Poll: What software would you THE INSTALLER like best for paint protec

August 11, 2011

SORRY GUYS! I haven't posted up polls very often, so my first attempt had to be deleted & everything re-set. I forgot to put one important option in the poll, & that being a CHOICE between price options offered by one company.

Ok, Trying again with the poll.

duggyb · August 11, 2011

im sure the xpel boys know my take on this situation. i vote option 3.

at a very minimum could xpel ATLEAST setup something where i am subscribed, i can log in etc but if i dont make a single cut all month they dont charge me?

Thanks guys!

Dustin.

August 11, 2011

im sure the xpel boys know my take on this situation. i vote option 3.
at a very minimum could xpel ATLEAST setup something where i am subscribed, i can log in etc but if i dont make a single cut all month they dont charge me?

Thanks guys!

Dustin.

That is a good idea also. That way, I could access the pattern availability, & show it to customers, or if I have a car that is particularly difficult to do by bulk, I could see what the pattern looks like & decide if I want to do it that way instead.

Norm

blackout66 · August 12, 2011

3 would be great, I gotta get this graphtec makin me some $$$

XPEL Jeff · August 12, 2011

Keep in mind that you can view all of our available patterns 24/7 at www.xpel.com.

Speed · August 15, 2011

When I first got into ppf, Xpel wanted $10,000 up front, then the $300 minimums and cut fees. And that was before anyone heard of ppf, customers were hard to find and the film was like cardboard. You new folks got it easy on the backs of those of us that put the word out there years and years ago. I think they should make the minimum a $1000 a month just to keep the crybabies out of the way. If they drop the $300, every window tinter on every corner will be whoring out the market like a Venture hack.

August 16, 2011

When I first got into ppf, Xpel wanted $10,000 up front, then the $300 minimums and cut fees. And that was before anyone heard of ppf, customers were hard to find and the film was like cardboard. You new folks got it easy on the backs of those of us that put the word out there years and years ago. I think they should make the minimum a $1000 a month just to keep the crybabies out of the way. If they drop the $300, every window tinter on every corner will be whoring out the market like a Venture hack.

I've been installing bulk for 16 years. Am I the "new folk" that you are referring about? I've pulled off hundreds of crappy looking "kits" over the years, & re-did the job the "right" way, & had customers almost jumping up & down when they see how good an installation CAN look if done well. (Actually, they are happy at how you cannot tell the car has anything on it, which is the whole point in clear PPF, right?)

Please explain why having a minimum matters in any way? Some installers may only install 5 per month forever. Does that 5 per month hurt the company selling the patterns? With the billing, etc being computer controlled, it does not take any extra time away from normal day to day operations for the film production company. If they get 50 installers doing 5 kits per month, isn't that better than 1 installer doing 100 a month?

On the other hand, if a long time bulk installer were to have a chance to install a few of the kits for a dealership, then it seems likely to me that they will be far more likely to increase the number they do, & the film manufacturer, & everybody does more work & makes more $$.

People are totally blown away by the fit/finish/quality of my custom installations. I don't "NEED" the pre-cut computer patterns to make a living. However, no car dealership is willing to pay for my awesome high-end installation. SO, on the occasions when I DO have a customer (Dealership) who wants to get the work done, & they don't particularly care about the quality of the job, just the price, then a pre-cut kit allows me to offer them the cheaper alternative. But when I offered customers (Retail) the choice between my custom installation for more $$ or the pre-cut kit, I never, not one time had someone choose the kit. IF the kit is the only choice, then customers go for that. On the other hand, when I can show them a custom installed job I've done, they have NEVER asked for the kit installation.

So. My point is that If I were to get into Kit installation for my local car dealerships, then it would be nice to not have the minimum at first, so I can build up the business. Paying more for each kit would be fine during this 'start-up' period. Then, when business is getting busy, & I'm doing 20-30 cars a month, then fine. Give me a minimum, drop the price for the per-kit job & everybody wins.

With that said, I do feel you on the case on whoring out the market with every window tint shop doing really crappy PPF work on the cheap. That is already happening however. I'll have to think about this angle some more. Maybe that by itself is the best & only reason for a minimum.

Speed · August 17, 2011

Not you Norm, thats why I included the word "new". I'm referring to the ones that complain about not having enough business when all they've done is put a post on their facebook page about clear bras.

With your reputation, you shouldn't have any problem with the minimum, and the kits are much better and customizable to suit your skill set. Want to hand cut your own headlight washers or parking sensors? Delete them from the pattern, thats what I do. I've modded all the Porsche kits so I can wrap enough film to turn a leading edge into a trailing edge if possible. Having patterns saves enough film to more than make up for the cut fee if you know what you are doing. I can nest 2 Porsche full fenders, door cups(I know you love 'em), mirrors and door edge pieces in nearly the same amount of film it would take to bulk just one fender. Ten dollar cut fee to save sixty dollars in film is a no brainer.

The problem with only doing bulk installs is no matter how good you or your reputation are, you will have to do all the work yourself for the most part, and you won't be able to sell your business when you get tired of it all. With patterns, you can expand and bring on extra help without wondering if paint is going to get cut on your customers car by one of your employees. Once that ball gets rolling, you can sit back and supervise, ending up with a business that you can someday sell the keys to and retire.

