Ferrari? Lamborghini? Sure
Porsche 911? Debatable
BMW? Nah
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I will not say the speed, but the PPF ate up an empty milk jug that someone threw out of their car and no damage to the paint.
That is inline with my experience for stealth wrap. Lots of shops in the $7.5k-$10k for my area. See if they have any cars in their shop for stealth to get a look at how good their work is.
PPF is worth it on any specialty or sports car where part of the resale value is in the fact that it has original paint in outstanding condition. Being able to keep the factory paint near perfect with PPF is a sound investment for future resale. On a family hauler, you will not get any cost of that PPF back. In fact, I bet you will get a lower trade in value with the stealth. Only reason to get it on an X7 is for you own sanity for either aesthetics or damage reduction. If you really want, get a vinyl color change for the same cost and they can probably get a color close to Frozen Blue.
Well worth it IMO. Front half of my car has PPF (no ceramic) and the back half is just ceramic. Back half is 100% easier to keep clean, clean, and dry than the PPF’d front. I can literally take a leaf blower and dry the back half without ever using a cloth. I wanted to see how much of a difference it would actually be and I hate the fact I did that. Next time I replace the PPF, I will put ceramic over it.
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Put some 303 Graphene over it $17.99
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That is not what I am presuming at all. I am just saying that if you want to paint protect your car you can do so cost effectively for 2-3k, but spending 8k to change the color of your car will not add any benefit beyond the 2-3k for a clear front wrap. Some people are anal about keeping their car pristine and rock chip free, for them the 3k is worth the peace of mind. There is no inherent utility beyond the 3k front wrap for a family hauler. It’s the equivalent of buying an iPhone for $1000 and spending $30 for a glass screen protector (3%), but in this case you are paying for a 100k iPhone.
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I would rather pay $80 for a bottle of ceramic to get a longer and better lasting result. A $18 bottle will last 3 months if I am lucky and then I have to keep applying it. Once and done is how I prefer it for my car protection needs.
What ever works for you. All I’m saying is you love it so much, there’s no need to wait until you have to replace it you can do it now. Unless of course you had it for years and you’re looking to do it soon.
This 10101010
I will replace it in the spring. A 2,000 mile road trip on desert roads behind cars with rear tires that measure 325 tends to destroy any protection. The protection film over my windshield feels like sandpaper.
If someone needs to get their car ceramic coated yearly, then it was poorly done or poorly maintained. Even the “bad” ceramics that are professionally installed should last 3 years.
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You’ll be out all of that money when you total the car.
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I used to baby my cars before I discovered LH, then I learned that in a “normal” market I could lease cheaply, flip cars, etc. Last time I dropped $2k on PPF for front fenders/hood/bumper on my “fancy” car. Didn’t recoup any of it when I sold it last year. As a car enthusiast I can understand not wanting rock chips etc. Being more realistic about the auto industry, those chips probably aren’t going to drop the transaction price of my car by $2k. The average person probably doesn’t even care.
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What product are you using for windshield protection? I once had STEK Dynoflex applied on a 981 for 500$ and while it worked very well, I wasn’t thrilled about the subtle visual distortion effect (though that was likely partly on the installer).
Seconded - fully touchless automatic washes often use harsher chemicals in order to loosen and strip the dirt off of your vehicle in addition to the high pressure jets, so I’d be wary of how often I’m subjecting a vehicle to that.
I don’t think it’s on the installer. I think most of these products have a subtle distortion but in certain use cases it definitely makes a difference.
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I had clear plex on a few cars, I hate the disortion also, worse with sun glasses. If you track a lot, the rubber that gets kicked up ruins it quick, same with using the wipers.
Still better than a crack to replace the windshield. I stopped using it on my last car, and I sort of regret it.
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You don’t need to wait, you can “upgrade” the PPF after rejuvenation now.
I bought my car, I wouldn’t ppf if I leased the car. I made that mistake with my prior car before I found out about this forum.
I got my sapphire black X3M comp wrapped in xpel full for $6k and it included ceramic pro the whole car including wheels and brake pads. I went to such extent because this is an 85k car that I intend to keep for the next 7+ years. I hate to look at beat up cars. PPF protects your car from Rock chips, it works and it does a great job.
I got a good deal because it was a friends shop.
With that said $8150 seems to be fair for a vehicle of that size, maybe ask them if they would throw in free ceramic coating on top of xpel since it won’t require paint correction.
With matte ppf you just need to make sure you are extra careful when washing the car, scratches overtime can leave shiny spots.
Lastly, since you are going the matte route they may need to disassemble some do the parts to make sure they get full coverage on the vehicle to make sure the shiny edges don’t show. Just make sure this is a well experienced shop and make sure you physically view their work before saying yes. This is a must. I’ve seen some of the jobs in my town and even being certified they weren’t all that great. Lastly, before you drop off your car make sure you double check all the edges with the installer/shop owner to confirm no damages, this way when they hand you the car and check all the edges for cuts that you are fully protected against them saying “it was from factory”.
As you probably can tell, I am super anal about my car, i expect the car to be returned to me the way I gave it to them after the job. I had an installer put 3 cuts on my front hood years ago on my Subaru legacy, it was a pain to get the shop owner to fix it, had to call the ppf dealer to try to work with the shop owner to make it right.
Some may not agree with me, but I think of my car as a nice watch, you want it to keep it looking nice, you don’t want it to look like garbage after few years of highway driving.
If you intend to keep your car for 5 years then you should just do the full front hood and then put a nice coat of ceramic coat on the whole car.
Also, ppf on the door handles is a good idea, especially if you or your other half wear jewelry, it will scratch like hell.
Most people will be against ppf on this board because they lease their cars and it would make absolute 0 sense to do it, which I fully agree.
If you sell your car via private party (you should) you will be able to command a higher amount. Remember a well maintained car will resale for much more.
The type of buyer that would hop in a M60i wouldn’t be your daily average Joe. They would want the car to look as good as possible.
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Cars are meant to be driven
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I think this is a personal choice. I did full fronts for my Tesla MY and Denali. It will protect from rock chips and the xpel ultimate is fantastic at self healing swirls that you will inevitably get from washing. Back half is ceramic coated for both. Both are financed and not leases.
That said, I understand anyone who chooses to skip PPF. It’s not something you’re going to see a return on but more of a preference for people who like an easier wash and don’t like to see swirls accumulate.
I do my own washing and also I do my own paint correction if it needs to be spruced up on my non-PPF panels.
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Talk to me after you’ve attempted to sell a mass-produced high dollar vehicle through private party.
I’m a big proponent of PP, but for the right vehicle. Exotics; niche enthusiast cars; and sub $20,000 cars. X7 does not count, regardless of what meaningless stat someone can throw around about “only X were made in this configuration.”
The guy who buys a used X7 is not actually very wealthy. He’d buy a brand new one if he were. He doesn’t have the cash to buy a used one either. He’s gonna go to a dealership and get financing for a retail used or CPO car. In the off chance you find someone old school who pays cash, he’s not gonna give flying F about the PPF.
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The X7 M60i is not just an ordinary x7. The x7 40i is going to be the one most sold everywhere. The m60i is north of six figures. That’s not a super mass produced car. Bmw is not going to have 10 of them sitting at each dealer lot. Someone paying 80-90k on a used car would want a car in a very good condition.
PP is not just for exotics, it’s for people that care for the look of their car and intend to keep it for a long time.