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Oh, any clear or colored bra/wrap on my 996 Turbo is definitely not for me. I was just interested in your sales example mentioned in the post I responded to. Shopping carts do not inherently know to run into the car's front bumper. They do not discriminate; they can ding other parts of the car too. If the clear bra is only on the front bumper and part of the front fenders, it obviously offers no protection for the doors, rear fenders, or rear bumper.
So I would offer that if there are people who are going to have a bad day if there is any ding/scrape on any painted surface, then a clear bra is not the answer that you offered in your post.
Agree 100%. The reality is that those things you prepare for often do not occur, but something else you didn't plan for does. A good example of that would be what happened to an STi I bought several years ago (now long gone), that I had the back wing removed from prior to delivery, to make it less obvious and less of a target. The car was 2 weeks old, so I parked it out in the far reaches of a Home Depot parking lot at dusk, to avoid door dings.
When I came back to the car 15 minutes later, it had been vandalized to the tune of almost $2000 worth of damage. Someone took a knife and tried to cut through the plastic bumper and surrounds, took a mallet or other blunt instrument and put a dent in above the fuel filler cap, plus other stuff. Yes, this seriously pissed me off and did not result in a great day.
Had I spend a ton of money on surface protections, this would not have done a thing, and I would still have had a pretty ****ty day.
You just can't plan to avoid all the things you plan for with a car, and stuff still happens.
Last edited by champignon; 04-05-2018 at 03:06 PM.
Agree 100%. The reality is that those things you prepare for often do not occur, but something else you didn't plan for does. A good example of that would be what happened to an STi I bought several years ago (now long gone), that I had the back wing removed from prior to delivery, to make it less obvious and less of a target. The car was 2 weeks old, so I parked it out in the far reaches of a Home Depot parking lot at dusk, to avoid door dings.
When I came back to the car 15 minutes later, it had been vandalized to the tune of almost $2000 worth of damage. Someone took a knife and tried to cut through the plastic bumper and surrounds, took a mallet or other blunt instrument and put a dent in above the fuel filler cap, plus other stuff. Yes, this seriously pissed me off and did not result in a great day.
Had I spend a ton of money on surface protections, this would not have done a thing, and I would still have had a pretty ****ty day.
You just can plan to avoid all the things you plan for with a car, and stuff still happens.
Sorry to hear about your Subaru but how often does that happen? Rocks will however hit you EVERY time you drive the car. I don't see how this has to do anything with a clear bra?
I get your point about not being able to prepare for everything but you can minimize the risk and/or damage.
Sorry to hear about your Subaru but how often does that happen? Rocks will however hit you EVERY time you drive the car. I don't see how this has to do anything with a clear bra?
I get your point about not being able to prepare for everything but you can minimize the risk and/or damage.
To each his own!
I'm sure that a clear bra can prevent some rock chips and paint damage. What I am not sure of is that it is worth its cost, since it isn't free, and also not sure that in the end it might not do unintended damage, as in the case of the original poster.
We have lots of rock damage occurring to vehicles where i live, but the worst of it happens to windshields. I go through about 1 windshield per year, which is why I get "full glass" coverage from my insurance company, and always insist on OEM replacement at the dealer. That costs me about $25 extra per vehicle per year, so about $150/year. Since the OEM windshields installed at the dealer tend to run around $1100, that's an expense that I can justify.
Oh, any clear or colored bra/wrap on my 996 Turbo is definitely not for me. I was just interested in your sales example mentioned in the post I responded to. Shopping carts do not inherently know to run into the car's front bumper. They do not discriminate; they can ding other parts of the car too. If the clear bra is only on the front bumper and part of the front fenders, it obviously offers no protection for the doors, rear fenders, or rear bumper.
So I would offer that if there are people who are going to have a bad day if there is any ding/scrape on any painted surface, then a clear bra is not the answer that you offered in your post.
being in the business, I can tell you that on a monthly basis we have some sort of “incident” where clear bra can and DOES help out in those very situations. Is it the perfect solution, no...hence why there are those with your opinion. And I respect that and haven’t tried to convince you otherwise.
again, YOUR choice may be to not opt for the film, but there clearly is a valid case for also having it for those that prefer to avoid things and preserve their original paint. Again, what’s value and priority to one person, may not be to another.
the goal of this thread should be valid and factual advice and perspective. The case has been made for NO film because it’s no value to those individuals. We should be open-minded of others and allow them to also choose to say YES because it’s value to them.
I appreciate your vantage point, and as I mentioned, there is no “one-size-fits-all” recommendation here. Everyone has made some excellent points here and I believe this thread has definitely been a valuable asset to anyone one the fence.
