[MidnightLight]

What are you all planning to do for your new G45 X3?

Mine hasn't been delivered yet. But I'm planning to do:

- Full front PPF
- Ceramic coating on rest of exterior
- Ceramic heat rejection tint on panoramic sunroof - haven't decided how dark yet

Will hand wash, of course.

I ordered mine in Tanzanite Blue (my favorite BMW color) and plan to keep the car for 10+ years. So I'm eager to keep the color looking as good as possible.

[BokTroy]

I have my G87 full front, fender, roof, lower sides(rocker and partial door) and rear trunk luggage traffic areas ppf’d. Ceramic coat full car and 35% ceramic tint all sides and rear. Plan to do the same, but unsure about the fender and roof since the wheel fitment on this is not aggressive and SUV is relatively high up. Could also save some money for something else.

[puckhead85]

Originally Posted by MidnightLight

What are you all planning to do for your new G45 X3?

Mine hasn't been delivered yet. But I'm planning to do:

- Full front PPF
- Ceramic coating on rest of exterior
- Ceramic heat rejection tint on panoramic sunroof - haven't decided how dark yet

Will hand wash, of course.

I ordered mine in Tanzanite Blue (my favorite BMW color) and plan to keep the car for 10+ years. So I'm eager to keep the color looking as good as possible.

Please consider wrapping the car if you do plan on keeping it. I have tanzanite on my X5M its an awesome color you're going to love it. So make sure to keep it looking fresh. I did my whole car and it's worth it as I plan on keeping it for a while.



Mine:
Full PPF
Ceramic coating whole car, wheels and calibers
need to ask about Tints as NY has the worst laws regarding tiny

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by MidnightLight

What are you all planning to do for your new G45 X3?

Mine hasn't been delivered yet. But I'm planning to do:

- Full front PPF
- Ceramic coating on rest of exterior
- Ceramic heat rejection tint on panoramic sunroof - haven't decided how dark yet

I keep going back and forth as to what I will do with my next one. I did nothing with the X5 and PPF and ceramic with the M340i. My thoughts were since it was an Individual paint I wanted to preserve it as much as possible. Right now I'm leaning towards doing nothing on the next one as the X5 still looks good after 5+ years and the chips I do have do bother me. I used to use touchup as soon as I got them but have stopped to see how it would look.

You have to do what you think will be the best for your situation, temperament, preferences, etc.

Ceramic should be put over the PPF also not just the other areas.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by puckhead85

Please consider wrapping the car if you do plan on keeping it.

Just to clarify for the OP. Wrapping and PPF are two different products with different benefits. I believe you meant to apply PPF to the entire vehicle, not to wrap the car?

[PhantomOpera]

Ceramic coated mine today with pan the organizers new ceramic coating

[MidnightLight]

For those who have already picked up your cars - how's the factory tint on the panoramic sunroof?

[buttons81]

I plan on getting the full frontal ppf next week and probably do ceramic myself. I’m still debating on if I want to pay extra and get the front black parts protected. I wasn’t really interested in ppf but probably a good idea with alpine white. I’m also really considering getting the inside piano black on the doors and center console protected. The doors especially since it’s inevitable that they will get damaged. I’ve never had it done before but from what I’m reading it’s not that uncommon.

[puckhead85]

thought I'd update:

I picked up my car on Tuesday from BMW and drove it straight to my PPF installer. They are doing the whole car with xpel and ceramic coating with rims and calipers (Xpel fusion)
Also doing a 70% tint (legal limit in NY) front windows and windshield as on the 20 minute drive I was dying and it wasn't even a hot day. As those things BMW calls air vents I may as well have someone blow air on me. (For you people in the south, good luck lol) My Temp was set at 68 speed fan level 4...

[MidnightLight]

Originally Posted by buttons81

I’m also really considering getting the inside piano black on the doors and center console protected. The doors especially since it’s inevitable that they will get damaged. I’ve never had it done before but from what I’m reading it’s not that uncommon.

I didn't realize that applying PPF to interior trim was a thing. Will have to ask my installer about this. Has anyone here done it before?

[arRod1981]

Originally Posted by puckhead85

thought I'd update:

I picked up my car on Tuesday from BMW and drove it straight to my PPF installer. They are doing the whole car with xpel and ceramic coating with rims and calipers (Xpel fusion)
Also doing a 70% tint (legal limit in NY) front windows and windshield as on the 20 minute drive I was dying and it wasn't even a hot day. As those things BMW calls air vents I may as well have someone blow air on me. (For you people in the south, good luck lol) My Temp was set at 68 speed fan level 4...

Just remember the rear windows are not "tinted", they're smoked for privacy. You'll want to add 70% to them as well to really keep the heat down.

I did 35% front, 70% rear, 70% sunroof, and 70% windshield on my '22 45e and am able to drive year-round with my sunroof shade open with the HVAC at 68 fan speed 2 here in South TX.

