Repair PPF before sale?

[thenaimis]

This is a bit OT so my apologies. I'm looking at selling or trading in my existing car, which has full-body PPF installed. But, there are several damaged panels that aren't going to clean up. Most of the passenger side is covered in some unknown substance (paint? construction adhesive?) and there's an impact mark on the hood. The way I see it, I have the three choices, listed in the poll. If I do nothing, I don't spend money, but I could end up losing money on the trade-in. If I remove the damaged panels, I'll end up spending money in the hope of gaining more than I spend on the trade-in. Replacing them was significantly more expensive.

The prices I was quoted were ~$400-960 to just remove the side panels (variation seemed to be driven by how much clean-up was needed after removal), or $1800 to remove and replace the side panels, with $400-ish to replace the hood (didn't get a removal-only quote on this)

 

[thenaimis]

I'd be interested in your professional opinion @LukeManning even if I'm not a customer

 

[LukeManning]

I'd be interested in your professional opinion @LukeManning even if I'm not a customer

Hey there!

Honestly, these "damages" look so minor to me.

I don't think you're going to get $1,300-$2,200 more in trade value for fixing these.

I would leave them the way they are and if you're dealing with a reputable dealership/salesperson then the valuation should be what you're expecting based on the mileage, age, and history of your vehicle.

Dealerships do so much reconditioning on cars as it is that little stuff like this is hardly even looked at.

Now that being said, if it were $2k-$4k worth of actual body damage to the car that would be a totally different story. But this to me just looks like average/typical wear and tear to a really impeccably taken care of car! Anyone who puts PPF on their car is someone who actually takes care of their car and the dealership should notice that when taking it on trade in.

Hope that helps a bit!

 

[thenaimis]

Honestly, these "damages" look so minor to me.

Thanks for the reply. There are a couple of concerns that maybe I failed to convey sufficiently. The splatter in the second picture is spread between the front and back wheels on the passenger side. That is, it covers the rocker panel, rear fender and both passenger doors. Both xpel's workers and I have made attempts to remove the splatter to little effect. Regular soap and water, lacquer thinner, clay bar, buffing...

 

[TAYC4S]

This is a bit OT so my apologies. I'm looking at selling or trading in my existing car, which has full-body PPF installed. But, there are several damaged panels that aren't going to clean up. Most of the passenger side is covered in some unknown substance (paint? construction adhesive?) and there's an impact mark on the hood. The way I see it, I have the three choices, listed in the poll. If I do nothing, I don't spend money, but I could end up losing money on the trade-in. If I remove the damaged panels, I'll end up spending money in the hope of gaining more than I spend on the trade-in. Replacing them was significantly more expensive.

The prices I was quoted were ~$400-960 to just remove the side panels (variation seemed to be driven by how much clean-up was needed after removal), or $1800 to remove and replace the side panels, with $400-ish to replace the hood (didn't get a removal-only quote on this)

If that’s just surface stuff on the PPF as opposed to scratches in the PPF you might even be able to use something like a bug spray remover or even clay bar to get that out. Looks pretty straightforward with a bit of elbow grease...

 

[LukeManning]

Thanks for the reply. There are a couple of concerns that maybe I failed to convey sufficiently. The splatter in the second picture is spread between the front and back wheels on the passenger side. That is, it covers the rocker panel, rear fender and both passenger doors. Both xpel's workers and I have made attempts to remove the splatter to little effect. Regular soap and water, lacquer thinner, clay bar, buffing...

Could you share some more photos, possibly not as close up.

Might consider just removing the PPF and not reapplying it. Not going to be worth your money to reapply it in my opinion.

 

[thenaimis]

Could you share some more photos, possibly not as close up.

Here are some more. You kind of have to zoom in, though, to be able to see the spots. FWIW, I spoke with the Xpel shop about the issue and they too recommended that I just leave it for the dealer. I ended up picking up my car based on their recommendation and yours. The car has full-body PPF, so maybe that's the right approach.

Nevertheless... pictures.

 

[LukeManning]

Here are some more. You kind of have to zoom in, though, to be able to see the spots. FWIW, I spoke with the Xpel shop about the issue and they too recommended that I just leave it for the dealer. I ended up picking up my car based on their recommendation and yours. The car has full-body PPF, so maybe that's the right approach.

Nevertheless... pictures.

I agree with the Xpel shop. Leave it on and let the dealership decide (pay) for what they want to do to it. In all honesty if I was someone buying that Model S I'd leave the PPF on even with the little stains, and just remove it once I got more stains on it.

Congrats on your new Taycan!

 

[Gogs]

I though expel had some kind of warranty that they would replace damaged pod sheets etc?

 

[thenaimis]

I though expel had some kind of warranty that they would replace damaged pod sheets etc?

I've been told that this particular kind of damage is not covered under warranty.

 

[jheard]

Here are some more. You kind of have to zoom in, though, to be able to see the spots. FWIW, I spoke with the Xpel shop about the issue and they too recommended that I just leave it for the dealer. I ended up picking up my car based on their recommendation and yours. The car has full-body PPF, so maybe that's the right approach.

Nevertheless... pictures.

I would leave it on and dealer can decide whether to take all PFF leaving a clean as new car or not. If was a dealer I would then take it off leaving it in great condition and let the new owner decide whether they want to re PPF the car.

 

[thenaimis]

I though expel had some kind of warranty that they would replace damaged pod sheets etc?

To further clarify, I looked up the warranty and it says:

XPEL warrants XPEL ULTIMATE PLUS™ Series / STEALTH™ Paint Protection Film to be free of manufacturer defects for ten (10) years from the date of purchase. Covered defects include: yellowing, staining, cracking, blistering and delaminating.

This is clearly none of those things, sadly.

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