[turbojg]

Lots of advice here but I'll give you my 2 cents... I decided against PPF after many hours of deliberation. I avoid interstates and when I do stay far behind cars in front of me. When I park it is in the far corner of the parking lot. I find that after 10 months of driving the car I haven't a single imperfection in the car. I also just recently viewed a video made by a detailer who went to school for installing PPF and was doing installs. He stopped installing PPF and explained his reasons for it. It was very enlightening.

[utsteve98]

Originally Posted by turbojg

Lots of advice here but I'll give you my 2 cents... I decided against PPF after many hours of deliberation. I avoid interstates and when I do stay far behind cars in front of me. When I park it is in the far corner of the parking lot. I find that after 10 months of driving the car I haven't a single imperfection in the car. I also just recently viewed a video made by a detailer who went to school for installing PPF and was doing installs. He stopped installing PPF and explained his reasons for it. It was very enlightening.

Well? We’re waiting.

[kgelfen360]

Originally Posted by turbojg

Lots of advice here but I'll give you my 2 cents... I decided against PPF after many hours of deliberation. I avoid interstates and when I do stay far behind cars in front of me. When I park it is in the far corner of the parking lot. I find that after 10 months of driving the car I haven't a single imperfection in the car. I also just recently viewed a video made by a detailer who went to school for installing PPF and was doing installs. He stopped installing PPF and explained his reasons for it. It was very enlightening.

You avoid freeways? Let’s see the video?

You can always find justifications on the internet for anything you do.

I also recommend no PPF if u leave ur car in garage….

[BroDoze]

LOL at no PPF. I cannot imagine at least not doing headlights, bumper mirrors and an 18 or 24 on the hood+fenders. Car’s gon’ be trashed.

That don’t fly in CO.

[kgelfen360]

Originally Posted by areddy

Curious what are opinions on not getting PPF but only ceramic coating for the full car?

Has anyone done that? Thoughts?

Lots of people do that. But ceramic coat doesn’t provide physical protection. It helps reduce contaminants sticking. It makes washing easier. It makes car look more shiny. But it will do nothing for rock chips. Think of ceramic coat as very advanced wax that stays on for a year (or they say years) rather then 2 weeks.

[KevinGS]

Originally Posted by turbojg

Lots of advice here but I'll give you my 2 cents... I decided against PPF after many hours of deliberation. I avoid interstates and when I do stay far behind cars in front of me. When I park it is in the far corner of the parking lot. I find that after 10 months of driving the car I haven't a single imperfection in the car. I also just recently viewed a video made by a detailer who went to school for installing PPF and was doing installs. He stopped installing PPF and explained his reasons for it. It was very enlightening.

Sure, if you avoid freeways, and traffic....and never, ever pass a semi-, a pickup truck or work vans, then there's no need for PPF.



As I said before, if you care about the appearance of your car, PPF > ceramic. Hec, you can wax your car every month and get 95% of the shine of a good ceramic job, you just have to do a bit more work (and if you get expensive wax, it may last 3 to 4 months).

But I know a lot of people don't care about rock chips and such, so if you don't care, I don't care either. It's your car, do what you want.

Roll the dice, or care less, either works.

[MaC-N54-E82]

I also went back and forth on PPF when I picked up my G82 in January of last year. Ultimately I decided against it as at the end of the day it’s a car intended to be driven and like most things in life a little patina adds character. In the end it’s a personal decision based on your individual use case.

[christianb5s4]

All it takes is one thing to happen where PPF prevents real damage for it to pay for itself. As was the case for me this weekend where I went to dinner and came to find the entire driver's side of the front bumper marred by rubber (aka hit by a car tire).

Quick detailer and microfiber towel, it wiped completely off without a single scratch. I shudder to think what would have happened to bare paint. This is the first car I've had where I did PPF, and will never not have it again.

[MT6]

I did not get PPF and have a stone chip on the hood right above the emblem, no regrets I enjoy my M3.

I see PPF as a hobby and for some it can be priceless.

Last week I dropped $1500 on a Kranzle pressure washer and another $500 Obsessed Garage’s Sprayer & wand upgrade kit. I have never pressure washed or used foam gun but watching videos and learning about it has been fun

[Tano22]

Originally Posted by MT6

I did not get PPF and have a stone chip on the hood right above the emblem, no regrets I enjoy my M3.

I see PPF as a hobby and for some it can be priceless.

