Good place to get 3M clear hood protector done

Apollo95

Apollo95

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Hello,

i'm looking at getting new car windows tinted and 3M clear hood protection.

dealers charge waaay too much.


anyone know of good, reliable and quality places they recommend??

thank you
 
Thank you all for your recommendations. much appreciated.
 
I was at Auto Links last week (Sat. Aug 23). See post here http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...w-preferably&p=2217108&viewfull=1#post2217108

I asked in advance to get paint protection film in addition to my tint and they told me that I would have to schedule that for later. I do not remember the exact wording in his email. Bottom line, Auto Links is very, very busy.

So I called http://www.wrap-id.ca/ in Markham and I was there on Wednesday (2 days ago). I did not get it done, even when I had an appointment. I turned around and went back home. I did not like the way they do business. They quote me $250 (tax incl if I pay cash) for a "partial hood".

I arrived at their location and was asking questions to the receptionist (or girlfriend that they have at the front) to understand the exact meaning of "partial hood", what surface the film would cover for $250. She doesn’t know... starts yelling the questions to the guys at the back... they never came out to explain (they yelled the answers back in chinese). She came out to the car with me and told me that $250 would get me a strip of 3M material, 12 inches high. It doesn’t cover anything else, only the hood, which is narrow due to bulbous headlights. Basically, a relatively small piece of film.

I asked her that I was looking for more coverage, but it was clear she doesn't know what is available or the prices. The guys in the back never came to help her out. I just thought that if I leave the car to them, I was not going to be happy with their job because of the lack of clarity in the communications. For 12 inches coverage I would just buy a bug deflector at the dealer for $100. I do not mind spending more money, I just want to be happy at the end.

Basically... Just tell me what you will do to my car, how you will do it, and your price. Then let me decide.

So I called this guy Marco at http://www.advancedmobilegroup.net/index.html and I am trying to make an appointment for next week. He is also very busy, lots of recommendations at RedFlagDeals. I called him and he asked me to email him instead, so he could answer later. I guess he was in the middle of an install. He uses pre-cut kits specific to the car. He sent me via email several prices of different coverages. It is expensive but I am willing to pay for quality labour. I will let you know if I can get it done there.

Also, he offered me two films, 3M or the Xpel Ultimate (more expensive), so it is nice to have the choice...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q75LcIdtVBY
 
Last edited:
Thank you MarcosSantiago.

Please keep me posted on how it turns out. I agree, I want quality.

my car won't come in until end of October-November. So please share you experience, it will help me a great deal in making the same decisions.

Thanks again.
 
Just had my corvette done with 3m .. did a cash deal with a guy out of Scarborough.

No one could touch his price, as everyone wanted almost a grand.
He gave me the option of using the Xpel as well but its a cheaper product by far.
 
infernobuster said:
Just had my corvette done with 3m .. did a cash deal with a guy out of Scarborough.

No one could touch his price, as everyone wanted almost a grand.
He gave me the option of using the Xpel as well but its a cheaper product by far.
Click to expand...

Do you mind giving me his info? Looking for something close.

Thx
 
I got it done today. Just like with the tinted windows, I think it was quite expensive $$$$, but what do I know, right? I am cheap and have no real reference points.

So, if you remember, http://www.wrap-id.ca/ in Markham said 12 inches of 3M (did not specify which one, as 3M has more than one film available) for $250 (no taxes if you pay cash).

http://www.advancedmobilegroup.net/index.html quoted 18 inches (50% more on the hood) of 3M VentureShield Ultra film, plus extension on the fender, for $350 + tax

So I got to pay more but I got more film on the car. The price of $350 + tax included PROSKIN sealant, supposedly it is an additional charge but he did it free. The sealant application gives you a written warranty that the film will last 8 years (3M has a 5 year warranty). So basically the PROSKIN sealant increases the warranty by 3 years.

Obviously it is brand new film, and it looks fantastic, completely invisible. Almost impossible to photograph.
 
You will thank yourself years later. I had my Jetta done when it was a week old. Sold the car at 430,000 km and it still looked good. It was apparent that the film had taken some hits, and the surface of the film itself looked a bit sandblasted, but the paint underneath was intact and there were no rust spots.
 
infernobuster said:
Just had my corvette done with 3m .. did a cash deal with a guy out of Scarborough.

