Curious about how much does it cost to wrap a car? In this guide, we will break down how much to wrap a car. The essential factors that affect your budget won’t be left out. We’ll also look at the materials and design options.
You will discover how to make a stylish car transformation without breaking the bank. If you’re looking for budget-friendly car wrap ideas and need to know how much it’ll cost, this guide has you covered.
Table of Contents
How Much Does It Cost To Wrap A Car?
Factors That Affect the Cost of Car Wraps
For a standard car, a four-door sedan, prices can go up to 3,000 to 4,000 dollars for a normal wrap. Just for ordinary colors, mind you, nothing fancy. You also got to take into consideration that this is based on the kind of car you have. For example, wrapping a Tesla is not specifically hard, but, say, a car like the Lamborghini Aventador-with all those lines and contours-is going to take a little bit more in work.
Also, a Range Rover has a lot of character in its design with lots of different lines and changes, whereas something more straightforward like a Tesla, or even Lexus, they’re overall pretty smooth and straight bodies. There’s nothing wrong with those cars, great cars, but their simpler design makes them easier to wrap.
Examples are that some of them, such as a Range Rover, may have gotten an indent and make wrapping just a bit more difficult. Most automobiles do not have these, hence, it may be easy just laying the wrap on them. It’s something worth putting in thought over when doing a wrap.
How Much To Wrap A Car
The price of a regular wrap should not be over 3,000 to 4,000 dollars. If you are paying more than 4,500 dollars for a regular wrap then you are probably being too optimistic-they are ripping you off.
Also, you have to make sure that the installer does the right job. They would take out the parts like the door jambs, rear lights, and front lights, so that the wrap curves underneath and isn’t cut out around these parts. You can tell that doesn’t seem like a really great job of wrapping cut around the lights or door jambs, and you certainly don’t want a razor blade to contact your car’s paint.
Can Car Wraps Damage Paint?
Basically, wraps would lead to the deterioration of the paint on cars. This could be possible if the car had just been repainted and was then wrapped before the paint was fully cured. If your car is a year or two old, then there is no need to get concerned. The only risk of damage to paint arises when the wrap is applied right after a new paint job.
So, if your car just left the body shop, then it would be better to wait a few months for the paint to cure before wrapping it. This is highly crucial to make sure that nothing goes wrong. People say vice versa, but this is not dangerous in case the paint is not fresh.
Another point to consider is if you’re buying a used car. If the previous owner recently had something painted and didn’t tell you, applying a wrap could cause the paint to peel when the wrap is removed. It’s worth asking the previous owner if anything was recently painted to avoid any surprises later. This will allow the person wrapping your car to remove things like the door jambs and other parts to allow the wrap to sit in its correct position.
Wraps in finishes like satin chrome are amongst the most exotics one can be fitted with.
Standard Car Wrap Costs: What to Expect
There are different levels of wraps, and while a basic wrap might cost $3,000 to $3,500 with good material, something like satin chrome blue, which shows satin from one angle and chrome from another, will be more expensive. A material alone costs around $3,000, and you’ll still need to pay an additional $3,000 to $3,500 for installation.
For the more exotic wraps, the totals can go upwards towards $6,000 to $7,000, and for high-end cars, such as a Lamborghini or McLaren, it could easily be upwards of $10,000, especially for models with immense intricate lines such as the Aventador or the McLaren 720S. These cars are going to take a lot of work to wrap, so you can expect the costs to reflect that.
For a no-frills, uncomplicated wrap, this will be in the ballpark of $3,000 to $4,000.
Signs of a Poor Car Wrap Installation
Be wary of anyone promising to wrap your car for less. “Those guys on Craigslist who say they can do your job for $2,000 or less, it has happened; there have been guys who will wrap it for $1,500 or $2,000, and it’s going to look bad.”.
The vinyl used in such cases is usually of a low quality and tends to fade out fast while the installer seldom takes the pain to remove parts such as the headlight or even the door jamb hence results in an amateurish job in which the wrap is just cut around those places.
Someone took the cheaper route and upon eventual removal one could see lines in the paint from where the installer used a razor blade. That came with loads of destruction to the paint, and hence he had to go for a repaint of his entire car. Be careful whom you hire for the job.
With changeable wraps in relation to the style of your car or the style you would want it wrapped in, never take shortcuts in getting a cheap wrap, because this could contribute to your car looking bad and deteriorated paint.
FAQs
How much does it cost to wrap a car?
Prices can range from 3,000 to 4,000 dollars for wrapping an average four-door car. Wraps with lots more special features would be able to cost upwards of 7,000 dollars or even higher, while on high-end cars such as Lamborghinis or McLarens, the price could go as high as 10,000 dollars.
What determines what to charge for car wrapping?
It will be explained in sequence that the wrapping cost is to depend on a few variables: the car model, complication of the design, material quality, and expertise of the installer. For example, such cars as a Range Rover and Lamborghini have many curves and details, so it shall be more expensive in wrapping compared to, for example, a Tesla, which is quite a simple line car.
Will car wrapping damage the paint on my car?
No, a wrap won’t ruin the paint if the paint is fully cured. Instances, such as where your car has just been repainted, are then wrapped before it’s supposed to, causing it to peel upon removal. It is better to wait for two or so months after repainting.
How Long Does a Car Wrap Last?
A good-quality wrap would go to about 5 to 7 years, depending on the different materials applied and the various conditions involved in the environment. Its lifespan will be improved with proper care and maintenance.
Is exotic wrapping of cars worth increasing the expenditure?
Of course, it will, but for those who have custom finishes or a high-class look, an exotic wrap like satin chrome or even a custom design will definitely make their car stand out. These, however, are way costlier, with their prices at times touching $6,000 to $10,000, based on difficulty and material.
What to seek when looking for a professional car wrap installer?
This would enable the installer to remove pieces like door jambs, headlamps, and tail lamps for an install to be clean and wrap underneath these pieces. Besides, pros would not touch razor blades to your car’s paint.
Wrapping a vehicle just painted is something I can do.
You cannot wrap a newly painted car because it takes at least two to three months or even more for the paint to cure. Only then can wraps be applied. If applied too early, this may invite serious paint damage after you remove the wrap.
What if I go for the cheapest installer to wrap my car?
Cheaper installers will use low-quality vinyl that will fade very quickly, and they will not take parts such as headlight and door jambs off to provide a proper finish. Some will even use razor blades on your paint-something that can drastically damage the paint job.
How to Not Get Ripped Off with Car Wrapping?
Get quotes from serious installers to avoid overpaying or receiving poor-quality work. Indeed, everything that looks very low could be, in fact, a very bad indicator that the installer compromised in one of the most important areas, which could be either materials or labor.
But if I want to wrap and am buying a used car, how would that be?
If the used car had previous owners, then ask him whether some parts of the car had been newly painted. This could easily peel off once the wrap would be taken off from the car for fresh paint that isn’t cured properly.
Conclusion
Just like with buying cars, choosing a wrap color shouldn’t be “Love at first sight”. Considering how temporary some Wraps already are and also considering the few thousand you’ll be spending on it, you’ll definitely be disappointed if you got something that lasted way shorter than you expected!!
So please research material, then source a local shop reputable enough to install it. If you’re wrapping your own car for the first time ever, buy some spare material. Expect to redo some pieces and expect your wrap to not be perfect the first time around and peel after just a short year. You’ll get better over time and ultimately, the biggest takeaway from this experience is that Wrapping should not be evaluated as an equal to paint because it simply is not.
