Any recommendations, advice, words of warning, experiences?

I'm getting the bonnet and mirrors kit, lights, and front aero kit. Will the clear bra interfere with my bonnet stripes?

Thanks for your responses!

mb

 

The clear bra will be fine with your bonnet stripes! What color is your MINI? I wish I'd clear-bra'd Wanda! She's Jet Black and is now well-seasoned from all the cross-country roadtrips!

Clover

 

cr/b and I yell loudly at nothing but air when I find a new chip. I've found a few in the first 1,700 miles

but then again, I've driven 1,700 miles in my MCS!

 

Very Nice Ride...

How much did the kit cost you?

 

With parts and labor all together it was around 1,900 (i'd have to check the invoice for the exact price). That was after some negotiating with the dealer

mb

 

I purchased the 3M Clear Guard kit from my dealer and it was installed by a 3rd party installer before I picked up my car at delivery. Cost was $695. It covers the hood, front bumper, headlights, fog lights, outside mirrors, door edges, hood including the air scoop. I have had my MCSC since 12/10/04 and have driven 3000 miles. Have also applied a coat of PS21 wax to the car including the clear kit and bonnet stripes. So far I am happy with the appearance of the kit. It has a warranty, not sure of the time, it might be lifetime against yellowing, cracking, etc. Also, guarantees no chips to the paint underneath.

 

Is that a pre-painted aero bumper, or dealer aftermarket? If dealer

aftermarket, definitely get it clearbra'ed.

 

CR comes pre-painted to the dealer. That helps with the cost and installation time. I'm not sure which other colors come pre-painted.

rmorin - thanks for the response

mb

 

oh I see...then it chips much less than mine! I learned to install the Xpel very quick.

As far as installation tips, check out www.autoclearguard.com I bought mine
from there and installed it myself. It took me about 4-5 hours, but not bad. Just need patience. The one tip I would make is NEVER rub the clearbra with your fingers. It will swril it.

 

My MCSC landed in Charleston today. It is Jet Black so I do not see how you can get around NOT having some sort of clearbra/invisishield, etc...

I looked up Clearbra under the 3M website and found an authorized dealer/installer in my area who has ordered the MINI 3M clearbra. $169 for the hood, $179 for the bumper and charging only $45 for the install. With tax and everything it comes out to a little over $400. Sounds like a bargain to me--considering MINI wanted $700.

Comes with a 5 year warraty.

 

$45?! I would be a bit worried... $45/hour for 5 hours sounds more
like it...

 

I was quoted $440 plus tax here in Ohio. Sounds about right to me and is way better than the dealer quoted price!! BTW thats non aero and everything else.

 

Yup...$45. What's to worry about? They are a 3M authorized dealer and installer. If they mess it up they'll have to redo it.

 

The Bra that I got with my Cooper I think was 3M and comes with some sort of warrenty that if the vehicle is damaged by stone chip the damage will be fixed.

I had the bra installed by dealer...almost invisible doesn't interfere with stripes at all (assuming you install your stripes before the bra..if you remove the bra it voids the warrenty).

 

I ordered my kit from an online company for $165.00 Aug of 2003 about a week after I picked up my car. It consisted of the hood, lower fascia and scoop. I decided to put it on myself. After a brief view of the Video I started. It was fairly easy with the exception of the compound curve inboard of the headlights! @$%%^!! But after an hour and a half of fighting with one side, I had the other on in 20 minutes with what I had learned! The lower was cake in comparison and I had the whole job done including breaks in about 3.5 to 4 hours. I also added some film to the headlights and fog lamps from a roll I obtained from a friend who works for a 3M supplier. I made a template, cut the stuff and put it on. And they want $50.00 for a headlight protect kit? Really the lenses are plastic so I doubt they will break easily but I wanted to avoid the pitting in the lenses like my 3 Series has. Now that I have had it the car for over a year and half with year round driving I can say this 3M film is highly recommended!! No yellowing and it's just as invisible now as it was then! No bubbles, wrinkles and infact cannot be told apart from a dealer install until you look closely and see the nose piece is two halves instead of one (for ease of install) The lenses still look great and if I want to replace them I know how and I'll have as good as new looking lenses on my lamps...could be good for a show someday.. No, I repeat NO stone chips or dents...truly amazing since I was skeptical at first. Anyway the total came to $180.00 when all was said an done and the know how is valuable since I will do my 3 Series when I finish it's repaint front fascia and hood (stone ships )..Of course when the paint fully cures!!

Great stuff! Highly recommend doing yourself...It's NOT voodoo magic!

 

Thanks for the help, all. I made the purchase from Ryan at autoclearguard and will get it installed as soon as it arrives (or shortly thereafter).

Any tips for pre-installation preparation? Ryan suggested cleaning and stripping the areas of wax before the install.

mb

 

You'll want to use dish soap like dawn or ivory to remove the wax. :smile:


$45/5hours is $9/hr. The last time I checked, even data entry people
make more money then that... so was just wondering. If you're cool with
it, go for it.

 

Its only $9/hr if it takes you 5 hours! If it takes you 2 hours its $22.50/hr. If you are a shop owner who pays your guy $10/hr...well, I think you know where I'm going with this.

As you read from the post above, once you know what you are doing it doesn't take very long (20 minutes for the one side). Just because BMW/MINI charges $100/hr for any labor you have done there doesn't make it any better. My local mechanic can change the oil in my car for $20 while BMW/MINI probably charge at least 5x that. In the end, the engine doesn't know any different or run any better because I overpaid for the oil change.

I was once told by a plastic surgeon just starting out that he used to charge less than his competition to attract patients that were "doctor shopping". As it turns out he often did not get the business because people thought that he must not be as good if he was charging less than the other plastic surgeon down the road. After he doubled his prices he was so busy he couldn't handle it! People thought they must be paying for the best! In the end he was the same surgeon, doing the same job, getting paid 4 times as much because he was twice as busy and charging double.

Yea, I'm ok. with the $45 install :smile:

 

Yeah Poco is a boy,but I wish I had a clear bra on him

 

If you're inclined to do a little extra work before the install, check out the link in my signature and find my web page describing the "wrap" method of clear bra installation.

In a nutshell: if you remove the front upper grill, arches, and the headlights before the installation, the installer can stretch the film a little more to wrap it around the edges of these holes. When you re-install those pieces, instead of having a film edge visible around the headlights, arches, and grill, the film disappears right underneath them for a cleaner look.

 

>20 minutes for the one side.


What do you mean by 20minutes for the one side?

 

hey kenchan, how did you get the film down in the area between the headlights and grille? I bought the Invincashield kit, and I got everything else done fine, but i had trouble getting the film down in that area without the edges moving away from the scoop or headlight.

 

wkndracr- I only use the front bumper bra from Xpel... no chips on the bonnet or around the headlights, mirrors.:smile: