Interior Exterior
Q:
Need to find a good and hopefully fair priced installer for a clearbra on a couple of my vehicles including the Elise. I'm looking at a long commute in the coming future and need to get ready.
TIA
A:
Fred,
You may want to check with Ryan@Autopaintguard.com. He is from my area, but he may be willing to travel, especially considering that you will be doing other vehicles. He did mine and he takes great pride in getting it done and done right.
Kris
A:
Kris,
Thanks, I'll check him out. I have 2 cars I need to do for myself so its probably a whole day job as is.
A:
Fred;
At one of the local road rallies, someone from one of the protection companies 0gave a display. I think it was Accuguard, and I took their card, but I gave it to my co-worker, since she crashed her Elise and needs to have Starshield or something similar put on.
If you subscribe to the So Fl Lotus Yahoo group there were some posts about it (I think they gave the Lotus club a discount) or I can check with my co-worker tommorrow and see if she still has the card
A:
I found the email from the Lotus LTD group:
The owner is named Glen and his phone number is 954-394-8250
I have heard good comments about their work. They even went up to Jacksonville and replaced the stuff for free for a member of Elisetalk (SweetDaddyO?) after I contacted them on his behalf. The installion was screwed up since the dealer in Miami kept the cars dirty and didnt have adequate space to do the installion in a clean environment.
> Members,
> I just received the Accuguard prices for the Clear Paint
> Protection Film Kits, for the Esprit V8 and new Elise. The following
> prices include installation and our Florida Lotus Club discount.
>
> V8 Esprit: $365
>
> Elise: $385 to $525, depending on which package you decide to have
> installed.
>
> They can do a custom install on any vehicle.
>
> Again, their website can be viewed at: www.accuguard.biz
Fred, I dont know if these prices are still in effect, but when I met Glen he said they said they like to schedule a group install since it is easier for them to do a few cars at one time. My co-workers car is being repaired in Miami, and she lives in Palm Beach Gardens and I'm not sure if she got her new clams yet or if the car is driveable, but I know she wants it done too. I would be interested in having it done too, and I think Jupiter Jay is interested too so maybe we could schedule something together around here, since you mentioned you will be moving up here. They could schedule it my house if they wanted since my garage is spotless and I have a 3 car garage so they would have plenty of room to work.
A:
Tom,
if you want to call him I'm in for the install, my only problem is that I have 2 cars to drive to your place for the install. I'm ready to do it anytime you guys want to.
I found the email from the Lotus LTD group:
The owner is named Glen and his phone number is 954-394-8250
I have heard good comments about their work. They even went up to Jacksonville and replaced the stuff for free for a member of Elisetalk (SweetDaddyO?) after I contacted them on his behalf. The installion was screwed up since the dealer in Miami kept the cars dirty and didnt have adequate space to do the installion in a clean environment.
> Members,
> I just received the Accuguard prices for the Clear Paint
> Protection Film Kits, for the Esprit V8 and new Elise. The following
> prices include installation and our Florida Lotus Club discount.
>
> V8 Esprit: $365
>
> Elise: $385 to $525, depending on which package you decide to have
> installed.
>
> They can do a custom install on any vehicle.
>
> Again, their website can be viewed at: www.accuguard.biz
Fred, I dont know if these prices are still in effect, but when I met Glen he said they said they like to schedule a group install since it is easier for them to do a few cars at one time. My co-workers car is being repaired in Miami, and she lives in Palm Beach Gardens and I'm not sure if she got her new clams yet or if the car is driveable, but I know she wants it done too. I would be interested in having it done too, and I think Jupiter Jay is interested too so maybe we could schedule something together around here, since you mentioned you will be moving up here. They could schedule it my house if they wanted since my garage is spotless and I have a 3 car garage so they would have plenty of room to work.
A:
I checked with co-worker and they just got the clams in but havent painted them. The body shop said they recommend 2 months for the paint to cure before installing anything over it, since she is getting a custom paint job, so it might be too late for her. By the way, how long did it take to get your car fixed? She is getting mad since the body shop is packed with cars that had hurricane dameage so they are sort of blowing her off. Its been almost 3 months that they have had the car.
