I took my Mini to AutoVisions to have a clear bra and window tint installed. I liked the technique they use to apply the clear bra. They wrap the clear shield around the edges of the bonnet and instead of having a straight line across they follow the subtle of curves of the bonnet so the shield is less noticeable. It all sounded good and the price for the shield with the tint was reasonable. I left my mini with them and took off in the rental car I had arranged. Less than an hour later I got a call from them saying they believed that my bonnet had been repainted! As you might expect I was pretty freaked out thinking that my beautiful Mini had been hurt at some point in her travels to MN. I rushed back to their shop and called the dealer on the way. When I got there they showed me some surface scratches or swirls in the paint as if someone had used a dirty towel to clean my Mini. They tried to persuade me that the scratches were from the bonnet having been sanded and repainted. I was skeptical. In examining the bonnet I noticed a chip or scratch down to the metal right below the Mini logo. He denied causing the scratch despite the fact that that it had not been there when I dropped off the car. With no resolution to the problem I left and went to the dealership. There I met with the Sales Manager and the head of their detailing department. There was no record of the car having been damaged or any repainting being done. Despite the fact that there is no proof that the dealership or Mini did anything wrong they have offered to buff the bonnet and retouch the paint free of charge. They were kind and reassuring and readily agreed to match AutoVision's price for installing the clear bra. Which I will have them do next week right after they do the buffing & retouching.

All in all I am not sure how the scratches/swirls across the bonnet got there. Whether they were created by a dirty towel at the dealership or while at AutoVisions I will probably never know. I have my suspicions but that is all they are. The caution I would encourge all new Mini owners to have is being careful who you let lay hands on your Mini. As many have said the paint is soft and can be scratched fairly easily. If you take your Mini to someone you is planning to remove the Mini emblem from your bonnet be sure to inform them that the paint is soft and that they need to take extreme care when prying the emblem up.

Lesson Learned... Minis require extreme care and only those proven to provide excellent service to Mini owners will be allowed to touch my Bella!

Motorwerks

AutoVision

 

I just had a clear bra installed on my MINI after the bonnet was re-sprayed (unfortunate incident involving some shelving in the garage). The guy who did mine was a total professional. The patterns he used were cut around the badge/logo, so he didn't take anything off, and he did a really good job detailing it before he put the clear bra on (I was bound to pick up some bugs..). He was recommended by a club member, and I ran into another member while I was there. Always check references!

 

I did. Excellent reviews. Trust me... I am an OC researcher. lol

Despite that things happen. Just wanted to let others know that those unfamiliar with Minis might not be the best to work their beloved motoring machines.

 

Rasmussen subbed out the ClearBra installation on Molly before she came home. I would not have driven her off the lot without her being protected. And I do not have enough knowledge on the products now being used to believe an outside sources "word". My .02

 

Sorry to hear about the unexplained swirls and scratches on your hot looking Mini. I too just had my clearbra and windows tinted. The guys at X-treme Tint in Franklin, TN did a fantastic job and did not remove my mini wings on the bonnet. It is virtually invisible when looking straight on from the front. Glad to hear the dealer is stepping up an making things right even if they didn't cause it.

 

The price difference was more than $100. They came with great reviews. I needed window tint anyway. Seemed like a great find.

I feel like I need to defend myself when I was only trying to provide info to other new owners.

I thought people would be sympathetic here... I guess not.

 

Thanks cutters! Glad to hear things went well with your install.

 

Sorry to hear that. I just had my ClearBra installed in Orlando by Phamtomshield with no issues. It is the fifth car they have done for me and I have never had the experience you describe. I hope it all works out for you!

 

Oh man that bites!!! Hope it all works out for you. Sounds like you have a pretty cool dealer to work with. I also had my clearbra done and it was cut to fit the wing and hood scoop along with other things. I wouldn't want anyone to take them off just for the clearbra. If you look at the pic of mine you can see how it was cut out.

