[HMDriven.F87]

Threw together a video on what my view is on this. Hopefully it helps those trying to decide.

[AUSf22]

Absolutely worth it if you track your car or take it on spirit drives on the country lanes.

If you are just using the car for commuting around town then maybe it's not required but I drive my car on twisty roads and cars in front (especially sport cars) will kick rocks and pebbles up at you. I went with the STEK Film so it has a super glossy finish which I like and washing the car has became a breeze with it's hydrophobic properties built into the film.

The PPF will protect your front end and I have no regrets doing my entire car.

[HMDriven.F87]

Originally Posted by AUSf22

Absolutely worth it if you track your car or take it on spirit drives on the country lanes.

If you are just using the car for commuting around town then maybe it's not required but I drive my car on twisty roads and cars in front (especially sport cars) will kick rocks and pebbles up at you. I went with the STEK Film so it has a super glossy finish which I like and washing the car has became a breeze with it's hydrophobic properties built into the film.

The PPF will protect your front end and I have no regrets doing my entire car.

I 100% agree. Got to protect the investment. But there definitely is some draw backs and having a few friends with quite a bit of OCD when it comes to their car being clean there is some things that definitely gets to them. Those edges can be a pain to clean when they get dirt build ups.

[T1313]

I think you need to change the title of the video to "Why I believe that paint protection film is worth it." The video pretty much just justifies your purchase.

I do not believe that it's worth it. $2500 up front and then ANOTHER $2500 when it's screwed up in 3 years or whatever.....$5k gets you an awful lot of touch up.
(I know someone will say that you don't have to replace it all if it gets screwed up but if you're that uptight about a chip, you'll redo the whole thing to make sure it all matches.)
Sure, I can see it on a real high end car like a Ferrari or Rolls or something.
I also can't believe that people spend $5k on exhaust pipes but hey to each their own!
-T

[HMDriven.F87]

Originally Posted by T1313

I think you need to change the title of the video to "Why I believe that paint protection film is worth it." The video pretty much just justifies your purchase.

I do not believe that it's worth it. $2500 up front and then ANOTHER $2500 when it's screwed up in 3 years or whatever.....$5k gets you an awful lot of touch up.
(I know someone will say that you don't have to replace it all if it gets screwed up but if you're that uptight about a chip, you'll redo the whole thing to make sure it all matches.)
Sure, I can see it on a real high end car like a Ferrari or Rolls or something.
I also can't believe that people spend $5k on exhaust pipes but hey to each their own!
-T

Appreciate the feed back.

The thing is the technology has definitely changed over time. The film is self healing so a lot of the "messed up" really isn't existent unless the edges start to peal up from improper care or bad prep work.

[robertm]

My car is creeping up on 1yr and 5k mi. It is literally still perfect. There isn't a single chip anywhere on the entire car. Not a single swirl mark in the paint from washing. I can say with 100% confidence it looks identical to the day it was delivered to the dealership.

I spent $3000 getting the front end of my 1m repainted after 3yrs of ownership to fix all the chips. In addition to the cost, the growing collection of chips annoyed me the entire time I owned the car.

It was ~$6k to wrap the entire M2. Some people will consider that to be insane, some people totally worth it. Regardless of your personal preference, it's great that we have the option!

[HMDriven.F87]

Originally Posted by robertm

My car is creeping up on 1yr and 5k mi. It is literally still perfect. There isn't a single chip anywhere on the entire car. Not a single swirl mark in the paint from washing. I can say with 100% confidence it looks identical to the day it was delivered to the dealership.

I spent $300 getting the front end of my 1m repainted after 3yrs of ownership to fix all the chips. In addition to the cost, the growing collection of chips annoyed me the entire time I owned the car.

It was ~$6k to wrap the entire M2. Some people will consider that to be insane, some people totally worth it. Regardless of your personal preference, it's great that we have the option!

Not insane at all man! That lambo in the video got a full PPF wrap and xpel ceramic coating. Which I don't blame them at all since the pain job is 1 of 1 and an extra $54k

[CosmosMpower]

Not worth it, I got it on my M2 for about 1500 and traded the car in a year and a half later, lost all the money. My M2C didn't get PPF, had it almost 2 years maybe 1-2 small paint chips in the bumper, who cares.

[stulio2181]

Had my '18 fully wrapped when I bought it new. I feel it was worth it, although expensive at $5k. 32000 miles and not a scratch, swirl, or pit. Hit some branch debris that fell off a lawn trailer on the highway that lightly scraped the front fender. Left it in the heat of the sun, and the scrape completely disappeared. I think I get more peace of mind from the investment and knowing I have a pristine paint job underneath. No discoloring so far on the expel. Don't use a paste wax, as my service department did without my permission, the edges get gunked up.

[HMDriven.F87]

Originally Posted by stulio2181

Had my '18 fully wrapped when I bought it new. I feel it was worth it, although expensive at $5k. 32000 miles and not a scratch, swirl, or pit. Hit some branch debris that fell off a lawn trailer on the highway that lightly scraped the front fender. Left it in the heat of the sun, and the scrape completely disappeared. I think I get more peace of mind from the investment and knowing I have a pristine paint job underneath. No discoloring so far on the expel. Don't use a paste wax, as my service department did without my permission, the edges get gunked up.

