jtdragon

I'm getting Stongard (clear bra) put on my 2002 TL-S w/ body kit this weekend at Precision Car Care (in Mountain View, CA); I was quoted the usual price for parts ($404.95 for the main kit, $59 for the light kit), but they are charging $100/hr labor (and estimate that it should be done in 3-4 hours). Is this reasonable? They mentioned that if I brought the car in pre-prepped (meaning clean-off, wax removed), this might speed things along. I still think the 3-4 hours is a bit long. Although they offered a rental car, I think I will decline that (see if I can get them to reduce the price on that) and stick around to see if the 3-4 hour charge is justified--don't want to see someone who is supposed to be working on my car taking a lunch break !) Anyways, I was just wondering if this is a good deal. I mainly chose the Stongard over X-Pel because I wanted more precise cuts. Any feedback would be great, preferably before Sat. Sept 15 (when I get it done). Thanks!

EricL

You will get some better estimates...

I talked to one of the makers of Stonguard (and/or other products) and the owner said that I could even put the stuff on by trying first with some free samples. The trick is in stretching the stuff (just right) to get a great fit.

The people I called in So Cal wanted about 50-75 dollars per hour, and only wanted an hour to do the front bumper and mirrors. I never had it done.

I would think that someone who had done a bunch of installs would need less than 3-4 hours and someone less trained would charge less, but may use that 3-4 hours (if they hadn't done a lot of installs).

It isn't rocket science -- try shopping around for less total labor charges...

BTW -- If the car is waxed or Zaino'd, it will save money to remove all of it from the surfaces you want done. The stuff doesn't stick well with wax/etc on the surface. Once you get it done, you need to protect the film too (even though most of them have a clearcoat finish [so I was told]).

jtdragon

Yeah, 3-4 hours did see like a long time. Thanks for the opinion. I'll probably talk to them to get the labor charges down. If not, I'll probably check some other places. I bought my TL by going all the way down to Los Angeles, so I will drive a bit for a better deal if it is necessary--I'm just surprised there aren't more installers in NoCal.

Beiruty

I paid only $399 installation cost included when I got my CLS from Herb Connolly Acura.

rockinTLS

I was quoted $140 for the install (+ $404.95 for kit) in NC. This included the hood/fender kit, bumper kit and misc. bits and pieces that were included with the Stoneguard kit.

Three hours sounds about right to me. However, the labor rate seems WAY too high.

bricot

Paid $440 for the bumper kit and headlight kit installed, plus wrapping the side skirts and painted surfaces in the inner fender well.

tdoh

I heard that someone is getting the 3M kit for roughly $300 installed. But then again, the 3M kit comes with fewer stuff than the Stongard kit (full Stongard includes rear/upper/lower bumper, in addition to fender and mirrors). Don't exactly know what risk the rear bumper would be exposed to vs. the front bumper, though...I mean, short of someone tapping my rear bumper, it's never gotten any nicks and scratches like a front bumper would be susceptible to.

FWIW the 3M MSRP cost is about 4x the dealer cost--roughly $680 vs. $170...

Tony

ming 2.7T_RENAMED

does take awhile to do. Had mine done and it was there first on my type of car so it did take 3 hours to do. Like someone said its the stretching and getting all the bubbles out and squiggles out of it. Pain in the butt to put on. Better if car is cool(so hood area is cool) helps them apply that piece of it. I think it was ~ 400 to do the whole thing.

vperkins2

Hey, I contacted this Xpel installer (via the Xpel website) and he quoted me a time of 4-6 hours and about $800.00 total! According to their website... this was the closest "authorized" rep to me in Northern Cali.

El Coqui Tint, Stereo & Alarm
Contact - Angel Santana
520 Parker Rd.
Fairfield, CA 94535
707-437-1452

Vincent

tdoh

Hey vperkins--was that your black TL-S over at Eclipse this past Tuesday that was getting a tint job and aftermarket interior lights? My bro said that the car belong to someone who hangs out on the TL-S forum; maybe that was you?

Anyways, $800 seems like a bit too much, although it does take some time to put the stuff on correctly. I think some of it is due to spending time cleaning/prepping the area to put the film on. If you're interested in the 3M stuff you may want to ask my bro about it (if you haven't already done so)--apparently someone has already ordered the 3M kit from my bro and will have him put it on for a price waaaaay less than $800. In all fairness though, I don't know how 3M compares to the Xpel or Stongard but from the little testimonials I've heard so far, I haven't heard anything that would indicate that the 3M kit is of any better or worse quality than the other two.

