The craze gets hotter with lower prices today.
This is probably the fastest growing automotive aftermarket business in Malaysia and probably the region. The business of car wrapping in Malaysia started with the commercial fleet and motorsports industry more than twenty-five years ago. It was expensive and the graphics did not last more than a year with our sun. Company trucks and vehicles used to carry their corporate branding as moving billboards around the country. Race cars used to carry their sponsors logos and more.
Then a very smart person decided to sell this idea to a car owner. When and where we do not know. Sports cars got some great looking graphics and street racers used them to portray their inner vision.
The idea blossomed and soon the average car owner wanted to stand out in a sea of normality. Yes, you could get a fancy paint job with air-brush art added, but it was not cheap and when you had a small street fender bender accident, the touch-up could cost 4-5 times more over a normal paint touch up.
With a vinyl wrap, its much better priced and can be completed in a day or two. So, in recent years we have seen the mushrooming of new vinyl wrap shops with aggressive promotion on Facebook and Instagram and we ourselves have been drawn into it.
About 5 years ago we took the plunge and had our favorite car vinyl wrapped by a small business owner who we found on our car club Facebook page. We got good recommendations from the cub members we had our 20-year old car wrapped in matt red and paid a then sensible sum of RM2,850.00. The workmanship was questionable and the finishing was sad. But the big wrap shops at the time were charging almost RM5,000 plus.
Penny wise and pound foolish we learnt our lesson months later when the vinyl started peeling at the edges and bubbles started appearing along the panels and the same also happened to about 12 other car owners in our club who went to this wrap shop in Kepong.
Now after more experience with vinyl wrap and talking with more business owners we are able to evaluate quality materials like 3M, Oracal and Arlon, quality workmanship and also honest prices.
Now, here is a brand new Honda City straight from the car showroom getting a full vinyl wrap done. When we asked why, the reply was simple. The available colors from the Honda factory did not suit the needs of the car owner and so instead of re-painting the car for RM4,000 plus and having the car in a paint shop for 10 to 12 days, it was better to get his brand new Honda City wrapped in his preferred color in just 3 days. The cost, just RM2,500.00. This all new Honda City comes in the following colors from the factory. Passion Red Pearl, Platinum White Pearl, Crystal Black Pearl, Lunar Silver Metallic and Modern Steel Metallic.
