[diirk]

Did a group cruise yesterday and it's spring here, so tons of bugs covering the front end. The PPF covered with ceramic coat allowed them to wipe off with detailing spray. Easiest time I've had cleaning bugs ever.

[Allerum]

I just don't see the point of protecting a bad paint job. The factory robots are not very good. The paint isn't that thick nor is it as polished. I'd rather repaint the entire car for $8k in 10 years with a professional show quality job. You guys are paying 4-8k for protecting a medium quality paint. This isn't a Koenigsegg with a 37 layer paint. THAT paint you should PPF. But I can get a 5-10 layer custom job that's the same shade and flake but thicker for the price of PPF.

I will picking up this week and plan to have a guy buff it and I will graphene coat it and done.

[diirk]

A lot of it also depends on where you live and the environment you drive in. The roads here can be rough and there's always gravel and junk on the hwy. We go through several windshields per year. It only makes sense to me to protect the paint. I've taken hits to the PPF that we ll the way through into the paint. If the PPF wasn't there the damage would have been much more substantial. At the end of the day, these are not inexpensive cars.
Even my 4Runner has PPF on the front quarter, but it was a shit job done by the dealer and already in place when I bought the car. And there's rock chips on the leading edge of the hood because they didn't install it well.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Allerum

You guys are paying 4-8k for protecting a medium quality paint

I will picking up this week and plan to have a guy buff it and I will graphene coat it and done.

That's pretty much me with a few additions:

* I drive 'em home, do a strip wash & panel wipe, then put on a decent sealant. I typically don't do a resin-based coating since I know I'm going to want to polish in 12-18 months

* I do a paint enhancement polish with a Rupes yellow & white

With my current vehicle, after 15 months I had very fine marring you couldn't really see in the Sun, but you could under shop lights. A light polish easily removed all of them.

I even had a pretty gnarly V scratch on my bumper that came out almost totally with a just a few extra passes of a Rupes yellow foam pad.

[dudley@07726]

Originally Posted by Allerum

I just don't see the point of protecting a bad paint job. The factory robots are not very good. The paint isn't that thick nor is it as polished. I'd rather repaint the entire car for $8k in 10 years with a professional show quality job. You guys are paying 4-8k for protecting a medium quality paint. This isn't a Koenigsegg with a 37 layer paint. THAT paint you should PPF. But I can get a 5-10 layer custom job that's the same shade and flake but thicker for the price of PPF.

I will picking up this week and plan to have a guy buff it and I will graphene coat it and done.

The guy who I used for PPF was doing a Ferrari at the same time.
He said the paint was worse on than than my M340i.

[peelerec]

Originally Posted by dudley@07726

The guy who I used for PPF was doing a Ferrari at the same time.
He said the paint was worse on than than my M340i.

Not surprised. Many high end, low production cars have horrendous paint. Many GT3's, Lambo's, etc of the like are known to have unacceptable amounts of marring and scratches straight from factory. Too many hands touch the paint....

[coolman2527]

Originally Posted by chhappy7

The thing is... Do you really want the dealership to put ppf on....?

Dealer don’t have that ability to do it, they will outsource it to local shops, who have the ability to do so, so basically dealer would have let the professionals to handle it, I know my dealer have a long term relationship with a specific PPF shop, and they did a good job on my car, which had the full front end PPF

[M5Rick]

If you're planning a long ownership with your BMW I wouldn't ceramic coat at all and PPF may do more harm than good over the long term. Nothing beats a normal hand wash with a good car wash shampoo like Simoniz then a wax polish is both easy and quick.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by coolman2527

Dealer don’t have that ability to do it, they will outsource it to local shops, who have the ability to do so, so basically dealer would have let the professionals to handle it, I know my dealer have a long term relationship with a specific PPF shop, and they did a good job on my car, which had the full front end PPF

Always remember that when dealers outsource PPF work they add a markup to the cost which you will avoid if you went directly a shop that specializes in this type of work! 😉

[chhappy7]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

Always remember that when dealers outsource PPF work they add a markup to the cost which you will avoid if you went directly a shop that specializes in this type of work! 😉

And probably use the cheapest PPF shop they can find instead of using actually high quality shops.

[ThirdCoastX7]

Personal opinion, but given that I bought and didn’t lease, it was 100% worth it to me. Yes, it’s expensive. But so is this luxury vehicle. To me, on the margin, it’s worth the peace of mind of not getting swirls and chips (we will be taking many 4+ hour family road trips). Plus it gave me the opportunity to customize the look with stealth PPF.

It’s all personal preference. There is no right answer.

[jiggyboiswagg]

Hey guys! I am huge DIY'er and taught myself how to PPF. Thought I'd share this YouTube vid on a Full Front + Doors PPF install I did on a 2022 X5 M50i. Check it out, any support is appreciated!

[davetn]

Well done!

