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F430 shall I use Paint Protection Film? - Opinions please.

Gavit

Gavit

New member
Hi everyone

After many years of looking I have just put a deposit down on my first Ferrari, an F430 Spider. The car has done well under 10,000 miles and has been very well looked after with only 2 or 3 small paint chips. I am unsure whether to go for PPF (Paint Protection Film) or not. I am unsure because I have been told that the pro's and con's are -

Pro's
1. Excellent paint protection.

Con's

1. Will cost £2400 for full bonnet, bumper, mirrors, bottom of doors & rear wheel arches.
2. Needs to be replaced every 4-5 years.
3. Is very difficult to remove.
3. Can cause uneven paint fading of the protected/unprotected areas.
4. Can leave marks where the film has been cut.

I hesitation is. Is it really worth it? At £2400 for 5 years protection that is a lot paint damage I could have repaired for that cost.

I will probably only do around 400 miles a year in the car and never tailgate or go on motorways.

All opinions welcome. Especially from those who have actually had the PPF fitted.


Thanks
 
Gavit said:
Hi everyone

After many years of looking I have just put a deposit down on my first Ferrari, an F430 Spider. The car has done well under 10,000 miles and has been very well looked after with only 2 or 3 small paint chips. I am unsure whether to go for PPF (Paint Protection Film) or not. I am unsure because I have been told that the pro's and con's are -

Pro's
1. Excellent paint protection.

Con's

1. Will cost £2400 for full bonnet, bumper, mirrors, bottom of doors & rear wheel arches.
2. Needs to be replaced every 4-5 years.
3. Is very difficult to remove.
3. Can cause uneven paint fading of the protected/unprotected areas.
4. Can leave marks where the film has been cut.

I hesitation is. Is it really worth it? At £2400 for 5 years protection that is a lot paint damage I could have repaired for that cost.

I will probably only do around 400 miles a year in the car and never tailgate or go on motorways.

All opinions welcome. Especially from those who have actually had the PPF fitted.


Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi Garry......Welcome to CS.

I think your instinct may have answered your own question!

If it needs replacing every 5 years and in that time you will do ~2000 miles then IMO it's not worth it.
I've done >12k in mine and the front doesn't look a whole lot different than when I bought it. The bumper probably is getting close to needing a refresh (last done as part of the sales prep for me).

Is the car Red? Again with modern paint technology fairly easy to repair compared to some of the metallics.

Someone like DaveZ (Sportscar Protection) on here will give you an honest opinion as he must see plenty of cars with and without PPF.....
£2400 buys a lot of service work and Chipex kits :)

M
 
Thank you both for the input.

You know what it's like. It's my first Ferrari and I have waited a long time for it so I want to make the right decisions.

Although I have heard that the film needs to be replaced every 4-5 years. It is fitted on the front of the La Ferrari from the factory. So surely that wouldn't need to be replaced every five years. Or has the technology moved on?
 
Gavit said:
Hi everyone

After many years of looking I have just put a deposit down on my first Ferrari, an F430 Spider. The car has done well under 10,000 miles and has been very well looked after with only 2 or 3 small paint chips. I am unsure whether to go for PPF (Paint Protection Film) or not. I am unsure because I have been told that the pro's and con's are -

Pro's
1. Excellent paint protection.

Con's

1. Will cost £2400 for full bonnet, bumper, mirrors, bottom of doors & rear wheel arches.
2. Needs to be replaced every 4-5 years.
3. Is very difficult to remove.
3. Can cause uneven paint fading of the protected/unprotected areas.
4. Can leave marks where the film has been cut.

I hesitation is. Is it really worth it? At £2400 for 5 years protection that is a lot paint damage I could have repaired for that cost.

I will probably only do around 400 miles a year in the car and never tailgate or go on motorways.

All opinions welcome. Especially from those who have actually had the PPF fitted.


Thanks
Click to expand...

I've had my front bumper wrapped and it's virtually invisible, but I wouldn't wrap the whole car and I do twice your planned mileage:wink3:
I'm having my wife's Audi treated with the "latest" technology paint protection, which is a ceramic coating and should last for ever with just top up treatment from time to time, but that's only because her car does not live in a heated dehumidified garage :shocked:
 
Thanks for your input

Thank you all for your input so far.

I think that one of the reasons that I am confused is that if the PPF only lasts 4-5 years then why does the La Ferrari come with PPF on the bumper from the factory, does this mean that La Ferrari owners have to have it replaced every 5th service or has the technology moved on?
 