I'm sure that a clear bra can prevent some rock chips and paint damage. What I am not sure of is that it is worth its cost, since it isn't free, and also not sure that in the end it might not do unintended damage, as in the case of the original poster.
We have lots of rock damage occurring to vehicles where i live, but the worst of it happens to windshields. I go through about 1 windshield per year, which is why I get "full glass" coverage from my insurance company, and always insist on OEM replacement at the dealer. That costs me about $25 extra per vehicle per year, so about $150/year. Since the OEM windshields installed at the dealer tend to run around $1100, that's an expense that I can justify.
excellent...so, you value windshield over ppf...because in YOUR particular ownership experience, windshield visibility takes precedence over a few chips here and there.
so, geographically, we must take these factors into the equation when making an educated decision.
excellent...so, you value windshield over ppf...because in YOUR particular ownership experience, windshield visibility takes precedence over a few chips here and there.
so, geographically, we must take these factors into the equation when making an educated decision.
I don't question anyone else's decision to spend money on hobbies and passions as they choose. I have many hobby related expenditures I can't justify, even to myself.
I don't question anyone else's decision to spend money on hobbies and passions as they choose. I have many hobby related expenditures I can't justify, even to myself.
...I can tell you that on a monthly basis we have some sort of “incident” where clear bra can and DOES help out in those very situations. Is it the perfect solution, no...hence why there are those with your opinion. And I respect that and haven’t tried to convince you otherwise.
I think you're missing my point; I think you need to rethink using the "shopping cart" example for justifying a clear bra.
I've taken hits to the paint on my car in all kinds of places. I have them on the top of my rear fender, on my side mirrors, and on my wheels. If someone is going to have a "bad day" when something happens to their paint, then I think the answer is to either 1: get over it, or 2: wrap the entire car. But even given #2, there are projectiles you can encounter on the road that clear wrap will not protect against, which for me would point people to embrace #1.
You just can't plan to avoid all the things you plan for with a car, and stuff still happens.
Nope, but you can protect them from things to the best of your abilities.
I don't baby any of my cars. My turbo has been in my hands for 2.5 years and i've put 20K+ miles on it, and it's a 4th car. But I've ceramic coated it myself, and will be updating the clear bra in the near future. My '55 has been through, rain, snow, hurricanes.....all on a $10K+ paint job. It's been cross country and has the rock chips to prove it. But man do I wish I had clear bra'd it, just the technology wasn't around in the late 90's when it was painted. But it'll get it done once i fix the rock chips, and currently has ceramic coating on it as well.
Between all the time i drive my cars, I also wash them regularly as that's my zen time away from my family. I don't wash them for other people to see, i wash them for myself.
I think you're missing my point; I think you need to rethink using the "shopping cart" example for justifying a clear bra.
I've taken hits to the paint on my car in all kinds of places. I have them on the top of my rear fender, on my side mirrors, and on my wheels. If someone is going to have a "bad day" when something happens to their paint, then I think the answer is to either 1: get over it, or 2: wrap the entire car. But even given #2, there are projectiles you can encounter on the road that clear wrap will not protect against, which for me would point people to embrace #1.
but couldn't the argument there are plenty of things it WOULD protect against be valid?
but couldn't the argument there are plenty of things it WOULD protect against be valid?
Using a potential shopping cart impact to validate having a clear bra ignores the fact that the shopping cart could impact the car someplace other than where the clear bra is. Of the percentage of exposed paint vulnerable to a shopping cart hit, the clear bra doesn't cover much of the total area.
I used to be pretty **** about the paint on my cars, but over the years I have seen that no matter what you do stuff happens. So I just spend time appropriately washing, polishing, and waxing the paint, watch where I park, avoid following too closely behind other vehicles, and let the "chips" fall where they may.
Using a potential shopping cart impact to validate having a clear bra ignores the fact that the shopping cart could impact the car someplace other than where the clear bra is. Of the percentage of exposed paint vulnerable to a shopping cart hit, the clear bra doesn't cover much of the total area.
I used to be pretty **** about the paint on my cars, but over the years I have seen that no matter what you do stuff happens. So I just spend time appropriately washing, polishing, and waxing the paint, watch where I park, avoid following too closely behind other vehicles, and let the "chips" fall where they may.
Plus, being extremely **** about a car makes it less fun to own it, drive, and enjoy it, always worrying about what might happen. A vintage car that looks like it just came off the showroom floor is a bit like a woman who wears so much makeup that it looks fake.
04-05-2018, 02:19 PM
