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Hopefully , most of you will know my 250c is painted a nice grey. However it has started to show a few cracks where the body had moved!!
I thought I would get it vinyl wrapped , this would not chip and cover the cracks very well.
I got quoted £1250 plus vat!! I thought that was a lot I could get a decent paint job for that.
Is it too much? Have I been over quoted?
My mate had his 911 wrapped. It looked scrap. Stone chips and then water got underneith it and made bubbles. Loads of little bits peeling off.
Just as a paint quote comparrison. I got my MX250 fully sprayed for £1500 and it was a perfect job. There was a slight imperfection showing 6 month later and he re-done it for free.
...I thought I would get it vinyl wrapped , this would not chip and cover the cracks very well...
I tend to agree with DHUFC... not for use on a car that either gets used a bit or lives outside. Probably OK for a garage queen though.
I wrapped the doors on my Z300S to get them white easily and quickly. I've also wrapped the sides of my Jago. They both live outside and I've found that the initial "wow" soon wears off and you start to see the joins. Also the colours on the Jago have faded a bit quite quickly.
Our shuttle buses at work are wrapped, even the double deckers, and of course they get it all- sun, water, salt, grit, etc. Seems to last about a year and then the edges are peeling.
I agree with both Ian and Danny, wrapping is a temporary thing, so use the money for a permanent paint job.
In my case I was lucky, my paint cost thirty quid, and went on okay the first time!
The mopping machine cost more that my paint job!
Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
Hmm having wrapped my mx5 I'd say its a mixed bag. For a start 1250+vat does sound a tad expensive. I got quotes for around £900 all in.
Down to the wrap itself, its like everything. The more money you spend on vinyl the better the application and the longer it lasts. A well wrapped car in 3m or arlon or similar should last 3 years or so, and you can get films that last longer. (Kpmf do some great vinyl for commercial use, one of our vans was wrapped at work in kpmf vinyl and has lasted 4 years and still looks great)
I can see both sides, and if the paint will crack due to the "bounce" in the shell then no matter what you spend on a paint job it will still do it unless the underlying problem is fixed. Vinyl doesn't have that iissue but won't last the 15 years of a job paint job. There's pros and cons ultimately. But iI wrapped my mx5 for around £200 and am pretty pleased with it. Especially as I'll want a new colour in a few years time no doubt!
Have you checked out martyns mx250 thread? He wrapped his in a pearl white; would be good to ask him how its getting on a year down the line. (Also to note, due to the large panels he had to put a seem down the middle of the car and hide with a stripe.
Have you thought of an alternative such as Plastic Dip ?
This product is a mix between wrapping and painting. Its like spray-on vinyl. Its not too expensive and you can do it yourself with pretty good end results. And if one day you get tired of the colour, just peel it off and try something new.
There are thousands of videos on YouTube showing you how to do it.
Here is one that shows you how to peel the paint off and re-dip the car.