I own an '03 coupe and I have a million paint chips on my front bumper (mostly from the PO). I have no clear bra and I'm sure it would have helped me.

My coworked just bought an '07X and was wondering, has the paint quality improved? Is the clear bra worth it for 07's?

Thanks!

 

I think clear bras are a good investment on any car, especially our G's (and M's).....so I would get it installed anyway.

As to whether the paint has improved or not, I don't know.
IMHO it needed to, but doubt any improvement would completely stop the chipping that's very noticeable on black paint.

C.

 

Madchef, I think it's definitely worth it, esp if you can get a good price on it. After 20,000 miles (mostly highway) my bumper looks like crap, and the front end of my hood has it's fair share of dings too. On your coupe, down by the splashguards, you already have some factory clearsheild installed. Look at it closely - see how many dings it has. Then think about how your quarter panels might look if that wasn't there. The paint underneath that small piece of clearshield is probably mint. This helps alot with resale value, and also for peace of mind.
I know where you can go locally (Danvers) and get it installed at a good price. Redi-Rite Autobody in Danvers is going to get a clearshield installed for me, since I'm about to get my 05 coupe's front end repainted after it got keyed Friday night. Matt is the owner at Redi-Rite, his name on the forums is G Force 06. You might also PM Scootch, he works there too. Matt is usually too busy to check the forums, or just PM me for their number.

 

If you plan on keeping the car for a long time, then it's worth it.

For example, I had it installed on my current G35 coupe and paid about $440 for the custom install. Now, two years later, I am going to sell my car to get a sedan (07 G35 sedan, most likely). For me, it was a bit of a waste since I've only driven my coupe about 7500 miles in two years! If I didn't get the clearbra installed, the bumper would probably look almost the same since it's only been two years and I didn't drive it much. When I sell my car in the near future, that "investment" isn't going to affect the resale value. I could have saved over $400. However, if I kept my car for 4+ yrs, it would surely be worth it.

Note, if you're leasing, then don't bother! Obviously.

 

A few months ago my answer would have been Yes!, but now...

Have had a clear bra on the hood (hood and mirrors only) of my Max for about three years, ever since I made Nissan repaint the hood and front bumper because they had so many freakin' paint chips (at something like 5k miles). And sure enough, the clear bra has saved all but one chip, and that rock was apparently big enough to get through the plastic and actually dent the hood So given the choice of a) slight appearance change of a clear bra, or significant appearance change of paint chips, went with the clear bra.

Now though, I bought the G and have looked at the Max. After 63k miles the area covered by the bra is clear, but there are multiple paint chips over the rest of the hood, which would have happened anyway. And while the front bumper has some chips, they're actually not that noticeable (this could be due to two coats of paint)... So...the G is probably not going to get a clear bra, and if it gets bad enough maybe I'll just repaint. Is this the right way to go? Not really sure, we'll see.

Good luck!

 

I'd install clear bra with all cars

 

The decision would depend on several factors including those mentioned. Consider such things as the number of miles you drive, potential resell value, the cost amortized over the time you own the car, etc.

In my case, it helped out today. I was doing about 80 and a chunk of orange plastic (maybe from a warning cone) was bouncing in my lane after the car in front of me went over it. I couldn't avoid it. I heard the hit and saw the plastic fly off my hood.

After I got home, there was a rather large scuff on the grill and up into the clear bra. The plastic film held up nice with no cuts, but I'm not too happy about the plastic grill (which was not covered). I don't think the grill can be buffed out because it is plastic ... oh well, it was bound to happen. I'd say score one for the clear bra.

 

Well, if the clear bra is $700, would you really get that back in resale value? If your hood or bumper were really bad, would it cost less than that to have them repainted, or had a good detailer touch up the paint chips?

 

Isn't this like getting plastic covers for a really nice couch you want to preserve? Just kidding :-) . I know, it's not as bad as plastic covers on a couch...

 

I have one and will never own another car without it. When I look at the difference between my G and my wife's 325 (no clearbra) side by side in the garage, it is obvious (painfully so from my wife's perspective) the clearbra was well worth it.

 

As with aftermarket stereos, rims, or mods, you really never see returns in resale value when you sell your car. Ppl couldn't care less if the car has a clearbra or not as far as paying more for your used car. It will only make your car more enticing to buy. However, it wouldn't really increase the value of the car.

 

imho, the paint has not improved.

I loved my '03 G; I love my '07 G.

But the paint durability stinks. It seems that anyone who walks by my car (even in the garage) is likely to leave a visible scratch.

I have the bra on this one, but don't have an opinion on value.

Lee

 

Thanks a bunch for the responses, I'm going to go scare him into buying it now

 

Didn't Infiniti use to call the paint "Diamand Coat" I remember when I was first looking at the 2004 G35 that was one of their selling features and claimed that the paint was equal to a diamond on the hardness factor. Seems like they stopped hyping that as a feature.

It's not just infiniti, it's most japanese & american cars that have thin paint. My 02 Altima has horrible paint, after 60K miles the front is destroyed.

The best paint I've ever seen on any car is Audi. My parents have a 2000 A8 & and 02 A8L, both have around 70K miles and you can't find a single chip on that car. The paint is about 1/4 inch thick too... it looks like it has 50 coats of clear coat alone.

Paint is a quick way to save money, looking at the Audi it looks like it has about a $15K paint job. While Infiniti/Nissan looks like it's about a $3K paint job.

 

My Volvo had an incredible paint job as well. I think the paint was so good it probably added to the structural integrity of that car.

All this talk is making me think of spending the $700+ for the clear bra, since I am buying my car. I don't think it pays for itself, but since I have a dark color, any chips are likely to be fairly visible.