No one could touch his price, as everyone wanted almost a grand.
He gave me the option of using the Xpel as well but its a cheaper product by far.
Click to expand...

did you do just the hood or more coverage for just under $1000?
 
MarcosSantiago said:
I got it done today. Just like with the tinted windows, I think it was quite expensive $$$$, but what do I know, right? I am cheap and have no real reference points.

So, if you remember, http://www.wrap-id.ca/ in Markham said 12 inches of 3M (did not specify which one, as 3M has more than one film available) for $250 (no taxes if you pay cash).

http://www.advancedmobilegroup.net/index.html quoted 18 inches (50% more on the hood) of 3M VentureShield Ultra film, plus extension on the fender, for $350 + tax

So I got to pay more but I got more film on the car. The price of $350 + tax included PROSKIN sealant, supposedly it is an additional charge but he did it free. The sealant application gives you a written warranty that the film will last 8 years (3M has a 5 year warranty). So basically the PROSKIN sealant increases the warranty by 3 years.

Obviously it is brand new film, and it looks fantastic, completely invisible. Almost impossible to photograph.
Click to expand...

Thanks for getting back with what you ended up doing.

as mentioned by Brian P. I also had my jetta done 8 years ago (at the dealership tho) and there have been rock/debris hits i can see the spots but the 3M has kept up with no breakage in paint and no rust.
this time around i know i shouldn't get it done at dealership and your reply as well as the others above are
very helpful for when my car arrives.
:)
 
seems like a rip off for what you are getting
a piece of $5 plastic that takes a guy 20 minutes to apply especially the precut stuff
tell them to use the left over strip on the back bumper where the trunk lip meets to prevent scratches from sliding things into the trunk
stick left over on side mirrors too
 
-D- said:
seems like a rip off for what you are getting
a piece of $5 plastic that takes a guy 20 minutes to apply especially the precut stuff
tell them to use the left over strip on the back bumper where the trunk lip meets to prevent scratches from sliding things into the trunk
stick left over on side mirrors too
Click to expand...

Definitely seems like a rip off. Expensive! I tried to post a photo of the film on the car to show actual coverage, but it is kind of hard to get the film to show in the photo. I will try again later.

Now, some considerations: I got a Mazda, and it is very prone to chips. It is ironic, but I see this as part of the cost of buying a cheaper car. It is ironic because the car next to mine in the shop was a black Lamborghini, they were doing a "paint correction" before applying the film. So people on expensive cars get the clear bra because they don't want to ever repair the paint on the hood.

My previous car (Toyota Highlander) hold very well with only the bug deflector. At the end it had only a couple of chips, and it spent its life mostly on the highway. I was about to buy another Toyota Highlander, but the new one is almost twice the price than what I paid for a brand new Mazda 5.

There is $5 knock off film, and then there is more expensive film. But I think the labour is the main cost. You are paying for the guy to do it properly.

I think it is important to get the brand name film. The current 3M films are probably twice or three times as good as they were 5 years ago.

And if you get the better film, you may as well get a good installer. It took 1 hour and 40 minutes to install.

The PROSKIN sealant has zero value to me. It seems like another rip off. They guy told me it was included, and now the warranty is 8 years instead of 5... well, good for me I guess, but I would not pay additional money for it.
 
16 years ago, I had the 3M put on my car when I bought it brand new at that time.

It worked and held up well right up to the day I sold it a few months ago. It showed some signs of wear and chips on the clear vinyl, but the paint underneath was unmolested and in prime condition.

Can't remember what I paid as it was so long ago, but it held up well!

When I bought the new car, dealer had a "spin the wheel" gimmick thing where you win a prize. It landed on the 3M vinyl front end. Score!

Sent from my Z30
 
-D- said:
seems like a rip off for what you are getting
a piece of $5 plastic that takes a guy 20 minutes to apply especially the precut stuff
tell them to use the left over strip on the back bumper where the trunk lip meets to prevent scratches from sliding things into the trunk
stick left over on side mirrors too
Click to expand...

The mirrors with their tight compound curves are probably the hardest part to wrap without making it look like ***. I've watched guys install this stuff and fitting it properly is much harder than slapping a sticker on you car.
 
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