If the car is yours, the work is part-time, or someone else drives it on the weekend, go with car magnets. If the vehicle works every day and only works, go with vehicle lettering. That's the short answer, and it's the one I give most people who call me about a personal car they also use for business.
Custom car magnets put your name and phone on the door when you're working and come off in seconds when you're not. A pair of 12 x 18 magnets starts at $35. Cut vinyl vehicle lettering stays put, looks cleaner and can't be peeled off in a parking lot. Both doors start at $249 installed. Below I walk through how to pick, how to care for magnets so they don't mark your paint, and when a partial wrap is worth a look.
Who car magnets are for
Magnets fit a vehicle that has two jobs. Here are the ones I see most around Columbus and Central Ohio:
- A personal car you drive to sales calls, estimates or showings
- A leased car you can't put anything permanent on
- A side business, like lawn care, handyman work or catering, run out of the family SUV or pickup
- A car your spouse or kids drive on the weekend
- A shared company car that different people take out during the week
- A real estate agent who switches cars or brokerages
The appeal is control. Your business is on the car during the week and off for the ball game, the church lot or the drive to see family. Nobody has to haul your logo around when they're off the clock. When you sell the car or turn in the lease, you hand it back clean.
Magnets are also a cheap way to test an idea. If you're a few months into a side business and don't know yet if it will stick, a pair of magnets puts your number in front of people while you find out.
Check your car before you order magnets
Magnets need flat steel. That rules out more vehicles than people expect.
- Steel, not aluminum. Some newer trucks use aluminum body panels, and fiberglass and plastic won't hold a magnet either. Put a fridge magnet on the door. If it slides off, a car magnet will too.
- Flat, not curved. Body lines, ribs and deep curves leave gaps under the magnet. Wind gets into a gap at highway speed and peels the magnet off.
- Room to fit. Measure the flattest part of the door and go a little smaller than that. 12 x 18 is a common car door size. 12 x 24 and 18 x 24 suit bigger doors and trucks.
Send me a photo of the door with a tape measure across it and I'll tell you which size fits. If your panels won't take a magnet, that settles it. Go with lettering.
How to take care of car magnets
Magnets are easy to own, but you can't stick them on and forget them. A few habits keep your paint and your magnets in good shape.
- Pull them off once a week. Wipe the magnet and the door, let both dry, then put them back. Dirt and moisture trapped underneath can mark the paint.
- Don't leave them in one spot for months. Paint under a magnet that never moves can fade differently from the rest of the door.
- Take them off before a car wash. Brushes and high-pressure spray catch an edge and can pull a magnet off or bend it.
- Watch the edges. If an edge starts to lift, take the magnet off before a long highway drive.
- Check for salt in winter. In a Columbus winter, slush and road salt work their way under the edge. Clean it out.
- Store them flat. Lay them on a shelf or stick them to a fridge or a steel filing cabinet. Don't roll them tight, fold them or leave them in a hot trunk in July.
Every time you put a magnet back on, press it down edge to edge. Full contact with flat steel is what keeps it on the car at highway speed.
When vehicle lettering makes more sense
Once the vehicle works every day and only works, lettering wins. Here's when I'd make the switch:
- The truck or van belongs to the business and nobody uses it on weekends.
- The panels are aluminum, or too curved for a magnet to sit flat.
- You're tired of taking magnets on and off, or you keep forgetting before the car wash.
- You want it to look like a real company truck. Cut vinyl sits flat on the paint and reads cleaner than a magnet.
- You're worried about theft. Nobody can pull lettering off the door in a parking lot.
Door lettering on both doors, with your company name and phone in cut vinyl, starts at $249 installed. More copy, more colors, a printed logo, the tailgate or the back glass add to that. See the truck and van lettering page for the options, including DOT numbers if your truck needs them.
Driving a leased vehicle? Lettering can still work. Cut vinyl on factory paint usually comes off with heat when the lease ends. Read your lease first, and tell me the vehicle is leased so I can plan for it. Repainted panels are less predictable, so mention any body work too.
What about a partial wrap?
A partial wrap sits between lettering and a full wrap. Printed graphics cover part of the vehicle, often the back half, the doors or the tailgate, and lettering handles the rest. You get color and a bigger logo without paying to cover the whole thing.
It makes sense when the vehicle belongs to the business, you want people to remember it, and lettering alone feels too plain. Vehicle wraps start at $14 per square foot for design, print and install, and less if your files are print ready. A partial wrap costs less than a full one because there's less vinyl on the vehicle.
I wouldn't wrap a car that doubles as the family car. If it goes to the grocery store on Saturday, magnets are the better call.
My take: start with magnets, move up when the business does
A lot of people start with magnets, prove the business, then move to lettering or a partial wrap once they have a dedicated work truck. That's a smart order to do it in. I set up the magnet design so the same logo, colors and layout carry over when you letter a truck later. Your customers see the same brand either way.
You see and approve a proof before anything prints. First order? Design and setup are free. And if you're not happy with the result, we make it right.
Send me a photo of your vehicle and tell me how you use it. I'll tell you what I'd do and get you a free quote within 24 hours. Ask for a quote here or call me at (614) 561-3358.
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