Fixed Ops Journal - June 2017 - 32

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

CLEAR PATH

 Paint protection film sales mean big profits for service departments

Jeff Yip

foj@autonews.com

here's a clear way for dealerships to
boost service department profits,
win customers' loyalty by safeguarding their vehicles from road damage
and cut the cost and time of reconditioning
trade-ins and processing off-lease vehicles:
installing transparent paint protection film.
Some dealerships charge as much as $6,000
to apply the polyurethane coating to an entire
vehicle, shielding its finish from scratches,
scuffs and chips. Even smaller film applications, sometimes called "wear and tear protection," require no more than $25 in materials, take less than an hour to complete and offer a markup to the dealership of $199 to $299.
Vendors and dealers
warn, however, that proper
training of employees who
work with the film is crucial
for dealers to profit from
the product.
"Dealerships need to understand it begins and
ends with the skill of the inWillis: Film now staller," says Eric Keller,
development
comes standard business
manager of XPEL Technologies Corp. in San Antonio, a major supplier
of paint protection film.
Another top vendor, 3M Co., developed the
film in the mid-1960s to protect helicopter
blades. In the 1990s, the film - sometimes
called "clear bra" - began to be widely applied to cars and trucks.
Mike Beaver, a national sales manager for
3M, says paint protection film remains effective at fending off damage from stones, salt
and sand, as well as human carelessness that
causes dings and scratches.
The film is typically about eight times the
thickness of a plastic kitchen garbage bag. It is
sold in bulk rolls and in proprietary patterns
specific to hundreds of vehicle models.

Consumers' choice
Customers can opt for the film when they
order a new vehicle or buy it at the point of
sale. Dealerships also can pre-install it on selected vehicles. One paint protection package
on a new Toyota Camry, for example, has a
PAGE 32

JUNE 2017

XPEL Technologies installers apply
paint protection film to a Bentley.

Feature film

These are among the most common
areas of a car or truck where paint
protection film is applied.
 Bumpers
 Hoods
 Fenders
 Backs of mirrors
 Top of rear bumper
 Rocker panels
 Quarter-panel flares
 Door edges
 Door cups (area beneath the door
handle)
Source: 3M

suggested retail price of $449.
Applications can be minimal: door edges,
the scratch-prone areas under door handles,
the backs of outside mirrors, the leading edge
of the hood. But customers often choose a full
body wrap costing thousands of dollars. Take
rates vary widely according to the type and
model of vehicle.

Walker Robinett, service manager at Willis
Lexus in Des Moines, Iowa, says the paint protection film operation for the parent Willis
Auto Campus, which includes seven franchises, launched in 2010. He says the group is
preparing to hire a fifth film installer.
"I did the research on paint protection film,
ordered samples, and it just made sense,"
Robinett told Fixed Ops Journal. "People who
had race cars, show cars or did autocrossing
loved it."
Unless a customer declines paint protection
film when he or she orders a vehicle, every
new Lexus, Cadillac, Volvo, Infiniti, Land Rover, Jaguar and Mini vehicle in stock at Willis
Auto Campus gets XPEL film, says Jason Willis, the campus' director of fixed operations.
The group sells about 200 new cars and trucks
a month.
"We have two shifts of installers running up
until about 1 a.m.," Willis says. "We're blessed
to have a staff that's very detail-oriented. It
takes real skill to get rid of all the stretch marks
or bubbles that can occur" when the film is
see FILM, Page 33

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Journal - June 2017