PPF is it worth it for complete car?

[fcbinetgra]

I had the hole front including fenders done. A few weeks later I got two small rock chips in the rear passenger door . I don't even know how that happens.

Same!! I got PPF in the whole front and fender and rockers when I got it and this week I got a rock chip and small scratch line an inch down from the chip. I really thought the front would be the main taking the rock chips. Not sure how my right passanger door got a rock chip. I’m kinda of annoyed seeing it since I like seeing the car clean with none of that, but I guess I try to remind that it’s a daily driver for me as hard it is to look at it lol…. Are you planning to put touch up paint on it?

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[Clark_Kent]

From my understanding the ppf does help with resale. And it seems to be something that is more asked about now than let's say even 5 years ago. I follow BaT auctions for certain cars to keep an eye on the market. And a common question now is if the car has been ppf'd and ceramic coated.

I've asked my detailer about this. And his response was ppf helps with the resale of the car as , if you wanted. When it comes time to sell the car either yourself or the new owner could peel it off and have a very unmolested front end. Which can be appleaing to a new buyer to see a chipless front end. People like myself who absolutely hate the site of rock chips like the piece of mind that the hood and such is protected underneath.

My evo 8 which I've owned for over 8 yrs and is a 2003 the front has seen better days due to basic rock chips. The car Is meticulously cleaned but the chips are unavoidable. I'm now in a pickle because I want to get the car repainted and ppf'd so this doesn't happen again. But I also don't want to respray the car as it's original paint and imo a unicorn evo with only 32k miles on her. Mitsubishi uses very thin paint back in the day

The guy who sells ppf for a living is telling you it helps with resale value? What did you expect him to say?

The reality is you are opting for ppf to protect the exterior of the car, full stop. There is no tangible resale component. That money is gone. It should be viewed as a consumable. Stop falling for the marketing folks.

 

[Evolving_e63]

The guy who sells ppf for a living is telling you it helps with resale value? What did you expect him to say?

The reality is you are opting for ppf to protect the exterior of the car, full stop. There is no tangible resale component. That money is gone. It should be viewed as a consumable. Stop falling for the marketing folks.

Lol. The guy "selling" me ppf is a friend.

 

[ElpacoSV]

i did the full car. i guess it's worth it but its so annoyingly expensive

that is what I'm second guessing myself...is it really worth it?

 

[ElpacoSV]

Worth is subjective. What isn't subjective is that you'll never get that money back, and it's over 10% of the cost of the car for something you (hopefully) can't even see.

Speaking of being able to see it- one reason to do the whole car would be to change the aesthetics. Xpel Stealth effectively changes the look of the car, and it would look pretty awkward if only applied to the front half of the car.

Good point about the looks. One can argue that protection is cheaper than repair? But I understand your view point. For me is a 7K decision...

 

[ElpacoSV]

I had the hole front including fenders done. A few weeks later I got two small rock chips in the rear passenger door . I don't even know how that happens.

That is what passes to my mind...

 

[ElpacoSV]

The guy who sells ppf for a living is telling you it helps with resale value? What did you expect him to say?

The reality is you are opting for ppf to protect the exterior of the car, full stop. There is no tangible resale component. That money is gone. It should be viewed as a consumable. Stop falling for the marketing folks.

I agree that is more of an expense the more and more I think about it...same as purchasing a car : An expense.

Damn, 7K is hard to swallow considering I can use this money for tuning parts .

 

[Evolving_e63]

My mirror took a couple hits yesterday. The point is how much you care for protecting your paint. If your not someone who cares about some chips here and there. Then it might not be worth it. But there's alot of us who are anal and every little chip or scratch drives us mad. My mirrors are protected. This hit it took could've taken a good piece of paint off my car. Yes those marks aren't coming off, but the actual paint underneath Is protected. This would drive me mad with a car that wasn't protected. I could've had a nice big chip there.

 

[optronix]

PPF is for peace of mind. You can argue around this all day, but that's the fundamental concept.

Resale value is conceptual at best. You can tell yourself whatever you want to convince yourself it's worth the expense, but facts to back up this concept may be hard to come by.

That image of the mirror actually kind of says a lot. I can clearly see a blemish in the film. Is a blemish in the film better than a rock chip in the paint? To the person who pays for PPF, probably. To pretty much anyone else? It's still a visible flaw.

Sure, you can get the film replaced. That will cost a fair amount of money to redo that mirror/panel. A mirror probably not much at all... and yes it would also cost a fair amount to have it repainted. Almost surely more, but still a pain in the ass that most people who opt for or are considering PPF may not be thinking about.

Anecdotally, some may recall from my post history I took a fire hydrant in the door a couple months ago. It remains unrepaired because I'd have to have the PPF redone on the front quarter panel, several weeks after the repair. Adds a significant expense, sure- but really it's the logistics of being without the car for however long it takes for the body shop to repair/repaint what they need to... and THEN take it to my PPF installer (who for me is in another state), and leave it there for a day. And THEN very likely haggle with the insurance company over whether or not they'll cover the expense of the PPF... The whole thing is a hassle, but the PPF component is what killed any momentum I had for wanting it repaired. It's probably a permanent fixture now because I almost never see it on the passenger side anyway.

