[Lightngsvt]

Originally Posted by ABQ_M3

Oh I'm with you. I don't know how they guarantee lifetime. Im leaning towards just doing the PPF and getting it over with.

Originally Posted by SickGTR

Yeah. Lifetime is BS. If you can swing the money, there is no comparison between the 2. PPF is light years better. One of the best mods if you like you car always looking good and protecting the paint

My guess is their "lifetime" includes periodic touch-ups or reapplications to maintain the protection. For a pro, it doesn't take that long to ceramic coat a car relatively.

[BMWRacer523]

Just paid $3.5k for front clip (bumper, lights, hood, fenders, a-pillars) + lower rockers.

[Keishune]

Originally Posted by ABQ_M3

In Abq, NM I was quoted $5k for full PPF, $3000 for partial. I am going ceramic instead. I was quoted $2k for lifetime ceramic coating.

Was that at Hella Clean? They quoted me the same for a full PPF + 5 yr ceramic - this was a September deal but they were willing to offer it even though I wasn't taking delivery until December. Probably not a wise decision, but I bit the bullet and my car is in their shop now getting the work done. They seem like a good outfit and I'll report on how everything turns out when they (hopefully) finish this week.

[chicagofan00]

I paid $5k for PPF on the front bumper, front fenders, full hood, full roof, a pillars, side blades, headlights, ceramic w/top coat on entire car, ceramic tint all around, and leather shield on all interior leather surfaces.

[Shinzzze]

$8100 CAD for full stealth PPF (including interior carbon trim. $300 over regular due to the tricky M-performance winglets and the rear wing) + ceramic coating (in&out&wheel).

Toronto

[ABQ_M3]

Originally Posted by Keishune

Was that at Hella Clean? They quoted me the same for a full PPF + 5 yr ceramic - this was a September deal but they were willing to offer it even though I wasn't taking delivery until December. Probably not a wise decision, but I bit the bullet and my car is in their shop now getting the work done. They seem like a good outfit and I'll report on how everything turns out when they (hopefully) finish this week.

Yes it is. They are offering 5K for full PPF + Ceramic and a 15% discount for December. I don't get the car till February but I will probably put the 1/2 down to schedule when it gets here.

[Dhillon63]

Originally Posted by Shinzzze

$8100 CAD for full stealth PPF (including interior carbon trim. $300 over regular due to the tricky M-performance winglets and the rear wing) + ceramic coating (in&out&wheel).

Toronto

Did you stealth ppf over skyscraper grey?

[modat]

Originally Posted by BMWRacer523

Just paid $3.5k for front clip (bumper, lights, hood, fenders, a-pillars) + lower rockers.

mind sharing where you got it done?

[kjx]

I think I'm paying well more than the usual amounts for full body paint protection ($10K) - Stek Dynoshield.

Additional (~$1500) for all the carbon fiber exterior parts that don't come standard (including "free" installation of parts I didn't get at port - rear winglets, front splitter, fender air breakers, door sills). I had the wing and side skirts from port.

Then $500 for Stek Dynoflex windshield protection. Another $500 for taking the wheels off and ceramic coating them and the brake calipers.

About $250-300 for new BMW roundels, badges and the M Performance decals that came with the side skirts.

All in all, including tax, I'm looking at $13.5K including tax. The work was clocked at 2 weeks on the calendar ending this coming Friday.

This seems much higher than other parts of the country probably because it's one of the most, if not the most reputable, place in Seattle for detailing work and can charge a substantial premium for that (the magnitude may not be warranted though). Cost of living etc is higher here so it's not apples to apples with other cities. The owner also happens to be the president of Stek-USA.

And for what it's worth, exactly 0 miles have been added to my car in the past week it's been with them (given the other thread).

[Limegrntaln]

Full STek PPF and Feynlabs Ceramic. Full paint correction, and polish. Wheels paint corrected and coated. Outer windshield done in STek DynoFlex. All badges removed and replaced. Door handles, headlights, and tail lights removed and all PPF tucked and tapered. individual grill slats full PPF, everything hand cut. Roof rails removed and PPF tucked, piano black window molding paint corrected and PPFd. $8,100. California pricing. 14 days worth the work.

To the people that are choosing to get Lifetime ceramic over PPF, that's like bringing a gold club to a batting cage. PPF is a film, and ceramic coating is a sacrificial transparent bondable layer. I was wiping something off of my hood PPF, yesterday, and put 2 swirl lines in the PPF. It was nice to grab the heat gun off the shelf, run a few passes over the PPF and watch the swirls disappear. The car will look brand new, and swirl free for the life of the PPF, which has a 10 year warranty.