[arunr55]

Can anyone share the rough costs of these
- Full front PPF (XPEL)
- Ceramic coating on full car

[avi66]

Originally Posted by arunr55

Can anyone share the rough costs of these
- Full front PPF (XPEL)
- Ceramic coating on full car

A lot depends on the amount of paint correction/preparation, and the installer, but full front Xpel £1200-£2000.

There are loads of things called ceramic coatings, so very much depends on the actual product, as they are not all the same, and their application can be different, guide £700-£1600 on a new car.

The more paint correction required the greater the cost, although PPF can cover and mask lots of stuff if it isn’t corrected.

[arunr55]

Originally Posted by avi66

A lot depends on the amount of paint correction/preparation, and the installer, but full front Xpel £1200-£2000.

There are loads of things called ceramic coatings, so very much depends on the actual product, as they are not all the same, and their application can be different, guide £700-£1600 on a new car.

The more paint correction required the greater the cost, although PPF can cover and mask lots of stuff if it isn’t corrected.

I guess for a new car, no paint correction required, so costs should be minimal in that regard.

[tatarwj]

From my experience, they will include the paint correction in the price of the ceramic coating and the price does not change based on the car being new.

I am in the US, but I am sure that some of this information translates across seas, ensure you are using a reputable shop for the ceramic application and ppf. You could easily find a shop that would do it 1/2 of the price of a reputable shop, but the quality may not be worth it and cause more of a headache. Meaning, having it redone by the same place initially, until you get so frustrated that you end up going to the reputable shop to get it done right.

Hope this helps!

[MidnightLight]

Originally Posted by arunr55

I guess for a new car, no paint correction required, so costs should be minimal in that regard.

Unfortunately that's not true in general. Even a new factory ordered car can already have paint issues from transportation and dealer prep. Though if you tell your dealer to not do any washing or detailing of the car, it will probably help.

But in general your installer for the PPF & ceramic will probably still want to do paint correction so that they can control the final result and be comfortable standing behind their work. And if your installer doesn't care, frankly you may want to look for a different installer as I would consider that a red flag for the quality of their work.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by MidnightLight

Unfortunately that's not true in general. Even a new factory ordered car can already have paint issues from transportation and dealer prep. Though if you tell your dealer to not do any washing or detailing of the car, it will probably help.

But in general your installer for the PPF & ceramic will probably still want to do paint correction so that they can control the final result and be comfortable standing behind their work. And if your installer doesn't care, frankly you may want to look for a different installer as I would consider that a red flag for the quality of their work.

This is correct, paint correction needs to be done on new vehicles also. When I dropped my M340i off at the detailers, one of the workers started going over it with a flashlight looking for areas that needed to be worked on. He pointed out a number of scratches with one being about a foot or so long. While they probably wouldn't have been seen often in normal lighting they were something that needed to be taken care of prior to PPF and ceramic.

[buttons81]

Originally Posted by MidnightLight

I didn't realize that applying PPF to interior trim was a thing. Will have to ask my installer about this. Has anyone here done it before?

I didn’t realize it was a thing either until I started researching how to protect the piano black.
https://www.xpel.com/products/paint-...ior-protection

[MidnightLight]

Originally Posted by buttons81

I didn’t realize it was a thing either until I started researching how to protect the piano black.
https://www.xpel.com/products/paint-...ior-protection

Thanks for sharing that. Looking at the video, it seems that this relies on patterns for pre-cutting the PPF. Would such patterns be available right away for new generation models like the G45? Not sure how quickly these patterns get developed. I'd be very interested to know how it goes for you.

[buttons81]

Originally Posted by MidnightLight

Thanks for sharing that. Looking at the video, it seems that this relies on patterns for pre-cutting the PPF. Would such patterns be available right away for new generation models like the G45? Not sure how quickly these patterns get developed. I'd be very interested to know how it goes for you.

I went and got the front windows tinted today and got scheduled for the full frontal ppf and interior on weds. He said it would be no problem to do the inside piano black on the front doors. There’s not much on the center console so I didn’t even ask about that. I’m more concerned with the doors so I’m happy they’re able to do it. The cost for interior doors is $50 and exterior ppf is $1800 (hood, bumper, fenders, mirrors, lights, and black parts on front bumper/grill). I’m going to double check with dealer to make sure the ppf won’t interfere with anything in the grill.

[Sberron]

I’ve never gotten ppf/ceramic before but considering it for my new M50.

Shops in my area are quoting $3.5-$4k for full frontal + ceramic. Does this seem reasonable?

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by Sberron

I’ve never gotten ppf/ceramic before but considering it for my new M50.

Shops in my area are quoting $3.5-$4k for full frontal + ceramic. Does this seem reasonable?

If multiple shops in the area are in the same estimate range then that would be the going price there. Only you can judge whether the price is worth it/reasonable to you.