What's your thoughts on clearbra. Do the fronts of these cars get pretty nicked up from rocks? Dealer wanted around $500 for it and I passed on it. Just wondering if I will regret it.

 

I've had my MCS for 3 years now. I didn't buy a clear bra and I don't have any nicks or chips on the bonnet. Granted, I do mostly freeway driving and haven't ever gone down a gravel road.

 

I would say it depends on where you live and what your roads are like. Here in Colorado they put down almost the equivalent of gravel that they call sand when it snows. In addition we have a fair amount of wind that blows a lot of stuff on to the roads. If you drive frequently in the winter then you will pretty much need to replace your windshield every year so yes to the clear bra.

 

+1 same for the New England area.

 

My R53 has one and my R50 doesn't. Big difference in how the bonnet looks close up. The bullnose stance of our MINI's makes them prone to paint damage on the leading edge of the bonnet.

 

I got the clear bra for mine. About 1 week after I took delivery, I already had a small ding in the paint from highway driving, which was quite noticeable to me on the Chili Red paint. I have it on 1/2 hood, the head lamps, the front bumper, the mirror caps, and rear bumper.

Our roads here have a lot of debris, and often stuff blows off from trucks on the highway, so I think a clear bra is a great thing to have. We had clear bra on 2 previous cars, and after 5 years of driving, the paint looked great (and so did the clear bra).

Some colors of paint may not show dings as easily as red, so that may be something to consider also. But IMHO, I would get a clear bra no matter what color paint you have because not only does it protect against dings, but the clear bra makes it so much easier to wash off smeared bugs from roadtrips! The bugs don't stick!

 

I never got around to doing the clearbra on El Kabong (my '06) and he was getting pretty chipped up on the front. Granted I live where I travel on gravel roads pretty regularly. El Kabong was also PW, which was thought to be a pretty soft paint. I'm currently awaiting my '11 MCS which will be Horizon Blue. I'm going to have the clearbra put on prior to pick up this time, although having it done will probably add another day to my wait, but I will be strong and do what is best this time .
Annette

 

If you are leasing the car then why bother. If you are buying it then the clear bra is a very good investment. If your dealer quoted $500 for the full hood then you are getting a good deal. I would go back and have them install it.

 

I had the clear bra on my '03 MCS and now have it on my '10, and I believe it's an excellent way to protect from stone chips.

Just because you passed on having the dealer put it on prior to delivery doesn't mean you can't have an after-market place install one now. In fact, if you check around, I suspect you'll be able to beat the stealer's $500 price tag.

 

My daughter has a 75 mile commute each way of mostly highway. We had it applied before winter started and it is a good thing we did, otherwise I think the paint would have been sand blasted right off the hood due to all of the winter sand and salt put down on the roads. I would highly recommend it 1/2 way up the bonnet, the lower bumper, the very beginning of the roof between the windshield and the sunroof and the backs of the mirror caps!

 

do it, i take immaculate care of my vehicles and i regret not getting it.

 

I was dead set against it. Didn't want to pay for it. But the car on the lot with color/options I wanted already had it installed. It is great and I would get it on my next vehicle. My stripes were not installed when I got the car, so they were added and went over the clear bra. The black stripes have dozens of little white 'chips' in them. The paint surrounding them is blemish-free. 60,000 miles later the clear bra still looks great.

 

Like others said, depends on your local roads. I did not get it on mine and now 6 years later wish I did. The front of my hood is loaded with small rock marks. I eventually want to get it repainted and then do a clearbra of the entire hood.

 

Not to spend your money, but if your going to keep the car for awhile I would suggest getting the headlights done as well. I put xpel headlight film on my 2003 Volvo when it was new, and a 2004 Subaru, and both cars headlights and fogs are still crystal clear. I can't say the same about either windshield, pits galore. Plus it is pretty easy to do yourself.

Colorado driver. They don't use sand in my county, they use gravel and salt and is pretty much on the road from December to April.

Clear Bra, headlight/foglight, door cups, door edges, mirrors... all done the second week of ownership.

 

Do it! It's going to cost me $1200 to repaint my hood due to all the chips +$360 for the new clear bra to protect my investment.

We just bought a new Toyota Sienna for the family car. Have you seen the frontal area on that thing?? Clear bra'd the massive bumper and hood. We got one mall nick in the hood before we were able to get the clear bra on.

I think it's a worthy investment!

 

I'd suggest getting it no matter where you live and drive. I have a couple of nicks in my clear bra that would have been massive chips if it were not there.

From my experience, put the bra on BEFORE any stripes. The bra will last longer than any vinyl stripes.

I would also suggest the leading edge of the roof. That is the only place I have rock chips after 3.5 years.

 

Probably the biggest regret I had with my '05 PW/B MC was the lack of the clear bra. Over time the chips seem to multiply, and the paint on my Aero Kit bumper skin seemed to be particularly susceptible. I had to carry a touch-up paint pen anytime I traveled anywhere of a distance so that I could fill in the craters when I arrived.

It got to the point that I had resigned myself to the inevitability of a new paint job. The problem ended up taking care of itself when I replaced my '05 with a '11 MCS -- and yes, it has the clear bra.

Not that it's perfect. On mine there is a spot or two where there are very faint marks from either imperfections or the installation process that I will try to gently buff out when I do my Spring polishing. Also, the installer gifted me with a couple of paint swirls near the boundary on the top of the bonnet. Of course, I admit to being quite **** about these sorts of things.

If your MINI is a strict show car or garage queen you may not like it. But IMHO for a MINI that get driven and enjoyed out on the road, the clear bra is far superior than the alternative.

 

ha ha! my husband got the clear bra for his Honda Odyssey! The front end is like a tank!

 

love it and would pay to do it on all new vehicles...

 

I live in the NE, DON'T have one, but wish I had opted for it. I do get rocks and chips, but i'd say majority of them are from rallys around here, where its twisties with lots of things to kick up, especially with RS4's and their 260+width tires.

They aren't THAT bad though, I have had one or two really bad that I've had to clean out and touch up to protect it from rust, but otherwise they're just nicks in the clear coat. Its been 2.5 years and 50k miles, 50/50 highway/city.
You can get it done at a custom detailing/tint shop too, probably for a tad bit cheaper. Just don't cheap out on material, as thats the stuff you'll see going yellow and peeling down the road.

 

So does anyone know what brand the dealerships use? I'd love to know what brands to use or avoid if anyone has ideas. I'm currently planning on having the dealership do it, but will also look into some local installers if I can find some.
Annette

 

My dealer used the 3M rock shield on my MINI and I'm pretty happy with it. It's on the bonnet, under the door handles and along the edges of the doors on my car.

It has yellowed slightly in three years, but the yellowing is NOT as bad as the yellowing I saw on the other brand of ClearBra that MINI used to use and I don't think it I would notice the yellowing at all if my car weren't pure silver. Any other color, and I doubt it would show, it's that subtle. No one else notices it unless I point it out.

Another vote for clearbra here. I had a guy smack the bonnet of my MINI with, what my PDR guy suspected was, a piece of rebar.

The hit my bonnet took did not penetrate the clear bra and my PDR guy was able to pop the ding back out and the only way I can find out where it was, is by looking for the scuff on the surface of the clearbra.

 

BostonR56S, what driving lights are on your car?
Thanks,
Annette

 

Prestige MINI uses a sub contractor to do the clear bra installs. They use XPel.

 

Hey!

I have had my Cooper S for two years, and I regret not getting the clear bra installed. I have so many tiny stone chips on my Cooper's nose--I feel terrible!

I'm probably going to get it installed as soon as I have the money to pay for it.