PSA: Poor Quality PPF Install - Auto Film Guys in Tarpon Springs, FL

[Electrified Outdoors]

I want to start by saying that I accept responsibility for my choice to have the job done out of my home state and on a short timeline. I will never make this mistake again. In hindsight I should have just applied track wrap to the high impact areas and taken it to my trusted installer in MD. I am posting this in the hopes that it will help someone else avoid the same type of experience I had.

The owner Chris seemed like a really nice and down to earth guy. I just wanted full frontal and I only had 2 and a half days in town before I had to drive back to Maryland. Chris said that if I wanted to do full PPF on the entire vehicle his entire team agreed to come in and work on it to have it done by close of business Monday. I dropped it off to him Saturday afternoon the 6th of May. I wasn't able to leave with the truck until after 11pm Monday night and had to make the 15hr drive back to MD on very little sleep.

When I returned to MD that is when I started to notice problems with the install. I contacted Chris and he was responsive and agreed to help. My trusted installer advised the panels needed to be redone. When I supplied Chris with the estimate he became irate. He said they (my installer in MD) were trying to take advantage of him and the situation. I was trying to be reasonable so I asked for XPEL to send me to another installer. When I met them in person I didn't feel comfortable leaving my new truck with them. In the end, Chris offered to reimburse $500 when the estimate was for $1,150. I came back an asked him to cover only the high impact repairs for $650. He refused and so reluctantly I agreed to a credit of $500. Two days later I discovered there are many more issues with the install.

Needless to say I am very disappointed. Despite me repeatedly asking them if two and a half days was enough time for a full PPF they assured me they could do it and they accepted the job. They charged me $7,169 and what I received is what I feel is a poor and clearly rushed PPF install. The worst part is their refusal to support me when they knew going in that I would be back in MD and 15 hours from them.

Here are pictures of all the issues. I have certaily learned that its not worth it to have the PPF installed far away from your home and that it is critically important to select the right PPF installer. Chris at auto film guys told me he has over 25 years experience installing film. What do you all think?

Lifting Edge on roof spoiler

Gap in coverage in high impact area

Passenger side mirror with same gap in coverage

Forgot to cut back film & poor alignment

Lifting Edge on Charge Port Door

Front Driver Side light bar

Lower front bumper lifting and missing PPF

Driver bedside and tailgate

Door Handle lifting around the edges

Lower portion of driver bedside and tailgate

No PPF on gloss black roof rails

Roof and A Pillar on Passenger side Misaligned and lacking coverage in high impact areas

Roof on drivers side lifting up because of misalignment

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[Milermore]

Some of the pictures are hard to see what is highlighted. From the rest of the pictures I can tell that I would be unhappy with the results for a $7k job.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Aside from the problems I asked for wrapped edges except where disassembly would be required. They didn't even wrap the trailing edges of the doors which should have been fairly easy.

 

[atebit]

Did you pay by CC?

 

[Riviot]

Looks like a Tarpon Springs kind of job. Who wraps the roof spoiler?

Did they at least throw in some sponges?

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Did you pay by CC?

Yes and I have disputed the charges. He says he will refund but I have to drive 15hrs back to their shop for them to remove all the film. I'm not letting them touch my truck again after the quality of the PPF job. I have also involved XPEL.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Looks like a Tarpon Springs kind of job. Who wraps the roof spoiler?

Did they at least throw in some sponges?

No sponges unfortunately ?

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Yeah I complained about my job but it's leaps and bounds better than this. Why would you make a relief cut in the area where you're most likely to get chips?

 

[defcon888]

From what I can see, it was horribly done. I am not a detailer or claim to be one, but heck, I could have done a better job than that. I would absolutely request for all or at least partial. Get an estimate from your detailer as to how much it would cost for him to repair it. Best of luck

 

[StitchK]

I’m looking for an installer in MD, can you refer me to the installer you use?

 

[COdogman]

That is what it would look like if I tried to apply full PPF on my own truck. Not what a "professional" is supposed to do. I hope you can get XPEL to step in and make it right. They don't want shops out there doing this and ruining their own reputation.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

I’m looking for an installer in MD, can you refer me to the installer you use?

I used A+ in Forest Hill. They had it for a month (had to remove existing PPF). The result is excellent! They have 5.0 stars on Google with over 400 reviews. I used them last year for the Tesla.

In heinsight I should have just put tracersp on it and taken it to them in the first place...lesson learned there. XPEL covered the redo in full.

After I washed and put on some Griots ceramic spray wax.

 

[AutofilmguysFL]

Ken,

I would like to thank you for offering your side of this story to the public as a review on our company. I would like to take some time to share our side of the story and let the viewers know that we are a stand up company that values our customers, their vehicles and our business.

