This is directed to those with clear bras installed, or who have done research. I didn't want to hijack XP's thread.

I am picking my car up on Monday and have talked to the dealer and an Xpel installer, who works with several area dealers. He has done six TLs and will do mine, having it ready for pick-up.

1) Is it a wise idea to have the clear bra installed before I inspect the car for intial delivery? I could have it installed the afternoon I pick it up.

2) With Xpel did you get the "standard" bumper or the"extra coverage" bumper, goes farther out on the sides? (can be seen on the website)

3) Light covers? Is there really a point to getting these?

4) I have the A-spec package, and the bumper film will not cover the lip properly. The guy said this would be a problem, until I told him it is a dealer installed item. He said, he could custum apply the film to the lip if it is off the car, and installed after the film is applied. He has done custum film before on race cars. Does anyone forsee any issues with this?

5) The Xpel guy said it would be $500. $590 for the package with extended bumper. Does this sound reasonable?

Thanks guys

 

Here is my take;

1. It will be wise to inspect first. There could be some paint abnormalalities which will be hidden by the bra. Inspect first.

2. I do not know this but will find out

3. I think they help. The lense might get chips. I got it for additional $75

4. cannot comment there

5. I think this is good price. I paid the same + $5 with extra $75 for headlights (3M though and not xpel).

 

0. Decent man! It's good idea not to hijack that thread... (this topic seems to well fit though )

1. Wait for a while... not only do you have to do the inspection, but also you have to let paint "stick" with your car... if yours is newly arrived from Marysville, OH.

2. The dealer told me, bumper is extra...

3.

4.

5. Sounds good to me...

 

0. That is a good thread. I'll add to it if and when I get mine on.


1. The car arrived last Thursday. So when I pick it up, the car will have been sitting on the lot for 11 days. Is this enough time, is it even necessary with modern paint to let it cure?

 

I prefer a wet thin bra coupled with a fan.

 

:noob: If I wanted a joke I would have posted in OT.

 

Your questions are different from the huge thread on clear bra, so good move.

1. Your car is 11+ days away from the factory. Get the clear bra on as soon as you pick it up. Go back to the long thread on clear bra and look at the pix of my rock chips. Learn from my error. Please.

2. Well, you saw what I got, with the extended bumper coverage. Seemed worth it to me.

3. There was a better point to getting them with the 2G TL, which I did--those foglights were weak and I lost one to a rock on a trip to Denver. I'm thinking about adding the coverage later, but it's not as crucial as protecting the weak-ass Honda paint.

4. Can't help you here man.

5. The price is reasonable.

HTH

 

Thanks guys. +reps all around (except tfor the jokster)

 

1. Inspect your car first. If everything is fine than get the clear bra installed asap. Don't wait.

2. I got the extra bumper coverage. I think it's worth getting the whole bumper covered.

3. I didn't get the light covers.

4. There should be one that is custom cut for the A-spec. My installer asked me if I had the A-spec body kit. The piece for the bumper should be different if you have the body kit.

5. The price you indicated sounds pretty good.

 

1. We do about 95% of our dealership installs before the customer take delivery, so this is quite common. Though if your installer does not also work with your car dealer he may not want to install it there. Good installs require a clean enviornment and you want your installer to be as comfortable with where hes working out of.

2. I always install the extended coverage if available, I just never see a reason to go through the expense of an install to choose to protect less, especialy on the bumper, your going to be quite upset afte rspending hundreds of dollars the first time you find a chip right past where the smaller coverage kit ends
Besides the larger kit looks much cleaner since the smaller coverage ends right in the middle of the sides of of the bumper.

3. While it is most critical to get your paint covered right off the bat since it will start picking up chips from day one your headlights will start looking pitted/hazy/yellowed after a few years. Just walk through a parking lot and find some BMW headlights from 5 or so years ago it really makes a car look old
Also the headlight covers are a much thicker hi-impact material, you may not ever break a headlight lense, but with headlights that are $500+ uninstalled they are not a bad idea at all for the price

4. for the cleanest install the kit should be installed with the lip off, and theres nothing wrong with custom installs in and of themself as long as they ar enot cut on the car, we do custom installs all the time (see below )

5. Keep in mind that when it comes to skilled labor price is relative. This is why there are $500 paint jobs and $5000 paint jobs That said, around here prices range from around $500 to $1200 and I wish I could say that down the line the more you paid the better the quality was, but its not always the case. As long as the kit is installed to your satisfaction and he stands by his work and warranty than that price would be very reasonable.

If anyone has any questions about paint protection feel free to drop us a line!
Invisiguard@sbcglobal.net