Last week I dropped $1500 on a Kranzle pressure washer and another $500 Obsessed Garage’s Sprayer & wand upgrade kit. I have never pressure washed or used foam gun but watching videos and learning about it has been fun

I think this is a good take. Just like some folks have a different driving style, like to do different things with the cars, etc.; everyone has their own style when it comes to maintaining and cleaning the vehicle. And, of course, everyone has their own rationale. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. Some folks get bothered by rock chips. PPF protects against rock chips. So getting PPF for them is simply a matter of whether or not they are willing to pay x dollars to help prevent rock chips. Honestly, I think it's that simple. Some folks want to foam up their car with a $1500 pressure washer, and maybe others prefer to use a $50 hose nozzle. What does it matter if at the end of the day the car gets cleaned and each person enjoyed their respective process?

EDIT - as for me, my prior car was a 2016 M235i in Estoril Blue II. I did not PPF it. Loved the color, hated seeing rock chips, but accepted that I was going to have them. However, when I purchased my G82, I PPF'd the front of the car. Two months ago, I got 2 nasty rock chips in the rear quarter panel, ended up having to fix dent and touch the paint up. So I went back and PPF'd the rest of the car. That was the choice I made based on the value I attributed to it. For those of you who attribute value differently, more power to you. Enjoy your cars the way you want to.

[Vectors2final]

Originally Posted by woodranch

I understand how popular PPF is nowadays. It seems like everyone and every car is getting it done. I drive my car everyday, but not many freeways, other than a roadtrip. My closest PPF installer wants 2500 for doing just the front of the car. It seems like a lot of money to prevent rock chips, but I am OCD about rock chips. Am I in the complete minority by not getting PPF? and do any other owned feel the same way?

As I've mentioned in other threads, I can't say I blame you for your reservations about PPF. $2,500 isn't really all that bad for California. Funny enough, I've been quoted anywhere from $3,500 to $4,500 here in Austin, and that was before all this inflation. Part of this is the "M-tax" for sure... I'm sure there are other shops that'll do it cheaper, but you never know what you're going to get with someone you don't have any experience with. That said, every single time I've opted for PPF, I've ended up with some sort of paint damage with complete penetration of the film into the paint on multiple vehicles. I live in an area that is in a perpetual state of construction, so that might have a lot to do with my experience. It can be a bit disheartening to spend all that money only to have your paint chipped anyway. It would be one thing to have to have a panel redone, but I've never been that lucky. I bought a second bumper cover for my GT350, and I swap them out from time to time.

As far as OCD goes, I'm not sure what's worse: a rock chip or failed PPF tears on top of rock chips. You're probably not likely to encounter that, but I could be wrong, as I don't know what the traffic is like where you live. I am getting PPF this time, but only because the cost is so much lower in Greenville than it is in the Austin area, and the place I chose has glowing reviews from across the country. Like I said before, this may be a product of me not looking hard anough, but I have trust issues.


I just wanted to add an opposing opinion because PPF isn't always roses, and nobody wants to talk about it when the film fails. Despite how much these cars cost, there's absolutely nothing wrong with questioning the value of PPF, and being able to afford a vehicle of this caliber shouldn't have any bearing on the value you place on this or anything else for that matter.

YMMV

[utsteve98]

I think one thing that’s hard to capture are all the times PPF does save your car. I’m sure we can’t all recall every instance where gravel or dirt or something small kicked up by another vehicle has hit the car and never caused damage, which likely would have been a rock chip.

I’ve had 3 cars that I drove less than 100 miles before PPF and there was always a tiny chip. After install no damage at all. I’ve seen several instances on my PPF where you can see something hit it and slightly damaged it, but didn’t damage the paint. That is a key indicator it works.

It’s not a force field though. PPF or not, nothing is going to protect from a dent if a rock a quarter size hits your car. I don’t believe anyone is naive enough to believe that here.

[992seefouress]

To the OP,
Do what you like, it’s your car. Me- I fully PPF my cars and like the extra piece of mind. I doubt that I’ll ever say “I regret not having gotten rock chips on my hood” or “wish I had some swirl marks on this clear coat”…

[nosbocaj]

I'm 100% a frontal PPF advocate on owned cars. About 10 years ago I leased an Infinti Q50 for three years. No PPF, which was fine since it wasn't mine. When I came time to turn it in, I was in shock at how pock marked the entire front of the car was. Had it been a car I cared about, I wouldn't have been happy.

When I got my M2, I immediately did frontal PPF. After a year or so, it paid for itself when I was brushed by another car in a parking garage. The PPF took the entire brunt of the damage. Had it not been there, I probably was looking at some serious paint repair or even a full respray.

For these reasons, it was a no brainer on my G80. My car looks great and I don't worry at all about it picking up damage.

[turbojg]

Originally Posted by utsteve98

Well? We’re waiting.

Sorry I am in the process of driving back (making a small vacation out of it) to PA from my 2 day performance driving school training in Spartanburg SC.