Give those Xpel folks another chance Norm, I'm sure they would love to have you on board and would probably be more willing to set you up to where you'd feel compfortable for the first couple of months. If it makes you feel any better, even in the coldest, worstest February my first year with them, I still managed over $600 in cuts. Once you start using the patterns, you'll see the logic in the monthly fees...I don't want the tint store next store doing onezy twozys telling customers they have "same" stuff I have. John Q won't know the difference until its too late and then blasts Xpel for having a bad product.

Clearbraj · August 17, 2011

Not you Norm, thats why I included the word "new". I'm referring to the ones that complain about not having enough business when all they've done is put a post on their facebook page about clear bras.
With your reputation, you shouldn't have any problem with the minimum, and the kits are much better and customizable to suit your skill set. Want to hand cut your own headlight washers or parking sensors? Delete them from the pattern, thats what I do. I've modded all the Porsche kits so I can wrap enough film to turn a leading edge into a trailing edge if possible. Having patterns saves enough film to more than make up for the cut fee if you know what you are doing. I can nest 2 Porsche full fenders, door cups(I know you love 'em), mirrors and door edge pieces in nearly the same amount of film it would take to bulk just one fender. Ten dollar cut fee to save sixty dollars in film is a no brainer.

The problem with only doing bulk installs is no matter how good you or your reputation are, you will have to do all the work yourself for the most part, and you won't be able to sell your business when you get tired of it all. With patterns, you can expand and bring on extra help without wondering if paint is going to get cut on your customers car by one of your employees. Once that ball gets rolling, you can sit back and supervise, ending up with a business that you can someday sell the keys to and retire.

Give those Xpel folks another chance Norm, I'm sure they would love to have you on board and would probably be more willing to set you up to where you'd feel compfortable for the first couple of months. If it makes you feel any better, even in the coldest, worstest February my first year with them, I still managed over $600 in cuts. Once you start using the patterns, you'll see the logic in the monthly fees...I don't want the tint store next store doing onezy twozys telling customers they have "same" stuff I have. John Q won't know the difference until its too late and then blasts Xpel for having a bad product.

Well said and totally agree. We wrap with DAP program even a-pillars into the door area - a few clicks and your done renest and save film. Saves lots of film over bulk. That's over 4 bucks a sqft!

August 17, 2011

Ok, ok! You make a good argument there. If XPEL had stated it in those exact terms, it would have gone a long ways towards convincing me. They said they didn't want people on the system that only downloaded 2 or 3 a month forever. I was trying to figure out why that mattered to them if they are selling kits, but I was thinking about it from my perspective, that I'll only use a kit on a car for a body-shop, or a car dealership on the rare occasion, but do custom installations on all my retail. Over time, if I do expand & take on workers, to do dealership work, then yes, I'll want them installing kits.

Keeping the hacks from getting at the program on the cheap is for sure a 'good' thing.

I'm not totally sold, but I do now see the point. It would probably be much better if they were to have a 60-45 day trial period in stead of 30 days. It sometimes takes a bit of work to schmooze the dealerships into taking on a program & then building it up to more than 2 or 3 cars a month. Believe me, I was getting the work from a local dealership all last year, but if they sold 4 jobs in a month, I would be pretty excited about that. I tried to get the sales people motivated with a spiff program & potential for a cheap (Mexico) cruze, but it still rolled along pretty slowly.

I also like the idea of nesting the product to get more out of it, BUT I will typically lay a fender piece over on the car, & then use a marker to outline the tire cut-out, & other bits that I will then cut free of what I'm putting on the fender. Those cut-off scraps become headlights, mirrors, etc, all the way down to a 2" x 2" piece to do a tow hook cover, so I'm throwing away much less than otherwise.

I also knew that you could take their kits & modify them from hood edge to hood wrap-over, BUT I didn't know you could take away the headlight sprayers & tow-hook knockouts & parking sensors, etc. I'd like to take another look at the DAP system, with the intent this time of getting some dealerships on line, but I've blown my 30 days with just a few parts cut out. OH well, I'll talk to my dealerships & see what interest they have in making a big push at the end of the year here...

Now, here is a question for you who can do custom installs with precision, and also do kit installations. Most people in my area at this point have heard of me, & know that I'm probably the most expensive in town, but that the quality is very top notch. How do you go to adding dealership type of work, with kits, & not be afraid of a downgrade to your business reputation? I don't care how good kits can look, because their very nature makes them show more seams & edges. In most circumstances, the lower lip, under the radiator inlet the film will come together in the middle with a seam. My installations never have this because I stretch the entire sheet on, all the way out to the tire-wells, making it one large smooth installation. I also can hide my relief cuts in ways that make them difficult to see, up underneath overhangs, etc.

I hate the idea of having a kit installation that my company did show up at a car show and the customer points it out to me, just for me to say "I don't do installations that way" & then find out that me or a worker did a kit for a dealership, because they wanted it done "cheaply"?? Ouch, talk about awkward! Or even worse, suppose I do a kit for the dealership, & the customer thinks it should have fewer edges showing. It would really suck for me to then have to remove the first installation, & install it custom, all for the 1 original payment of the Kit installation!