protecting front end on long trip
 

Folks,

I recently had a brand spanking new paint job and I now plan to go on a long trip in a month or so... soooo i am looking into options on protecting my front end from rock chips etc...

- 3M clear bra - expensive
- ebay precut stuff - anyone tried this?
- wrapping the front end with blue painters tape - I read on e46fanatics that someone did this... Does it harm the paint to peel off?
- using a rental to go...

The blue tape is probably the cheapest. It is tacky but not like masking tape or Ducktape. It's made for paint. Seen quite a few guys use it
Edit: damn iPhone. Keyboard.

yeah, I went on a 5200 mile road trip (to and from) and I used painter's tape (blue 3m stuff). Use the thicker, 3 inch stuff. Also, cover your fenders and just be smart when layering it on (layer it so that the wind won't rip it off). Also, if your car is heavily waxed, then the tape may come off in the rain. I find that the 3 inch version stays on more.

Agreed on blue painters tape.

However, whenever I've needed to drive more than 300 miles or so each direction, I've just rented a car. I don't know how expensive they are where you're located, but here I can get amazing deals and the gas savings further make it worthwhile.

For example... I recently rented an Infiniti G35 for 3 days to go on a road trip. It's a very nice car, leather, bluetooth, sat/nav, XM, etc. I rented it for a total of $86 for three days. I drove ~800 miles total with the car getting about 26mpg. At $2.87 a gallon, gas was about $88. So for roughly $175 all in I rented a car I didn't car about whatsoever. If I would have taken the X5, I'd probably expect 15pmg or so - at the same $2.87 I would have spent $153. I would have "saved" $22 by driving my own car. But, I would have put the extra wear and tear on my car, probably picked up a stone chip or two, had to service it sooner, worry about it, etc. For me, the peace of mind is totally worth renting a nice car for a road trip - and my X doesn't have a new paint job and it's old!

Oh and btw - I also booked with a Southwest Airlines code so I earned 1.5 credits towards a free flight while I saved money and wear and tear on my car and drove something just as nice if not nicer than my own vehicle :D

pretty good idea. But how do you get a G35? Most rental places seem to have Ford Focus or such crapola.

I typically rent from Hertz and rent quite a lot from them. I have a "president's gold" membership or something that I was sort of grandfathered into by my company's corporate account a few years back. One of the perks is an auto upgrade to a class or two above what you're reservation is, so that typically means if you have a midsize reserved they'll let you take an Infiniti or a Nissan Maxima or a decent SUV like a Durango/Tahoe for no upcharge.

I have also rented several times from Alamo/National (same company). I signed up for the Emerald Rewards program for free, and that also includes an automatic upgrade. I've also found that picking up on a Thursday helps them be pretty flexible on what they let you pick since the weekend rush hasn't set in yet. I rented a 2011 Hyundai Sonota from Alamo because it was the nicest they had one time - I was so impressed by that car I would honestly look for one intentionally in the future (leather, XM, bluetooth, moonroof, good power AND 35mpg freeway!).

As always though, these are all dependent on your local conditions, how nice people are to and you to them, seasonal/trending travel flow, etc. YMMV

thanks for the input guys.. I am leaning towards renting... I would need an SUV though... I have a 3 yr old and a 3 month old...

Griots Garaga sells this product that works well and is cheap.

Surface Protection Film Roll - Everyday and Storage - Car Maintenance - Griot's Garage

Good to know since it's not as ugly as blue painter tape.