Need your advice to save some money

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pbtjrlmrt

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Ignore the trolls that don't care how their rig looks...they probably don't shower but once a week either...LOL For the rest of us who know that you can have an off road vehicle AND use it as intended AND have something that turns heads driving down the street I understand your dilemma. 5-6k for a full PPF/Ceramic cover is about right give or take a few hundred.

I myself took the plunge and did the full vehicle in Xpel Premium Plus PPF and Ceramic. I also realize...and so should you...that it's not a good investment. In fact from a ROI perspective it's about as bad as it gets...but that's not why you do it. .

You do it so you can smile every time you walk up to your ride in the parking lot. You do it so you can off road and not worry that the bushes running down the side of your vehicle aren't leaving pin stripes that will need to be buffed out. You do it for pride of ownership. You do it for the same reason you dress nice. It's not about dollars and cents or even sense:) it's about pride of ownership and what it means to you and that's hard to put a price on.

If you have the money and having your rig look it's finest at all times no matter how you use it then you should go for it!!

Funny how the PPF/Ceramic trolls never say anything about the thousands spent on over the top ridiculous lighting. Hanging 300 lights off the truck cutting the front grill and the like is equally a waste of money. The right bumper light setup is all that's needed for supplemental lights and anything else is pure personality...same goes for the over the top suspension mods and many other things guys waste money on. I include myself BTW having installed the KHC torque arm but stopping short of turning my ride into a skateboard by leveling it...LOL We all waste money on our trucks that will never be recouped when you sell it.

As with all mods...it's your truck, it's your money. If you want it and can afford it...Do it!!! Again, the prices quoted are slightly high and could probably be negotiated down a little. Professional install is worth it to me as the work has a lifetime guarantee, Ceramic has a 5 year guarantee and the film is guaranteed against manufacturer defect. Doing it yourself is a risk and the film available to doityourselfers is not as good/self healing/guaranteed.
 

Richard Hinsley

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If it were me I wouldn't drive it in the winter if I lived in the rust belt. Wax it a few times a year and wash it properly. Those salted roads are hell on vehicles.
 

Diesel71

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Those prices are insane. You can get ceramic done correctly for 2k or under. Don't get taken!
 

Green Goblin

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Have you considered getting a polyurethane spray (Line X, rhino, Kevlar....)? I got my truck sprayed in green for $5k. I can’t park it in the garage and didn’t want to have to worry about waxing and all the other crap involved.
 

D Wilhelm

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I’ve got some recent experience here. My 2015 GMC Sierra had nothing done in the way of paint protection and rock shielding. I put 92k miles on it driving around Texas. When I traded it in, it looked awful on the grill/hood area. Chunks of paint missing and small rock dents everywhere. Needed a paint job for sure. Paid almost 80k for a loaded 19’ raptor that I ordered. Then put 3k into a total (paint/glass/plastic/wells) ceramic coating and a xpel clear bra (1/2 hood & mirrors). Ceramic is incredible. Like permanent rainex/wax on entire truck. Muck/dust/dirt just lightly adhere and wipe away. Mine comes with annual check and re apply if needed. The clear bra is ridiculous. I’ve taken some pretty hard hits from rocks and I’m yet to find a dent or chip. I’ve got 15k Texas highway miles and I’m really happy I shelled out $3k extra for this. To me it’s simple, if your going to own for say 4+ years or put north of 50k or so in miles on it, then it’s worth it. If your a flipper, don’t bother. Hope this helps. D
 

Badgertits

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No Raptor should ever have a combo of PPF + Ceramic coat...not is it simply “unworthy” of that overkill treatment given the price point of the truck to begin with (meaning- it’s too cheap to justify spending 1/10 the purchase price to “protect” what is a relatively ****** paint job in first place) - I think that’s something you consider on a Ferrari, ZR1, Lambo, R8, Aston, LC-F etc etc.

On top of that it’s a friggin off-road Baja truck- ceramic on top of PPF screams “I don’t use this truck as intended” - Granted if you WERE using as intended it’d be a lot easier to clean up....but you’d be spending as much time cleaning it as off-roading it in that case.

