PPF Worth It or a Waste?

Alright, so I’m finally trading in my 2019 X5 for a 2023 X7 M60i. It’s currently being built and should be ready in about a week or so. I opted for Marina Bay Blue metallic.

I initially wanted Frozen Marina Bay Blue, but BMW Individual declined the request. This may have been a blessing in disguise as I have learned the matte paints are very tough to look after.

So, I reached out to my local XPEL shop, and they quoted me $8150 for a full matte XPEL Stealth wrap. From my research, this feels in line with a vehicle of the X7’s size.

Is that just a waste of money on a depreciating asset? Is PPF truly worth the likely equivalent cost of respraying the car over multiple times or am I just really paying for the matte aesthetic? Any words of wisdom?

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That seems really high for full stealth PPF. How long do you intend to keep this car?

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Where are you located? In NY prices are significantly higher. Your installer will make or break you. Full PPF for that price in NY would be a steal. At a minimum I’d do PPF on the front bumper and hood and rear bumper if looking to cut costs. They can do the doors too if you like. What is your car care regimen? Would a bit of bird poo make you whip out a microfiber and hose less wash in the trunk?

PPF is much cheaper than respraying. A slight side swipe or person ribs your PPF when getting out a spot and glides along the side the paint will transfer on to your PPF seen it on family vehicle. The Matte PPF I agree is much better than real Matte paint in terms of upkeep.

Ask them how they will install the PPF, is it all template and if so what’s the gap? Some do a crap job with large gaps and some do excellent jobs with plotted film. Some use bulk and cut carefully. Had a family member get a car from a dealer who also was a Bugatti dealer say trust us we wrap Bugatti’s and their 3rd party PPF install was terrible. After they went to a good third party installer and wrapped the whole car in PPF but they did a lot of labor including headlights and part removal to get all the crevices.

How long do you think you’d keep the vehicle?

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For a custom hand cut job. Seems inline with my area pricing. Matte is tricky as there can’t be any exposed edges.

If it’s a lease I wouldn’t bother. But if you like washing / keeping a clean car it makes it a lot easier.

There’s almost little resale value it offers for that car IMO

I can corroborate that on trade-in it probably won’t be worth anything and it may even be a detractor especially if any part of it needs to be redone.

Waste of money. There are better things to do with $8k.

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Yes

You’ll get nothing back. Zero ROI.

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I don’t think I’d even pay that if I planned on keeping the car till the wheels fall off and that will do nothing but depreciate over its life. Especially now that rates are rising, buying is slowing and repos are increasing. All a recipe for that thing being worth even less than it had been in this vehicle shortage era very soon.

It’s transportation, not a showpiece

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Waste of money IMO.

Yes you’re protecting the paint, but what about interior, glass, wheels, trim etc.? Think about how you’re going to feel if these areas show wear while your paint doesn’t.

Drive it, enjoy it, and move on to the next.

PPF is an absolute waste of money, if your car sees a lot of highway abuse maybe consider putting clear bra on the front, everything else can be taken care of with a nice detail.

What makes me giggle the most is when they say they ceramic coated on top of their PPF.

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I’m in Atlanta. This is a very reputable shop, and they are going to be using pre-cut templates that also extend out far enough to be wrapped around each panel so there wouldn’t be a clash of matte vs glossy at the edges.

I’m buying instead of leasing. However, I’m now starting to lean towards not doing it. At roughly $8500 all in, I probably plan to keep the car no longer than 5 years, so this would be like adding almost $150 p/month to my payment, which seems like not a great use of money.

Appreciate everyone’s input here.

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You could do front hood and bumper for around 2K probably. That should save the majority of stone chips. Personally I suggest the rear bumper at least being in NY where everyone rubs your rear bumper parking too tight.

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I’ll one up you - there was a fellow on r/BMW who took it quite personally to the point of reporting me to the crisis help line when I mentioned that he’d been taken for a ride with his ceramic coated, then PPF’ed, and then re-ceramic’ed on top procedure (apparently for extra gloss effect). :man_facepalming:

It doesn’t even make sense. What are you expecting the PPF to adhere to???

OP, been there, done that, and wouldn’t PPF a car again - the only a la carte items I think have been worth it for me personally:

  1. PPF on the LaserLights - those units can be pricey to replace, but folks on BPost have varying opinions on whether that’ll have longer term negative effects on the headlight coating, so do your research. Should be 150$ for a pre-cut set or 200-250$ installed - WeatherTech sells them for a number of vehicles including many G series BMWs.

  2. Door cups to prevent ring dings - you can get a kit from WeatherTech or AliExpress for this and it’ll do the trick for 30$

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I mean those PPF wrap videos on FB are really cool, but I wouldn’t waste your money. Definitely a blessing that BMW declined your request for Frozen Marina Bay Blue.

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Matte paint is a PITIA to keep clean, in one piece, and looking good.

PPF if the car is valuable and you plan to keep it and paint quality is a major factor (where the cost will actually give you an ROI).

In your case, I’d ceramic coat it at a much lower cost and just run with it.

@wam22 will chime in on the experiences on Crown Rally west with a milk jug.

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I’d even go so far as to suggest buying a monthly pass at the touchless car wash. Run it through every day, every other day. Get it professionally ceramic coated 1x a year.

Do not do this.

Wash the car yourself, if that’s not possible go to a car wash only when it’s actually dirty and/or you need to remove contaminants like birdcrap or salt.

Use ceramic to lessen the frequency of going to the car wash.

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If you were to wrap your car Kermit the frog green, would it add any value? The same thing can be said about making your car matte with a film. The X7 is a mass market family hauler, in 5 years time and 60k +miles nobody will be paying you a 4 figure difference if you have a couple rock chips here or there so turning the car “frozen” for 8k will never pay for itself. If you really want to keep your car pristine, just do a clear wrap on the front. Here in SoCal it will run you about 2-3k.

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I get the impression that some of the replies have a hidden presumption of “If you’re going to spend something then spend $2-3K instead of 8”

No. $3k wasted is $3k wasted. It’s not “$5k saved.”

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Basically, if you feel plastic surgery is worth it, then PPF might be worth it.