Picking up my baby from the dealer on Monday, 1/16. Can't wait! I do have a question though. Has anyone had them put the protective coat in the car? It wraps the entire exterior of the car and helps protect against chips in the paint, acid rain etc. Wondering if it's worth the thousand bucks or so they sell it for. Thanks for any help you guys can offer!

 

I recently picked up a new Clubman so I know how exciting delivery is. I took mine to a respected detailer and had a protective film and nano coating applied. My understanding is that no coating will actually protect the paint against chips. For that you need a film ie. clear bra. You can have a full wrap but it is expensive. I had the full hood and bumper done and know from previous experience these films are effective. There are several excellent brands such as Expel and Suntek. A good ceramic or nano coating is more a long lasting replacement for wax. It does provide protection for the clear coat but not really from rock chips. I suggest you talk with a local professional detailer about options before deciding on the dealership add-on.

 

Waste of money. As soon as someone snags you in a parking lot you'll wonder why you threw away $1000. On it. Honestly if you want it to remain perfect leave it in the garage.

 

I did a Nano coating on my GP and was the best investment ever as it not only keeps the car clean, but also makes it much easier to clean.

check out Modesta Coatings as there is a lot of good info on coatings. Also Detail Design Auto Spa as Jean Claude there has done a ton of videos and shared more info than you can imagine about coating and paint protection.

 

Thanks for the advice! I will be passing on it, and if I decide to do a wrap/coating I'll have it done elsewhere. The demo car that had it at the dealership almost makes it look like it is a full exterior wrap, just like the clear bra for the bonnet, except over the whole car. Figured I would ask here since I hadn't seen any other posts recently about it. Thanks again!

 

I bought my car used and the original dealer (MINI of Seattle) had put on XPEL clear bra on the whole front bumper, full hood, door edges, inside door handle and trunk loading strip. Probably cost at least $1.5 - 2k. It's nearly invisible, but there is dirt starting to accumulate on the edges of the clear bra. It definitely makes cleaning those areas very easy and I feel a lot better knowing the car is protected from rock chips. On my last MINI I had plenty of rock chips on the hood from highway driving. If you plan on keeping the car a long time I'd definitely get it. Or find a used MINI that has it :P

 

Yeah, that is the product that my dealer wanted to install. It was roughly $1k for the outside and then they had a similar protective option for the interior as well.

 

Looking forward to the pix! Congrats and welcome to NAM.

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.