So converse to others views I've had it on all my Ferraris since 2008 well except one, my Rosso Fiorano 599 which ended up about 12 shades of red over various repaints, in the end it had a full respray and then PPF to properly protect it

in answer to your points

1. Will cost £2400 for full bonnet, bumper, mirrors, bottom of doors & rear wheel arches. - Talk to Chipguard, I would expect a price of around £1,300

2. Needs to be replaced every 4-5 years. - No it doesn't unless you drive like an idiot 20m from the car in front on gravel roads but then if you didn't have PPF you'd be repainting every few months in those situations, my 2010 California was virtually unmarked at 4 Years and 19k miles and the film looked as good as the day it was installed

3. Is very difficult to remove - It's not easy but why would you want to? if you did give it to the pros to do as it can be done

3. Can cause uneven paint fading of the protected/unprotected areas - Never heard of this and not seen it either, I'd talk to al loo the PPF people I'm sure they'd dispute it

4. Can leave marks where the film has been cut. - Properly installed PPF is NEVER cut on the car, the film is pre cut before installation

I guess it's a harder decision with the lower mileage you predict however paint matching is still an issue and I'd always go PPF to avoid the issue and btw add to your pros that you'll feel more confident to drive the car in traffic/ behind others without feeling you want to leave 200m+ to avoid the inevitable stone chip
 
as above price should be closer to a grand, just had my m4 full front done, had my previous Boxster done too... the only reason i haven't had the 430 done is i just don't do the miles to justify it, plus on a older car you really need a full detail with paint correction (the two cars i had done were new so not required) this can add £500-£2000 to the price depending on how bad the paint is to start with, its optional but for best appearance you don't want the film going on swirly paint as once its on it obviously can't be corrected. tempted to have mine ceramic coated though, just depends if i end up keeping it.
 
Ppf installers

I would consider sending the car to Paintshield rather than limiting yourself to Kent based companies. I've used Paintshield and Topaz. Paintshield are better.
 
DE1 said:
I would consider sending the car to Paintshield rather than limiting yourself to Kent based companies. I've used Paintshield and Topaz. Paintshield are better.
Click to expand...


I'd use Steve Baker at Chipguard in Hampshire, better than both Paintshield and Topaz and about 60% of the price :thumbsup:
 
DE1 said:
Interesting. Better in what way apart from price? My Scud needs full coverage.
Click to expand...

My experiences

I've used Paintshield I think 3 times (599, 355 and California), Ventureshield once (California), Topaz once (458) and Chipguard 3 times (599, M135i and FF).

Paintshield - 355 they said they'd fit it round the shields but took the shields off and left them off the car, California had to go back because they said at first they had a bad batch of film but when I arrived they then tried to blame me and/ or dealer for the fact the film was peeling off of about 6 of the edges, they did sort it but a) it required a long distance return trip and b) I don't like being blamed for something that was purely down to poor installation. I did try to use them for the 458 but although I'd confirmed the date when I checked shortly before going they'd booked somebody else instead!.

Topaz - did the 458 at short notice due to Paintshield letting me down which was great but a few areas where the film lifted, also they'd removed the pininfarina badges and forgotten to refit, fortunately the boss there spotted it before I drove away. I tried to use them for the 2nd 599 (for both paint and film) but despite chasing them they failed to even quote.

Venturshield - Definitely cheap and you get what you pay for, stretch marks aplenty and dog hairs under the film :shocked: but the film was thick and protected well

Chipguard - Both times the job was completed ahead of the planned time, the 599 was seen by somebody who has worked for/ with Topaz and Maranello and in his own words was the best film installation he'd ever seen. FF has a huge bonnet and requires a couple of short joins which you can barely see. Instant communication and as posted they're also significantly lower cost than the others

CG Performance - tried these for the 458 and 599 on the recommendation of another member here but unfortunately just couldn't get them to respond to mails/ phone calls to get a quote
 
I have never been much of a forum person before. But I am really impressed and pleased with the quantity and quality of the replies. Especially as it is over a holiday. Thank you all very much for taking the time to reply.

If anyone else wants to throw their opinion into the mix it will still be much appreciated.
 
another vote here for Ceramic coating and paint protection... About to get this done to my California.... hoping the ceramic coating is as good as they say!!! Anyone have views on doing this?
 
The other side of the argument is repainting costs. I havent had that done on any car in decades - what are prices like for a Ferrari standard respray?
 
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