I just called a local place to get a price on PPE for the front of the car. +mirrors. They quoted $2250. Seems expensive to me, but i've never gotten this done before.

 

Seems like the pricing is dependant on where you are located. As comparison I got a price of $2,300 (Louisville, KY) and $1,750 (Chicago Metro Area). Same coverage, full front including hood, and mirrors.

 

In Vancouver BC I usually see the front end + mirrors to be about $2k CAD for the best shops. You can definitely get cheaper though as the top shops are more precise (you won't see any edges or seams with them.

Example: Paint Protection Film ? Autowerkes Exclusive and https://www.rdidetailing.ca/paint-protection-film

 

My PPF cost me 2.5K in NYC. Full Front, headlights, hood plus mirrors and A,B,C,D pillars as well.

 

i had:
Whole front bumper
Mirror caps
Whole hood
Partial fenders
A pillars
B and C pillar piano black
leading edge of roof
Windshield
Pano roof (both panels)
Headlights
Emblem
Fog lights

all edges rolled. Excellent install from an experienced shop.

PPFed, for $2150. XPEL. Then I had every piece of glass in the car except the mirrors and camara lenses tinted in xpel ceramic tint. $850.

 

When you say you had every piece of glass done, did that include the sunroof (to keep the sun/heat at bay)? I posed the question of doing it once on here and it was suggested not to.
Also, I assume you did not/can not do the windshield? Or can you?

 

Dang - thats some expensive PPE - appear the professionals have really increased their pricing. Was quoted by Expel in San Antonio in 7/2021 for the bumper, partial hood and fenders + mirrors for $800.

I did (DIY) the 18" hood, side of front fenders and mirror caps with high quality 3M and a heat gun for $150 and 2 hours of my time (first time I attempted it before a big road trip - came out almost perfect with a little time, their tools and watching a few YouTube videos.. The front bumper has a lot of curves, so I passed on doing it for a while - need a helper for that. I took a 1,100 mile road trip and have 8k on my 2021 - almost no rock chips on the bumper - as they all seem to hit the front portion of the hood which is protected. http://invisiblemask.com/

I would also advise doing the door edges, and rear bumper appliqué with PPE - both are super easy to do DIY.

I got ceramic window tinting in Austin Texas @ Sun Tint for $400 (all windows) and the tinter wanted $200 for the front windshield (which will significantly help with solar gain in the summers). Didn't do the roof glass, as the shade is thick enough to keep the heat out - wish there was a "delete" option for the pano-roof - never use it.

 

You can tint any window that your want as long as your tinter is experienced. I currently have all 4 windows and my back windshield tinted. I will also get my sun roof done next time as well as my front windshield

 

I'm really struggling with $2000 to protect the hood. It seems to me that if I get a bunch of nicks it in over time, I could just have it repainted in 4 years and would probably cost less than $2000.

 

So the thing is if the nicks go pass your topcoat or even further depending on how long you let it sit it can do more damage over time. yes you are correct, if nicks are small you can repaint it 4 years later but it all depends on how much you value little nicks and stuff. I hate swirl marks and nicks thus i was ok with paying 2.5k for my ppf. All depends on where you stand.

 

I don't stand on my hood.

No PPF for me.

 

Agree. No ROI in that super expensive PPE. Try DIY - for a fraction of the cost.

 

Same here, its not a Porsche or Ferrari

 

every piece of glass except mirrors has ceramic tint. Windshield and pano also got PPF for glass.

 

2G for Full hood, front bumper, headlights/fog lights, mirrors, and grill/logo. Depends on installer, experience, location.

I had a black charger before owning a RDX and the front end was turning white after 6 years from the amount of rocks and stones in Michigan hitting the car. If you ran your hand across the front fascia you would cut yourself from the plastic sticking out lol. I figured I'd try and save the blue paint on the RDX this time around with PPF.

 

Thanks. And does this PPF add tint or is it just clear protection.

 

its nearly invisible.

 

In SF bay area and I paid about 3.4k total. I got ceramic (Ceramic Pro) for the whole car and PPF for the front hood and bumper. 5 years warranty for the ceramic coat and 12 years for the PPF (I went with Llumar Valor aka SunTek company, but with more warranty)

 

Yea there's no way I'm doing this. For me to do this would be like 4% of the cost of the car....just to "potentially" protect it.

I say potentially because it only takes one-larger sized stone or object to fuck up both the hood AND the ppe, and then it would be even more expensive to fix.

I feel like I'd be better served paying some extra $ to get a lower deductible on my car comprehensive insurance.

 

Whether it's worth depends on a few factors - how much you drive, the kinds of roads you drive, and how much you care about your car's looks.

I don't drive that much (I haven't even passed 30,000km and I'm nearly 3 years old) and the roads I drive are pretty clean and mostly urban so PPF was overkill. On the other hand, I really, really care about how it looks and want ease of care so I paid $2k CAD for ceramic over the whole car (wheels too) and don't regret it at all. It's awesome and the car looks fantastic after nearly 3 years and cleaning is a breeze.

 

I put 80K miles on my CX5. ONE rock got through the PPF, and it didn't get through the paint, after.
I put 12K miles on my RAV4 Prime. Nothing got through the PPF, including a grape sized rock that hit the windshield. It did smear the PPF a tad, but kept the windshield pristine.
I put 34K miles on my 370Z. Nothing got through the PPF, including an out of control SUV that side-swiped me. It DID however destroy the panels under the PPF, lol!
I put 4K miles on my Z06, nothing got through the PPF.

-By 68K miles, a Jeep I'd bought was rusting from a rock chip and needed bondo+paint. $450. No PPF involved. The front bumper also could have used a repaint. It was 4 years old.
-My CX5 got a fender ding. The shop wanted to re-spray. To match that paint would have cost @$4K and involved moving 2 panels out to blend. Mazda uses EXTREMELY complex paint processes found only on MB custom stuff, etc. It's a pain. Research your paint before thinking it will be easy. PDR fixed it, thankfully!
-Multiple windshields in the past that were not PPF'ed have been replaced.

I'd rather just PPF. It saves time, money, and keeps the vehicle looking great. My CX5 looked brand new when I traded it in, nearly.

 

Agree - windshield PPF is a time and $$$ savor. Replacing the windshield is costly when a good size rock hits it on the highway and either causes a huge chip or cracks the glass later.

 

Is it though? I pay like an extra $25/year per car for Windshield coverage with a $50 deductible.

 

I pay similar and have no ded. That said, its time to schedule it. Its uncertain in today's world if OEM glass is available. Its possible the vehicle could be damaged during work performed. Then Id need to have the new glass tinted. Then its possible wind noise or leaks or other issues could manifest.

In short, Id like to avoid having structural components cut out of my vehicle.