Tony

kelvinl

Hey tdoh,

I am also interested in putting clear bar/stongard on my TLS. Could you please send the contact information for your brother's shop (telephone no. and business address) to my email address : KelvinL99@yahoo.com

Thanks a lot!

Kelvin

vperkins2

Tdoh: I haven't bought a TL-S yet... I've just been pricing out my options so that I know what my wallet's in for when I finally get my car! Anyway, I'm currently stuck on a White Diamond Pearl with Parchment interior -- at least that's what I want this week.

Thanks for the info about your bro also applying the 3M kit. Is there a website that describes what's in the kit? I agree -- $800.00 sounded very expensive for the Xpel stuff (includes installation) and the Stongard rep never got back to me with a price. Sounds like JTdragon got the same price from Stongard that I got from Xpel! And, I just went to the Stongard site... their kit covers the TL-S underbody spoiler. Xpel's didn't (unless I'm mistaken).


JTdragon: Thanks for the heads-up on the Stongard costs. By the way, how did you find out that Precision Car Care installed Stongard? And don't forget to let us know how your Stongard install goes!

Thanks for the info gents,

V.

vperkins2

Hey Kelvin,
You could wait for him or you could read this thread. The info you seek is about 3/4's of the way down.

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...threadid=16765

Good luck,

Vincent

tdoh

vperkins--Oops, guess it wasn't you then; wonder who it was, (not asking you directly) because my bro said that the guy saw me hanging out on the TL-S forum...anyone recently bought a black TL-S from Fairfield Acura and got it tinted at Eclipse earlier this week? Anyways, I don't know what/if 3M has a website dedicated to their clear bra but I could look at the literature that came with the kit. Unfortunately the literature didn't list a kit for the TL-S with underbody front skirt--just the kit for one without the skirt package; then again the info may be somewhat out of date.

FWIW--my bro put scrap pieces of the 3M kit on his car to test it out and he says it works really good--no rock dings so far, plus bugs and other junk wipe off really easy.

Tony

vperkins2

No problem... I wish it was me! But no worries... I'll have my baby soon! My little Accord has served me well so far... just a leetle bit longer.

Later,

V.

lilboykorea

hows the quality after then job done?! how does it look in the sunlite? is it easy to tell the line where the things applied? if it remains the normal shine and the look of my tl, i would definately go for it, since i get a LOTS of bugs, chips and all types of stuff on the car...

jtdragon

vperkins2: I called the Stongard central office, and the sales person gave me the name for the main distributor in the western U.S.; here is his contact information:

Bill Shores
(503) 789-9123 (cell phone)

For northern California TL-S owners interested in getting the Stongard, here is the contact information for Precision Car Care (in Mountain View, CA):

Precision Car Care
2239 Old Middlefield Suite F
Mountain View, CA 94043
(650) 625-1882 (8-6pm, Tu-Sat)

They quoted me $825 (without the rental car included, which took about $25 off the price). This would include the Stongard pieces for the TL-S w/ body kit ($404.95) and the light guards ($59). They were ordering the items before the tragedy on Tuesday affected all UPS shipments. They had to postpone the install until next Saturday (Sept 22nd), so I'll let you know how it goes.

Mr. Shores told me they (Precision) do excellent work (and he was in the process of training other installers in Northern Cali but couldn't give me a definitive date on when they would be available) which is reassuring since I don't want to have to deal with problems post-install (especially since they are a 2 hour drive from where I'm at...well, with the TL-S, maybe 1 1/2 hours..hehehe

I figure, at $825 + tax, if this stuff keeps my car looking great, it will definitely pay for itself in the unlikely event I go to resell it. I've heard Stongard installs in southern Cali are better priced since there are more installers down there, but I don't believe I'd be saving enough to warrant a 7-8 hour drive!

bricot

I haven't had anybody notice it unless I have pointed it out. Here are some pics. The second picture I maxed out the contrast in photoshop to show the line more clearly. You can wax it with the rest of the car, and it makes bug cleanup easier.

ming 2.7T_RENAMED

I believe I had stongard installed for a total cost of $475 in Orange County, California. It was $300 for material and 175 for labor. $800 seems awfully high. But you do want to get a good person to install, so that the squiggles and air pockets are gone and that they stretch it right.

vperkins2

Thanks for the info JTdragon! I think I'm gonna go with Stongard, too. I hope you have a digital camera to show us how it looks when it's finished!

