DDAudi

Living in the city, I'm terrified of people hitting my soon-to-pickup A5 Cab, so I've been looking into solutions to protect the bumpers in particular. The big rubber mats I see people hanging out their trunks are near worthless b/c they don't cover the corners of the bumpers where people tend to the most damage...IMO.

I came across 3M's solution, which is essentially a clear material I can have a local shop certified shop apply. Any of you guys use this before? Thoughts on protection and how it looks on the car?

Protect your vehicle's paint with Scotchgard? Pro Series Paint Protection Film

acitrano

I have put paint protection film on every car I've bought for the past 10+ years (3M, Xpel, and Suntek - I don't have an opinion on brand), so I definitely think it's worthwhile.

I do think it's important to know what it is and isn't, though.

For example, it won't intrinsically improve resale value, but it can indirectly improve the car's value by keeping the car's finish in excellent condition. (Heading off the price haggling that might occur if a potential buyer notices the paint is chipped, pitted, etc.)

It won't protect the car from any substantial impact. A slow-moving shopping cart in a parking lot? Probably. But another car bumping directly into your bumper (especially with any kind of sharp object leading the way, such as license plate bolts)? Almost definitely not - the stuff tears relatively easily in those situations.

In my opinion, 3M's marketing material is pushing it a little with the "rings, keys, and belt buckles." Sure, these films will stand up OK to a gentle hit with any of these things, but if there's much pressure I think the film is likely to give way quite quickly.

I guess what I'm saying is keep your expectations in check and you'll be fine. If you consider the most common causes of paint damage (small flying rocks, etc.), it's a worthwhile purchase - especially if you're as retentive as I am about your car.

Oh, and don't do a "bikini cut", especially if you have a light colored car. I learned that lesson the hard way. You'll save money, but you will not like how it looks after a couple of months.

If you're in the LA area I strongly recommend Norbert at Crystal Auto Shield in Long Beach. He's done 3 or 4 cars for me and is a good dude who does really good work.

mikejaeggi

I'm extremely particular with my cars and a small rock ship here or there really bothers but I've never seen a good paint protector film that doesn't affect the look of the car. either they lines over the hood or rocker panels always attract attention or they yellow/fade after a few years. perhaps I'm overly critical but there was a porsche 918 spyder at the car show last month that the local dealer clearly spent big $$ on the film installation but it still stood out to me.

DDAudi

I actually just picked up the car from the dealer and they installed Sun Tek. Reviews were favorable and they could wrap the car before I picked it up...plus 5yr warranty on everything, done and done.

I bought the comprehensive which covers front/rear bumper, partial hood and side view mirrors. On the rear bumper, she only covered the MIDDLE of it!! She didn't wrap the entire bumper around the corners. How much height she covered is fine with me, it's the width that I'm surprised with.

The salesman was shocked and so was I...who would want just a few feet of coverage? Am I out-of-line asking them to redo the back so it covers the entire bumper (around the corners) or is this standard?