True, to a point. Personally, I drive a 60 mile round trip to work. Back in 2000 when I was driving a 95M3, I collected hundreds of chips after only a year...on a cosmos black, the car looked hideous. The line is only noticable at about 6' from the car.

My cars are now white and sterling gray, but I still have them protected. As careful as I try to be, I've had rocks, license plates, pvc pipes, etc coming at me. The protective film takes the brunt of the damage and I'm happy with that. The pvc pipe left a 6" gash in the film, but didn't go through to the paint. I recently recovered my 98M3 and was glad to see it nice and clean underneath (after buffing off adhesive). To me it's worth it, especially considering the alternative.

There are better, more expensive, film options out there. But you'll have to fly someone in to install or hope they have a vendor in your area.

It's definitely worth it. I have had it done twice on my '01 black X5 (I got hit in the front end last year and had it put on again after it was fixed)--it's great stuff. There's nothing worse than having a shiny new car and noticing ugly marks on the front of it.

:iagree: Worth the investment. Go with a good quality film.

I always get the 3M clear bra on every car that I purchase, but the X5 is a lease so I don't really givea ....

Unfortunately the X5 doesn't look good with a grill / bug deflector so this clear bra will have to do. (Bug deflector alone is fugly imo).

So...just getting back to this one...is the one from the dealer any good or is it better to go with the stonguard...expel...or clearshield?

my dealer uses 3m
you need to ask them what they use.

So, are you saying the 3M is the best or not?

Hello- first post here. Anyway, if little stone chips will bother you then yes its worth it. You wash it and even wax it like the car itself but be careful about the edge with wax- you dont want to get build up on it. The best place in the NYC area is Detailing Dynamics- ask for Eddie or Matt

http://www.detailingdynamics.com/

best regards,
Jerry

Can anyone recommend a good place to get this done in the San Fernando Valley - California?