[Z K]

Originally Posted by Allerum

I just don't see the point of protecting a bad paint job. The factory robots are not very good. The paint isn't that thick nor is it as polished. I'd rather repaint the entire car for $8k in 10 years with a professional show quality job. You guys are paying 4-8k for protecting a medium quality paint. This isn't a Koenigsegg with a 37 layer paint. THAT paint you should PPF. But I can get a 5-10 layer custom job that's the same shade and flake but thicker for the price of PPF.

I will picking up this week and plan to have a guy buff it and I will graphene coat it and done.

The problem is, the car will look like crap until you get it repainted. With clear bra, it will look like new all the time and never need a repaint. I also have no idea where you are getting your car painted but a full car repaint that is OEM quality with proper down to the metal stripping and prep is $10-20k here. A sub $10k paint job is probably a "scratch and spray".

Also, not to mention the other stuff that gets damaged as you drive such as the headlights, trim etc. A pair of BMW laser headlights is not an inexpensive replacement.

I put clear bra on all my cars that I plan to keep long term. If you don't want to do a full front coverage due to cost, you can just do a partial front coverage (full bumper/headlights/partial hood/fenders) - that will cover 90% of the rock chips you will get. Usually about $1000-1500 for a computer cut partial front.

[Allerum]

Originally Posted by Z K

The problem is, the car will look like crap until you get it repainted. With clear bra, it will look like new all the time and never need a repaint. I also have no idea where you are getting your car painted but a full car repaint that is OEM quality with proper down to the metal stripping and prep is $10-20k here. A sub $10k paint job is probably a "scratch and spray".

Also, not to mention the other stuff that gets damaged as you drive such as the headlights, trim etc. A pair of BMW laser headlights is not an inexpensive replacement.

I put clear bra on all my cars that I plan to keep long term. If you don't want to do a full front coverage due to cost, you can just do a partial front coverage (full bumper/headlights/partial hood/fenders) - that will cover 90% of the rock chips you will get. Usually about $1000-1500 for a computer cut partial front.

What? My point was I don't want an OEM job because that isn't a good job. 3000 miles so far no pff just coated, doing great. $10k is the highend of paint job especially with no body repairs needed just sanding. Who would pay $20k unless its like 50 layers. Most people can get a fair job for $7000. A cheap no prep job is with MAACO at $1000. We are not talking about a color change here its a higher quality application of the same color, no need for the engine bay, door jams etc.

[Zircon]

Before my M4 was delivered, I saw an used Tanzanite Blue M5 in thedealership's parking lot. Swirlmarks galore, so getting PPF was an easy decision.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by Allerum

What? My point was I don't want an OEM job because that isn't a good job. 3000 miles so far no pff just coated, doing great. $10k is the highend of paint job especially with no body repairs needed just sanding. Who would pay $20k unless its like 50 layers. Most people can get a fair job for $7000. A cheap no prep job is with MAACO at $1000. We are not talking about a color change here its a higher quality application of the same color, no need for the engine bay, door jams etc.

OEM paint is better than 95% of body shops and there’s no way you can get a good job for 7k in 2023.

[c1pher]

I was initially adamantly against it but when you have car prices well above $50k and then considering how much it costs to recondition a car if damaged. And in some cases you might need to respray and it will never 100% match up again, PPF makes sense. I mean if you're driving a Corolla, it doesn't make much sense. I don't do the whole car, just the full front, lower sides and around the rear fender. That helps keep cost somewhat reasonable and offers good protection.

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by Allerum

I just don't see the point of protecting a bad paint job. The factory robots are not very good. The paint isn't that thick nor is it as polished. I'd rather repaint the entire car for $8k in 10 years with a professional show quality job. You guys are paying 4-8k for protecting a medium quality paint. This isn't a Koenigsegg with a 37 layer paint. THAT paint you should PPF. But I can get a 5-10 layer custom job that's the same shade and flake but thicker for the price of PPF.

I will picking up this week and plan to have a guy buff it and I will graphene coat it and done.

Crappy paint on an expensive car is the perfect use case for PPF. It provides a decent layer of protection that would otherwise cause a lot of damage if driven.

[Allerum]

Originally Posted by c1pher

Crappy paint on an expensive car is the perfect use case for PPF. It provides a decent layer of protection that would otherwise cause a lot of damage if driven.

Not for me $7000 to protect crappy paint is just dumb. I'd rather drive it scars and all.

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by Allerum

Not for me $7000 to protect crappy paint is just dumb. I'd rather drive it scars and all.

I think it's dumb to go out of your way to damage your car. I've never spent $7k on PPF, I spent $2900 on my 911 and $3500 on my Macan. I haven't even spent that much on two cars.

[Game]

Originally Posted by Allerum

Not for me $7000 to protect crappy paint is just dumb. I'd rather drive it scars and all.

It’s not crappy paint if you keep it in great shape…ya know by PPF.

$1500-2000 to keep your front end pristine for a decade is a no brainer to me.