And if I had PPF on the door? Even worse.

Also, taking PPF off is not as trivial an effort as many probably think it is. There's a decent likelihood that paint can be permanently damaged in the process of removing PPF. Yet another thing to think about.

All this to say I don't think I'll get PPF again on any car. I somehow survived 20+ years of other cars without it.

The only true justification for PPF are cars that are tracked regularly. A day at the track will do a number on paint, and PPF will truly provide a benefit in that use case.

In almost all others, probably not a good cost vs worth scenario. But if it makes you feel better, then I go back to my first words in this thread- worth is subjective.

 

[Evolving_e63]

That is one thing I worry about. Getting into an accident with it

 

[TEPTeggy]

Same!! I got PPF in the whole front and fender and rockers when I got it and this week I got a rock chip and small scratch line an inch down from the chip. I really thought the front would be the main taking the rock chips. Not sure how my right passanger door got a rock chip. I’m kinda of annoyed seeing it since I like seeing the car clean with none of that, but I guess I try to remind that it’s a daily driver for me as hard it is to look at it lol…. Are you planning to put touch up paint on it?

I considered doing touch up but I held off. Now it doesn't bother me as much since it happened a while ago, and I'm sure there will be more added. I might do something about it wayyyy later down the road. Mine is also very small so that factors in too.

 

[TEPTeggy]

In my mind, I had to protect the whole front because my girlfriends gr86 front end was covered in chips (looked like bugs after a road trip) after about 6 months, and I didnt want to suffer the same fate.

I also already knew that my commute to work is essentially like going through a sand blaster, which for me was the main deciding factor. So far, other than the door and a small knick on the windshield it's held up good.

 

[SlippyFist]

The guy who sells ppf for a living is telling you it helps with resale value? What did you expect him to say?

The reality is you are opting for ppf to protect the exterior of the car, full stop. There is no tangible resale component. That money is gone. It should be viewed as a consumable. Stop falling for the marketing folks.

the resale value doesn't come from the ppf itself, it comes from maintaining your paint in near-mint condition. that's why i opted for the entire car instead of just the front-facing portions. if you had 2 hypothetical cars for sale that had the same mileage and everything was identical except one had beat up paint, and one had near perfect paint, i'm assuming you wouldn't sell them for the same price.

that is what I'm second guessing myself...is it really worth it?

it's hard to answer this for someone else. i understand and appreciate the purpose of it, but it is a hassle to deal with. and from what i understand, no matter how perfectly you maintain it, you still need to get it re-done every 5 - 6 years or so?

also, i saw the number 7 grand somewhere? are you talking about some of the "special" pff like the carbon flake or damascus pattern? if you're talking about just the normal ppf, then absolutely not. the industry standard is 5 - 6 grand for an entire vehicle. i got mine for 5500 and it included some extra stuff like ceramic coating of my wheels and interior. i wouldn't pay a dime more than that though.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

I've never had much issue taking ppf off. Just a heat gun and some patience is all it has taken.

I do agree it's an extra step in repair. Insurance often won't cover it unless it was actually reported and you ensured it was insured. However, I do know some installers will give you a discount for panel repairs and something like a mirror should be 70$, while a door would be 250-300$.

My issue with respray, and what keeps me coming back to ppf, is that typically repainting of any sort is not done whole panel and they typically sand, blend, clear. This leads to high spots and waviness that can be picked up by a paint meter, and will definitely impact value negatively. Not to mention small bumps and dings can take off paint which requires a respray where ppf would only require popping the dent and cleaning it up. Sure I could find someone to properly sand and repaint a panel so there aren't high spots, but it will cost as much for two panels as ppf for the whole car would.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

the resale value doesn't come from the ppf itself, it comes from maintaining your paint in near-mint condition. that's why i opted for the entire car instead of just the front-facing portions. if you had 2 hypothetical cars for sale that had the same mileage and everything was identical except one had beat up paint, and one had near perfect paint, i'm assuming you wouldn't sell them for the same price.


it's hard to answer this for someone else. i understand and appreciate the purpose of it, but it is a hassle to deal with. and from what i understand, no matter how perfectly you maintain it, you still need to get it re-done every 5 - 6 years or so?

also, i saw the number 7 grand somewhere? are you talking about some of the "special" pff like the carbon flake or damascus pattern? if you're talking about just the normal ppf, then absolutely not. the industry standard is 5 - 6 grand for an entire vehicle. i got mine for 5500 and it included some extra stuff like ceramic coating of my wheels and interior. i wouldn't pay a dime more than that though.

Size of vehicle and type of ppf also impacts cost. 7k is not unusual for ppf with ceramic built in and covering all parts of the car, including trim and grill. Almost every tesla, rivian, and Porsche owner I know goes this route. Their paint is all thin and soft though. The Integra paint is THICK, but it's also very soft compared to some of my other cars.

Some ppf also has a 10 or 12 year warranty, so if it fails at the 7 year mark, they should redo it.

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