Daily Driver M3 - Worth installing Clear Bra (XPEL)?

[georgere]

In your opinion is it worth installing Clear Bra (XPEL) on the black/dark color M3/4 that is used as daily driver?

I got a deal for full front + rocker panels at $1400

in my opinion:

pros:
-$1400 will go a long way - resale value will be better vs. car w/o the wrap
-DD is bad for any car and the wrap will prevent a lot of damage

cons:
-wasting 1400 on something that will eventually deteriorate
-I read you must remove clear bra after 5 years no matter the condition
-some damage cannot be prevented despite the wrap (parking lot bumps, large rocks flying, etc.)
-areas not covered will still get dings thus reducing the car value and so why wrap anything at all
-in the past clear bra was not available and cars survived and were sold ok, so why now it is so important to wrap to preserve looks and value?
-wraps looks like plastic on furniture
-???

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Also wondering if I should budget this in my M4 budget plan. I will be DD all winter so should probably xpel front bumber hood and mirros.

[Aud Dr]

Originally Posted by georgere

In your opinion is it worth installing Clear Bra (XPEL) on the M3/4 that is used as daily driver?

-???

For me, no. I drive regular city and residential roads and don't have much problem with small rocks hitting my car. If I drove in sandy areas I might make the investment.

When I get my 2016 SO M3 next month, I am much more likely to have it treated with Opti-coat or Beeds HD. Both of these provide some protection to the paint in the form of a clear ceramic coating which is supposed to resist the elements and provide for a shinier finish. This is also expensive but might make the car look better too.

[DarksideM4]

If it is your daily it is worth it, the paint is very thin and I'm sure you will probably take it to velocities that Even a beetle hitting the front could chip the paint. I daily mine mostly toll roads in Texas and have had my fair amount of random shit shot up to the front of the car, if you have a dark color where paint dmg is very noticeable I would do it. It's an expensive car you invested in, and a clear bra and some nano coating on the rest of the paint is worth it to keep the car looking good.

[ZPinhead]

The other thing to remember is that the material that the bumper cover is made of is black, so if you have a lighter colored paint (mine is SS), rock chips on the nose will be black dings and stand out like a sore thumb.

[pruettfan]

I think it depends on a lot of factors, the environment you live in is something to consider. I live in AZ and the roads are coated with dirt, sand and small rocks that come when we have monsoons, this really tears up the front of our cars. I have seen Xpel and clear bra on many cars, some colors are issues for these films because seams can really show and it can look a bit different than bare paint. I have seen cars totally covered in Xpel (Porsche 918 Spyder) and of course when you cover the entire car you can't really tell it is covered and the entire car's paint is protected. I plan on getting an M2 and will have the front bumper covered but won't do the rest of the car, I am hoping that by not having a hood seam it will not show. If I lived in a more car friendly state I am not sure I would do it. And yes depending on the conditions these films need to be removed at about 5 years because most will yellow and they get swirls in them after a while.

[Alvinized52]

Worth it if you plan on keeping the car for a while.

Originally, I just wanted to do the basic front protection with Ultimate... But decided to I wanted to make a statement since Im spending some money anyway. Since I always wanted to get the Frozen Silverstone but couldnt wait for ED... I figured I will Xpel Stealth the car to achieve the "frozen" look with the added protection.

By the way, finding a good installer is the key! I just got my car back from the installer who almost took 3weeks fully wrapping my car with Xpel Stealth. He took his sweet time...but It is a flawless installation. He's the best in my area IMO. He also customized the patterns so you do not see the seams. Stealth on anything SS...and Ultimate on anything black and CF (including the CF roof, splitters, and all black window trims).

Looks way better in person... The metallic paint shows through the Stealth so its better than Vinyl wraps. Expensive! But its worth it for my piece of mind and the "rubber necks" and compliments i get every day!
Pix from my iphone...

[Treeboy]

To me the PPF is like a "road hazard policy" on the paint - no additional charge for repairs of all chips, paint blemishes (due to bird bombs left to dry on the paint on the hot day) etc., without actually dealing with the panels being repainted and therefore diminishing the retail value.
As with any extended warranty or road hazard policy, some see them as a waste of money, others enjoy additional peace of mind.
Xpel Ultimate is warrantied for 10 years, parts a labour. So in my case it is like having PPF for a life of the car (in my ownership). I have got the full front, rocket panels, full roof, luggage strip covered. Sure enough it is overkill for many. But I own the car and intend to keep it past 5 years.

[Treeboy]

Originally Posted by Alvinized52

Worth it if you plan on keeping the car for a while.

Originally, I just wanted to do the basic front protection with Ultimate... But decided to I wanted to make a statement since Im spending some money anyway. Since I always wanted to get the Frozen Silverstone but couldnt wait for ED... I figured I will Xpel Stealth the car to achieve the "frozen" look with the added protection.

By the way, finding a good installer is the key! I just got my car back from the installer who almost took 3weeks fully wrapping my car with Xpel Stealth. He took his sweet time...but It is a flawless installation. He's the best in my area IMO. He also customized the patterns so you do not see the seams. Stealth on anything SS...and Ultimate on anything black and CF (including the CF roof, splitters, and all black window trims).

Looks way better in person... The metallic paint shows through the Stealth so its better than Vinyl wraps. Expensive! But its worth it for my piece of mind and the "rubber necks" and compliments i get every day!
Pix from my iphone...

"Frozen" matte film looks great! Congrats! Thanks for sharing the picture.

[omegaSMP300]

Yes definitely. Rock chips are the worst and it will be very worth it.

[georgere]

anyone from North East area? I see lots of folk from TX/AZ/CA area and wondering if the perspective is different in NE.

