So Cal PPF installers and customer experiences

[grezex]

Yikes, that is pretty bad. The film isn't even cut close to the vent.
As much as I hate the idea of taking things apart... man must see how to safely be able to drop that vent to wrap the paint.
It would then make sense to wrap the shiny bits too rather than only ceramic coating it.

 

[Tobiasz17azs]

Yikes, that is pretty bad. The film isn't even cut close to the vent.
As much as I hate the idea of taking things apart... man must see how to safely be able to drop that vent to wrap the paint.
It would then make sense to wrap the shiny bits too rather than only ceramic coating it.

My vents are perfectly wrapped with black PPF .

 

[drjazzsk]

Mine is one piece but around the vents looks shity and film its coming off already on the corners. Next time we will try to take the vents out and try to do seem less
Job. I mean not me / my installer

where did you get it done? what film is that...xpel/stek?

 

[GrahamClark_60-68]

For what it's worth, mine is in at PFS, and in the short time while I was getting checked in, a whole host of amazing cars were on their way in, including a Huracan EVO and a GT2 RS. That being said I truly believe that Kyle and his team with 18+ years of experience know what they're doing and do it very well, and are very careful I believe. I had some time to speak with Kyle about the relief cuts and if they could be modified/reduced in size/eliminated etc., and he had this to say. He related to me his many conversations with XPEL regarding how they do their templates, (computerized, based on wind tunnel results, working directly with the manufacturers on the suspected high impact areas,, etc and a lot of other detailed analysis that seemed fairly impressive to someone who knows little to nothing about this), to the point where they trust the templates provided by XPEL implicitly, including the relief cuts shape and size. They are there for a reason, and they feel strongly about this. When then have gotten requests to modify them, even slightly, they are risking their reputation and customer satisfaction if something goes wrong, such as lifting. While they will honor whatever the customer requests, they can't and won't guarantee against issues, which could cost you down the road. Although I don't know if this is directly related, I feel compelled to cite @Tobiasz17azs recent experience and certainly wish him the best in remedying his PPF issues. So after this fairly lengthy discussion, I made the decision to proceed with no modifications to the template with regards to relief cuts. Further on this, in the Emiras they have done so far, their technicians have determined that the size and location of the relief cuts warrant filling in with PPF, but he left it up to me whether or not I want to do this. They have done this already on one Emira at the owners request (see @T6061 's photo earlier in this thread) and left this off on another, again at the owners request. I requested they be filled, because I don't think it changes the look and it offers more protection to what could be a couple of vulnerable spots. So in summary, I do HATE the relief cuts and wish they weren't there, but I'm reasonably convinced the folks that put them there know what they're doing and did it for a very good reason. And I'd hate it more if the film lifted and I had issues with it down the road that could cost me more money and time. Time may prove me wrong and maybe all the STEK guys will have their cars wrapped with no relief cuts and no issues. And to that I'll say that's AWESOME, major congrats! But by that time, I'll be enjoying the drive and will have probably forgotten all about this issue on my car. My two, YMMV of course! Cheers everyone and happy weekend (but me without my car for now).

 

[GrahamClark_60-68]

Back from PPF today and I'm ecstatic! PFS in Santa Ana, CA did an incredible job, minimized/hid/eliminated seams to the point where it's really difficult to see unless you're really looking hard for them. Doing a little bake in the So Cal sun right now! The only thing I've noticed is when they put the side badges back on (PFS takes all badges and letters off, and reapplies them over the PPF), the thickness of the 3M adhesive pads has them sticking out a bit from the body. Since I didn't scrutinize this originally, I don't know how they sit from the factory. Can anyone who has NOT had their side badges removed tell me if they sit flush with the body or stick out a bit? I've attached a couple of photos showing this.

 

[grezex]

Man, that blue sure shines through incredibly.

Honestly the FE badge might bother me, I don't recall it sticking out far enough where you can get your finger under it (judging by your pictures). All PPF shops in my previous experience told me re-using the badge could be problematic because the 3M tape will always be thicker than from factory. They had usually recommend sourcing new badges from the dealer. How does your rear LOTUS letters look? I assume the front badge is fine too?

In my mind I was prepared to order new badges from factory to avoid using a thicker 3M.
I only saw the lettering available at GRP, not sure if dealer can order replacement FE side badges.

