cyi1

So after a month and 3 attempts to get my xpel install done right, i̶t̶ l̶o̶o̶k̶e̶d̶ p̶r̶e̶t̶t̶y̶ g̶o̶o̶d̶ t̶h̶i̶s̶ t̶i̶m̶e̶.̶ O̶n̶l̶y̶ a̶ c̶o̶u̶p̶l̶e̶ p̶i̶e̶c̶e̶s̶ o̶f̶ t̶i̶n̶y̶ l̶i̶n̶t̶ h̶e̶r̶e̶ a̶n̶d̶ t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶.̶ O̶v̶e̶r̶a̶l̶l̶ g̶o̶o̶d̶.̶ After another forum member sent me pics of their install, mine looks like **** lol. I guess it looked pretty good to me because I've never had xpel done on a car, but I was dead wrong about how it should turn out.

But here's the issue...
I was installing side marker tint and happened to notice this 1" long cut. It's pretty deep on the right half.

I'm going to send them the pic tomorrow but I don't really know what to do. Tired of dealing with this shop but if this worsens, I don't want to have to fix this myself.

Update - just got home from work and looked everything over very closely. Found another cut on passenger side fender

Update Nov 10 -
So I made a PDF (PM me if you'd like to see it) of everything that's happened with my car and the shop since September 14th. It's about 20 pages and full of photos/text messages between me and their salesman Dan. I got an estimate from rick hendrick collision for removing the film and fixing the paint. It came to $1490.

At the end I explained how I haven't blasted them all over social media because my friend Allen referred me to them. The only reason their name came up here is because another member found their logo in my PDR video. I explained how I've had to drive 7 times (10 times if you count my wife following behind to drop me off) to their shop in the last 2 months. Wasted mileage total on the Z06 itself is about 150 miles and it spent about 2.5 weeks of the last 2 months at their shop. I have a brand new car with cuts in the paint on multiple panels. There is a high chance there are cuts in my side skirts that they xpel'ed also. I asked for a full refund of what I paid ($3655) to get this **** fixed and to move on.

I sent that this morning and just now the owner called and said he wants to refund me a total of $2990. $1500 for the xpel/ceramic to the front end, and only AFTER the work is done at hendrick collision, he wants to meet me and give me a check for the other $1490. First, I don't trust them so if I took this deal I'd need it in writing. Second, I don't think he cares that I (and my wife) have wasted 2 months driving back and forth, wasted time driving to meet Dan AT HIS CONVENIENCE(no showed once) to see the issues, and he damaged a brand new car. For all of that he wants it to be a wash after I go through the hassle of fixing it myself.

I told him "Sure, paypal me the $1500. I'll be blasting this all over social media."

Then I came to my senses and e-mailed him to send me a check because I don't trust him and he might file a dispute on paypal.

23/C8Z

Chalk it up to life brother. Fixing that will cause more harm than good. Leave it be. Could happen next time you park it somewhere. We all have oops marks on and in our cars if you look hard enough you'll find it.


vent here and move on

gymdoc

Connman

Dang...sounds like a nightmare.
That looks like a horrible install. Did they really stop that short on the edges?

hcvone

That really sucks, there are many shops that install clear protection, but only a handful that do it correctly, i.e. not cut into the paint/clear coat

cyi1

I know what you're saying but it's frustrating when you pay almost $4k for sloppy work

sammyv

Pick your battle's. I would live with it.

Doctor Mark

I would live with it. FWIW the best installer in Atlanta by far is Derek Johnson at Atlanta Protective Films. He has done several cars for me and does all of the work for Ferrari of Atlanta. Perfectionist and fair in pricing. Keep it in mind for the future.

fleming23

Absolutely use Derek if possible! His work is top notch!

That seam and edge looks terrible! I still want to know who you are using..... I have a good guess from prior experience.

Edit - never mind - I saw who did it from the Valet video you posted. 100% confirmed my suspicion, I will never take a car to them for film! I had them do a new Grand Cherokee Summit front end twice and it still looked like crap. Trash accumulated under the edges, etc.

This is what I ended up with after the 2nd attempt to replace.

cyi1

I wish I had taken it to Derek the first time.
But yeah, the shop was Shine Auto Salon and I'm not happy with what I got for what I paid.

robertbruce

I had Expel put on my 15 Z. It was blowing off of the rockers at 1000 miles. Will never use the stuff again. I will live with the dings in my paint. Nothing worse then paying some ******* to f#^&k up your car.

blown81bu

horrible install.........

pcguy2u

If it's only in the clear coat, it's fixable, especially with a light color. Just a tiny bit of clear on a pin to fill the gap, squeegee very carefully so as to not spread it around. Let it dry/cure and tape off the area in question and carefully level it out with 2000 (or higher) grit. Polish as desired.

Or you can do as has been recommended above - leave it alone and live with it, or as I sometimes find myself telling the bosslady who lives here, get over it. That last part doesn't always work...

Bill Dearborn

If I had ever used the three high lighted words in that sequence I wouldn't be here to read this.

Bill

NASTYC7

I would think people would ask to see their other work prior or come in when they have one ready to finish due to the cost just not pics. Sorry but those lines look like crap. It seems it's a 50/50 chance at getting a good job.

cyi1

My very close, childhood friend has spent A LOT of money with them on multiple cars and they all look amazing.
I also looked at their reviews on Yelp/Google Places and they were almost all 5 star.
I didn't think I would have to drive over there and see all their previous work. I don't know if this is true or not, but I recently heard their best xpel installer recently quit and so the result is 3 half-assed attempts on my car.

I understand when people tell me to deal with it, but it wasn't a cheap job that I paid for. I paid for a product from a detail shop that doesn't seem to pay attention to detail.

What makes me even more mad about this cut is that the owner said to me "we NEVER trim. We don't want to put a blade to paint. Especially NEW CAR paint." Yet I have this big cut on my paint.

The first time I picked up the car, I pointed out issues on both fenders and the front bumper. I was told that they would schedule me in and fix the issues. WHY THE HELL did I even get the call that the car was ready when the issues were so obvious.... The 2nd time I was told the "car is ready", it was even worse because they parked it outside to replace the xpel. I've had to ask people to take me to this shop 4-5 times to pick up, drop off, pick up, drop off, pick up.... This last pick up, I didn't want to **** off the wife even more with this film crap so I signed up for Lyft and spent $20 on a ride there.

cyi1

Does anyone out there have up close pics of an xpel job on their front bumper??? I want to see how the lines are compared to this shop's installation...

RobertAshby

Mine was cut and improperly installed in New Berlin, NJ. Ryan Kates to be specific. Listed as installer by XPEL ! Sad

cyi1

This was the shop's 3rd attempt to correct the issues. There was also a 1" long fold/crease in the driver's side tint so they redid the tint on that window. The most annoying **** about this "detail" shop is their lack of attention to detail. The car has solution dried up all on the driver's side door from the tint install. DRIED UP ON THE CQUARTZ...

Connman

I can post some close-up pics of mine - can you post a wider shot of what area of the bumper that is so I can take the same pic?