Good luck,

Vincent

jtdragon

Yeah, as soon as I get it done, I will post some pics. Thanks for the feedback everyone!

vperkins2

jtdragon,
I finally got my new baby and I was hoping to hear how your Stongard installation went before I made my appointment. Did you finally get it done? How's it look? Details, my man... I need details!

I hope things went well for you.

Take it easy,

Vincent

rockinTLS

Do tell.

oracion

It's kind of hard to see on a black car. Anyone has that installed on a SSM?

jtdragon

Sorry about the delay guys! Anyways, I got the Stongard applied as planned. Total was $825, and it was done in about 4 hours (with 4 guys working on it). Precision Car Care did a very good job. I noticed a few VERY small lumps but these are just likely moisture that will eventually dry out after the 30 day curing process (at least that's what they told me I should wait before waxing it or anything). They said they'd follow up with me in 30 days to see if everything is to my satisfaction--which is good to know. Overall, I am very satisfied with the overall appearance. On the silver (at a glance), you barely notice it unless you are up close (within 3 feet) and looking straight at the hood. Also, with the TL-S OEM body kit, the Stongard package definitely protects more than the X-Pel kit (and they were asking for $870 on that one in North Cali!).

Here's a breakdown of what's covered:

- hood (about 8-10 inches of it)
- front bumper and front underbody kit
- lights and fog lights (via the light kit) (I didn't realize how thick the plastic material is, though, it looks perfectly fine; 1/2 inch rocks are DEFINITELY not going to crack it unless you are driving at insane speeds)
- trunk hood opening (bottom edge--for when you are loading luggage in--glad they thought of that)
- front mirrors
- all four door handles (around the edges where fingernails or other sharp objects--like your keys--might scratch)
- a thin 1/4 inch strip along each doors outer edge--to protect against any contact when opening the door into some other object

Overall, I think this should keep annoying dents and things to a minimum (we'll see in 4-5 years whether this is worth it, but my take is this: if the car looks noticeably better than a comparable model in 4-5 years, I'm sure that I can sell the car for at least $500-$800 more which would cover the price here anyways--if you can get it installed for less than $700, jump on it! And like I would sell this car--HELL NO!).

I will post pictures in probably 2 weeks when the curing time is done and I put my first coat of Zaino on this puppy. Then, it's time for some serious cruising...

For prospective Stongard buyers, I would recommend it if you have the extra cash. And remember, find out from Bill Shores who is a good installer in your area. Stongard seems like a harder product to install, and just getting someone else who can do the other clear bra products out there just isn't worth the savings (you forfeit the product warranty and you increase the likelihood of having issues with the install). If you're in North Cali, head over to Precision Car Care--and tell them that John Duong sent ya!

vperkins2

Now that's what I wanted to hear! I was hoping it was a good experience for you. I've budgeted the money... I guess it's time to schedule an appointment for myself!

So what did you do for 4 hours? Hang out in their shop? Go to a movie? I'll be coming all the way from Folsom so I was hoping to rent a car and go find a movie while I wait. I don't think I wanna watch 'em while they mess with my baby!

Thanks again for the info!

Vincent

jtdragon

Actually, they did offer a rental car (but I declined to save something like $25 bucks); I just hung around the shop. I had my notebook so I got some work done.

Anyways, they actually pointed out on thing on my car that I didn't see before (a rather strange flat dent on the left corner of my hood--about 3/4 inch in diameter--that you would only see if you ran a light across the surface). They were good to point out other dents or scratches before starting their work--very professional.

Also, if you have questions about things like performance upgrades, car alarms, etc. It seems like these guys work on or know people who perform such upgrades. So you can also get some advice while you wait.

Well, hope things go as smoothly for you as they did for me. Post some pictures as well once you finish.

jtdragon

Hey -

I noticed two things in your signature: (1) you tinted five windows, did you go legal or not? (2) how do you like the car alarm you've got? What features does it have? How's it compare to Viper? Also, what type of cost are we looking at?

Also, I ride without my front license plate now (actually, I still haven't gotten my new plates yet--I hope that's why the cops haven't pulled me over yet when they see the sales notification in the windshield) after they took it off at Precision Car Care and it looks much better. There was a scratch from the license plate panel, but you can't really notice it (especially on silver) so I kept it off. You should consider taking it off as well; I think the license plate ruins the TL-S facade (especially with the body kit, front underbody installed).

kchao2000

I got Xpel installed and the total cost was $450; include material and labor. The kit covers bumper, mirror and hood.

vperkins2

kchao2000: For some reason, out here in Northern Cali the Xpel installers want $800+ for the same job. I think I read a post or two that said the Southern Cali folks were paying close to what you paid.

jtdragon: You were actually reading my "Coming Attractions" section (ie. future mods). I will get both the alarm and the tint done this Saturday. Alarm does all the normal stuff plus remote start, visual status display, pager, etc. I looked at the viper / clifford stuff but I didn't see where they had the display/pager function -- otherwise it was similar to it.

