Clear Bra

[Disco4Me]

YOU GUYS ARE ALL GETTING RIPPED OFF!

$850 - $895? I agree with Disco4Me regarding the letters being precision cut into the clear bra. I installed the Clear Bra in 2008 on my BMW 335i sedan. I had the job done at http://www.tintmax.com in Flushing, NY. I even had Steve (owner) do a custom 360 degree job. His laptop computer is connected to a Laser cutting machine. The vehicle make is preloaded into the machine and he feeds a huge sheet of laminant into the machine and precisely cuts out the different parts.

I've done the front upper and lower bumper, hood, fenders, mirrors, all 4-doors, rear bumper, and 3M window tints for a total of $800. I've customed the hood and fenders. The hood was a standard 8 inches., but had him extend to 12 inches of protection, and the same goes with the fenders. I had my bimmer for over two years, and still not a single scratch working in Wash, D.C. Whenever I had a "white" scuf mark, I took it back and he took an heat gun and the white scuff mark would come right out, making it shiny again. Part of warranty. He custom installed a 12" strip across the doors by the impact areas...that's all you need, no need to laminate the whole door. He then laminated the rear bumper and the top part so you won't scratch paint when loading stuff in the trunk. He threw in a bonus and laminated a strip behind each wheel where the splash guards would be. I don't have splash guards. The Porsche 911s come with laminant protection behind the wheels. Again, all this for $800. Lastly, the price included tail light tinting. They have special tints made specifically for rear tail lights. Better than spraying clear tints.

Once I take delivery of my 2011 LR4 HSE, it's going straight to his shop for 3M window tinting and Clear Bra. Accept this time, it'll come out even cheaper because I won't need it for the doors and rear bumper. I added the side molding w/ chrome accents accessory on the LR4, elliminating the need to clear bra it. The rear of LR4 has that unpainted plastic which you probably won't have to laminate. Instead I ordered a black powder coated steal bar that attaches to the trailer hitch and goes across the bumper 12 inches to each side protecting the rear from impact. I will also install the rear tail light tints. This should look great on a black LR4. I should be able to negotiate a $400 price tag, including a hand car wash with waxing. If anyone of you live close to NY, it's worth the drive. Expect to be there for the day. Make an appointment and reserve the day.

Last recommendation. Most likely the machine will cut out spaces for the Land Rover lettering. I would also add the front OEM Land Rover hood wind/rock deflector. It has Land Rover written across it in White letters and is $100. I've seen it on a LR4 and looks great. It also causes the rocks to bounce over your windshield. If you install this part, you won't even see the Land Rover letters on the hood so it'll be irrelevent whether the letters are protected or not.

V/r,
Chris

Thanks Chris! Sounds like you have everything ready to go when your truck arrives in Jan. I'm in NJ so I might make a visit to TintMax this weekend. BTW, where are you ordering the powder coated steel bar for your rear bumper?

 

[vivaldi1]

Go *****! Pinstripes are like little badges of honor for the Land Rover!

Sounds interesting though. I got the impression Clear Bra was one of those fabric covers for the hood, but looks like it's more of a seamless outer transparent layer which does sound intriguing. Was looking for before/after pics didn't find any - just curious what 'nearly invisible' really means.

-W

 

[waltzonice]

What's the name of your local dealer? My dealer is charging me $85 for "Land" and another $86 for "Rover".

I just got a quote back from bputah.com (online parts store) and they are quoting $105 for the "LAND ROVER" decal. So it sounds like $40 is a steal!

 

[horacioad]

I just checked the body shop estimate and it was $47 for the "Land Rover" letters. I just did a quick google for it and found it for $50, rover connection I think it was.

 

[holygrail]

Bumper protector - Powder coated/Stainless steel rear bar

Thanks Chris! Sounds like you have everything ready to go when your truck arrives in Jan. I'm in NJ so I might make a visit to TintMax this weekend. BTW, where are you ordering the powder coated steel bar for your rear bumper?

