Yeah that was my thought too.. He did a great custom wrap job on mine and I highly recommend him.. but it's pricey..

I debate with myself as to if I think spending more for a custom is worth it or not..

If I was leasing for 2 or 3 years.. No way I would invest into it but I feel that way about most of the mods..... But I'm probably going to keep mine for several years. But on one hand at some point the cost to get a respray after 3 or 4 years if you do pick up some rash is probably is going to be comparable or less than a high end custom wrap..

I'd potentially go with a pre-cut but I just think they often don't look that great when I see them up close. Even the ones that are done very well I can easily see the lines..

I made the choice to get mine wrapped because of all the damn gravel trucks that frequent my DD routes and when it isn't blowing out of their beds when I'm boxed in behind one in traffic it is someone kicking what they drop on the road.

I figured it was a sure bet for me.. If I wasn't DDing and driving in traffic.. I'm not sure I would do it again.. at least for a weekend warrior..

 

^^ This. Agree I paid $1300

 

I believe my dealer quoted 2k for the bra (not a pre cut). I think I got him to throw in the wheel and dent insurance with the deal or got it down to 1500, can't remember which.

 

If the installer does good work then it sounds like a good deal.. I'd want to see a end product though first.

 

I had the pre-cut X-Pel ultimate installed on my front end including front fenders and mirrors in May for $1,495 + tax. This may be the first time in the history of the Earth that an automotive product was less expensive in Hawaii than on the mainland!

 

Well, when I bought my car used it had a partial clear bra installed. Didn't like it though. Obvious line across the hood, not cool. I kept the bumper but pulled the hood and a full hood, full fenders and mirrors done for like $800. Total pro job too. Can't even see it.

Totally worth it.

alec

 

I had the whole front end wrapped for about $1800... Well worth it...fenders, headlights, side views have all benefitted from it at various times over the 2yrs

 

I'll second this and my guy did the side view mirrors also.

I had my Boxster done and when I sold it12 years later the front still looked perfect

 

I had the pre cut done as well. Did it they the dealer. I have to say I am very disappointed. You can see the edges everywhere, and worse, dirt gets in the edges and is near impossible to get out. So I spend large amounts of time trying to keep them clean. On my 997 I had all the seams wrapped and barely noticed the film. On my 991 I see the seams every time I look at the car and it is very frustrating. If you can swing it, get everything wrapped.

 

Full frontal coverage on my 996 - no seams, no problems. On a high-end vehicle partial just doesn't cut.

 

My whole car is wrapped except the engine cover area. I like the idea of the rock chip protection. My dd is a black Audi A6 and it is peppered in tiny rock chips. You can't see it from 5 feet or even 3 feet but closer than that I can see it and it bothers me. It is a good investment imo. and I think the price is about right.

 

Yeah around the edges is what I most worry about..

 

I have XPEL Ultimate on my new 981S. Totally worth it. Price range is basically what was posted above. Full front wrap on bumper, headlights, full hood, side fenders and front of side mirrors. Most people don't realize there is a clear bra on there unless you look close. There are some edges showing on mine but not too bad... Dealer had their person they use do the install. I should have done to custom place...but it isn't terrible. As some pics above show...there is a big difference in installers...you WANT the best installer you can find.

XPEL looks great, you can even wax and polish it I believe... My only regret... I didn't do the side intake panels. I've added spacers on my car and they kick more up.. The cayman intakes have some chips now...

 

I did expel ultimate on bumper, full hood, rear view mirrors, and fenders. Even did a small strip behind rear wheels (chips marks on those pieces add up quickly behind wheels) and re did the rocker panel. Still got a chip on fender in the tiny space above headlight between headlight and edge of film. He rolled everywhere else but did I did not want to have headlights removed. Still, I think it is well worth it. I don't worry about chips.

 

The price you were quoted, around $2K, is a fair price for a full front installation with wrapped edges. We recently introduced a Moderate Level installation that is at that price point. Reason being, some were simply leasing their cars and did not want the Advanced Level installation that included paint correction, dis-assembly of bumper and all trim behind it, and the nano coating. Our Moderate Level clients want our attention to detail, which is why many bring their cars to us, but wanted a more VALUE-driven option.

Here are some simple decision-making questions to ask...this always helps my clients breathe a sigh of relief and make their choice:

Clear Bra:

Partial - This simply is the most minimal way to protect your vehicle, and this choice is either made because of client budget, and/or installer skill.
* Will the most impacted areas be protected - YES
* Will this be the lowest cost option - YES
* Will this provide adequate protection - NO...leaves too much on hood and fenders exposed
* Will the surrounding areas that don't have clear bra, say the other half of hood, or rest of fender, fade at a more rapid rate than area with clear bra - YES...there are films like XPEL Ultimate that allow UV through, but most materials, don't allow UV through. So, if you ever replace the clear bra, that Signature Red, or Metallic Blue, will look noticeably darker where there was clear bra

Full - Best option and value in my opinion. This choice makes the most sense considering the whole point of clear bra is to protect the paint. The entire hood, fenders, bumper, headlights, and mirrors are covered in this option.
* Will the most impacted areas be protected - YES
* Will this be the lowest cost option - NO....Will this be the most VALUE for your money - YES
* Will this provide adequate protection - YES...entire hood and fenders are protected against secondary level impacts
* Will the surrounding areas that don't have clear bra, say the other half of hood, or rest of fender, fade at a more rapid rate than area with clear bra - NO...since you've covered such a large area, should you ever replace the film, your eye cannot pick up the color variation from the fender to the driver door. If you're looking head-on, you cannot tell a difference because entire front end was protected

Exposed edges vs. wrapped edges - To me, extremely important!! Most installers simply pre-cut their clear bra. It keeps labor costs down since a machine cuts the film based on software data from clear bra manufacturer. This software is designed to make installation as installer-friendly as possible. The film will be cut just shy of the edge of panel. This leaves a seam that is slightly visible in the beginning. As the years go by, and washing, polishing, waxing are done, you keep rubbing that edge, getting debris, polish, wax on the edge, and you constantly clean the edge. The seam becomes more visible and the constant upkeep eventually exposes the adhesive on edge of film, the film starts to lift, and will eventually need to be replaced. To me, you just temporarily installed a semi-permanent product. Not really great VALUE since you'll eventually redo the installation...so double the cost in the long run.

Wrapped edges can be done either by extending edges on software, or by custom wrapping the panel. A quality installer will spend extra time to extend edges on software so it wraps over the edges of panels. The installer will also take some extra time and make a bumper kit as seamless as possible. Many bumper kits come in several pieces to make it easy to install. If you join those pieces on the software, and have the skill to install the one-piece, the final product will be seamless and almost undetectable. It require more time during the pre-cutting as installer has to manually go into the software and extend edges, then during install, wrap all those edges over the panels. This usually will double the labor time. But, the results will be semi-permanent since the issues that exposed edges have, will not be applicable to wrapped edges. Not only does it look better, but it protects better. That's VALUE. Expect to pay more....about 25-50% more. But, it's better than redoing the whole job down the road.