Bruze

I have my (late) parents' couch. And NO Rux, there's no plastic on it.

What teefs?

And how's Old Billy tonight?

HOXXOH

Oh Jeez! You mean you were supposed to unwrap them???

ruxvette

You're so old you probably remember when they used to be glass and they were in a thin paper bag.

drew_c6

My dad had a Chevy Silverado Z71 - he never removed the plastic off of the floors and seat. 10 years later, when it was stolen, truck only had about 28,000 miles on it and looked like a brand new truck. I'm not that **** retentive about my vehicles, but as one of the most expensive items we invest our money in, I've definitely taken his point.

Even so, for that kind of price, I think I would buy the film and at least try to do it myself. The mirrors would probably be a bit past my comfort zone. So, I'd probably just go ahead and pay for those, but for the bumper and headlights, the worst thing to happen is you're out an extra $30-40. Best case, you save yourself 20 times that.


...and maybe learn a new skill to help you and your buddies.

jkirk1

Chips and nicks add character.


There are times when it is appropriate to wrap something, but the most fun to be had is always unwrapped....

unixcorn

When I was younger, I was ****-retentive about keeping my pickup trucks like new. I spent hours washing, waxing and vacuuming. My late father walked by me toiling on my truck in the hot Florida sun at our construction yard and said "why do all that work to keep your vehicle so nice, it takes all the fun out of getting a new one".

Words to live by!

ruxvette

jaredtxrx

All this talk about "investment". 99% of cars are not an investment, they are a liability.

I had my previous car done in 2013. Front bumper cover, half hood, front side view mirrors, and full tint for ~$750.

$800 for just the front bumper cover is a bit steep IMHO.
Quite honestly the difference between Xpel, 3M, and the other premium wraps is negligible at this point. They all have become pretty great products over time and are very comparable. I guess the main difference may be how "workable" the wrap is for the installer, each installer may have a preference but on the consumer side I doubt anyone can tell you a difference between the brands now days.

joec

I put mine on myself.. Got it from TKO Performance.. Cleartastic... Not hard to do at all and if you have a helper it will be way easy.. For $700 you can f*ck it up 2/3 times and still be ahead of the game.. Guy is a thief..

ruxvette

Guy after my own heart! Too funny...

ByRiver

Way back in the day when I owned my Turbo Trans Am, I put one of those black bras on the nose. Lots of people had them and I thought they looked cool. After six months it began to sag, get wrinkled, and flapped while driving. I then questioned why I had it on the car in the first place. Was it to keep bugs and rock chips off the paint? Yes, but there were bugs I had to clean off the bra, which was time consuming, and there were rock chips in the bra which made it look unsightly. But the biggest decision reason why I decided to take it off was what was the purpose of protecting the paint when no one could ever see the paint you were protecting?

If you don't follow close behind other vehicles, you are unlikely to get rock chips. Nothing you can do about the bugs except keep the car waxed so the bug splatters are easy to clean off.

ruxvette

Jeez, have you looked under the cushions? They might still be there...