Disco4Me,

How's it going? You can order the bar at http://www.carid.com/2009-land-rover-lr3-grill-guards/item-71663.html. This is an universal part. It goes by hitch size, 2" for Land Rovers.

If you're going to Tintmax, make sure you make an appointment by phone at least one week in advance. You can find his address and phone number on his webpage. Ask for Steve. He's the owner. When you go there, you'll see a lot of nice cars getting hand washes, waxes, etc. Tell him that Chris sent you, that you're my buddy and said that he'll give you a great deal! Make sure you tell him, "Chris from Virginia...the one with the Black BMW 335i." I'm probably his only customer that drives up to NY all the way from VA. While you're there, might as well tint your front windows, unless you did that already.

I believe Steve has the best prices...and even if he doesn't, I'll still go to him b/c he does an awesome job. I'm very **** when it comes to my cars and he meets my standards. You won't ever find a spec of dust underneath your Clear Bra or tints.

P.S. Do me a favor. Tell him for me that I'll be back from Afghanistan in Dec or Jan, and I'll see him then to do my LR4 as well. Thanks.

V/r,
Chris.

 

[Disco4Me]

Disco4Me,

How's it going? You can order the bar at http://www.carid.com/2009-land-rover-lr3-grill-guards/item-71663.html. This is an universal part. It goes by hitch size, 2" for Land Rovers.

If you're going to Tintmax, make sure you make an appointment by phone at least one week in advance. You can find his address and phone number on his webpage. Ask for Steve. He's the owner. When you go there, you'll see a lot of nice cars getting hand washes, waxes, etc. Tell him that Chris sent you, that you're my buddy and said that he'll give you a great deal! Make sure you tell him, "Chris from Virginia...the one with the Black BMW 335i." I'm probably his only customer that drives up to NY all the way from VA. While you're there, might as well tint your front windows, unless you did that already.

I believe Steve has the best prices...and even if he doesn't, I'll still go to him b/c he does an awesome job. I'm very **** when it comes to my cars and he meets my standards. You won't ever find a spec of dust underneath your Clear Bra or tints.

P.S. Do me a favor. Tell him for me that I'll be back from Afghanistan in Dec or Jan, and I'll see him then to do my LR4 as well. Thanks.

V/r,
Chris.

Thanks buddy ! I'll contact Steve today to schedule an appointment before heading out and good idea about getting the windows tinted. I'll let Steve knows that you'll be seeing soon in Jan.

-Adam

 

[Disco4Me]

Thanks buddy ! I'll contact Steve today to schedule an appointment before heading out and good idea about getting the windows tinted. I'll let Steve knows that you'll be seeing soon in Jan.

-Adam

Hey Chris,

I called Steve last week to get a quote for the bumper, hood,mirrors and fender. He wanted $850 for the entire job. I mentioned your name but he told me that the LR4 is a big truck. Anyway, thanks for all your help. Seems like $800 is the going rate out there.

-Adam

 

[holygrail]

$850?? Can't be right!

Hey Chris,

I called Steve last week to get a quote for the bumper, hood,mirrors and fender. He wanted $850 for the entire job. I mentioned your name but he told me that the LR4 is a big truck. Anyway, thanks for all your help. Seems like $800 is the going rate out there.

-Adam

Adam,

I'm very surprised!! Every dealership around the U.S. lowered their price since 2008. BMW used to charge $1200 just for the bumper, hood, fenders, and mirrors. Steve charged me $400 for bumper, (custom) hood, (custom) fenders, and mirrors...$20 for each door (4x)...$120 for the rear bumper...and $200 for 3M tints all around the car including the top portion of the front windshield. That's a total of $800...and $600 without tints for 360 degrees of protection.

