Orange County/SoCal - Chrome Delete Group Buy

[Ek711]

Hey guys,

So if you're looking at this thread, you're probably in the same situation as me...finally got my VIN and delivery scheduled soon (this Sunday for me!) and looking to get rid of that ugly ass chrome ASAP. The two group buys are either no longer offering chrome delete (Rodz) or backed up until December (Concours). Yelp and Google searches have been spotty at best and with all the horror stories of shoddy installs, it's tough to gamble with your $$$.

Well I think I might have found an option for us. Before getting into EVs, I drove BMWs and remembered a forum sponsor that wrapped my BMW M3 trim back in 2011. If you've been on any of the BMW or Lexus forums, you've probably seen his posts. Don specializes in wrapping window trim along with some smaller exterior and interior parts like roofs or headlights/tailights. The wrap on my BMW M3 looked great for the 3 years that I had the car and never bubbled or peeled. So I reached out to him and he was willing to give us a pretty good discount for the quality of his work. He's done some X's and 3's and is familiar with the challenges of the install. Details of the group buy and links to some of his work are below.


Don Nguyen (WannabeRacer.com)

Pricing: $580 (Cash Only) He normally charges $950
Requires: 10 Model 3s commited with a $40 Non-refundable deposits which gets applied to final cost
Ends: September 30th
Location: He's willing to do mobile installs in OC and LA counties but must be inside a garaged area
Availability: Weekdays & weekends, ideally with a start time around 10AM, as it'll take most of the day (4-5 hours)
Warranty: Covers bubbles and peeling (checking with him on the length of coverage, will update when I find out)


Package Includes:

Window Trim and Mirror Bases
Exterior Door Handles
Side Fender Blinkers
Front and Rear Emblems


Detailed Photos of Model X - White
Detailed Photos of Model X - Black
Yelp Reviews


He's going to try and send me some pics of his Model 3 installs and I'll post them up as soon as I receive them.

If you're interested in the group buy, please respond in the thread or PM me. I'll update this post with a running list of the group until we hit the minimum.

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[Ek711]

Bump

 

[thesnooch]

Interested, sending PM

 

[estribo714]

I’m down!! Will he take off the side mirrors to do the base?

 

[Ek711]

I’m down!! Will he take off the side mirrors to do the base?

I’ll ask about the mirrors but either way, it looks like he does a good job wrapping the base, looking at the model X pics. They share pretty similar mirror designs.

 

[Ek711]

Interested, sending PM

Replied

 

[Adam3]

Nice!!

I was set on satin black but that gloss black vinyl looks really good on white.

 

[callmehere]

Interested, put me down. Hope he can do more than just black as an option, I like the carbon fiber wraps on the side emblems etc

 

[paulvinh]

If he is good and can drive to Azusa. I am in!

 

[Brian N]

Wow Don has gotten a lot more expensive since I used him for my BMW. It was only ~200 back in the day. 950 normal price holy crap!!

I mean his wrap on my BMW was pretty good. I had to go back once since he stretched the vinyl a little too much and it shrunk back and exposed the chrome trim. He fixed it though but it was a little annoying to drive back to his location he was working out of at ShowCarDetailing at the time.

I don’t think I would pay these prices for just some matte black vinyl wrapping. I was just too lazy to attempt it back in the day for the price back then it seemed like a deal.

This gets me thinking though. Maybe I should get to practicing. Didn’t realize there was this much demand for vinyl trim wraps at these prices. The matte black vinyl is pretty forgiving. Much easier then paint detailing/coating that I do on side. Bigger profit margin and 1/5 the time. I just assumed everyone was still paying around 250 and never bothered to look into it lol.

 

[Ek711]

Wow Don has gotten a lot more expensive since I used him for my BMW. It was only ~200 back in the day. 950 normal price holy crap!!

I mean his wrap on my BMW was pretty good. I had to go back once since he stretched the vinyl a little too much and it shrunk back and exposed the chrome trim. He fixed it though but it was a little annoying to drive back to his location he was working out of at ShowCarDetailing at the time.

I don’t think I would pay these prices for just some matte black vinyl wrapping. I was just too lazy to attempt it back in the day for the price back then it seemed like a deal.

This gets me thinking though. Maybe I should get to practicing. Didn’t realize there was this much demand for vinyl trim wraps at these prices. The matte black vinyl is pretty forgiving. Much easier than paint detailing/coating that I do on the side. Bigger profit margin and 1/5 the time. I just assumed everyone was still paying around 250 and never bothered to look into it lol.

Yea that was my first response back to him. I think I paid like $160 for my M3. But he said it's about 3x the labor and much more intensive compared to the Bimmers. This seems to be the going rate for a quality installer, chalk it up to a bit of a "Tesla-tax" as well.

 

[Ek711]

I’m down!! Will he take off the side mirrors to do the base?

Confirmed that he removes mirrors for install unless the owner prefers for him not to.

Interested, put me down. Hope he can do more than just black as an option, I like the carbon fiber wraps on the side emblems etc

You can choose colors other than black.

If he is good and can drive to Azusa. I am in!

Yep, Azusa's good.

 

[Ek711]

I guess you're not able to edit the original post so here's the current list:

1. Ek711
2. estribo714
3. callmehere
4. paulvinh

 

[Adam3]

Wow Don has gotten a lot more expensive since I used him for my BMW. It was only ~200 back in the day. 950 normal price holy crap!!

Yeah the prices are insane

 

[Brian N]

Yea that was my first response back to him. I think I paid like $160 for my M3. But he said it's about 3x the labor and much more intensive compared to the Bimmers. This seems to be the going rate for a quality installer, chalk it up to a bit of a "Tesla-tax" as well.

Damn I thought bmw and ///M tax was bad. What do you wrap on your ///m3 it comes with blacked out trim? I had him do my 330 before I sold it to get my ///m3.

I could see the mirror being a little annoying but honestly don’t know how it’s 3x the work. I had him do my window trims and b pillars for under 200. I could see another 100 for the mirrors. But he can charge whatever people are willing to pay. I can’t blame him for that.

I’m just in shock lol. I’m now seriously considering DIY or just getting my trims painted if it costs this much.

 

[smak]

Does he do any console wrapping?

 

[estribo714]

How much he’ll charge with 4 people?

 

[Jordaholic]

Only for model 3, what about model x the big brother of the tesla fam?

 

[Ek711]

Price for the X is much more due to more chrome. PM me if you’re interested.

Not sure why there isn’t more interest with this...I’m still getting quotes for $700-$800 in OC and Concours (best price @ $580) is booked out 2 months

 

[Brian N]

Price for the X is much more due to more chrome. PM me if you’re interested.

Not sure why there isn’t more interest with this...I’m still getting quotes for $700-$800 in OC and Concours (best price @ $580) is booked out 2 months

I think it has all to do with price. At least it is for me. Even at GB price 580 I don’t think I could swollow it.

I got a quote from my body shop that they would paint all my trims for 1k in gloss black. Which is only a little more than these wrap prices.

What did he wrap on your bmw m3? I was trying to figure that out. Since the ///M models usually come with black trim standard. Did he do some CF wrap for you possibly?