One of the most common questions we receive as a wrap shop is, "Why would I wrap my car instead of painting it?" Now to someone who day in and day out installs the product; this seems like a crazy question because, to us, it seems so obvious. Most people are aware of commercial wraps and their benefit but we'll be covering what the pro's are of doing a color change wrap and if you're considering a paint job why you should reconsider. Before we start, I'd like to mention that if you're looking to paint or wrap due to damages on the current paint of your vehicle it is better to go the painting route. Now if you're in the market just for strictly vehicle customization, wrapping is the better choice.
Variety
When you go to the dealership to get a brand new car your options are limited to what the dealership has in stock. Sure you can do a custom order where you pick all the different features and options you want but they have a very limited selection of colors. With wraps, your options are pretty much limitless. Do you want a matte black, or how about a blue chrome look. How about two tone? Leather finish, alligator scale, all the way to even a velvet finish(we don't recommend any of these to be honest). One of the most exciting parts of the process is going through the colors and finding "the ONE" that makes your heart flutter.
Shielding
One of the side benefits of automotive wraps is the fact that it help protect and shield your underneath paint. We've had customers return from an unfortunate grocery store parking lot situation. The only thing damaged was the vinyl and the paint underneath was perfectly fine. It was as easy as removing the damaged material and replacing it with a new sheet and voila, good as new. It also help protect the paint from UV rays and constant sun damage, so if you ever decide you want to sell your car, remove the wrap and your paint will look good as new because it pretty much is.
Price
If you decided "Hey, you know what, I'm going to paint my car" you would then go to get some quotes. You would notice a huge gap in prices, anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000. If you want it done correctly you are going to be leaning more towards the five digit range. Pretty steep huh? Well that's not all, there's also the hidden costs. If you paint your new car something other than the original color you will lose thousands of resale dollars. This is where getting it wrapped comes into play. Wrapping it can range from $500 to $5000+ depending on material cost, difficulty, and disassembly cost. Wrapping your vehicle will in no way devalue it and it would help keep it in mint condition.
Duration
A wrap can last up to 5 years and if well maintained you can add years to that life span. We use only brands that are established in the industry to insure quality and duration of the wrap such as 3M and Avery. Removal is also a very easy process and won't impact negatively the paint underneath. Its easy as heating and peeling.
Maintenance
One of the benefits of an auto wrap is that it is easy to maintain. Instead of using dozens of products you normally use when washing, waxing, and buffing your vehicle all you need is basic soap and water to clean your car. No more buffering and waxing, this will help reduce washing times.
Install TIme
Comparatively speaking, painting is more time consuming and can take up to 2 weeks or more. On the other hand, a full install may take half the time of painting. Be warned, you will be extremely anxious and excited to see the result of the wrap so it might seem like years when waiting for it to be done(its all in your head).
Conclusion
As you can see, it is a no-brainer. Going with a wrap is the only way to go! The amount of variety you can choose from, inexpensive compared to paint, maintenance, install time, land length it will last make it pretty hard to go any other route. Wraps are becoming so popular that even huge car companies are starting to take notice. BMW is even getting in on the act with their newly released "frozen" colors trying to mimic the look of matte and satin wraps. That option can range from $5,000 to $7,500 depending on the model of the car. You can get a wrap for much cheaper and it would include the before mentioned benefits.