[Spsesq]

Hi,
Am I over reacting or just being cautious enough?
I am looking to have the XPEL Ultimate self healing film applied to the entire front end on my Ghibli. I received a quote of $1,675-$1,800 for the front bumpers, entire hood, lenses, side panels and side mirrors. For another $400 they could do the doors front and rear.

Are any of you contemplating the XPEL or 3M film? If so how much of the car are you covering?
Thanks,
Steve

 

[doubledeetob]

Anderson_B76 had posted about his use of Utlimate at a much lesser cost that this; he has been quiet on the forum as of late and am not sure how much of the front end of the car he had done

 

[tjsbeer]

Supposedly the XPEL won't discolor.
My parent's Lexus has the 3M and it definitely has discolored.
Maserati Mainline wanted over $2K for the whole hood, fenders and mirrors.

 

[mrpa1999]

Guys don't waste $2k on this stuff.

Worst case scenario if you end with some stone chips in your front bumper in a year or 2 - you can easily have the front bumper resprayed at an auto body shop for roughly $500 cash.

That's 4 bumper resprays for the cost of 1 film coating. Do the math, easy choice. 75% of sports cars have the bumper sprayed before they trade car in, it's just a fact of life w a sports car that is driven, Porsche is very well known for bumper sprays, they all have it done due to being low to ground.

 

[bjg625]

I'm not so worried about bumper as the hood. Doing Expel on 33% of front: front ,lights mirrors, 1/3 of hood for $700. Full hood is $900.

 

[Spsesq]

I just got a quote for the entire front end. Bumpers, lights, front wings, entire hood and mirrors for $1,675. Another $400 to do the front and rear doors.

 

[doubledeetob]

"I'm not so worried about bumper as the hood" - agreed. Several of the early posts in the thread make specific reference to the Ghibli being susceptible to damage half way up the hood. Once you do hood you have to do the whole front.

 

[bjg625]

Xpel price

Hard to believe this is so much cheaper in Las Vegas,must not be too much demand.

 

[Spsesq]

Remember what we have here in the North East you never see in Vegas; snow, salted roads with trucks shooting rock salt like shot gun pellets. All that ultimately leads to potholes and loose gravel that is then kicked up by the car or truck in front of you on the most densely populated roads and congested traffic in the US. I have had rocks kick up from an 18 wheeler in front of that put a crack in my windshield...imagine that on the soft Mica paint on the Maserati hood?

There is a reason for the high price, it's real protection and demand is there... If I lived in Vegas or any other warm weather state with mild winters and thus well maintained roads I wouldn't necessarily need the Xpel. However with this type of investment I will need to protect its value, appearance and not lose sleep over every little stone or salt chip.

 

[bjg625]

I put it on because we travel to LA on Interstate 15, a major truck route. What mild winter? This year because of the drought we had no winter, but I grew up in Chicago so I can sympathize.

 

[Ghibli168]

Applied full xpel on front end of car - hood, fenders, bumper, door cups and rear bumper strip. I also added clearplex on the windshield which I have to say is phenomenal from a cosmetic perspective (not noticeable at all) and has resisted pits from sand and gravel.

All in all, the cost was about $1400 and no-one has noticed any car or windshield film on the car.

 

[Etodd31856]

I have my care only two moths and the windshield is pitted from what ever fortunately you only see it when the sun is shining directly in the front...that sounds like a good product...

 

[Spsesq]

Where did you get it done? I am getting quotes form $1600 just for the hood and bumper to $2600 for the the whole front end and all 4 doors.

 

[doubledeetob]

In NY tri-state area there are not that many certified dealers for clear-plex (or for Opti-coat Pro for that matter); on Long Island there is Detailed Dimensions in Mineola though

but they are not certified for Opti-coat Pro

So I am thinking I will use the Opti-coat glass instead and kill two birds with one stone (pun intended

) and so have to deal with no more than two entities post sale and have it all done before I pickup car - this way there is no doubt any issues with paint blemishes will be noticed, addressed and not at my expense.

 

[Spsesq]

DD
What do you ultimately decide to do to protect the leather? I was offered opti coat to do the leather for $300 and another $150 for the warranty which leaves me a bit nervous abbot the installer. I want to avoid the dye transfer issue because I wear jeans on the weekends and don't wan to stain the Cuoio colored leather. Thanks
Steve

 

[doubledeetob]

I have not decided yet., but am leaning towards no extra protection other than the usual leather products we all use.

My Ghbli will not have Sabbia or Cuoio so I am less concerned about transfer

 

[BeerGuy]

spsesq - there is a recent active topic on "Cleaning" you can check out.

Out of convenience I used the Gtechniq interior protection (Cuoio leather) as part of my full package (that included the 7-year warranty), ... which I feel good about. So far its worked great. The whole signature inside and outside package was $725 (19 hours of time).

There are other self applied cleaners and sealants ... the Zaino X9 cleaner/Z10 protector combination is one I used for many years and still use for my other cars. It worked just fine with a color very similar to sabba. I wear jeans on weekends, long trips and dress down Fridays.

 

[anderson_b76]

Hey guys. I did the Xpel Ultimate to the entire front end of the Ghibli…full hood and front fendors. The price was $1400 for me in Chicago. It is so clear it is honestly hard to tell it is there without pointing it out to people.

After my first 2 weeks of owning the car..sure enough got a chip 3/4 of the way up the hood…that was my first and last chip as I immediately had Xpel Ultimate put on.

 

[doubledeetob]

Did you also do the mirrors with Xpel or windshield protection with Opti-guard or clearplex? I am definitely doing the latter.

 

[doubledeetob]

Hey guys,


I never really went overboard before with car bras, 3M or Xpel etc - that's why they invented touch-up paint isn't it? It did occur to me to ask "If you are using xpel ultimate on say front/hood/bumper and even mirrors, why would you also want to use opti-guard-pro on the same areas?