Maybe someone else out there knows how the CompuStar 2000-AS compares to a Viper or a Clifford alarm...

Vincent

tdoh

Hey Vincent--you wouldn't happen to be getting the alarm and tint done at Eclipse, are you? Cuz if you are, I'll let your car be
the guinea pig as far as the CompuStar alarm install goes before I consider getting it for my car. Are you gonna have the alarm do fancy stuff like pop the trunk (without disarming the alarm, a la the factory alarm), auto roll up all four windows (tricky to do but can be done) and close the moonroof, and be able to crack the windows open? And if you're getting the remote engine start, remember that you either have to give up one of your keys (not the valet key) or get a blank master key.

How about putting in a trick blue/green/whatever color other in place of the dull factory security LED? That would be pretty cool...

Tony

vperkins2

Tdoh,
Yes, I will be getting it done at Eclipse! I think your bro's gonna do my car himself. I had asked about the window-closing feature but someone said they were having problems putting that feature into our cars (bummer). I'll ask again tomorrow morning, just to be sure!

As for the remote start -- I asked for an extra key as part of my deal (3 masters; 1 valet) cause I knew the alarm needed to "use" one. As far as putting in a new colored LED, hmm....

Later,

V.

vperkins2

Ok, I just made my Stongard appointment for next Saturday (Oct. 13th). I asked for the same "package" that jtdragon had installed plus a rental car.

WooHoo... the mods are coming fast and furious.

V.

tdoh

Vincent--yeah, I saw your entry in the appointment book. Told my brother that he could bump you to the end of the day!

j/k...

The auto up on all four can be done--it requires a bit more labor because IIRC you have to run wires to all 4 window modules because of the way the factory power windows are wired.

You should definitely go for the bright LED to replace the dull factory door one, IMHO.

And just in case you might have doubts about my bro's tint quality--he was telling me about some person who's driving all the way from Marin county (north of SF for you non-Californians) to get his S500 MB tinted, only because a buddy of his (also from Marin) got his Audi tinted at Eclipse and liked the result so much. And the kicker--the MB guy is apparently willing to pay top dollar for the tint job. How much? I can't say but it's definitely much more than what you and I would be willing to pay...

Tony

jtdragon

You guys have got me interested in getting my car's windows tinted at Eclipse! What % tint do you plan to go with? How much are they charging? Does anyone have pictures of what their tinted TL-S looks like? I wish I could go really dark on all windows (kinda like the pic in the mod section of this site, that silver one looks sweet)--California's dumb restrictions...

vperkins2

jtdragon: Hmm... good questions. I've never owned a white car before so I don't know how dark I can go. On my black Accord I tinted the rear windows in the 5-10% range, and my fronts were about 35% (I'm guessing since it was about six years ago).

Anyway, the cost is about $275.00 for five windows. I'll let you know how dark I go later on today! But it's my alarm that I'm really excited to be getting. That little Acura alarm was ok... but I felt naked parking my car with that thing!

tdoh: Better not move my appointment, dude! I've been waiting way too long for this day to come! And I'll talk to your bro about LED possibilities. Thanks for the idea!

Later,

Vincent

jtdragon

Vincent, what's the address/phone number for Eclipse? I can't find it in the Sac phone book...

tdoh

jtdragon--here's the info:

6161 Auburn Blvd.
Citrus Heights, CA
(916) 728-4867

If you do get your windows tinted at Eclipse, let him know I sent ya there--he's always nagging me about making sure I let people know about his business.

Another thing if you go for it--Saturday is his busiest day, because everybody wants to get their windows tinted ASAP so that they can go stylin' later in the day or on Sunday. If you're one of those people who needs their car tinted ASAP on a Saturday--it goes without saying, "Money talks...". My bro has told me of some people who paid extra just get their car tinted ASAP/first. Yeah, it may sound unethical from a business standpoint but hey, if someone's willing to throw down some extra cash...plus, my bro checks with those ahead of them first to make sure it's okay to bump them.

Tony