I know this topic has been beaten to death, but I haven't been able to answer a few questions I still have:

Is the dealer installed one the way to go, or am I better off going somewhere else.

Between the two, what can I expect to pay?

Does brand matter?

The car is a few months old; its not too late, is it?

 

I know my local dealer just farms out the clearbra installations to a local shop (and adds a hellacious markup in the process). So I just found out who they used and dealt directly with the installer.

Price from the installer was $450, and that was for front bumper, first 12" or so of the bonnet, bonnet scoop, grille slats, headlamps, fog lamps, and mirror backs. I didn't actually have him do all of those parts, because I didn't want the clearbra on the chrome or carbon-fiber parts, but those are all the parts he *would* have covered for the price.

We did my MINI a day or so after I bought it, so there weren't any chips. My wife's MINI was already about five months old when we had the clearbra put on hers, so I had to fix about a half-dozen rock chips first, but the installation wasn't any harder or easier compared to a new car.

Both of our cars have the 3M film on them, but I've heard good things about the Xpel film as well. 90% of the results depend on the installer, anyway.

 

Installed the Expel clearbra on our 06 MCS, DIY, and saved beaucoup $$$$. Just follow the instructions, take your time, be patient and have a second hand to assist--it's easy. Our installation came out perfect. Took about 2 hours because it was our first time.