Wraps Maintenance Warranty: Image is Everything

Upselling with a maintenance warranty helps the wrap customer's image and your bottom line

Matt Dixon January 17, 2019

5 minute read

Production Heating's truck cleaned, washed, and after-care sealant applied. (All images courtesy Matt Richart)

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Shop vehicles have been cleaned, washed, and after-care sealant applied (wraps are three years old).

Lyons Roofing vehicle has been cleaned, washed, and after-care sealant applied (wrap was 42 months old).

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This vehicle with a charcoal matte metallic film was cleaned, washed, and after-care sealant applied (for matte finishes). This was completed eight months after installation.

Brand new hood install for our shop vehicle with wrap-care coating applied.

Since our first day in the wrap business we noticed that clients and customers didn’t do a really nice job of cleaning and maintaining their vehicle wrap. We do have some clients that clean and wash their wraps on a weekly basis. Those are the types of clients who truly get a return on their investment. Today’s film, overlaminates and ink hold up very well to the outdoor elements, but they also have their limitations.

Maintaining the vehicle wrap over a period of time will increase the longevity of your customers vehicle wrap. We tell our clients that even paint needs to be maintained or you can have serious issues. Image is everything.

Program benefits

One thing we always discuss in our shop is how can we up-sell our existing clients. My production manager and myself came up with a wraps maintenance program that did three things for our business:

It allowed us to add on anywhere from $145 to $625 per vehicle that came through our door, allowing us to up-sell our clients.
It has allowed us to clean, wash, trim back or repair any wrap film issues that may have arisen, along with giving the wrap a new life.
And it allowed us to see our clients again. A maintenance program makes wrap clients come back to your facility on a regular basis to have their wrap maintained. Having your client frequent your facility allows you a chance to offer additional services, show new products you may have, and it builds upon a relationship that can last a very long time.

The program also benefits clients. Most vehicle wraps will last anywhere from three to six years, depending on the area your client lives in. Sun and road dirt are the biggest culprits that lead to a deteriorating vehicle wrap. We all know how hoods and roofs can go bad as well with constant sun beating down on these areas. Clients that have access to covered parking or garages will also increase the longevity of their wrap.

Our basic wrap warranty covers any cracking, fading or peeling within two years of the wrap being produced and installed. This can be tricky depending on how you set your customers expectations and state what your warranty covers and doesn’t cover. We advise our clients that the hood, roof and top areas of the vehicle can and will go bad between two and four years.

We offer replacement wraps in those areas at a 30% discount. If they do not replace deteriorating areas in the stated time, they can have more issues down the road that involve longer removal times, possible paint damage and more expenses.

I touch on these issues because at the end of the day it is a gigantic decal on a client’s car out in the elements on a daily basis. It’s hard for wrap companies to ensure that their clients are maintaining the vehicle wrap and taking responsibility for the cleaning of their wrap. So why not charge the client for this service and kill two birds with one stone.

door jam decals — These are the decals that are applied inside the car once our client picks which package they want.

How it works

We tried to make our wraps maintenance program as simple as possible. Some of you may even have a better program already implemented. Our program runs one full year from the date of our client’s wrap installation.

Each visit package purchased must be used in one year from the start date. All of the packages offered can not be carried over the following year. Almost like a gym membership for fleets or individual vehicle wraps. They can choose to purchase a new wrap maintenance program every year to insure a longer-lasting vehicle wrap. The packages can be: one visit for $145 per year, three visits for $350 per year, or six visits for $625 per year. Depending on your client and type of vehicle these prices can be adjusted depending on the situation.

wrap maintenance literature — This is the form that is emailed or shown to our clients so they can choose which wrap maintenance program they want (or opt out of it).

Once our client chooses which package they want, we apply a custom decal to the inside door jam of their vehicle. Just like at your local oil change company. This allows us to put in the start date of the program, date of the maintenance service along with which installer performed the cleaning.

Every wrap maintenance vehicle gets treated just like a wrap project. They are scheduled into our daily operation and guaranteed a finish date to the client’s vehicle, so they can get back on the road as quickly as possible.

We do only exterior cleaning. Each vehicle gets pre-rinsed, washed, dried, and has a vinyl sealant applied to the entire wrap. This provides a protective layer to the wrap and makes it easier to clean and wash. We then clean the wheels, trim back any loose film such as window perf or areas that have become problematic. If the vehicle needs a new panel or print, we will notify the client and repair those areas as well.

If the vehicle still falls into your warranty timeline, then those areas are covered. If not, we have the opportunity to fix those areas along with being paid for our time, material and labor.

Cleaners and sealants

mp pic 5 — This Allen Electric vehicle’s hood and wind-scoop were removed and replaced with new film after 2.5 years due to sun damage. We then washed and applied after-care sealant.

The wrap industry now has numerous products that you can use and provide to your clients for them to do maintenance on their own time. We use Avery Supreme Wrap care products along with Croftgate USA. We use a pre-cleaner that removes dust, light dirt, and any other debris. If it requires a deeper cleaning we use more powerful solution that removes dirt, bird droppings, road grime, bugs and much more. We then apply a sealant as mentioned before that gives the wrap a protective layer.

We tell our clients that a wrap can be just like your own skin. You need to keep it clean and hydrated. Just be sure whatever sealant you choose is a non-petroleum wax. Some of our customers will opt out of the wrap maintenance program but will purchase these cleaners and sealants to do on their own time. So, we created a small detailing kit that we sell them that allows us to still make a little money while having our clients maintain a nice, longer-lasting vehicle wrap.

Ask your clients

If you are apprehensive about implementing a wrap maintenance program, start asking your clients if they would be interested in this type of service. You might be surprised by what they tell you. It was this feedback that got us to start our own program.

Most companies don’t have enough time to make sure their vehicle wraps are being cleaned and maintained. One of our biggest clients washes and cleans their wraps once a week. We have seen their wraps last two to three years longer vs. wraps that are not maintained that were produced at the same time.

One of the best aspects of vehicle wraps, in my opinion, is that every wrap you complete is a sales rep on the road for you. Our wraps bring in new clients on a monthly basis. If our client is driving around in a nice, clean, well-maintained wrap for three or four years-it’s a great testament to our product and the quality wraps we produce. Being able to visually see the longevity of a wrap you produced and maintained will bring you more business and validate the quality wraps that you produce.