Schererville shop's Google reviews jump 31% in eight weeks, climbing from 188 to 246 with a personalized owner reply on every single one
SCHERERVILLE, Ind., April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Car Teks, a 20-year-old automotive protection shop on US Highway 41 in Schererville, Indiana, is adding verified Google reviews faster than any other paint protection film installer in the Northwest Indiana and south Chicago suburbs market. And it's not particularly close.
The shop's Google profile sat at 188 reviews eight weeks ago. Today it's at 246. That's a 31% jump, with new reviews still coming in at a pace of more than four per week and no signs of slowing down. What makes that number unusual isn't just the pace. Owner Louie Panayi has written a personalized reply to every single one of them. Not a template. Not a copy-paste. An actual response, by name, referencing the specific work that was done on that customer's vehicle.
"I read every review the day it comes in," Panayi said. "If someone took five minutes to write about their experience, the least I can do is take two minutes to say thank you and mention what we did for their car. That's just how I was raised."
The growth has caught the attention of vehicle owners across the region who are actively shopping for XPEL paint protection film installation. Car Teks holds authorized XPEL dealer status, a certification that requires direct training from XPEL, the world's largest manufacturer of paint protection film. That makes the shop one of the few certified XPEL PPF installers in the Northwest Indiana market. The full XPEL product line is available including Ultimate Plus clear film and Stealth matte film.
PPF demand in the area has been building steadily. A growing number of Tesla, luxury, and performance vehicle owners in Northwest Indiana and the south suburbs of Chicago want to protect their factory paint from rock chips, road salt, and the general beating that Midwest driving dishes out year-round. Car Teks has been in a strong position to meet that demand. Nearly two decades of hands-on installation experience, manufacturer-backed credentials, and a digital presence that most shops in the trades simply don't invest in have all contributed to the shop's momentum.
Panayi and his team post daily across Facebook, Instagram, and Google Business Profile, showcasing completed PPF and tint installations with real photos straight from the shop floor. The blog on carteks.com goes deeper, publishing long-form technical content that reads more like shop talk than marketing. A recent article comparing XPEL and 3M paint protection film, written entirely from Panayi's perspective as someone who has installed both products on hundreds of vehicles, has become one of the more widely read PPF comparisons in the region.
"Most of the stuff online about paint protection film is written by people who've never held a squeegee," Panayi said. "I've been installing PPF and window tint since 2006. When I write about why XPEL's self-healing outperforms 3M's, that's not something I looked up. That's thousands of cars' worth of experience talking."
Recent work out of the shop tells the story better than any sales pitch could. A Porsche that came in for full XPEL paint protection film coverage. A Tesla Model S getting the complete treatment. These aren't cookie-cutter jobs. Every vehicle has different body lines, different curves, different problem areas where the film needs to be worked by hand to lay perfectly flat.
"I still do installs," Panayi said. "I'm not sitting in an office while someone else does the work. I'm in the bay every day with a squeegee in my hand. That's the whole point. The guy who owns the shop is the same guy protecting your paint."
Car Teks offers XPEL paint protection film packages ranging from partial front coverage (hood, fenders, bumper, and mirrors) all the way up to full body wraps with Stealth matte conversion. Every installation is backed by XPEL's manufacturer warranty, which transfers to the next owner if the vehicle is sold. The shop also handles ceramic window tinting with XPEL Prime XR Plus, Compustar PRO remote start systems, ceramic coating, and custom car audio. It is one of the only facilities in the region where a vehicle owner can get complete protection and customization done in a single location.
Car Teks is located at 2100 US Highway 41 in Schererville, Indiana, where it has operated as the area's go-to paint protection film installer since 2006. The shop serves vehicle owners throughout Crown Point, Dyer, St. John, Munster, Highland, Griffith, Merrillville, Hobart, Valparaiso, Cedar Lake, and the south Chicago suburbs including Lansing, Calumet City, Homewood, Flossmoor, and Olympia Fields.
For a free paint protection film estimate in Schererville or the surrounding NW Indiana and Chicago suburbs area, visit www.carteks.com or call (219) 864-8858.
MEDIA CONTACT: Louie Panayi, Car Teks, (219) 864-8858, [email protected], www.carteks.com
SOURCE Car Teks
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