Paint Protection Cost and Brand

I wouldn't trust anyone to wrap it for 2k. I think 5k to 7k is right. 2k is very very suspect.


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I agree with this. I paid 2k for the entire front, rocker panels and rear bumper. Whole car was quoted at 5.5k.

You'll get a lot of different answers on film. XPEL and Suntek are the current favorites. They're both excellent and it comes down to the skill of the installer more than the film itself. Suntek is said to be slightly clearer and more shiny. I doubt you'd be able to tell the difference side by side.

I went with Suntek on my 458. I'd done XPEL on my R8. Both looked great and I'd be completely comfortable flipping a coin and going with whichever one the best installer available to me was using.

 

Just a data point. I took delivery of my Speciale from Ferrari of Salt Lake City in May 2015. I was planning on driving it for a few months in Utah before I headed back to California. I was going to have protective film applied by a hot shot installer as soon as I got to California for around $3,000. But I didn't want to take a chance of picking up rock chips during the time I was in Utah.

I talked to my dealer, and he recommended a really good local installer. I contacted the guy and explained what I wanted covered (the entire front of my Speciale...bumper, hood, fenders, headlights) and the mirrors, door bottoms, rocker panels, aero fins and the area behind rear wheels. I was planning on having him use Xpel Ultimate film, but the installer convinced me to go with 3M VentureShield instead. I asked him how much it was going to cost, and he said $900. I know what you're thinking. I thought the same thing. But in my case I figured that it was worth $900 to protect my car for the few months I was in Utah, and then I'd have the California installer rip off all the film and apply Xpel Ultimate for a cost of about $3,000. Long story short, that was two years ago and the $900 3m VentureShield film looks so good that I have no intention of removing it and installing anything else. Best $900 I ever spent

 

I had my entire car clear wrapped with Suntek Ultra. $5,500 is a fair price for the a very talented installer.

 

I had PPF installed on my 488 front bumper and splitter, my car has the front parking sensors and camera, so extra cuts there around them.

I paid $500 with Xpel Ultimate material used and that was with zero negotiation. I had called around a few shops near me, the moment they heard "Ferrari" the lowest price I received was around $1,500 and they wanted to keep the car overnight... no thanks. My installer came to my home and did it there without issue. I called those same shops a few days later asking about a 2014 Camaro (a car with many sharp edges) and prices I received were around $600.

This is essentially the same stuff you see on eBay for cell phone screen protectors, this isn't rocket science and the materials cost is ridiculously low. At least do the front bumper/splitter and stay far back from commercial vehicles...

 

My 458 spider was about $3500

Complete front and hood. Both front fenders and lower body. Inside door sills. Back hood where the top comes down. Rear view mirrors. Edges of the doors and inside the door handles.

 

I paid 2400 for the entire front. Next time I do the whole car. Had a rock fly up and hit the roof. Have to get that fixed. Next time whole car.

 

I have used both Suntek and Expel. Easily prefer the Suntek. Clearer, no stretch marks, and less aggressive adhesive. I'll confirm what others have said, it is around $5K for a full car and expect to pay around $2500 for full front end and impact areas.

I also look at PPF as temporary as I like to replace it about every 3 years or so especially on a daily driver. But that's me....

 

I had Expel Ultimate custom fit to my 458 spider. It was in May 2015 and I had not heard of Suntek. Very happy with it. Had a couple hard hits (but small spots) and it protected the paint completely.

I recommend using a detailer / custom upgrade shop that is an authorized Ferrari repair shop. Detailing Dynamics in Long Island was awesome. You can trust them to remove fenders and other parts so they can hide as many lines as possible. They did an amazing job and no one notices it's wrapped. If done right with professional polish before putting it on, it should take a few days. $6k to $7k is the right cost from a pro who does it all the time on exotics. I've watched them do it. It's labor intensive requiring a careful hand with razor blades for a custom fit.

ULTIMATE - XPEL

 

The end result has much less to do with which film is used and much more with how the car/ paint was prepared. There's a lot of work/ time in color sanding to remove or minimize orange peel, polishing to bring it the luster/ shine, removing bumpers, hiding the seams, etc. Which film is used is a VERY small part of the process and makes little difference whether it's 3m, X-Pel, etc. Prepped right they all look good, bad prep they all look bad. This isn't anything like like tinting as most seem to think

 

Done them all and can. Say without question Suntek is the clearest with zero orange peal and self heals amazingly well. 5-7k for entire car is reasonable. 2500 fr the front end/rockers

 

Plenty of us do not apply clear film.

I also have seen very damaged removals of clear fil (even at oem F dealers) ... of which you are paying yourself that too.

Mostly caused by very bad paintwork at the F factory was the conclusion ...

Just drive your car and if damaged, have a bumper resprayed ...

 

You can definitely consider MagnusPro. No cutting on the car and already treated with CeramicPro.

 

WJS - you do realize that decent installers DON'T use a blade against the paint or plastic right? Your post insinuates otherwise. And CeramicPro really does little in terms of protecting against rock or debris chips

 

Not insinuating that. MagnusPro is not a ceramic coating. It is a 215 micron film, pre-treated with CeramicPro. Lots of info available via Google. The OP asked a question and no-one had mentioned this product. I have no affiliation to it whatsoever.

You really do not have to use it...

 

Does anyone have any thoughts regarding ceramic v film?

 

I would have to check but I believe I have it on my spider. The GTB had to have XO on top of the PPF. but the new one had it included and the water just beads off.

Will try and check.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts regarding ceramic v film?

Ceramic keeps the paint shiny, film protects the paint and in most cases also keeps it shiny. Ceramic does nothing to help against rock chipping . Ceramic, when it wears in usually @5 year and needs to be buffed off by a trained professional, film needs to be carefully heated and removed by a trained professional with a heat gun and it can last many years (5-15 depending on how well it's installed and the climate the car is in).

Ceramic usually runs @ $2K or so, film usually in the 2K range for just front bumper and front front panels @$5K or so to have the whole car done.

Both of which require someone who knows what they are doing to properly prepare (color sand, highly polish) the paint PRIOR to either application, this isn't like applying window tint. People seem to get all caught up on which film to use (X-Pel, M, etc) that means little it is the prep that is critical