 

You went to a company that provides a service that involves surface prep/modification without checking over every inch of your car beforehand?

 

Oh, I'm totally sympathetic, that really sucks! I'd be super pissed if that happened to my baby, and I'm glad it worked out for you. It sounded like you found the place through the dealership - guess I just read it wrong.

 

A non-factory re-paint can caused a lot of agony. I had to have a new hood replaced after a deer collision and the body shop I chose (recommended by BMW) used the exact same paint as the MINI factory. I picked up the car and yes indeed the texture and look of the paint was spot-on. I was happy until I began to notice that stone chips began showing up almost immediately. The original factory hood hadn't any appreciable chips in almost 2 years of driving. The new hood was peppered with them. The moral of the story is that the factory paint application is WAY more durable than any body shop. I will need a repaint before I sell it.

 

I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you. I'm glad that my dealer installed the rock shield before I purchased the car. I didn't have to worry about it being done incorrectly and where I live, if they screwed it up, they get to pay for the fix. I wish that you could prove that these jerks screwed up your MINI because they should pay for the damage they caused.

It's also occurred to me that for future reference, nearly every cell phone on the planet has a camera feature. When you take your car in for work, snap a few pictures of it before you let them take it. If there's no damage, clear them off the phone, if there is, you have proof that they had to have been the ones who caused it. I'll be doing this myself from now on.

Good luck!

 

I did check every surface! It was not there when I left the car with him but he denies creating the scratch.

PS. If you read the thread you would have seen that I stated that already.

 

minibella,

ouch! thank for warning. i just got a new 2008 mcs last may 15th at motorwerk. i had clear bra installed by the motorwerk and have a peace of mind to know there is good service at motorwerk.

good thing happened that our cars were not in hugo, minnesota last sunday and somewhere near twin cities with hails.

 

Thanks for the support ckranert, MBX5, misslindsey, RandomGemini, & deafbuzz. Appreciate it.

I mostly posted to help other new owners but it's nice to have support too.

 

Welcome to NAM! Motorwerks has been great to work with and I really appreciate them stepping up to help me out!

Yep! Really feel for all those in Hugo who were affected by the tornado.

Hope to see out and about! Have you joined Sota Minis yet?

 

i didn't know that sota minis exists until you mentioned it. i just google it and found it. thank again for mentioning this sotaminis.com i will check out this on weekend.

 

Mine was done by a perfectionist...And thank God mine wasn't the first one he did. His style was to tuck in the edges around the Bonnet, Head Lights and Scoop. He did a cut around on the MINI emblem. He tried to tuck it in on another customer's car, and he grommets broke on the emblem. The customer had to buy a new emblem, but the dealer didn't giver her the right one...so it took some time to make it right.

MINIB: I'm glad to see things were made right for you...cause clear bra is cheap insurance scratches to the front of the MINI.

 

Thanks Auto Pilot. Glad to hear things went great for you.

That's the kind of service I thought I was getting too. I know they have done Minis before so I thought it would look great and go smoothly. I think it was an unfortunate incident that got out of hand. I just wish they would have been honest about it... Suggest I get it fixed and then give me a significant discount. Instead they lied about it. Now they have lost my business and created a disgruntled customer. Which is not a good thing to have.

 

I believe I read your review of Omega Tintwerks and that is one of the reasons why I got mine done there. It's interesting that he cut around the emblem on your hood. On mine he did not cut around it as I can't see any edges. It's possible he made cuts for the grommets instead of cutting around the whole emblem.

 

Really...Nice. He is pretty detail oriented, and a stickler for perfection...so this doesn't suprise me too much.

 

and really really busy!!! I asked for a weekend appointment and he said he has one available sometime end of July!!!! so i bit the bullet and got a friend to take the car in for me, who just happened to quit his job the week before

 

I belive he is one of East Bay BMW's (right next door) primay installers for clear bras...I think that's one of his bigger clients.