[WickedBMW]

That's insane. Those who are spending that kind of money on a film will never recover it when time comes to trade in. If you intend to keep the car for ages, then you will have to remove in about three years otherwise it will bound and paint can possibly come off. Im sorry, but that just pissing money away.

[Shinzzze]

Originally Posted by Dhillon63

Did you stealth ppf over skyscraper grey?

Stealth over tanzanite blue. Very curious how the finished product will look like as I could only find one picture online but heavily processed. Car is in the shop

[Limegrntaln]

Originally Posted by WickedBMW

That's insane. Those who are spending that kind of money on a film will never recover it when time comes to trade in. If you intend to keep the car for ages, then you will have to remove in about three years otherwise it will bound and paint can possibly can come off. Im sorry, but that just pissing money away.

Its subjective. It all depends on how you want your car to look. Do you want it simple and easy to clean? Do you not want to worry about it getting keyed or scratched. Do you want to worry about rock chips on the hood or front bumper? No one ever cares until it actually happens, then they wish they had gotten it done. $8,000, "well you could get the car repainted for that cost." Yes you probably can, but this car was $103K.

A repaint would raise too many questions, if you're trying to get top dollar if you ever plan on trading the car in. I sold my 2019 Civic Type R in May, for $41,000. I paid $34,257 2 years and 10K miles earlier. No PPF on the car. I pulled up to the dealer, and I had already pretty much traded the car in, sight unseen.

The first thing the sales manager does, when I pull up, before I even got out of the car to talk to him, and he was already walking around my car with a paint depth gauge. How many body shops do you know, that paint with a robot? None of them. It's impossible for someone painting a car, by hand to lay down a basecoat and clear, as thin and consistent and the robots lay it down.

Your immediate thought with a paint dept reading that's clearly been painted by hand, is, why has it been repainted? What damage has been covered? Has it been wrecked? Now, I'm walking around the car, checking the VIN tags on the fenders, and making sure they match. Im immediately not 100% confident that this $100K car, is worth top dollar.

Try to key a car with PPF that's been ceramic coated. The key just slides right off the PPF, you cant even get it to dig in. Door ding, you may get someone to hit it hard enough to dent it, but it won't affect the PPF. You can just get it pulled out. So, to me, the original paint, especially the complexity of trying to repaint a car, in Dravit Gray, and getting them to blend it, correctly, it will never look factory. Also, the film is self healing. You can remove swirling with a heat gun or hot water poured onto the car.

And Im not entirely sure where you heard needing to get it removed in 3 years, STek has a 10 year warranty against, cracking, bubbling yellowing and chicken skinning. If you get it installed at a reputable shop, where customer service is their top priority, they will take care of you, even if something peels up, on an edge, for some reason. but my edges, and have all been folded under, and edge sealed. You also remove it with steam, and it will never pull the paint off, of an OEM paint job. If you remove paint, its from a shitty repaint, underneath the film.

[Shinzzze]

Originally Posted by WickedBMW

That's insane. Those who are spending that kind of money on a film will never recover it when time comes to trade in. If you intend to keep the car for ages, then you will have to remove in about three years otherwise it will bound and paint can possibly can come off. Im sorry, but that just pissing money away.

Well… buying a car is pissing some money away to some degree (maybe not true for today's market but still true for long term). PPF is just another thing for my OCD as I'm annoyed to see stone chips on my previous cars every time.

Im putting stealth PPF instead of frozen paint, the cost of frozen paint offsets the cost of PPF + you'll have to PPF your frozen paint anyway so I consider it's a steal to get the Matte finish.

You don't need to remove the a modern quality PPF until it is chipped up or start yellowing. For Xpel or other equal brand they should last well over 5 or even 10 years. Re-spray your car at that timeframe cost money as well (surface is usually still flawed) so PPF is a good value in my book.

5K on a 100K car. Come on… your tips are more than 5%

[Sinjen]

Originally Posted by WickedBMW

That's insane. Those who are spending that kind of money on a film will never recover it when time comes to trade in. If you intend to keep the car for ages, then you will have to remove in about three years otherwise it will bound and paint can possibly can come off. Im sorry, but that just pissing money away.

Completely incorrect. 3 years? The warranty alone on solid brands like 3M and Xpel is 7-10 years. Applied properly, it will in no way harm the paint.

It's not for recovering money at trade. While the paint will be flawless, which is a benefit, and absolutely does affect resale, it's more about protecting the car while you own it.

