rem

Just bought a 545i 6 speed Saturday before last and drove about 1,200 miles roundtrip for the holiday. I noticed a small (pinhead sized) chip on the front hood area where a rock from the road must have hit it. I'm thinking of getting the clear protective covering for the front of the hood, mirrors, and bumper to minimize this..I travel a lot of country roads where rocks tend to pop up now and then.
Anybody ever see this on a car? Any opinions or recommendations? My dealer tells me it is virtually invisible especially on a lighter colored car (mine is silver gray metallic).

As a side note, the car has been excellent so far.

ezwing

I noticed several of the Mini's at a BMW dealer in Virgnina had the clear protectant on it. It look OK but not sure what it will look lke after a few thousand miles of getting hit by stones. Still probably better than scratching the paint though.

RichReg

rem;

I have this covering on my 323Ci and I would highly recommend it, just make sure you get a professional installer who's obviously had some experience with this material.

I removed the covering after about 18 months and there was absolutely no change in the paint at all. Then I had the car detailed and replaced it with a new one. No problems since then at all, and yes, it would look fairly invisible on Silver Gray. It is also very easy to keep clean;;surface marks will rub right off with a little Armor-All, unless of course you get hit with a large stone that tears the material.

R.R.

oreo

Which brand do you have on your protective covering? How much did it cost to have it fitted?

RichReg

oreo;

For my car, I was recently quoted a little over $160 for both the hood AND bumper kit from Pacific BMW (internet/wholesale price), but I'm sure the E60's would cost more. The actual company that makes it for BMW is the same as those who make what is called the "X-Pel" version:

Xpel Home

Same stuff really, and you can buy the kits from either source. X-Pel's kits are cut a tad bit bigger than the BMW kits for additional coverage, but are a helluva lot more expensive IMO. XPel's customer service was very good as well. They even replaced individual pieces for me @ wholesale when they were improperly installed.

Regarding installation, I think I paid about $150 to have both hood & bumper installed a few years ago, but I have no idea what it would cost today. Maybe less since there are more installers around as well as more users of the product, but who knows? You could call them and check for installers in your area.

Good luck,
R.R.

oreo

RichReg:

I am located in Sweden and the use of of Protective Covering for cars have basically no spread at all here. I have yet not found anyone who actually sells it! I am thinking about buying over internet and therefore I would like to get a bit more information about a reasonable price-level first. Thanks for your input!

cidair

This protective covering seems like a very interesting thing. I?m taking delivery of my 545iA first week of february.

Do anyone know of 3M trim line protective cover for hood, bumper, mirrors etc.
It looks very much like the xpel product.

One big question is of course how it will look on my car? Mine is titan silver.

cidair

oreo:

I live in Sweden too. So if you find out anything about this issue please let me know.

RichReg

cidair;

3M is the manufacturer for most of the distributors that make this product, it is just cut differently by them for marketing purposes.

You can try Invinca-Shield:

Invinca-Shield Home.

or Dyna-Shield (VERY expensive)

Dyna-Shield Home

You could also try checking with a wholesale BMW parts dealer for a good price on their kit, as it is pretty much the same as X-Pel's. Stongard is another one:

Stongard

Hope this helps!

R.R.