[egtlover74]

My new 335is will come out of production tomorrow and I want to be ready to install paint protection when it arrives. Some people say it yellows on white cars and some say not. Any first hand experience with white cars? Who has pre-cut paint protection for 335is with license plate cutouts? Anyone lifted edge of the protection while washing or waxing the car? Curious to know.

[skiernan36]

i've never seen it on a white car, but i've seen it on a blue M3 and I didnt even know until i got real close to it. i plan on putting it on my black 335

[egtlover74]

Do you know who sells the kit with license plate cutout? I plan to install myself.

[sickem]

i would prefer a clear bra on the lady in your avatar!!!!

[skiernan36]

the same guy with the M3 also had a pretty ingenious license plate mount coming from where the tow hitch was, so he didnt have to get the cutout or even attatch it to the bumper

here's the website where he got it
http://gominigo.com/

[cb1111]

Contact Raja on the locals. He does a great job and has done several of my cars. Expect cheap material to yellow with age, but I've not had 3M or Venture yellow on me on dark or light colored cars.

My wife thought I was nuts for putting it on her car - until a shopping buggy crashed into it leaving a nice 2 inch scrape that buffed out easily with plastic polish.

[Blubaron79]

I don't have a white car, but most clear bras (mine is), are covered for 5 years+ for discoloration. The old ones got yellow, the new ones don't.

I have one, and I LOVE IT. PA uses cinders on their roads in the winter, and it is a must have if you don't want your car trashed. You can use Meguiars Plastix on the bra if it gets scratched or messed up.

[gun6slinger9]

Mine has not yellowed (3M) and no edge has lifted after pressure washing every two weeks for the 2 years of ownership

[BTM]

Plan on getting one after bumper/hood respray/touch up

[DJtoad]

A clear bra is almost invisible on a dark car, but you will see it on a white car. Not a lot, but it will be slightly noticeable. However, it beats the "pepper look" your front bumper and hood will have in a few years without it.

[phistyle]

where do you actually go to buy and get a clear bra put on? the dealership?

[eggbone]

I had the clear bra installed on my 2008 E92 shortly after I purchased the car.
I have @ 25-30K miles on the car and I can notice absolutely no discoloration, though the color of the car is Barbera Red. I highly recommend this product, as it has held up very well.

[sashimi01]

My dealership offered the bumper protection for $2,000. Of course, I was like nah... How about the rest of you that have this, how much did you pay?

[Casca]

The tint shop that is doing my tint tomorrow does "clear bra" as well. Think it was $600ish for the full on protection which included a lot of areas........front, sides, rear?? And then $340ish for the basic kit which I think is the front, mirrors, and a couple other places. They use exclusively 3M for that as well. I'm considering having them do my front once I get my car detailed and see the results from the tint job tomorrow.

[Noc57]

Don't think it's worth it. Don't wanna deal with wax lines and the like. Car is over a year old and barely has any chips. After 2-3 years "if" it needs it, I'll just do a respray. Probaby cheaper too.

[john335i]

I had a clear mask installed on my 2007 335i (Black Sapphire) within 2 weeks of purchasing it. One of the best decisions I made. The installer did a great job, took the time to buff/polish the area prior to the installation. I recently traded my car in for a 535xi and from what I saw the condition of my car (especially the hood and fenders) was far superior to any other used car I saw on the BMW lot. To me this is an absolute no-brainer. And yes I have a clear mask installed on my new car as well.

[bimmertt]

I have a clear bra and it is well worth it. After experiencing tons of rock chips on my previous car, I made sure not to make the same mistake on this one. To those that prefer a repaint instead, I'd rather have the factory paint A repaint of the entire front clip (bumper, hood fenders) is also not cheaper than a professionally installed clear bra.

You don't need to worry about license plate cut outs. After it is installed you or the installer should be able to make the cutouts for the screws pretty easily.

[bimmertt]

Originally Posted by sashimi01

My dealership offered the bumper protection for $2,000. Of course, I was like nah... How about the rest of you that have this, how much did you pay?

that is overpriced by about $1200-$1400 depending on who you take it to.

They dealer doesn't install the bra anyway...they just hire private installers to come onsite to do the work and pocket the difference they charge you.

[chumley]

I think it comes down to how/where you drive your car and how long you plan on keeping it.

Originally Posted by john335i

I had a clear mask installed on my 2007 335i (Black Sapphire) within 2 weeks of purchasing it. One of the best decisions I made. The installer did a great job, took the time to buff/polish the area prior to the installation. I recently traded my car in for a 535xi and from what I saw the condition of my car (especially the hood and fenders) was far superior to any other used car I saw on the BMW lot. To me this is an absolute no-brainer. And yes I have a clear mask installed on my new car as well.

I respect your opinion, but the reason you give for it is exactly why I wouldn't get it. You probably paid what, $1000? $1200? or more on a professional install that may have kept your car clean but mostly to the benefit of the next owner. If you only kept your car for 3 years, a mask added $30-40/month onto the cost of ownership. I'd bet that unless you would have trashed your car otherwise, the dealer did not pay you one cent more in trade because of the mask. But I'm sure he really appreciated it!

[Ryan323i]

I got one installed at 32k miles because I got my car as a CPO. Didn't want to get any more rock chips and I hate the look of pitted headlights. Definitely worth it with all the salt on the road in the winter! If your car is a daily driver I would get it for sure. I paid 800 or so for the front bumper, a few inches up the hood and fenders, headlights, foglights, and mirrors.

[OC Guy]

One thing to point out is I would not get half hood, I'd go full hood. If I were to do it, I'd go full hood/fenders/bumper. But I think I'll just respray or get a new bumper like someone else here said.

[john335i]

Originally Posted by chumley

I think it comes down to how/where you drive your car and how long you plan on keeping it.




I respect your opinion, but the reason you give for it is exactly why I wouldn't get it. You probably paid what, $1000? $1200? or more on a professional install that may have kept your car clean but mostly to the benefit of the next owner. If you only kept your car for 3 years, a mask added $30-40/month onto the cost of ownership. I'd bet that unless you would have trashed your car otherwise, the dealer did not pay you one cent more in trade because of the mask. But I'm sure he really appreciated it!

I paid $250 dollars.... I didn't do the complete hood (to me that doesn't look right) but had them do the fenders and the 1st - 8 to 10 inches of the hood as well as the mirrors, (where you would expect most rocks, stones to hit. The shop I took it to was also the same shop that 2 or 3 of the local BMW dealers use, so it wasn't some fly by night operation either. In three years the mask held up extremely well, did not peel or yellow. So yes for what I paid it was a no brainer... now if I was shelling out $1000 - $1200 (which seem really high) yes I would have to think about it. I would say tops $500 - $600 which would include the entire hood.