What are you all out there using to keep your cars looking as best as possible? I'm kinda on the fence about using front flaps, rear flaps, or both. I cant say Im too crazy about how they look but if they will really protect the car I guess its the thing to do? Anyone out there willing to post some pictures of them installed? IS it really necessary to install both front and rear?
What about the magnetic guards Ive seen advertised? What are the pros&cons of those? As well, what about the clear protective film I've seen?

Which of these things really makes the most sense? That is, when you weigh cost, looks and protection?

 

I had the dealer install the upper clear bra (a must have), and purchased the magnetic stone guards placed in front of the rear wheels - they are removable and can be easily attached depending on road conditions. I also had the front and rear mud flaps installed - the front mud flps are a must have to minimize road debris damage and they can be separately installed - the rear mud flaps do not have any effect on the rear boot road residue and you could probably forego their installation.

Good motoring!

 

i had both sets of mudflaps installed and also the clearbra. if you don't mind the very faint line that it makes, it's way worth it. i was in an accident and had to have the clearbra removed. i also had to commute to work (~25 miles highway) for a week before it got replaced and was rewarded with a dozen rock chips. like i said, if you can get past the barely noticable line the clearbra makes, it's the best investment.

pics:

 

Front mud flaps and clear bra on the hood. Very much worth for both. See pics in my gallery

 

I have front mud flaps and seems to help. No clear bra and I'm a idiot. Bout' to embark on some serious rock chip touchup work

I've thought about the magnetic gaurds and honestly over the 15 mo's I've owned the car (bought it with 11K on it) I haven't picked up a chip or anything in the area it is supposed to protect. Only reason I can see to get it is if you like the look

 

Ok. So the clear bra is a no-brainer I guess. I remember now seeing some of the cars on the lot with the clear bra installed. And maybe clear guards installed in places other than the bonnet? The thing is the dealer didnt mention anything about it.

How much extra $$$ are we talking about?

(Thanks for the pics Hardingsan...looks good!)

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with my MA who says they have a local guy who does it for them.....$799. The product is by 3M called Ultra Shield. He says that price includes the bonnet and bumper....not sure he mentioned anywhere else. What did you all pay and what all clear guards did they install???

 

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with my MA who says they have a local guy who does it for them.....$799. The product is by 3M called Ultra Shield. He says that price includes the bonnet and bumper....not sure he mentioned anywhere else. What did you all pay and what all clear guards did they install???[/QUOTE]

Where are you located?

 

private shops should do them from $500-$700.

if i recall mine was $475 and covered 1/2 hood, front bumper, mirrors, and doorhandles.

shop around, this doe not need to be done at the dealership. most dealerships more than likely farm it out anyways...

 

For Clear Bra (3M Product) I paid $550 to the dealer in Boston and they had it done by a local shop (none of the dealerships actually do it themselves). I checked around and it would have cost me the same if i had to take it in myself.

That price included bonnet, front bumper and mirror covers. Here is a picture of the mirror as the clear does not cover the whole mirror but does cover the large part of the face.

I would say to check around at local shop to see what they will give you for a price.


You can see the line right thru the middle of the picture. abig part of seeing the line is that the car is dirty. They show up more when the car is dirty.

 

I've had an entire front end clear bra on my MINI for two years and not one single ding...looks great!! I do like the idea of the mud guards, too....they seem to do a nice job, although I don't have them. In fact, I think the mud guards may be enough to protect the sides of the car pretty well (depending on driving/road conditions) so I'd probably put any magnetics last on my list, mostly because the paint has to be really clean when they go on to avoid paint scratches.

 

I paid 300 for the Clear Bra + installation ($100 for half of the hood and entire front bumper) and $200 for labor (which also included installation of bonnet stripes).

The hood is not 3M (Ventureshield), but the entire front bumper is 3M film. I bought both products on EBAY and had them both professionally installed.

 

I installed a clear bra purchased from fleabay. It was a pain to do but, I thought is was worthy protection and I saved several hundred dollars by doing it myself. I also removed the oem stripes and did my own. Stoneguards are worthless, I removed them within a couple of weeks. I also found the mudflaps to be almost worthless. They may provide a little protection in the front but zero in the rear.

 

the clear bra is important over painted steal part. A rock hitting the paint on metal will chip the paint. Same rock hitting painted plastic will almost never chip, because the plastic is "resilient". I've had 3M clear bras on my cars since 1991. Only on the bonnet (metal).

 

Hope you don't mind my 2 cents even though I have a Hardtop and not a Clubman.

I purchased both the front and rear mudflaps (or as one of my fellow Week 11ers calls them, "mudstubs") - I only installed the front ones. From what I can tell (and my mechanic), the rears really won't do much, except keep a little more debris off the black plastic trim on the rear bumper. They won't help keep the rear end of the car from getting any less dust than normal (which is A LOT).

I got the stone guards mainly for the look (reminds me of an 80's Porsche 911 Turbo) - I take them off before I wash the car, and once that area has been detailed, and the guards themselves have been detailed, only then do I put them back on. I haven't seen any scratches from them to date. And they don't move either. Granted, I haven't had my MINI in a windtunnel lately, but routine highway driving doesn't make them squirm around and scratch if that's what you're worried about.

Hope that helps!

 

OK thanks everyone! Let me run this by all of you:

It appears that the guy doing the ultra shield installs for my dealer in SC (1hr away, I live in the NC mtns) is overpriced. A week ago I learned from another thread that a good idea to find a qualified person to do window tinting is to call your local BMW dealer and get them to recommend someone. I'm waiting for him to return my call regarding whether or not he installs ulra shield as well. Hopefully he does and he prices his services correctly.
Also, it looks like I will just install the front mudflaps. They dont look overly ghastly and if they help at all I imagine it will be worth the money.

Please let me know if you have any other suggestions.
Thanks everyone!

 

I am LOVING the CLUBMAN badging. I have to track some down myself. nice touch

OK, so I ordered two names, in basic 1" Black (as opposed to buying the chrome OE part from OutMotoring and then painting them black).
CLUBMAN and R55 in high gloss Black (matches my piano black painted parts). there were 2 websites I found
websites I found were...
https://www.chromecarletters.com/index.html (I was gonna use the Mercedes font from here, but decided on Basic instead)
https://www.autobadgez.com/3d_gloss_...basic_1in.html (ordered from here instead)