With Servaro in Johannesburg, a full wrap of a hatchback or sedan is quoted per job, a single- or double-cab bakkie quoted per job and a panel van quoted per job. A partial wrap, which covers part of the vehicle and leaves the rest in its own paint, is quoted per job, and door decals with your logo and contact details quoted per job. Final quote after site survey: we look at the vehicle before we quote.
Across the market, TopAuto’s guide to wrapping a car in South Africa, with prices from the installer CarWraps, has full wraps of a hatchback or sedan costing least, more for double-cab bakkies and more again for SUVs, with a full-colour printed design costing about the same as a standard colour and true conformable chrome costing far more. Its figures are quoted excluding VAT, as wrap prices in South Africa usually are, so check which a quote you compare is.
What decides the price
- The vehicle. Size matters, and so does shape: deep recesses, bumpers, mirrors and door handles take time to wrap well. A bakkie or a van uses more film and more hours than a hatchback.
- How much of it is covered. A full wrap covers every painted panel. A partial wrap covers part, often the sides and the back, and lets the paint do the rest.
- The film. Films of the same colour differ widely in cost from one grade to the next; TopAuto gives Avery Dennison’s 800 series and its Supreme film as an example. A printed design is laminated to protect the print. Special finishes, chrome above all, cost the most.
- The design. A logo and contact details are quick to set. A full livery drawn around the panels, windows and handles of your model takes longer, and a fleet’s livery is drawn once for every model in it.
- Labour. Most of what a wrap costs is labour: a properly done full wrap is dozens of hours of work. TopAuto’s advice is to ask why when one quote is far below the others.
- The paint underneath. Vinyl needs sound paint. Rust, flaking clear coat or an old wrap to take off add to the job, which is why we look at the paint before we quote.
Decals, a partial wrap or a full wrap
- Door decals put your name, logo and number on both front doors, for a business that needs to be recognised and called, quoted per job.
- A partial wrap gives much of the effect of a full one for less: your colours on the sides and back, the rest in the vehicle’s own paint, quoted per job.
- A full wrap changes the whole look of the vehicle and covers every painted panel. For a car it is quoted per job.
For a fleet, the Fleet Visible bundle adds a QR code on every vehicle and a tracked landing page to the wrap, so that you can see which enquiries the vehicles bring in. It is quoted per job.
A wrap and the paint under it
A wrap protects the paint under it, and it is not permanent. Removed properly, today’s films leave no adhesive behind. A careful fitter uses knifeless tape where a blade would otherwise touch the paint, so that no cut lines are left in it; TopAuto notes that less experienced shops often leave them.
How long a wrap lasts depends on the film, its finish and how the vehicle is kept. Film makers publish a durability for each film; we give you the figure for the film we quote. Washing by hand and parking in the shade help any wrap last.
Before you wrap
- If the vehicle is leased or financed, ask the owner of the vehicle first.
- Tell your insurer about the wrap.
- If a full wrap changes the vehicle’s colour, ask your licensing office whether its registration needs updating.
- Agree in writing what the quote includes: the design, the printing and lamination, the fitting, and taking off any old vinyl.
Getting a quote
Send us the make, model and year of the vehicle, a photo of each side and what you would like it to say. We come back with a design approach and a from-price, and confirm the final quote once we have seen the vehicle.