"clear bra" rock chips etc...

[DWill]

So with all the talk about the rock chips on the M.

I decided today to check into getting a "clear bra" on the front of my new car and covering the rocker panels and rear fender flares.

I got a quote of $1800.00 to cover the front bumper cover, both front fenders and the entire hood as well as the rocker panels and rear fender flares.

Two questions; for those of you who have had this done does that seem to be a fair price?

And, looking at the car the back doors curve out at the bottom to blend into the rocker panels and fender flares.

So, I'm wondering should I have the back doors covered as well?

I would have to have the entire door covered so there would be no seams.
But I don't think it would be that much more to cover the doors too.

Also; what about the bottom of the rear quarter panels, has anyone had any damage there?

So, far I have 2,000 miles on the car and no signs of damage anywhere.

[Diesel Guy]

I spent $600 for the front end (one third way up hood), including headlites, side mirrors, and shrt section of tail gate.......I don't know if you need as much as you've listed.........We've got much more debris on the roads in new england, and I don't have any damage on the flairs......although the windshield is another story.

I've had two occasions were oil has dripped on the hod, near the grills, from the commuter train.......oil and the clear bra don't mix........i used some different cleaners, and it took the sheen off of the clear material.....

[shashankmittal]

I paid about $680 to do my front bumper, front aero kit, side mirrors, both ends of running boards and both corners of rear bumper.
$1800 sounds steep!

[DWill]

Originally Posted by shashankmittal

I paid about $680 to do my front bumper, front aero kit, side mirrors, both ends of running boards and both corners of rear bumper.
$1800 sounds steep!

That's about what the "kit" from the dealer costs including install (assuming there is on for the M). If I'm not mistaken it covers about the same area that a normal nose mask covers.

What I'm looking at is not having any "seams". Hence covering all of the hood and the fenders. Could that be the difference in price?

I'm torn on the rockers as well. As I mentioned, I had the M kit on the two X3's I owned. There were no problems at all. And so far no problems on X5M I have now.

My thoughts are if I can cover it and you can't see it if it prevents the chips then that's good. But I hate to waste money on uneeded "stuff".

[z2g]

OP,
I think the front bumper and side mirrors are good to put the clear bra on. However, I think the entire hood is a little overkill.....especially at that price.

When EPA regulations first banned lead-based car paints, chipping was a big problem with water-based car paints. However, I think it's gotten a lot better now. I clearbra'ed one of my cars myself about 8 yrs ago. It's really not that hard. So, $1800 is plain crazy. The cost to the installer to do that job will be $150-200 maximum if he/she buys the clearbra in sheets and cuts it himself/herself.

[DWill]

Originally Posted by z2g

OP,
I think the front bumper and side mirrors are good to put the clear bra on. However, I think the entire hood is a little overkill.....especially at that price.

When EPA regulations first banned lead-based car paints, chipping was a big problem with water-based car paints. However, I think it's gotten a lot better now. I clearbra'ed one of my cars myself about 8 yrs ago. It's really not that hard. So, $1800 is plain crazy. The cost to the installer to do that job will be $150-200 maximum if he/she buys the clearbra in sheets and cuts it himself/herself.

Thanks for the input.

The reason for doing the entire hood and the fenders is so there is no "line" across the hood and fenders. My X is Monaco blue and I don't want the line there. FWIW, the guy that gave me the quote said about the same thing regarding it being overkill.

He said as long as the car isn't dirty and assuming no wax is left onthe "seam" you won't notice the line much.

Is the experience of others who have the film on a dark BMW?
Maybe I need to rethink this a bit if so.

[bmwman3241]

BMW has a "clear bra" for the M Sport.

[DWill]

Originally Posted by bmwman3241

BMW has a "clear bra" for the M Sport.

Do you by chance have a part number?

Two different parts guys at two dealerships tell me the they can't find a part number for the M. I'm wondering if it the same part number as the non M car.

Looking at the bumper covers there doesn't seem to a lot of difference between them.

[bmwman3241]

Originally Posted by DWill

Do you by chance have a part number?

Two different parts guys at two dealerships tell me the they can't find a part number for the M. I'm wondering if it the same part number as the non M car.

Looking at the bumper covers there doesn't seem to a lot of difference between them.

The M Sport clear bra is different from the regular/regular with aero kit. I don't have the part number anymore tho. Ask your dealer..

[z2g]

OP,
If you clearbra the entire car, you won't be able to fix small dings. Those dent repair ppl (Dent Wizard, Dr. Dent, etc.) do a pretty good job with small dings. Also, clearbra'ing the entire is total overkill. If you get a little scuff on the door panel, you'll have to redo the entire door panel. Because, once the clearbra film is scratched or scuffed, it's not coming off. Whereas, with regular car paint and clearcoat, a good waxing or detail job can often mask/repair superficial scuff marks, scratches, and swirls.

Of course, it's up to you. If you have the money to burn, go for it. I've clearbra'ed two previous cars. On one car, I did it myself. On the second car, I just paid someone to do it. For my last car, I decided to try not clearbra-ing it since I got tired of paying to clearbra the car and selling it a few yrs later. It turned out that it really wasn't needed. My previous car was also black and the paint chips were minimal on the front bumper.