I do love Xpel's self healing property. Just a slight bit of heat and everything is good to go!

[AndrewC1989]

IMO it's worth doing the front of the car. Harder to justify the sides and rear.

[akkando]

Originally Posted by T1313

I think you need to change the title of the video to "Why I believe that paint protection film is worth it." The video pretty much just justifies your purchase.

I do not believe that it's worth it. $2500 up front and then ANOTHER $2500 when it's screwed up in 3 years or whatever.....$5k gets you an awful lot of touch up.
(I know someone will say that you don't have to replace it all if it gets screwed up but if you're that uptight about a chip, you'll redo the whole thing to make sure it all matches.)
Sure, I can see it on a real high end car like a Ferrari or Rolls or something.
I also can't believe that people spend $5k on exhaust pipes but hey to each their own!
-T

It's basically 2500 and your front end is easier to wash and looks like the day it rolled out of the factory forever. Looks like a new car every day.

or you can save they money and have a beat front end, which doesn't bother some people. lucky them.

[stulio2181]

Originally Posted by AndrewC1989

IMO it's worth doing the front of the car. Harder to justify the sides and rear.

Agreed. My initial concern with just doing the front was possible color variance between protected and non protected surfaces. Not sure if that was really a valid concern though.

[AndrewC1989]

Originally Posted by stulio2181

Agreed. My initial concern with just doing the front was possible color variance between protected and non protected surfaces. Not sure if that was really a valid concern though.

I've only done about half my car (the hood, bumper, headlights, side skirts and quarter panels) and there's no color variance. Sometimes I forget which areas have PPF and which don't.

[stulio2181]

Originally Posted by AndrewC1989

I've only done about half my car (the hood, bumper, headlights, side skirts and quarter panels) and there's no color variance. Sometimes I forget which areas have PPF and which don't.

Yeah, I think the color variance was more of an issue on earlier iterations of the film. You can easily get away with hood, front bumper, fenders, lights, and definitely rear arches.

[davidk]

Only you would know if it is worth it to you. I would say it depends on where you you live and how tolerant you are of rock chips on your hood and front end. I had Xpel installed on the entire hood and front end on my 2018 M2 the day I took delivery. I owned a 128i for 8 years without any ppf, and it had more chips on the front end then I wanted to see on my M2. It is not a matter of if you will get rock chips, but when. Garage queen or not, chips are a risk anytime you drive it on public roads.

[propkaPT]

I don't think its worth it. I bought a lexus isf with 70k miles on it and the previous owner touched up the paint and it looked very good.
Wrapping the front of a car for 2500 which you will never get back isn't worth it. Cars that have PPF are not worth a penny more on the used market than cars that dont and a respray will cost you the same by the time the PPF starts looking like crap. Best bet is to buy a used car that someone had already added the film. Win win

[akkando]

Originally Posted by propkaPT

I don't think its worth it. I bought a lexus isf with 70k miles on it and the previous owner touched up the paint and it looked very good.
Wrapping the front of a car for 2500 which you will never get back isn't worth it. Cars that have PPF are not worth a penny more on the used market than cars that dont and a respray will cost you the same by the time the PPF starts looking like crap. Best bet is to buy a used car that someone had already added the film. Win win

You won't get back the purchase price of the car either. So what? You want something back buy a Vanguard fund.

[robertm]

Finding a car already wrapped is obviously the best way to go.

I do believe a wrapped car will command a higher price on used market. At least it would for me. Two identical cars, one wrapped and one not. I would pay up for the wrapped one every day of the week.

[BimmerAgent]

Here in Colorado the DOT puts stones on the roads for winter traction. I wrap every vehicle, and have done so, for years. I feel much better lining up to pass someone knowing that my car is not getting all chipped up by the stones whizzing toward the car. It's not foolproof, but the car looks great years down the road. Just my $.02 .

[VisualEcho]

Originally Posted by propkaPT

Cars that have PPF are not worth a penny more on the used market than cars that dont and a respray will cost you the same by the time the PPF starts looking like crap.

I was in the car business for 11 years, so let me educate you.

1. There is no used car factory, so if you find the exact USED car you want, you better buy it, as you'll never be able to compare it to another exactly like it in condition.

2. As a car ages it's CONDITION, not the book price, that matters, and you can damn well believe that there is easily a $2500 swing in a used $60K car.

PPF is the very best investment you can make on a car that you're going to keep for more than 2 years, or if you are hard on cars.

But it's nice that people like you exist, the guys that buy sub-par products at sub-par prices.

And a respray, are you even serious right now? We're not talking about a Civic here, you respray an M2 and your value just went completely out the door.

But again, guys like you trying to buy a $60K car for $25K, be my guest, just don't try to advise the rest of the people trying to buy nice cars.

[M2PDX]

A much better alternative is Autoflex.

Spayed on, in any color, as protective as PPF, and cheaper than whole car PPF or a wrap.

It's the next gen technology we'll all be talking about in a year.