I understand that a LR4 is larger than a BMW 335i, but it's not twice larger and not twice the Clear Bra material. The LR4 is also less labor intensive than the bimmer and take less time to install b/c it's mostly flat surfaces. If I would use cost analysis, I wouldn't pay more than $600 for the front end package. The doors should be the same price since the size of the material don't change (12" width). The rear bumber is only three inches wider than the 335i...maybe $140 for that. The bulk of price would come from the large fenders. Did you tell him it was Chris from VA with the black bimmer that recommended you to him?

This is what I'll do. I'm going to try to find some time this week to call him from Afghanistan. This affects me too now since I'm going to do my work through him...driving up from VA to NY. I also got to add gas and tolls in my case. The price has to be worth it. NY will always be cheaper than VA bottom line.

I'm going to ask him to consider $600. I think that's reasonable. I haven't seen him for two years, but spoken to him over the phone. I never talked about inflation, etc. Maybe I could convince him to make $600 the "internet" price or the "group price." People do that on the E90post BMW blog sites all the time...they get a couple of folks together and the store provides a discount. That's what I did for my dual exhaust system. I don't know how many of you are from the NY/NJ area, but is anyone else down with this??? What do you think?

V/r,
Chris

 

[Disco4Me]

Adam,

I'm very surprised!! Every dealership around the U.S. lowered their price since 2008. BMW used to charge $1200 just for the bumper, hood, fenders, and mirrors. Steve charged me $400 for bumper, (custom) hood, (custom) fenders, and mirrors...$20 for each door (4x)...$120 for the rear bumper...and $200 for 3M tints all around the car including the top portion of the front windshield. That's a total of $800...and $600 without tints for 360 degrees of protection.

I understand that a LR4 is larger than a BMW 335i, but it's not twice larger and not twice the Clear Bra material. The LR4 is also less labor intensive than the bimmer and take less time to install b/c it's mostly flat surfaces. If I would use cost analysis, I wouldn't pay more than $600 for the front end package. The doors should be the same price since the size of the material don't change (12" width). The rear bumber is only three inches wider than the 335i...maybe $140 for that. The bulk of price would come from the large fenders. Did you tell him it was Chris from VA with the black bimmer that recommended you to him?

This is what I'll do. I'm going to try to find some time this week to call him from Afghanistan. This affects me too now since I'm going to do my work through him...driving up from VA to NY. I also got to add gas and tolls in my case. The price has to be worth it. NY will always be cheaper than VA bottom line.

I'm going to ask him to consider $600. I think that's reasonable. I haven't seen him for two years, but spoken to him over the phone. I never talked about inflation, etc. Maybe I could convince him to make $600 the "internet" price or the "group price." People do that on the E90post BMW blog sites all the time...they get a couple of folks together and the store provides a discount. That's what I did for my dual exhaust system. I don't know how many of you are from the NY/NJ area, but is anyone else down with this??? What do you think?

V/r,
Chris

Hey Chris,

I'm getting just the front bumper done this weekend with Lee Berb from NJ for $315. If everything looks good, I'll get the hood, fender and mirrors done too for another $230. I met up with him last week and go my windwos tinted for $80.They came out great. He also put on a sample piece of the 3M film on my Santorini Black truck so I can see how it would look. It's unbelievable, you can't tell that its there. I'll keep you posted. BTW, Steve is currently renovatiing his shop and I wonder if he jacked up the price to pay for the renovation.

-Adam

 

[waltzonice]

I just got mine done yesterday. The total bill including tax came to just under $700. I wound up using the same shop that my dealer uses to do the work -- but went direct to the shop to save some $$$. They were able to remove the letters and put them back without having to buy a whole new set. I guess they must have their own template since they do so many cars for the dealer. Here's the price they quoted me:

Hood/Fenders - $200
Bumper - $350
Headlights and foglights - $100
Mirrors - $55

They only charged me $20 for the mirrors to give me a small discount. I may have been able to bargain it down some more, but I didn't bother.

For the hood, I got the 12" strip, but they also offer 18" for $290, and 24" for $350. But they agreed that for the LR4, probably 12" is sufficient.