I noticed a bunch of you that picked up your new 981’s picked them up immediately. I’m “assuming” you didn’t have a clear bra put on the front?

Not only will I not drive my car with a bra, I’m paying extra to have the full hood covered with a clear bra.

The last 3 new cars I’ve owned, I had clear bras put on with days of picking up my car.... and within days on each of them, I had a stone fly up and catch the hood about a foot from where the clear bra ends. NOT this time, I’m having the dealer install a full clear bra.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m in the body shop business or my OCD but in either case, I don’t want my front end peppered with chips.

Anyone else?

Mark

I had a full clear bra installed on my 981 before I drive it of the lot.

How far up the fenders did you go?

Thanks,

Mark

A good independent shop will be about half the cost of the dealer. And will do a better job based on my experience.

I had bumpers, full fenders (wrapped edges), full hood (wrapped edges), back of mirrors. I skipped the lights because the lights will get hot and eventually cause distortion.

I shopped around for prices before discuss with the dealer and and able to get the dealer's price down to only $200 more than a good independent shop. With 3M warranty along with the dealer this is what it boiled down to: 5 years against workmanship, material, and road hazard; if I ever get a chip or a dent in the 1/3 front of my car the dealer will fix it and provide a free loaner car.

Being in the body shop business, I deal with bras all the time (in exchange for deductibles... )

Seriously though, the independent shop I use does a decent job but they don’t have the full hood/fenders setup.

Obviously depending on the car and how many pieces it is, my cost is from 550-850.00. The dealer wants 1500 for the whole front (which I plan on beating them up on it. I don’t mind paying an extra 300-400 bucks but I’m not paying double.

There were several cars on the showroom that had clear bras and to be honest, that was the best job I had ever seen.



That was a good deal... I’ll look into it more in the next few weeks.


Mark

I get mine done from a local installer, he does the majority of dealerships in the areas as it is. Here, I have found dealers sell it as an extra when in reality they are subbing out the work to my guy, ditto for window tint. They then mark it up and thus more expensive. I would imagine many/most dealers don't do it themselves but sub it out and do the same.

I for one won't have a car without it. I have read countless threads with complaints that it discolors, is hard to wax around, you can see the edges, blah blah blah. I for one think it's cheap insurance. When you go to sell your vehicle in 2-3 years and have a flawless front end, your resale is definitely going to be higher than one with chips, period.

Having a vehicle without it is just silly IMO. With a little care and attention to detail, it's almost invisible and worth every penny. I have had the opportunity to run over or into something on several occasions that most certainly would have damaged my paint, but the clear bra saved my finish.

Completely agree... I get at least 2-3 higher end cars per week that come in to get the front end of the their car repainted because the front end is peppered with stone chips.


Mark