I just sold my F-Type and the Xpel Stealth was applied when I bought the car. Aside from easier cleaning, it's definitely protected the car. All I had to do was look at the windshield. The pitting visible is nowhere to be found on the front of the car itself. The film is 100% intact after 4 years daily driving in CT, including winters. A year or so in, a stretch of I84 was being re-paved, and sub subbase or reclaimed asphalt hit a headlight at 80mph+. It sounded like a gunshot in the car. It went clear through the Xpel, but the lens was untouched. I 100% believe if the Xpel wasn't there, it would have cracked the headlight...not to mentioned that the rest of the car was getting pelted by the debris. At ~$7000+/pair, I don't want to crack a BMW laser light.

Bottom line, if you're ok with dings and chips, don't get it done. If you drive <5k miles/year in perfect weather, same. If you drive a lot, track, have shitty roads etc, it's 100% worth it IMO.

To add data here, for my G82, it will be $8200 for Xpel Stealth on the entire car (body panels), clear on trim and lights, full ceramic over that and the wheels, and full crystalline tint. Includes pickup from dealer at delivery in a covered trailer. If I opt for clear, it's about $500 less. Central Connecticut.

[bgexpress]

Spent 850$ getting the front bumper, roof and headlights ppf'd in xpel. To me this was well worth it since the average bumper respray is 1k and I plan on tracking the car. Hoping the roof PPF protects the clear from being chipped over time since that isn't an easy repair

[BMWRacer523]

Yeah, ceramic is not a substitute for PPF but better than nothing. Ideally do PPF+ ceramic. Yes, it's not cheap but on a $100k car not really a significant cost comparatively.

[djpapeleta]

Originally Posted by Lightngsvt

Thanks everyone!



I'd be curious to know too.



That sounds like a great deal!



LOL, not many people on a BMW forum would catch that! I've had a 99 and a 2002 Gen2, I still have the Original 93 Gen 1 I bought when I was 20! It's in the process of getting a 396" stroker engine, aftermarket EFI, and a Vortech supercharger.



Have to respectfully disagree. I have partial front, headlights, rocker, and lower half of 1/4 panel, rear fascia behind wheels on my Boxster and it's done a great job. Plus from most angles you don't notice the seam, the PPF in general is almost invisible. . I'll agree that it'd look better without the line, but it's not obtrusive, and I wonder how it'd look with partial fenders and a full hood?

I think the issue with having partial is having dirt over time stick the the seams and which would make it look worst. I had the rockers partially pffed and this drove me crazy. I ended up taking it off after a while.

[2011ninja]

Originally Posted by BMWRacer523

Yeah, ceramic is not a substitute for PPF but better than nothing. Ideally do PPF+ ceramic. Yes, it's not cheap but on a $100k car not really a significant cost comparatively.

Ceramic is fantastic long lasting waxing; that's it.

"Better than nothing"

It's essentially nothing if compared to PPF.

Ceramic can be compared to clay bar, paint correction and a wax.

As far as how much to spend and ROI for PPF.

You're definitely giving yourself the best chance for top dollar at time of resales.

My F80 with PPF and I do a lot of HWY hauling @$$

I'm in the process of sourcing a G80 Pure!

[Limegrntaln]

Originally Posted by djpapeleta

I think the issue with having partial is having dirt over time stick the the seams and which would make it look worst. I had the rockers partially pffed and this drove me crazy. I ended up taking it off after a while.

The $6k and $8k PPF jobs that were talking about, are the jobs that they take the car partially apart and wrap the door skin, in one piece, which takes care of the cups, leaves no seams, and the ppf is wrapped around the back of the door, where the door skin is rolled around to the inside of the door, and welded.

That's where the film ends. So, on the front side of the door, you cant tell its covered. I actually had a hard time locating the edge of the PPF when I open the door and look at the weld, where the PPF ends, its just installed that good. Same for the hood, and the headlights are also removed and wrapped to where the PPF tucks into the housing where the lens clips in. Its just insanity the level of detail.

There are alot of shops that just use a plotter to cut out the fenders, hood, and pillars, and the PPF goes to within a millimeter of the edge, but this isn't that type of PPF job.

[BMWRacer523]

if it is done right you should not be able to see any edges or seams. The film should be tucked around the edges. The only place I can see an edge is where it ends on my a-pillars as I only did ppf on the front clip.

[Lightngsvt]

Thank you everybody! I have to admit, the cost for full PPF is more than I had expected. I think a front, or partial front, for me, would be the way to go. No question that full PPF will provide the best level of protection and worry-free driving, but I'm looking at a car that is "only" mid $70's. In all seriousness, how do you spec an M3 (or maybe you have M4 Comp Conv's) to over $100k?