When making an investment like installing XPEL products on your vehicle, you want to be sure you’re going to a reputable installer.

Installation takes expertise and experience, and the last thing you need is for the product to be installed inappropriately. Having your paint protection film, ceramic coating, or tint installed by someone who isn’t certified also results in nullifying your warranty. In this article, you will get an overview of three local installers, along with what to look out for when scoping out who you want to service your vehicle.

StickerCity

StickerCity is a vehicle protection shop located at 4638 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403.

This establishment is a certified installer of XPEL’s Paint Protection Film and XPEL’s Fusion Plus Cermanic Coating, as well as certified to use XPEL’s Design Access Program Pre-cut kit. Not only are they certified, XPEL awarded StickerCity in both 2018 and 2019 as XPEL’s “California Dealer of the Year”. 

Services provided by sticker city include paint protection film (also known as PPF), clear bras, clear wraps, ceramic coating, chrome deletes, vinyl wraps, SLiPLO skid plates, brake caliper professional painting, wheel powder coating, windshield skin protection, dent removal, and wheel repair. At this shop, you are not limited to one option, with you getting to choose if paint protection film or a vinyl wrap is the best for your vehicle and situation.

Not only do they work with XPEL as certified dealers and installers, they also work with KPMF, ClearPlex, and SLiPLO, having great feedback from associates in the automobile protection world and customers alike. This shop has been around for 20 years, is well established, and is the leader in paint protection films in California. Annual inspections required to keep XPEL warranties valid are free at StickerCity, only costing extra if there is an additional service requested.

Coastal Films Automotive Paint Protection

Coastal Films Automotive Paint Protection is a paint protection shop located at 7522 Slater Ave., Huntington Beach, CA 92647.

They are certified for XPEL Paint Protection Film and XPEL Prime automotive window tint installation as well as the use of XPEL’s Design Access Program.

This program is the world’s biggest and most in-depth pattern repository and allows paint protection film and tint to be applied with extreme exactitude. According to XPEL’s “Find an Authorized XPEL Installer” site, they are not certified to apply XPEL’s Fusion Plus Ceramic Coating at this time.

Services include the application of XPEL’s Ultimate Plus Paint Protection Film, XPEL’s Stealth Paint Protection Film, XPEL’s Prime XR tint, and XPEL’s Prime XR Plus tint.

This company is owner-operated and spends a lot of time on each customer to ensure they are happy with their services with outstanding reviews as proof. They are so confident in their performance as a paint protection shop that they back XPEL’s warranty with their own 100% guarantee.

Silver Lake Tint

As the name suggests, Silver Lake Tint is a shop that specializes in automotive window tinting as well as residential window tinting. They are located at 2436 Hyperion Ave. Suite B, Los Angeles, CA 90027 and are certified by XPEL for the installation of their Prime XR and Prime XR Plus tint.

They have glowing reviews, with a 4.9 star rating. Although this isn’t the place to go if you were looking for the best ceramic coating for a black car since they do not provide other protective services such as paint protection film, their focus on tinting allows them to perform with great expertise.

How To Decide Who’s The Best For The Job?

Most places sound great on paper, but sometimes it is hard to tell who will be best for what you need specifically. The following are some things to consider when choosing:

XPEL Certification

This is likely the most important thing to consider. Not only will XPEL certification ensure that the installer is properly trained and capable of installing an XPEL product on your vehicle, but it will also keep your warranty valid.

You can check XPEL’s “Find an Authorized XPEL Installer” function on their website to see if a shop is appropriately certified. Although a shop may be truthful when they say they are XPEL certified, you need to make sure they are certified to install the product you want since there are different certifications for their paint protection films, ceramic coatings, and tints.  

Pricing

As with anything, be cautious with anything that sounds too good to be true. When looking at car window tinting prices in Los Angeles, you have to keep in mind that more often than not, you get what you pay for. This does not mean that it has to be unaffordable.

For example, StickerCity has three different options for XPEL paint protection films to fit different budgets.

Service Options

It is important to know what you want, what the shop offers, and what expertise they have in that area when looking for the perfect shop.

First, there are differences between XPEL products. XPEL Ultimate helps to fend off abrasions, scratches, and small dents, effectively protecting your paint job with a polyurethane film. XPEL Ultimate Plus is a paint protection film made with another material, urethane, and provides the same protection but is even more difficult to detect and amplifies resale value. Both of these options are glossy.

XPEL’s Stealth Paint Protection Film is the same as XPEL Ultimate but it maintains the appearance of vehicles with a matte finish. It can also be used on a glossy paint job to obtain a satin finish instead. All three of these options have self-healing properties and are under warranty for 10 years if conditions are met.

XPEL’s Fusion Plus Ceramic Coating is a top layer placed on your paint that is hydrophobic and oleophobic, and dust, contamination, UV damage, scratch, and abrasion-resistant.

This product also increases the shine on your vehicle’s paint as well as makes it easier to maintain your vehicle’s paint by contaminants no longer sticking to the paint because of the hydrophobic and oleophobic properties. This product has a 4-year warranty.

Once you decide if you want XPEL’s paint protection film, ceramic coating, or tints, you need to investigate if the shop has the expertise to handle the service you want them to provide.

Customer Reviews

Nothing tells more than what other everyday people say who have had XPEL installed on their vehicle.

Check through various outlets what others are saying about the installer and their work. The three establishments in this article all have outstanding reviews, but many will not.

Those who have a bad experience are more likely to make a complaint online, so if a shop has a large number of great reviews and a minuscule number of bad reviews, it’s generally because they are reliable and competent installers.

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