 

[T6061]

They did my car as well. Doesn’t seem to stick out quite as far as far as yours…never noticed it. At any angle other than the one you took the photo from you probably wouldn’t notice.

 

[grezex]

Was doing some PPF research for an impromptu new car pick up while waiting for my Emira order... came across this video showing the side vent panel done in a single piece (not sure on longevity of this though since heat from vent may start lifting the film):

 

[TheMotizzle]

Was doing some PPF research for an impromptu new car pick up while waiting for my Emira order... came across this video showing the side vent panel done in a single piece (not sure on longevity of this though since heat from vent may start lifting the film):

Great video. Really makes you appreciate why PPF costs so much to install.

 

[RoryBellows]

Rising this thread to add a data point. I got a full Stek wrap from Xsiv in Newbury Park. They quoted $6500 for paint correction and all paint ppf. I also added llumar IRX on the doors and windshield as well as the Stek windshield wrap on the windshield and headlights. Total for everything was $7500. I dropped it off on a Friday and it was ready by the next Friday. They did not do the wide slit at the vent. Instead they split it in the cove with a separate piece. It looks clean and generally hides the lines unless you are looking for them. It looks great so far. I was told not to wash it for 2 weeks while it cures and to bring it back after that for them to do a wash on it and touch up anything that needs to be touched up.

 

[F1 SML8R]

PFS in Santa Ana CA did mine as well as the graphics. They've done a few cars for me over the years. They've always delivered a quality product and remember return customers even if it's a year or two later.

 

[jmorrison]

That's what I said to them. I will be flying in to pickup the car on delivery when the time comes, and I asked if they would be open to dropping the car off somewhere else to get it PPF'd before pickup as I'd like to know I have options. The response I received was "Our installer exclusively does all our cars. Trust me, let us handle the PPF."

This response really rubbed me the wrong way.

All that being said, that original 10k was just an estimate. Hoping they turn around and say the price is closer to other quotes people have mentioned.

They want to charge you $10K, pay the installer $6K, and pocket the difference.

 

[GrahamClark_60-68]

They want to charge you $10K, pay the installer $6K, and pocket the difference.

In some defense of Eurocar (my dealer, with whom I now have direct experience with), this post from @Yotus of $10k for PPF is very old, and was way before Eurocar had received any cars, nor had their installers done any actual estimates. Simply a swag by the sales guy. They also let me know that their in-house installers work on all of their inventory, which is significant and high-end, and so their quality needs to be good considering the value of the cars they work on and the demands of that level of clientele, although there was no hard sell. Given that the Emira is among the lowest end cars they sell by far, and they do most of their business reselling much higher end cars (I would say the majority are $300k - $700k, some much more, just have a look at their website), I honestly can't see them caring all that much about making a few bucks marking up PPF for an Emira. My experience was there was no nickle and diming and they didn't even push that hard (really not at all) on extended warranty). On the other hand, I could see that asking them to transport the car to a third party for PPF and then back again for delivery to the end customer could be met with some resistance. Because why would they want to do that (especially when they can offer that service in house)? And certainly not at their expense. Here's where some negotiation could take place I would imagine on the price of their PPF.

With all this said, and given that at the time of my pickup (June 2024) Eurocar still had no PPF experience nor pricing for me, I chose to have my PPF done at PFS in Santa Ana. But considering I was in town, I took delivery from Eurocar and brought it to PFS myself. At that time, there was on Emira being finished up and another one in line before me, so I figured the experience would be beneficial by the time they did mine. No regrets in that decision.

Lastly, I can refer you to the So Cal PPF installers file that I started a while ago (link in my footer) which is public and has been contributed to over the last year based on other's experience. I invite you and others to continue to do the same, so others could possibly benefit. Would be interesting to hear from other members if they've had their PPF done at Eurocar and what their experience was. Cheers, and good luck on your journey.

 

[RoryBellows]

Lastly, I can refer you to the So Cal PPF installers file that I started a while ago (link in my footer) which is public and has been contributed to over the last year based on other's experience. I invite you and others to continue to do the same, so others could possibly benefit. Would be interesting to hear from other members if they've had their PPF done at Eurocar and what their experience was. Cheers, and good luck on your journey.

I just added my info to the list.