Lhayden91

Placing order for sq5. And advice regarding Audi installed paint protection film vs after market vs other alternative ?

Bmiletta

I did paint protection for the first time on our new Q5 a few months ago. After watching the process and seeing how much "experience" really matters for this I would highly recommend after market. I am super happy with the job I received, I got the whole front end covered with Suntek and then Cquartz Pro. covering the whole Q5. Both of these were done by professional shops, and the paint protection even required 2 additional touch ups after the original install to get it perfect. Installer said this is normal as things cure and I saw first hand this is absolutely true.I don't think you can get the same amount of experience with dealer installed options, go to the pros that do it every day.

aclass

Bmiletta is not wrong, experienced install is important. It would also be prudent to ensure they roll/tuck the edges as this will keep the clean appearance much longer.

plumber212

I did my own on my 2014 Q5 and personally found that if you are handy it is not hard at all, but it is very time consuming and you better have patience. I ordered my 2018 Q5 with the port installed protection and found it to be flawless. The only problem with the port installed film is that they only offer front, hood, door cups & rear sill protection so I had to do the rockers, mirrors, A pillars & roof edge myself anyway.

bob m

Experienced installers are the key - and I am guessing that Audi will pick good installers. However, I would also bet you will be paying more cash for an "Audi" installed job, as you are paying Audi as a middleman.

ocwill1

Agree on the paying more part, but you can negotiate the price. I had a price to get the clear bra from an outside source, but did not want to take car home and risk getting rock chips, so purchased on a Saturday, and negotiated the clear bra price, plus they threw in the paint protection (Cilajet) for free. Picked it up on the following Tuesday with paint protection and clear bra installed.... In our case, it worked out...

2018_SQ5

When placing my order the dealer warned me against getting it done when it was delivered at port. He mentioned that the quality of the install is not the best.

I opted to have the dealer install it for me instead. I have a few months wait and am debating on having a detailing shop do it instead. I just need to find out what brand of film the dealership uses and bounce that against the quality and options of the detail shop.

bob m

Glad it worked out well in your case, but many times you can negotiate with installers.