AlterZgo

I would definitely do PPF on the front, hood and roof. In my M3, I had PPF on the front and I ran over a gigantic tire tread that dislodged my front lower grille and left a gigantic nasty tire mark on the front airdam. I was able to pop the grille back in place and wash out the tire marks. The tire marks literally rubbed off leaving no visible damage to the car. There is no doubt in my mind that I would have had to pay about $2K in repairs to fix the bumper and repaint if I didn't have PPF. Also, I don't have PPF on the roof and I now have a small chipped piece of carbon fiber missing on the front edge of the roof. So I'd definitely do the roof too.

I wouldn't bother w/ ceramic coating over PPF though. It seems like my PPF is super durable, easy to maintain, and does not show scratches as much as paint does. I'd also be concerned w/ doing ceramic coating on the car with only part of the car PPF'd. If the PPF is ever removed, there would potentially be edges where there's no ceramic coating beneath the PFF next to where the paint has PPF. Not as big of a deal if the whole car is PPF'd but if it's partial - like where the rear qtr panel flares are, it may not be ideal.

ipse dixit

Not when you go and sell the car.

Of course, if you keep the car forever, then it doesn't matter. At that point, most things don't matter. Because forever is a long time.

ipse dixit

Whether you PPF or not is really a personal decision. If you're a C&C or Concourse kind of guy (or gal), who thinks washing and rubbing down their car weekly (or, gasp, daily) is considered "quality" time with the car, then definitely PPF and ceramic coat.

But if you consider the car a disposable object that's intended to be used, why bother. You're just "saving" it for the next owner.

All that said, if you do PPF, do it to the entire car. Forget the 1/4 or 3/4 jobs. You don't want different shades of your car appearing, or ghosting, over time. Or dust and dirt being trapped on the edges. Plus, inevitably and invariably, you will get a ding a chip on the part that is not PPF'd.

mferris

When I picked up my 992 (my first Porsche) my dealer was very encouraging for me to get it PPF before driving close to anyone on the highway - which I did a full wrap within a week, including having the windshield wrapped with appropriate wrap (don’t recall name). I also had it ceramic coated.

Keep in mind I’m one of those people that enjoys washing my cars whenever I see any dirt (esp since I have Night Blue Metallic 992)

PPF I would say has been a relief and I would do it again. I’ve already rubbed out a mark someone put on the rear end.

Windshield wrap - I would not do it again - within 3 months a random rock (not from tailgating) came off a car many lanes over and hit the windshield so hard that it cut through the wrap and put a good sized star in the glass. Had to remove the $500 wrap and had the star filled (still visible sadly) to keep from spreading and am just dealing with until I decide the windshield is sandblasted enough for a new one.

Ceramic is “fun” more than necessary - but I’d do it again - it’s easy and satisfying to quickly wash the car and blow off. a $100 self application kit may be almost as good as the $1K pro application (including wheels) I paid for - but this seems to be working as good as new a year later.

malibu515

The ONLY thing that will protect your paint from chips IS a PPF wrap...period ! A Ceramic coating will give you a nice shine but does not offer protection.
Too late if you drive your car before you have had the PPF applied. It should go right from the Dealer to your independent applier...not to be done by the dealer.
This car is a chip magnet. If you wait until you have chips, paint correction can just do so much. At least perform a PPF on the front of the car and the haunches in back.

JCH997

To add to the excellent insights on colors, types of roads used, length of ownership, neurosis, and "patina-philia," nowadays chips are much more repairable than when we were kids. Dr. ColorChip does a phenominal job. It matches the Porsche paint code and smooths to an almost invisible mend. No comparison with what Sears Auto rack offered for my pool blue Dodge Lancer. Given that, maybe less need for PPF.

Carrera-T

Something has to give. Either you accept the rock chips or understand that you lose a little depth and see some of the PPF. I did not wrap my 2015 Macan Turbo abs at 77,000 miles the car looked amazing but the nose was peppered from highway rash. I wrapped the full front on my 2021 Cayenne Turbo Coupe. I fell better this time around, and with the right film and installer, the PPF is barely noticeable. I went with SunTek as (to my eyes) it seems cleared and had less orange peel as compared to some of the other brands.

malibu515

My PPF in SunTek has made my 992 carefree. I take it occaisionally to a touch less car wash and blow it dry. Thats it.
That plus the Ceramic Coating, makes cleaning a wiz.

Master Deep

For highway driving, which I do everyday in Florida, I highly recommend PPF. Everyday I hear rocks constantly bouncing off the car, even with no traffic around. My PPF installer said a full wrap was only $900 more than full front and full rockers/rear fender so I went for it. Now I don’t worry about rocks bouncing off the car. So it was worth it to me for piece of mind. It will also help prevent door dings/scratches when parked. I find myself driving it to more places than anticipated simply because the ppf gives me some piece of mind.

Pete C

I honestly cannot believe at the cost of these cars anyone would recommend against getting this done regardless of where or how you drive it. To me it’s a no brainer especially after several years ago I had purchased an 8k mile 11 TTS with no film.
The front bumper and mirrors looked like they had been sandblasted. Paint work required.
By contrast I just traded my ‘14 Cayenne GTS with 78k miles which had the entire front wrapped. The dealer was shocked at
how perfect it looked and the trade number reflected it!

As a potential used car buyer I will not look at a car without film and I know quite a few friends that feel the same unless it
has SUPER low miles.

craig66

That is the beauty of life, one mans "no brainer" is another mans "no brain". For myself I chose to drive it and enjoy it - rock chips and all
Yes it will pick up a few rock chips and if they bother me I am sure Dr colorchip or a repaint will be by my side and yes when I trade it in I might get 1-2K less if very badly chipped but still less than the 3-5-7K it will have cost me to PPF it
Yes it might not be you or one of your friends buying the car but I can bet that with the low amount of cars coming out of Zuffenhaussen that the line to take my car will still be long and if I am lucky the 3-5-7K I would have spent on PPF I can use to buy BTC/TSLA/GME/Insert your poison and maybe even pay off my entire next car with the proceeds

You should do what you want. If a rock chip will rip your soul out then please by all means PPF the car. If a rock chip does not bother you because the joy you get is from sitting inside the car and feeling that awesome handling then why waste money on something that is not important to you.

Maverick787

Agree, and full PPF/ceramic coating can bust 10K ............will not get that back on a trade. Most collector cars are zero PPF, and no issues.

HouTexCarreraS

Not a no-brainer to me at all. After a year of ownership, my C2S has 3,500 miles, so it will be a fairly low mileage car when I trade it after 3 years. I did not PPF the car and so far I have a few minor chips on the front end and lower frunk--barely noticeable from about 3 feet away and not bothersome to me at all. I did do a ceramic coating to ease with washing, since I enjoy doing this myself, and the car still looks fantastic (Gentian Blue)--the look of natural paint is deeper and more preferable to me than the look of PPF (yes, you can tell the difference even with the modern day PPF materials, especially since most installs will have some flaws). I don't believe I will lose much, if anything, when I trade the car--certainly not as much as a good PPF job would have cost. No regrets with my decision.

Pete C

Not to start a debate here but if you do the math you just mentioned above, the 2k repaint plus decreased value do to repaint would have easily paid for the PPF and all along your car would have looked better by having the front wrapped 🍻
Dr Colorchip on a 150k car really 🤦‍♂️

63mercedes

I spend most of my time in the 997 forum but am getting ready for a respray and PPF. Previous owner never had it done. But he actually had a piece but on the windshield I didn't know about. I thought the windshield was toast but the guy showed me the edge and said its about 200 to remove and replace. The windshield can be done, I had no clue.