The process started with a email and short call stating you were purchasing your Rivian from a local used car dealer with very low miles. You were going to be immediately driving back up north (MD)after delivery and was seeking a full body PPF (if we had time due to your short window of being in town) on your R1T. We spoke and I expressed that I would speak to my staff about working on Sunday (we are closed on the weekends) so that we could make sure it would be ready for you sometime late Monday. They agreed to work Sunday. The plan was for you to drop the truck off mid Saturday which turned into Saturday evening. Not a big deal. Now, in our first conversations, I made it clear that after your return trip, I would locate a dealer as we know that we will have some edges lift and the truck will need the once over. You understood and actually thanked me for being honest and I made sure to tell you I would compensate the dealer for their time. You did ask if I was willing to reduce the price of the job if you took video and did a blog about us for your 4500 followers on YouTube. I declined this offer.

Now, fast forward to Monday while we are working on the vehicle, we spoke about 7pm and I expressed that the truck would be done but i had a few hours left and you have no problem with. You even decided to come hang out and was with me and the vehicle for several hours until you pulled out of the shop at about 11pm. You were extremely happy with the truck and couldn't thank me enough for all we had done. I think its worth noting that you were looking over the truck with me for some time and were very pleased.

In the coming week, you returned home and sent a message saying a few things needed attention. We agreed that you would go to a shop of your choice and I will then handle the bill if any. After about a week or so, you were having trouble getting a dealer to call you back and reached back out to me. I was very unhappy to hear my XPEL network was letting me down and I tried calling 3 different shops myself. I wasn't getting anywhere myself and so I reached out to my XPEL rep. He called the area rep up there in MD and got the ball started. We finally got you speaking to someone. The next email I received from you was telling me the shop was requesting a bill of over 2000.00 be paid to fix the vehicles PPF. I was shocked and expressed that I believe that wasn't reasonable at all for the work needed to be completed. We went back a fourth a few emails and that's when I decided it was best to speak on the phone with you. I called and expressed my concerns about the amount of the bill and decided I would offer to fly up to you for a day and get everything handled for you. You were relieved and even offered to pick me up from the airport. I declined your offer and told you that wasn't needed as I didn't want to inconvenience you any further than you already had been. You were very happy and I said I would send you my flight info by the end of the day which you agreed too. About 2 hours later, I receive an email from you stating that your wife wouldn't allow me to touch the vehicle and you were now demanding a refund in the amount of 1500.00 if I remember correctly. I was shocked and requested a copy of the estimate from the other shop for that amount. You replied with that wasn't my business and i needed to issue the refund and wasn't welcome to fly in. I now agree that I will offer a 500.00 refund for your troubles and you could have it fixed on your own since no estimate would be provided. You agreed to accept the 500.00 but explained how unhappy you were with us. I was at a point that I didn't know how else to handle this situation. The refund was issued that day and my file was closed so I thought.

The following week, I received an email from my rep with XPEL sharing your email that you sent to XPEL corporate which was now demanding a full refund. I spoke with several people including the Chris Hardy (#3 in command of the entire company) and all agreed that how i had handled it to this point was great and all agreed I was trying everything to make things right. They finally said listen, they will issue the refund on my behalf to make this just go away. They didn't seek reimbursement and in fact praised me for trying my best to handle the situation. They even sent me a heat case from another shop during this because of how hard I tried to rectify the situation.

Now, we are happy that you were able to get the vehicle redone to your quality level, but please understand, you gave the second shop over a month with your vehicle. If we had your vehicle over a month, I promise you, you would have received the same results with us. We actually just finished a R1S in which the owner read this post and was a bit concerned, at pick up after we had the vehicle just over 1 week, the customer inspected the vehicle from bumper to bumper and even requested a ladder to inspect the roof panels and was extremely thrilled with our quality and attention to detail. His inpsection took almost 1 hour as he was very detailed.

What we have learned from this situation is nothing good comes from a rush job. Its a no win situation for either party and so now we no longer to try to meet crazy deadlines. If anyone would like to see emails between Ken and I myself, I'm happy to share.

In the end, we are extremely happy that your vehicle is protected and your enjoying your Rivian experience.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Ken,

I would like to thank you for offering your side of this story to the public as a review on our company. I would like to take some time to share our side of the story and let the viewers know that we are a stand up company that values our customers, their vehicles and our business.

The process started with a email and short call stating you were purchasing your Rivian from a local used car dealer with very low miles. You were going to be immediately driving back up north (MD)after delivery and was seeking a full body PPF (if we had time due to your short window of being in town) on your R1T. We spoke and I expressed that I would speak to my staff about working on Sunday (we are closed on the weekends) so that we could make sure it would be ready for you sometime late Monday. They agreed to work Sunday. The plan was for you to drop the truck off mid Saturday which turned into Saturday evening. Not a big deal. Now, in our first conversations, I made it clear that after your return trip, I would locate a dealer as we know that we will have some edges lift and the truck will need the once over. You understood and actually thanked me for being honest and I made sure to tell you I would compensate the dealer for their time. You did ask if I was willing to reduce the price of the job if you took video and did a blog about us for your 4500 followers on YouTube. I declined this offer.

Now, fast forward to Monday while we are working on the vehicle, we spoke about 7pm and I expressed that the truck would be done but i had a few hours left and you have no problem with. You even decided to come hang out and was with me and the vehicle for several hours until you pulled out of the shop at about 11pm. You were extremely happy with the truck and couldn't thank me enough for all we had done. I think its worth noting that you were looking over the truck with me for some time and were very pleased.

