PPF, good thing or waste of money?

I've ordered a new GR86 Hakone Edition.

I'm on the fence about what used to be "clear bra", and know dang little about the most recent stuff, other than remembering some crappy looking installs I eyeballed in the past. In the process of shopping, I saw numerous sand blasted noses on these and other kinda blunt-nosed cars. Toyota offers it as an option, but 2 different dealers have told me they prefer in-house or local installers. 

I'm being offered nose of car, 1/4 of hood and mirrors for $1400 using Xpel film. I'd appreciate thoughts on any of this y'all would care to comment on.

I think it could be worth it for the front end, also definitely get it on the headlights if nowhere else. I got some put on my Toyobaru's headlights for around $80 at an independent shop. Aftermarket replacement headlight lenses are a massive PITA to install and start at around $60 each, and even a used whole headlight costs many hundreds.

On my 2017 model it seems like the blunt part of the front bumper gets most of the sandblasting, not much on the raked-back upper part or the hood or on the mirrors.

I don't know about PPF, but my experience with Toyota paint in this century is that it is thin and very prone to rock chips.

I have nothing particular to say but YouTuber Savagegeese has a relevant video on a GR86 and PPF.  
https://youtu.be/jxN2VYXL310?si=V0zvzV1usyqIiwmq 

I think its rarely worth it financially, especially on a cheaper car like a gr86. Think how much of a percentage of value it is. Do it if it makes you happy and paint chips will drive you nuts.

Get the entire hood done, otherwise at some point it will be obvious that only part of the hood had PPF applied. 

I had the front of my Cayman done, and am glad I did. The Xpel is "self healing", which I was skeptical of. One day I had a big glob of nasty bird crap right on top of a front fender. I rinsed it off, but could see that the poop had damaged the finish (very upsetting!) leaving a three inch circle of rough finish. I was swearing about it, but the next morning it had magically disappeared! It had indeed healed itself, and I couldn't see where the bird poop had been. A miracle!

How did you get a Hakone edition?

Datsun240ZGuy said:

How did you get a Hakone edition?

After deciding I'd like to investigate the possibility, I called local dealer, Peterson Motors, and talked to their "GR guy", Andrew. He found one he could spec to my wish list and I gave him a deposit. He also told me they are the highest volume GR dealer in US and he personally holds the crown for most GR Corollas. I assume it's not BS, but had no idea when I called. So far it's been painless.

RacerBoy75 said:

Get the entire hood done, otherwise at some point it will be obvious that only part of the hood had PPF applied. 

I had the front of my Cayman done, and am glad I did. The Xpel is "self healing", which I was skeptical of. One day I had a big glob of nasty bird crap right on top of a front fender. I rinsed it off, but could see that the poop had damaged the finish (very upsetting!) leaving a three inch circle of rough finish. I was swearing about it, but the next morning it had magically disappeared! It had indeed healed itself, and I couldn't see where the bird poop had been. A miracle!

Do you treat it just like paint? Meaning cleaning and waxing? I've no experience which is why I'm asking for input. Good point about hood,  that's specifically something I wondered about. 

My 2022 GR86 has it on the front and 1/4 hood.  I've done over 30,000 miles, many at speed on highways all over the States.   At this point even the plastic is showing damage.  I can feel surface damage in the PPF but it has not gotten to the stock finish.  The cars are low, semis are throwing up stuff, and I'm passing semis.   Florida bugs at 85 mph.   It is amazing how much tiny stuff hits the front.   Love the car, super glad the PPF is on the front.  Thinking about replacing it soon, but first another 2,000 mile trip is in the works.  OBTW, when I turn into the setting sun, its obvious the windshield is even "sand blasted".

I treat mine just like the rest of the car, washing, waxing, etc.  I use "bug and tar remover" on the front a lot.  It doesn't seem to have any ill effects.  

I try to get the bugs off each night if possible, or at least before the next harsh sun cycle.

I say "do it."  

Still super excited about owning the GR86.  Hope you have the same experience.

In reply to carbidetooth :

Congrats man - that is awesome 

The previous owner put the 3m pro series stuff on much of my FiST (bumper, full hood, mirrors, 1/2 roof, bottom of the hatch). I like it a lot. My 9 year old car has no rock chips, scratches, etc. I tend to be rough on things too. I believe it provides UV protection too. Thought it might yellow over time, but it's held up nicely. I'll definitely pay for it on my next car.

$1400 feels a bit steep, but I wouldn't necessarily know. The previous owner paid $1150CDN ($860 US) in later 2016.

I paid about $2000 for mine, but I live in one of the most expensive cities in the US. I don't know if there was also a Porsche tax involved. In addition to the front of the car, he also did the mirrors and door edges, and the triangular shaped panel in front of the rear wheels. There is a vinyl piece that comes stock on the car in front of the rear wheels, but mine had started to yellow and look bad. The new ones are invisible and much larger.

As far as care of the Xpel, they recommend against using any kind of polish, due to taking the self healing layer off. Before I had read that, I had used a regular cleaner/wax, but it didn't seem to have any long-term effect on the PPF. Other than using higher-quality car wash and a ceramic wax, I treat it like paint, even using rubber cleaner to take off scrapes from cones at the autocross.

Purple Frog said:

 OBTW, when I turn into the setting sun, its obvious the windshield is even "sand blasted".

I've read there are protective films you can get for the windshield too, although I don't know how much they cost or how well they perform.  It's always been a pet peeve of mine, I generally avoid driving in situations where I'm exposed to flying debris from other vehicles but my windshield still gets blasted.

I have had (non-3M) PPF on my car since 2016. I wish I did the whole car but I did the front, including the headlights, the fronts of the mirrors, the places where your nails will scratch on the door handles, and where you might hit a cone at an autox. I love it, would recommend, and I'd do it again.

My project car will be wrapped, not painted.