Do PPF on the raptor, or do Ceramic- don’t do both. Ceramic if it’s a car show/weekend only/mall lot queen- PPF if you use it like a truck and a DD w/ some occasional off-road fun.

I only did Xpel ultimate on the grill surround/bumper/hood strip (like 4.5” back)/partial front fenders & the black B pillars that scratch instantly. Ran me $1200 I think including tinting the front windows. I just don’t wanna deal w/ lots of rock chips from hwy driving & like to be able pressure wash bugs/tar off the front end w/o messing up paint.

Here’s the thing- no matter how much coverage you do w/ PPF you WILL still inevitably have scuffs & damage here & there if you use it as a DD....if you DONT use it as a DD, why spend $6-7k protecting it eh? Get my point here?

It’s your dough so do what you like but unless it’s an exotic or classic or custom I can only scratch my head when I hear folks talking about PPF AND ceramic, & on a truck?!?!

Lastly- at these price points if it were my $$$ & considering what I use my Raptor for (DD duties, hauling wood chips, towing ATV/waverunner, occasional light off-road, etc) & I was contemplating blowing that kinda dough I’d skip all that fancy BS & just pay for a professionally done linex type coat on the entire friggin thing & be done with it. Toss out the cute ceramic coats & perfumed detailing sprays & soft touch microfiber cloths for a damn pressure washer & degreaser lol
 

NE Raptor

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It is a truck. wash it. wax it. take care of it. no need to spend $8k on xpel or ceramic.

That is "trend" of ceramic and expel is just not something i can get on board with.

Half the fun of owning a car is taking care of it and detailing it every 6 months.

100% this - glad i wasnt the only one who though this way. seeing guys spend this crazy money for xpel and clear wraps etc....I cant understand

I detail the truck once a week because i enjoy it and it stays pretty damn clean enough for me...
 
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Kurator

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Lol, now I am on the fence again. I would probably skip the ceramic coating or do it myself. The whole reason for PPF is that I am so OCD about truck staying perfect, when last time I had a paint chip on my first car, I was very angry for like 2-3 weeks. So I am just trying to protect my nervous system here.

The place where I went to get a quote had all different types of cars covered in PPF. Wrangler Rubicons and so on.

But I definitely I appreaciate all of you taking time to share your insights! Really feels like family here!
 

Donovan

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Ayo lol. Again 6-7k for a coating?

That is 2 all over paint jobs kid. And 3 at MACCO lol. :)
 

Badgertits

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Lol, now I am on the fence again. I would probably skip the ceramic coating or do it myself. The whole reason for PPF is that I am so OCD about truck staying perfect, when last time I had a paint chip on my first car, I was very angry for like 2-3 weeks. So I am just trying to protect my nervous system here.

The place where I went to get a quote had all different types of cars covered in PPF. Wrangler Rubicons and so on.

But I definitely I appreaciate all of you taking time to share your insights! Really feels like family here!

Check my post out somewhere here when I was taking first big road trip w/ fam loaded up + trailer etc used bungee cords where I shouldn’t have in a rush to get started early in a rainstorm & by the time I realized the tarp/bungee had come
Loose & was doing damage had already burned through to the metal & then some on passenger side fender/bed side.

Not saying you’d do the exact same in haste, but expel film or not- the outcome would’ve been the same is my point....forget about ceramic lol

At the end of the day I did a pretty good job w/ touch up & clear coat, ordered a new fender flare the cheapest I could find, but still haven’t replaced the damaged one it almost looks like the damn raptor “slash” marks anyhow lol

And believe me- I’m OCD too- but I learned to tame it a bit in certain situations where my expectations will never be met. A DD off-road truck certainly applies. That being said- I also treated the whole undercarriage in amsoil HDMP, rustoleum, AL parts/shocks/engine w/ Yamashield etc

Btw, extra food for thought- so my front end will pretty much be chip free & the b pillars won’t get scratched & the windows are tinted for $1200-1400 but I have that damage to the rear fender right? My “cheap” body shop guy told me $500-$600 to fix....or you can spend $6000 now & STILL have that happen, spend $5-600 for the paint job + $300 for putting the Xpel back on lol

Facts
 

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