[Pancham]

Originally Posted by sunnsood

Hi can you do elaborate on your ppf experience in Delhi NCR? I have blue Kia Seltos and I am thinking of ppf since October 2023 but still undecided.

I am usually taking my car for weekend wash and I am applying Turtle wax products post car wash.

What you are practising now, I feel, is good enough.

My PPF experience has been bad/mixed because of two things:

1. Poor installation: I went to one of the better detailing places in Delhi (Tee Car Care in East of Kailash). I trusted them because of their good detailing services. The installation was nothing short of a disaster. There were heat marks all over and it was clearly visible even in a black car. I visited them a couple of times and they kept telling me that these marks will go away after a month, 2 months, and so on. Their tone also changed despite me being a repeat customer. And this was Ceramic Pro PPF which is not cheap and has warranty, etc. I gave up later and swore never to step foot in their shop.

2. Durability and actual use of PPF vis-a-vis the cost of PPF- is it VFM when compared to saving your factory paint?: Indian conditions result in lots of minor accidents, dents, etc. And it’s quite frequent, at least in NCR. Even the slightest dent, should you plan to get it repaired, will mean you take off the film, fix the dent and get the whole thing repainted anyway. I am very careful when I drive but I still get bumped by random people once in a while - especially in Gurgaon. Very recently, a Baleno rolled back at a signal and kissed my front bumper and peeled off part of my PPF. I will be honest - I was worried about the (multiple) thousands I spent on the PPF (in addition to the damage caused to the bumper).

The point is - given what it costs, PPFs are not your silver bullet that will protect your car from everything. Small scratches - yes and perhaps stone chips if you a do lot of highway driving. But does that really warrant spending a lakh on PPF just to save the factory paint? I have started questioning myself.

[sunnsood]

Originally Posted by Pancham

What you are practising now, I feel, is good enough.

The point is - given what it costs, PPFs are not your silver bullet that will protect your car from everything. Small scratches - yes and perhaps stone chips if you a do lot of highway driving. But does that really warrant spending a lakh on PPF just to save the factory paint? I have started questioning myself.

I guess I will pass on the ppf and spend that money on good detailing every year. Every time my car got a scratch, I use to wish that it had ppf. Being in Delhi, I believe we can't avoid scratches no matter how hard we try.

[Pancham]

Retro-Update

3rd Service Completed (2nd full paid service at 30,000kms)

ODO: 24,265kms

Date: 30 September 2023

Service Centre: Landmark Jeep, Gurgaon

Cost: INR 19,824 / - (includes wheel balancing and alignment (WA/WB) which costed INR 2,433.75).

I realised I hadn't updated the second paid service in this thread (done last year). Here are the details and cost break-up:

[Pancham]

4th Service Completed (3rd full paid service at 45,000kms)

ODO: 38,701kms

Date: 15 September 2024

Service Centre: Landmark Jeep, Gurgaon

Key part replacement: Brake pads at around 39k kms.

Cost: INR 31,109/ -

The cost includes:

(a) Wheel balancing and alignment (WA/WB) which costed INR 1,581.94.
(b) Change in Brake Pads which costed INR 7,536 + labor and taxes.

Average FE (last 3 years): 11.73kmpl

Upcoming major expense: Around INR 60k for new tires. The tires currently look great at around 40k kms. I think they can easily do another 15k kms. These are stock Bridgestone tires. I have had only three punctures till date and I ensure tire rotation is done every 15000kms.

Overall, the car is doing very well - so well that there is nothing really to report. I don't think I could have bought a better car in 2021. The engine is yum (has a beautiful clatter), power delivery has become a lot smoother (I feel), interiors have held up well, and overall car feels solid. Nothing really to complain. No rattles, except a sound from the sunroof which surfaces on rare occasions (especially when left parked under the sun for long).

About the service:

The SA kind of ticked me off with the initial quote which was around INR 36,000 as standard service which I was told that I HAD TO GET DONE in order to avail any future warranty claims. This included sunroof cleaning which was 5.9k, and so on. This kind of left a bad taste in my mouth and I had to argue with the SA to remove all unnecessary items. With that said, the SA estimated a bill of around INR 25K.

I have started leaving the car at the workshop. I just dont have the stamina to spend the whole day at the SC. Most of the time the car remains unattended and I have nothing much to do but roam around twiddling my thumbs.

Around 3pm, the SA called to tell me that the brake pads needed to be changed. I felt they were perfectly alright and asked him not to. He sent me a hazy photograph which didnt help. After hanging up, I thought about it - the original pads had done 38k kms and I was told they would do another 1-2k kms. I decided to go ahead with the change. I felt they had lasted sufficiently long.

Finally, after all the discounts, the bill came to INR 31,109/-.

Service cost details (notice how expensive the engine oil has become since last year):


Some random pictures from last few days:

I get my car professionally washed almost every weekend. This is after one of the cleaning sessions


At the SC after the 4th service.


As I said, interiors look good after almost three years and 39k kms.

[DivyanshuDiv]

Today I did the PDI of my booked compass with the help of Zekardo. There were so many swirl marks and minor scratches on the bonnet and the dealer told me that he is going to get rid of it. Is that the case with black car ? By the way, the car is only a couple of weeks old and reached the stockyard last night.

[Pancham]

Originally Posted by DivyanshuDiv

Today I did the PDI of my booked compass with the help of Zekardo. There were so many swirl marks and minor scratches on the bonnet and the dealer told me that he is going to get rid of it. Is that the case with black car ? By the way, the car is only a couple of weeks old and reached the stockyard last night.

Its not common for a new car but certainly common for black cars. Since you mention its minor - I am guessing you are fine with them and its nothing serious; but do make sure the dealer gets rid of them before delivery.