Mark in Baltimore

I have checked the archives on this subject but not found the info I need. I'm planning on having an Xpel clear bra kit installed on my car. The installer in my area says the full kit will cost $850 including labor. The full kit includes complete front end, hood, fenders, mirrors, and door edges. Moreover, he says he was the first Xpel installer in the country and has much experience in doing 993's.

Is $850 a fair price? Damn, that seems expensive. A search of the archives revealed that as recently as March of 2002, other people in California were paying about $325 for their clear bras. That's a big difference. I called another installer who doesn't use kits but cuts his own shapes. He was going to charge about $700 or so. For a difference of $500, I would be willing to drive to another city to have it installed.

I am planning on emailing my chapter of PCA to see if I can find some leads but I thought this national/international board could shed some more light on this.

As I always, I appreciate your help!

okindao

I live in Cincinnati and had Stonguard put on my 97 993 cab last year. their web site is stoneguard.com for furtherr information.

I paid approximately $ 850 for the job, I had the front hood extended past the normal point due to my belirf just having the bottom portion only was not sufficent.

Have been pleased with results so far. Felt price was high but everything i read about these clear products indicated the the installers exeperience makes all of the difference. I would try to talk to past customers and look at their cars to see the results prior to purchase

Good luck ,I had tried the magnetic bra, regular bra's but since i intend to keep this car for the long haul felt the investment would be worthwhile.

Only time will tell but so far so good

ESL

I paid about $800 for Stonguard in the fall. I also extended it up the hood about half-way. Too early to tell results.

mike cap

Guys,

You can buy the same 3M product for about $170.00 for the kit that includes all the pieces you described. Go to the invincashield.com website. All the 993 models are shown and just pick out the pieces you want. If you call them they are very helpful if you want a piece made up with, for example, no cutouts for bumperettes, etc.

Installing the kit is easy and the Invincashield kit comes with a video and great instructions. Takes a few hours in the garage with good lighting and a cup of coffee. Maybe two cups. And no interruptions. It actually was fun to install. I did all the pieces on my '97, that Mark described, except for the door edges. Came out great.

It really is a very straightforward DIY. Use the other $$ for something that you really CAN'T do yourself.

Email me with any questions.

Mike Cap
1997 C2
Arena Red

Sam N

Mark,

Mike is right about the 3M product. If you don't want to DIY, there is guy around here that installs them. He was planning on putting it on his own M3 Lightweight over the winter. I think it was around $300 for our cars.

Drop me a line and I can provide more info. I live in Baltimore and the detailer/installer is about 15min. north of here.

Regards,
Sam

BradB

Man, those prices are out of sight! Here in St. Louis you can get a Reflex (parent company) trained representative installed front bumper section for $150 to $175 labor depending on the rep.

If you include the upper hood and mirrors it could bump up to $250.

The film cost is about $450 at full retail.

I have always installed these kits myself. The Carrera kit is a tough one and unless you have done these before, this isn't the one to start with.

$850, though, thats a rip off!

Mark in Baltimore

Hey, guys,

Thanks for your advice. It seems like $850 is not too uncommon but high nonetheless. As I mentioned, after I searched the archives for clear bra info, the price of $325 stuck in my mind.

Sam, I'll shoot an email to you to get your contact.

Cheers,

A.J. - 95 993

I also bought my material from InvincaShield, and am tickled with it. I have only put a few pieces on because there still is some polishing/touch-up that needs to be completed first, but it was not nearly as bad as I thought. There is some skill involved, and patience most of all. But the most critical aspect I found is to use both the soapy solution and the 50/50 alcohol & water solution. Both behave in vastly different manners, and both come in handy when the other just won't work.

I paid about $140 for a full front end, but the ends don't extend out on the sides like the Xpel kit. They will shape the kit you buy any way you want it - I customized nearly every piece on mine. There is no charge, except for any extra material you may use. It was minimal. I am really looking forward to completing the installation - I enjoyed doing it. I started it about 2 months ago, and Murphy's Law has kept me from finishing.

Mark in Baltimore

Thanks, AJ. Did you have a hard time cutting really straight lines on the film?

There is a guy here in town who can do the whole front end for about $250, which is obviously much less than the original $850 quote I got. The only difference, and it may be a big one, is that he custom cuts his pieces as opposed to working with the Xpel kit.

Do you think I can get a really clean look by having someone cut the pieces by hand? I would think that some of the pieces, especially the hood piece, would be hard to maintain an even cut line if there is another reference line nearby to compare it to.

Thoughts?

Regards,

cmoss

With all due respect, at $850 why not live with the chips and get the front bumper painted every 5 years? Sounds like way too much moola.

Mark in Baltimore

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by cmoss:
<strong>With all due respect, at $850 why not live with the chips and get the front bumper painted every 5 years? Sounds like way too much moola.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Yeah, I thought about that, too, but since I'll be DE'ing the car, the hood will be getting some abuse as well. That means it needs to be painted. Given a choice, I'd rather protect something rather than respray it and have to explain, if I decide to sell it, why it was repainted.

Cheers,

scupper

Mark, I had my wife's new BMW 330cic XPELed just three months ago - the price was about $500. I asked the installer about my C2, and he said the price would be about the same. He did an excellant job, particularly around the headlights and other places where there are compound curves. He said he also does Stongard as well. Stongard kits tend to be slightly more expensive because their kits cover more area than the XPEL.
-
Essentially, his installation price was about the same as the kit price, e.g., Kit price was $250, his installation price was another $250. You can check the prices on the XPEL web site:
<a href="http://www.xpel.com" target="_blank">http://www.xpel.com</a>

I just noticed that our installer is no longer listed on the xpel site. His company is Ricochet Auto, Geoff Thompson is the gentleman, and his number is 703-538-5001 - in Falls Church, VA. He was great, and did the work in our garage. I highly recommend him.

Good luck!

ps, by the way, Stongard's web site is at:
<a href="http://www.stongard.com" target="_blank">http://www.stongard.com</a>

It's mispelled in the above posts.

Chuck
93 SC

Mark in Baltimore

Thanks for your help on this issue.

Scupper-I'll email you privately to get your contact info.

Cheers