In the coming week, you returned home and sent a message saying a few things needed attention. We agreed that you would go to a shop of your choice and I will then handle the bill if any. After about a week or so, you were having trouble getting a dealer to call you back and reached back out to me. I was very unhappy to hear my XPEL network was letting me down and I tried calling 3 different shops myself. I wasn't getting anywhere myself and so I reached out to my XPEL rep. He called the area rep up there in MD and got the ball started. We finally got you speaking to someone. The next email I received from you was telling me the shop was requesting a bill of over 2000.00 be paid to fix the vehicles PPF. I was shocked and expressed that I believe that wasn't reasonable at all for the work needed to be completed. We went back a fourth a few emails and that's when I decided it was best to speak on the phone with you. I called and expressed my concerns about the amount of the bill and decided I would offer to fly up to you for a day and get everything handled for you. You were relieved and even offered to pick me up from the airport. I declined your offer and told you that wasn't needed as I didn't want to inconvenience you any further than you already had been. You were very happy and I said I would send you my flight info by the end of the day which you agreed too. About 2 hours later, I receive an email from you stating that your wife wouldn't allow me to touch the vehicle and you were now demanding a refund in the amount of 1500.00 if I remember correctly. I was shocked and requested a copy of the estimate from the other shop for that amount. You replied with that wasn't my business and i needed to issue the refund and wasn't welcome to fly in. I now agree that I will offer a 500.00 refund for your troubles and you could have it fixed on your own since no estimate would be provided. You agreed to accept the 500.00 but explained how unhappy you were with us. I was at a point that I didn't know how else to handle this situation. The refund was issued that day and my file was closed so I thought.

The following week, I received an email from my rep with XPEL sharing your email that you sent to XPEL corporate which was now demanding a full refund. I spoke with several people including the Chris Hardy (#3 in command of the entire company) and all agreed that how i had handled it to this point was great and all agreed I was trying everything to make things right. They finally said listen, they will issue the refund on my behalf to make this just go away. They didn't seek reimbursement and in fact praised me for trying my best to handle the situation. They even sent me a heat case from another shop during this because of how hard I tried to rectify the situation.

Now, we are happy that you were able to get the vehicle redone to your quality level, but please understand, you gave the second shop over a month with your vehicle. If we had your vehicle over a month, I promise you, you would have received the same results with us. We actually just finished a R1S in which the owner read this post and was a bit concerned, at pick up after we had the vehicle just over 1 week, the customer inspected the vehicle from bumper to bumper and even requested a ladder to inspect the roof panels and was extremely thrilled with our quality and attention to detail. His inpsection took almost 1 hour as he was very detailed.

What we have learned from this situation is nothing good comes from a rush job. Its a no win situation for either party and so now we no longer to try to meet crazy deadlines. If anyone would like to see emails between Ken and I myself, I'm happy to share.

In the end, we are extremely happy that your vehicle is protected and your enjoying your Rivian experience.

Thanks for taking time to post this. Chris i dropped the vehicle off as promised around 2pm and we stood in your shop and chatted. Chris i asked initially if you would apply trac tape. You assured me, and i have the emails, that your "entire team" was coming in and would have the truck done. You pushed for the full PPF and i asked you if you were sure that was feasible and you assured me. At no time did i see anyone else in your shop other than you... Either at drop off or pickup.

I had to leave at 5am the next morning to get back to MD and had my family with me and i just wanted to get out of there as the truck was supposed to be done by COB and it was 11pm.

Chris this was more than lifting as I have had PPF on other vehicles. As you admit the install was rushed. Further it wasn't what i was promised.

The good thing about the whole experience is that XPEL made it right. My truck went to A+ in Forest Hill. They had it for a month to redo thr PPF job.

I learned that its never a good idea to get PPF or tint done out of state. If i jad it to do over again I would have applied XPEL trac tape to the truck amd brought it back for A+ to do.

I posted this to warn others because we were not able to work this out. I had to involve XPEL and ultimately, even though you refunded $500 i had to pay that back to A+ as part if the agreement for XPEL to cover the reinstall.

I didn't get anything out of this. None of my money back. In fact it cost me a lot more because I had to rent a vehicle at my personal expense while thr truck was being fixed for a month.

It has been almost six months so hopefully you have been able to make some adjustments so that others don't have a similar experience. I wish you all the best.

 

[Smeek]

For us who were not involved in this at all it can come off as a lot of "he said she said".

But at the end of the day, that is simply a poorly done job for $7k. It sounds like they are agreeing it was rushed and they had too little time to do it correctly....yet they still charged you $7k and only refunded $500 out of that? doesn't pass the smell test.

I took my etron GT to get fully wrapped 2 years ago to a local guy out here in CT. He was up front that he had only been doing it a few months, but i went with him anyway. He spent a week on that car and it came out perfect. he had one person helping him. The job he did as a relatively new installer is leaps and bounds better than the pictures shown above.

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