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I went the RS Etron Gt route instead of Avant- but my exclusive order hit supply chain purgatory where it has been since Sept... I am thinking about going back to the Avant. What are your thoughts / experiences on it?
Oh man that's tough. The supply chain nightmare is effecting so many manufacturers (hello JLR). The RS6 has exceeded every expectation. But it would be hard for a 600HP station wagon not to!! And the community surrounding the cars is tremendous fun. There wont be many of these high HP ICE engines around much longer. This ones a keeper.
oh man that's tough. The supply chain nightmare is effecting so many manufacturers (hello jlr). The rs6 has exceeded every expectation. But it would be hard for a 600hp station wagon not to!! And the community surrounding the cars is tremendous fun. There wont be many of these high hp ice engines around much longer. This ones a keeper.
In the Defender, the exterior color carries through to the inside of the door panels. I felt like a wrap was cheaping out of it and wanted my specific color to show on the inside as well.
Now, is it expensive? Stupidly so. Do I love the paint I chose- without a doubt. It's an exclusive Mercedes paint..
The reason for the questions on the PPF / Ceramic are how to protect the investment without going overboard...
Mind if I ask how much for a custom color and what you picked? Only non-standard I've seen is a red Defender delivered seemingly under their Diplomatic Program.
To me, it's really easy to say that PPF is for damage protection and ceramic is simply the modern much better version of wax.
You may or may not need PPF depending on your roads and where you park. Trucks don't generally chip up here in Florida unless you drive behind a dump truck and I'm usually very careful with my parking selection. I did XPEL on a Porsche though because it's low and it gets debris kicked up from other cars.
Going without ceramic whether you have PPF or not, to me, is like going without wax. It makes it easy to clean and helps prevent etching from bugs, birds, sap, and hard water. I've always done my own with excellent results. It is NOT hard like the detailers try to make you believe and I will put my results up against anyone who paid $1500++ for it.
I'm dying to hear about this custom color!
Last edited by _Allegedly; 05-26-2022 at 03:10 PM.
@MacMia - I think I'm on the same trail as you are. I really am not a fan of wrap because of the longevity and the fact that it doesn't "carry through". I plan to keep my Defender long enough that it will be "worth the investment" to me. That's why I'm kind of treating it a bit harshly - giving me a reason to tell my wife it needs some "work" once my other projects are done!
@_Allegedly - We need to put together a pool. Closest person to the actual cost wins bragging rights. My guess is that my first year's salary in the 1980's would barely cover it.
@_Allegedly - We need to put together a pool. Closest person to the actual cost wins bragging rights. My guess is that my first year's salary in the 1980's would barely cover it.
I'm thinking he had to break out a pretty big f**king shovel because I loosely asked about it when I ordered and they just flat told me "what are you some sort of aristocrat?!" Maybe not those exact words.
So, I'm at the final stages of this project, which is a good 9 - 10 months in the making. I wanted something different and went through many iterations of colors. I landed on two color schemes- a nardo gray / gloss black and a green/ gloss black. Since I bought the car, I wanted something more classic that fit the Defender. If this was a RR Sport, then the grey probably would have won. I got a field of 10 greens, narrowed it down to three. Jet Metallic Green- Porsche Color. Range Rover autobiography Green. Mercedes Emerald Metallic Green.
The attached video is the Mercedes color. It reads both black and green, and was very similar to the carbon sapphire metallic I used to love on my 7 series. The flakes jump but what makes it sexier is what happens on the curves of the car- it looks black, green, black / green.. The Range Rover color despite being metallic was very flat. I cannot remember the name but it was the classic Range Rover green that they discontinued a bit back. The Porsche color was cool but was very green, almost yellow, and was better suited for a 911 than a Defender.
The "donor car" is a MY23 D90X in Santorini Black, pretty much loaded, with the black extended pack. The finished car will have a black roof, no silly graphic, and black gloss wheel arches, black step up, etc.. I am also changing out the interior, matching it to the windsor tan, and color coding the brake calipers and recovery hooks. New 22" wheels, rims, etc. It is a stupidly expensive 1 of 1.
THE main reason I went for the full repaint is the fact that the doors carry the exterior color inside. I did not want that cheesy look of the wrap ending and the color changing. Having seen this on Lambos it just looks cheap af.
My last decision is about ceramic / PFF. I do want to tint the side windows to get closer to the back window which is something like 23%. I am looking at another 7-9k for PPF / Ceramic, which after this work is like a throw in.. I honestly do not have experience with either PPF or Ceramic- even as a guy who rolled through multiple loaded 650s, 740s, and 750s and drove a ton of highway miles, I never bothered. That said, none of them were painted to sample.
The car should be done in a week or so and I will share high quality pics / video for sure.. If you want to know what it cost to repaint the car, then a project like this might not be for you. My math was based off dealer markups I was seeing and then the value I saw in the upgrade. It's still stupid. A good 20k+ to change out the paint- which meant they basically took the car apart, painted it, and reassembled it to a factory level finish.
When I picked up my new RS6 I have the entire car ceramic coated and the front half and HIGH impact areas PPF'd. I'm in the North East and use the car all season. It's held up fantastic. When my 110 arrives next month I intend to do the same.
Post some pics!
Matt
So Matt.. you were right. I just picked up a 2023 ultra blue metallic RS6 Avant- black optic, upgraded B&o, exec pkg, etc.. What a beast. I am going to get it PPF / ceramic as well and was going for front half, high impact as well.. Any reason to do full?
So Matt.. you were right. I just picked up a 2023 ultra blue metallic RS6 Avant- black optic, upgraded B&o, exec pkg, etc.. What a beast. I am going to get it PPF / ceramic as well and was going for front half, high impact as well.. Any reason to do full?
Pics man!!! ultra blue metallic is an amazing color!
I have no regrets with the PPF coverage I have in place
…I am going to get it PPF / ceramic as well and was going for front half, high impact as well.. Any reason to do full?
Beautiful RS6 - count me jealous.
I’ve done full coverage PPF on my TTRS and Defender. Prevents nicks, chips, door dings, etc. If anything, gives some piece of mind.