ceramic coatings are safe to put on top of PPF. Just check with the manufacturer to confirm it is safe for PPF before applying.
It is true a whole car PPF is expensive. But 1) if you plan on keeping the car for several years and 2) the idea of rock chips, scratches, swirls, and marring in your paint drives you crazy, then it may be money well spent. If you don't care that much about those things, then buy a $10 bottle of Turtle Wax Seal and Shine and save yourself a lot of money. There is no absolute right or wrong option. It is a personal preference with pros and cons for each.
It has been no problem keeping the PPF clean and shiny. I do a rinseless wash using ONR or Absolute every 1-2 weeks. I apply a ceramic spray sealant every 3 or 4 months. And I use a ceramic spray topper as a drying aid as part of my rinseless wash routine. The car looks very shiny. I recently had a stranger ask me how I do I like my new Tesla. He was very surprised when I told him the car was over 4 years old.
You can also apply a ceramic coating on top of the PPF. For example, Gyeon makes a ceramic coating specifically formulated to go on top of PPF, but many ceramic coatings are safe to put on top of PPF. Just check with the manufacturer to confirm it is safe for PPF before applying.
It is true a whole car PPF is expensive. But 1) if you plan on keeping the car for several years and 2) the idea of rock chips, scratches, swirls, and marring in your paint drives you crazy, then it may be money well spent. If you don't care that much about those things, then buy a $10 bottle of Turtle Wax Seal and Shine and save yourself a lot of money. There is no absolute right or wrong option. It is a personal preference with pros and cons for each.
I was opposed to PPF then thought maybe I should get the front and even that is over $1K and almost $2K depending on how much of front and XPEL or 3M, but here’s my facts. In the last couple years my wife and I have basically bought a new car every year and we laugh about it. Laugh because we played the high trade values to its limit. Now we may settle down, but point is we don’t keep them for more than 3 years. And here in WA you’re better off trading in for the tax credit or you would have to sell for much higher to equal the same deal if you trade and the hassle, etc. Dealers are not going to say, “Wow, you got PPF” and give me more money for my trade. They won’t even give you extra if you bought all the accessories I know everyone has bought for their Tesla. So the resale value of PPF means nothing to me and a few chips may hurt a little because I like a nice car and will do my own ceramic. But I’ve seen unfortunate debris hit cars that a thin piece of film or $1K ceramic coating good for 2 years won’t stop or protect your car. In fact you’re going to have to have it fixed and then pay again to replace the PPF that was also damaged, but your insurance won’t cover that so more out-of-pocket. I’ll do touch up or have some light repair if needed and still be money ahead. I had PPF on my Polestar Engineered XC60 Recharge and it drove me nuts to see a gouge in the bumper area from a large rock. So does it work? Sure for the small stuff. And is your paint as glossy or brilliant or as nice as you chose and bought it for now that you have a film over it. And what’s the deal with waxing plastic? LOL I guess I feel this is like putting vinyl plastic on your furniture. And what happens when you take it off? Is the paint’s clear coat messed up? How come you never see videos about that? Or is it so new that no one has done it yet? For me, I’ll keep the $2K in overpriced wax and laminating services and stick with the old fashion elbow grease that has been around for a century. Spoiler alert, even with PPF chips happen.
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joebruin77
Active Member
You bring up some very legitimate concerns about PPF, but there are a couple things I would point out:
1) There were a couple times that I made insurance claims for relatively minor damages to my Tesla and my insurance carrier State Farm covered the cost of replacing the PPF. Maybe it varies from one insurance carrier to another, but State Farm does appear to cover PPF replacement.
2) PPF is a lot more durable than most people realize. There is a misperception out there that PPF is easily ruined and will only protect you from "the small stuff". I have found my Xpel PPF to be very rugged and it has stood up to a lot of punishment. After driving my Tesla with PPF for 4+ years, I can only find one very small spot on the entire car that has a very small hole in the PPF and you can barely see it.
3) Even if the PPF gets punctured or damaged and it cannot self heal, it is much faster and cheaper to get fixed than repainting the car. I had an incident where a child in a car parked next to me flung open her door , right into my fender. She flung it open so hard that the PPF ripped. But, the PPF absorbed the force of the door hitting it so that the paint underneath was not damaged. I took the car to my PPF installer. He removed the damaged PPF and replaced it with a brand new piece of PPF on the entire fender. Total cost was $125 and took about 1 1/2 hours. If I did not have PPF on the fender, sure it could have been fixed. But the damage would have been more extensive and the fender and possibly surrounding panels would have needed painting (to "blend" the paint). I am guessing it would have cost a lot more than $125 to fix and would have required the car to be in the body shop for at least a couple of days.
But a puncture in the PPF will also impact the paint and panel. Whatever people want to do is their choice, obviously, but I’m finding that Teslas appear to require a hell of a lot more additional monies for these types of things, not to mention accessories they should come standard with and the cost of setting up home charging. All that I want to point out is in excess of the car’s value that starts to decline as soon as you drive it off the lot. It’s not the investment you think.
joebruin77
Active Member
I agree that having a Tesla or any EV for that matter, does require some additional up front costs. But 1) there are a lot of rebates and tax incentives to make those costs more manageable. For example, my power utility gave me a $500 rebate to install my EVSE and the remaining cost was tax deductible. 2) Instead of paying $225 a month for gas, I am paying $30 to $40 a month for electricity 3) The cost of maintenance is SO much lower compared to my last ICE car.
Back to the main topic of PPF, if the PPF is punctured it often still absorbs most of the impact and damage. In my case, although the PPF was punctured when the door of the other car hit my fender, the paint underneath the PPF did not have a scratch or blemish. The PPF sacrificed itself to save the paint. If the PPF had not been there, I am certain the paint would have had a lot more damage.
I am not saying PPF is for everyone. As I have said in other posts, a $10 bottle of Turtle Wax Seal and Shine will do a great job of protecting your paint. But to some people, PPF may be worth the extra cost. And it helps to make this decision based on information that is accurate as possible.
Totally get that. I primarily work remotely from home, we barely rack up 10K miles combined for both vehicles per year, and since we don't keep cars long for me the value is not there. And mostly because my appreciation for the car is never transferred or recognized by the recipient (i.e., the dealer selling me the next whatever). The other thing is this stuff is just too damn expensive because people are willing to pay these costs. Just like new and used car prices in the pandemic, we are responsible for price setting.
I am fine with our decision to do a full PPF package. It just others that aren’t!
There is no, right or wrong. It is just personal preference and WE preferred to do PPF. I think it is great that we can all decide what to do with our cars! 
Exactly. Do what you like and what you think looks good. It’s your car after all!I am fine with our decision to do a full PPF package. It just others that aren’t!
Interesting. The biggest company that does PPF up here on Sunshine Coast (Australia) reckons it has to be removed and reapplied every 3-4 years or else it gets brittle and becomes difficult to remove. On the Current cost of about $4000 for a partial on an MY, it would be cheaper to take it to a smash repairer for a partial respray I reckon.
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