Steve:
Think of the 'clear bra' as a big piece of heavy-duty transparent tape.
My brother had one
put on his Audi S4 by the dealer -- they charged him about $300 I think.
It did protect the
car from rock chips and it's thick enough to absorb a little impact from
pebbles, so it
might even reduce the risk of small dings. But it lasts about 3 years,
and can start to turn
dark or discolored sooner. On his bright blue car, the clear bra was a
murky charcoal
grey after a little less than two years -- and it was noticably *not
clear* after the first
year. I think the warranty was 3 years prorated so it ended up costing
him $100 a year.
LBC content: I picked him up at the dealer in the TR4, one of a dozen
times I've picked
him up after problems with his Audi or new Volvo. In the same timeframe,
I haven't been
to the Triumph dealer once!
Personally I prefer rock chips to an piece of plastic on any of my old
cars. My brother's
experience was five years ago, maybe they hold up better now? I have a
friend who
is working on a static-cling plastic product for use with (I can't say)
so maybe they're
making it without adhesives now. They're certainly not 'invisible' but
when new they're
not annoying either (on a new car). The only place I really notice rock
chips on my car is
the front valance, maybe that would be a good place for you to focus --
rather than the
bonnet -- since it would be less noticable?
Steven Newell
Littleton, CO
Participate in Democracy.
"In the end, we will not so much remember the words of our enemies,
but the silence of our friends." Martin Luther King, Jr.
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