Had the link saved on my desktop at home to this video but looked it up for you now. Thought I wouldn't find it again as often happens when I watch a Youtube video but got lucky this time.

- (Just another view to consider)

BTW - Was totally blown away by the training in SC and learned a tremendous amount of what the M cars are capable of. Turns out my expectation was only about 10% of what the car is actually capable of.

I feel I really beat the crap out of the M cars I drove and they just shrugged it off like it was nothing. Cannot believe how they stayed glued to the track regardless of what crazy mistakes I made. Except for one... Got distracted by the instructor on the radio before the first turn on the corkscrew and when I came over the top of the hill realized I wasn't going to make the first turn on the downhill so took a short mid air shortcut through the grass and picked up on the 2nd turn like nothing happened. Got a comment from the instructor on the radio about making a good save.

The instructors were all awesome and feel the training was worth every penny. I'm looking forward to doing the advanced training in CA in the near future.

[Endless619]

Originally Posted by woodranch

I understand how popular PPF is nowadays. It seems like everyone and every car is getting it done. I drive my car everyday, but not many freeways, other than a roadtrip. My closest PPF installer wants 2500 for doing just the front of the car. It seems like a lot of money to prevent rock chips, but I am OCD about rock chips. Am I in the complete minority by not getting PPF? and do any other owned feel the same way?

I am with you the M4/M3 platform isn’t that rare or expensive of a vehicle and I had the most expensive paint with frozen white that year and I didn’t waste money on it. To me it’s a $400 job max. Just not worth it for me. My new off road vehicle came with a protection but again it’s $50k more and more rare than the M platforms.

[automaz_]

Originally Posted by woodranch

I understand how popular PPF is nowadays. It seems like everyone and every car is getting it done. I drive my car everyday, but not many freeways, other than a roadtrip. My closest PPF installer wants 2500 for doing just the front of the car. It seems like a lot of money to prevent rock chips, but I am OCD about rock chips. Am I in the complete minority by not getting PPF? and do any other owned feel the same way?

I got a chip on my FRONT DOOR from a rock ... I have no idea how ... within the first few hundred miles of owning the car lol

I was mad at myself for even driving the car for a week before taking it to my installer for a full body ppf

luckily my dealership was super nice and fixed the chip for me and I dropped it off for ppf right after

[jamabdi]

Originally Posted by specced

You can also paint one panel for similar cost of ppf’ing a panel lol.

This often times isn’t the case. I remember back when I had my E92 M3, I wanted to get the front bumper repainted since it had drill holes and a few unsightly rock chips. I got several quotes from body shops I trusted, all ended up in the ballpark of $1,000 to $1,300. I decided on just getting a new Euro bumper painted by IND for a few hundred dollars more.

All this is to say that it isn't a foregone conclusion that repainting a panel will end up cheaper than PPF; it can often be double or triple the cost. I had my new Euro bumper PPF'd for $500, about half the cost of a repaint. This experience is what led me to PPF'ing my G80. Besides the myriad of benefits such as swirl-free paint, ease of maintenance, and protected paint, not having to deal with the headache of repainting and worrying about how the paint match would turn out was enough on its own for me.

[turbojg]

Originally Posted by jamabdi

All this is to say that it isn't a foregone conclusion that repainting a panel will end up cheaper than PPF; it can often be double or triple the cost.

I don't care what it costs to repaint. I just don't want that shit plastic film crap on my car!

[specced]

Originally Posted by jamabdi

This often times isn’t the case. I remember back when I had my E92 M3, I wanted to get the front bumper repainted since it had drill holes and a few unsightly rock chips. I got several quotes from body shops I trusted, all ended up in the ballpark of $1,000 to $1,300. I decided on just getting a new Euro bumper painted by IND for a few hundred dollars more.

All this is to say that it isn't a foregone conclusion that repainting a panel will end up cheaper than PPF; it can often be double or triple the cost. I had my new Euro bumper PPF'd for $500, about half the cost of a repaint. This experience is what led me to PPF'ing my G80. Besides the myriad of benefits such as swirl-free paint, ease of maintenance, and protected paint, not having to deal with the headache of repainting and worrying about how the paint match would turn out was enough on its own for me.

That’s because you needed holes filled etc. painting a bumper is like 5-600.

[thopwood4]

You'll regret not doing it. I've got 3,000 miles on mine, got it wrapped first thing. I have a huge gash under a headlight that was protected by the ppf.

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by turbojg

I don't care what it costs to repaint. I just don't want that shit plastic film crap on my car!

Odd take on it, but to each their own. Nobody's forcing anyone to buy it. I like factory paint and will pay to protect and keep it as such.