Thanks for feedback. So far it seems that XPELing the car is worth it.

[TheLegend]

Lived in the northeast, NJ for quite awhile, but I drive a lot of highway. The worst is the winter months with salted roads cause every car will kick up salt onto the front of your car. My first car I decided to clear bra was a WRB Subaru STI. Obviously clear bra tech has improved vastly. I think it's well worth the cost as after 6 years now the clear bra still looks fine, it hasn't yellowed. It's protected my car from chips. My friends car without a wrap, who does much less driving than I do his hood and front bumper looks like it was hit with a shotgun blast.

Now I have clear bra on my new M4, and there's already a huge dent in my front bumper from what must have been a huge rock, but the paint is still intact. Really the only way to tell is if you look closely and feel the depression. Without the clear bra I imagine it would have been a huge eye sore. also several areas where the clear bra itself shows impact but I'm confident to say if I lift up the clear bra the paint underneath will be pristine.

Repainting is always an option but then the paint will never be original underneath. Touching up with paint never comes out good. I've tried the dr colorchip stuff, while it's better than the typical stuff, still looks wayyyyy worse than a clear bra in my opnion. It's hard to tell that there is a clear bra unless you look closely. The biggest disadvantage is that dirt accumulates on the edges. I think the cost is well worth the benefits.

[RobbyMack]

worth it if you're keeping it; on a lease, no way in hell. FWIW I did full bumper, front fenders, hood, a pillars, front impact area of roof, rocker panels, rear luggage rack, and rear fenders and impact areas then ultimate plus opticoat pro + everywhere else. Totally worth it for me. Not only will it make maintenance a breeze (chemical guys no rinse the whole car in 10 minutes this weekend, looks flawless) it will cut down on the amount of OCD I have and not worry so much about small rock chips, bird droppings, etc. Since I'll keep this car, 10-12 years it's a worthwhile investment. Ultimate has a 10 year warantee, and the opticoat I think has 5, so I'll reapply opti (my installer will give me a discount) in 5.

[TillyM]

I say go for it, especially for that kinda price for XPEL Ultimate.
2 months into getting XPEL done, I am very glad that I got XPEL done while car's new. car looks showroom condition and very easy to get the dust off and most of all can care less if I may get a road rock chip on the car. pratically worry free on that.

XPEL makes it easy to clean the car on 2-3 time a week, with simple wipe off on most of the time and love the showroom "shine" all the time.

if you are gonna get XPEL done, get it sooner the better. and intall by experienced, reputed certified installer. I had mine done by one of the top in the town but, still showed some bubble by the front lip (very small almost un-noticable from farview) which I didn't really mind.. not to mention 10 year warranty that covers any stain, peel-off etc..

for the price you were estimated, I wouldn't wait a sec..

My 2 cents

[clutchdj]

contact phil at detailersdomian he has a special for october going on; he might still honor it. I just got my car back from him. i've also done xpel on past vehicles. on this car i had the whole front wrapped including partial hood and fenders (f&r), A-pillar, rear bumper strip, skirts, mirrors; etc yeah sort of went crazy. but i think it looks outstanding.

one would think damn, plastic is costly but when its applied correctly its invisible. it has advanced since the 90's and really is invisible. i'm 30 minutes from stamford so we share the same snow and rock pelting semi's on i95

on a new car over 30k I would at least apply xpel to the headlights and maybe partial front. on an ///M full front for sure. you don't really need it anywhere else on the body but it doesn't hurt. anyway, it's close to the cost of a front end respray which is not even original paint. do it

[qspring]

I have expel ultimate full hood, roof, front fascia, fenders, and rocker panels on my BSM M4 and coated with opticoat plus. For me it's worth it because I like to keep my cars in pristine condition, and rock chips bother the crap out of me on dark colored paint.

Expel helps with the rock chips and debris. I've been told by a few detailers that BMWs BSM paint is "soft" and more prone chips and scratches. I've had PPF on my 370Z that protected my hood and A pillar from major paint damage in the past, and have sworn by it ever since.

Opticoat puts another coating on the car to protect the clear coat. It has a greater hardness factor than the clear coat making it more resistant to scratches from washing and more resistant to paint contaminant caused by bird dropping, big guts, tree sap etc. it also makes it easier to wash

[georgere]

Now where do I get optician done...... I m doing pcd would be nice to get it now.
M

[hockey21]

pass. car is depreciating anyways you'll never get that 1500 back.

[Alvinized52]

Even though my iphone pix may not do it justice... I thought I would follow up by showing you a close up of the Xpel Stealth over the SS2 metallic paint. Notice the metallic paint flecks are still showing through the Xpel Stealth... Giving it that a more satin look than matte from a distance. Not like that dull cheap plastic vinyl look that some other type of wraps give you. XPel is the best IMO....

Also, the headlight is wrapped with XPel Ultimate.... You cant even tell its there, even up close. The devil is in the detail. Find yourself an installer that is good at tucking in the edges.

By the way, my installer (Peter - Clear Bra Pro) thinks the Stealth has better protection than Ultimate since he says it is slightly thicker than the Utimate.

[The1JAZ]

Phil did mine at Detailers Domain. I did the entire hood, a-arms, 1/4 of the carbon fiber roof, entire front bumper, rear ledge on the fender, the side rocker panels and the vertical area on the rear quarter panel.

[Alvinized52]

Just thought i would share an updated pix I shot today...
Interesting how SS2 changes hues depending on time of day. This was shot early this morning while the sun is starting to break and before it started raining in Socal.

[verruckt]

Add me to the group of "Nope" - With some caveats.

If you have a non-MW, or non-frozen color.

For $1400 I could get the bumper resprayed when the time comes...

That said, I am going to do the CF roof.