I'll check with Jay tommorrow and see if he is interested in getting it done too. When are you moving up here? I am about 5 miles away from where you are moving, so if you want to wait, you could bring one car over, and then I could take you back to pick up the other car.
I forgot to mention that the North County Airport is right around where you are moving to. Maybe you should wait and see if you want to trade the Elise in on a small plane so you can get to work faster!
I'll call Gary tommorrow and see what the timeframe is for him to do it. Would you prefer a weekend or a weekday? Saturday or Sunday is better for me.
A:
Tom, The closing is i about a month but we won't move till July/August, have to wait till my daughter finishes school,
A:
I called Jay and found out that he already has the Starshield.
Accurgard said that if they have 3 or 4 cars they can come to your home or business, but they prefer weekdays, and weekends fill up fast.
He said it only takes about 3 days for them to make the patterns, but they need us to go to their site and tell them exactly what package we want and the exact year, make and model of the car. They take about 2.5 hours per car for a basic install, and about 3.5 for a more involved one.
They said the problem is getting a day set up since they are pretty busy. I noticed they have a 954 number so I replied back to them asking them to tell me where they are located, since if they are right around you, it might be easier for you to go to them directly.
Once I find where they are located I will let you know, then we can decide when and where we want to have it done. Vicky's car wont be ready until about April, and she wants to have it done too.
If you need any help moving or are going to be up here working on the house and want to come over for a beer let me know since I'm only a few miles down the road from you. Jay wants to see how you installled your auxilary lights, since he still hasnt installed his yet. He was over a few weeks ago and we re-aimed his lights so that he can see. He is going to Europe next month and is going to pick up some Osram Silverstar bulbs. If you want him to pick up some spares for you let me know.
A:
Accuguard got back to me. They are 100% mobile, so I guess they dont have a building they operate out of or do installations at. They said they can do it anyplace and even outdoors as long as there is no wind or no rain.
I guess it would be better if they did it at the garage in my house, since you never know when it is going to rain down here.
Fred do you want to come up soon and have it done, or do you want to wait until after you move up here permanently, or do you have a storage building at work where you want then to do it in the near future? Anyone else in the area interested?
A:
Accuguard got back to me. They are 100% mobile, so I guess they dont have a building they operate out of or do installations at. They said they can do it anyplace and even outdoors as long as there is no wind or no rain.
I guess it would be better if they did it at the garage in my house, since you never know when it is going to rain down here.
Fred do you want to come up soon and have it done, or do you want to wait until after you move up here permanently, or do you have a storage building at work where you want then to do it in the near future? Anyone else in the area interested?
Tom,
I'd like to have it done ASAP. give me call and we can set it up. I'll PM you my ohone number,
A:
How far south are you guys?
My best recommendation is to get the new 3M film installed on your car. I use other types of films as well but from 6 years of experience the new 3M film is finally far superior than the other brands. (I also sell Venture and Avery)
If you want send me an e-mail at ryan@autopaintguard.com and I will send you some pics of the new film on a lotus that i recently installed. Came out perfect with no orange peel at all.
Thanks Guys!!
A:
I need new clearbra on my headlights. I'm in Miami. auto clear guard, do you have a price on just the headlight pieces? (obviously i wouldn't expect you to come down here just for that).
A:
Hello Steve. I do have them. They are 20 Mil thick versus the 8 mil paint film.
To be honest those are really tricky to install on the lotus. But if you are up for a good challenge let me know.
Headlights and signal lamps retail for $66.00 I can sell them 2nd day air with squeegee for $60.00.
Thanks
A:
How far south are you guys?
My best recommendation is to get the new 3M film installed on your car. I use other types of films as well but from 6 years of experience the new 3M film is finally far superior than the other brands. (I also sell Venture and Avery)
If you want send me an e-mail at ryan@autopaintguard.com and I will send you some pics of the new film on a lotus that i recently installed. Came out perfect with no orange peel at all.
Thanks Guys!!
Auto clear guard, I'm in Fort Lauderdale and I have 2 vehicles to get done: 05 Lotus Elise Very Dark Blue and also a Porsche 997 in black. What would be the best film for those? TIA
A:
Hello. Everyone has there own opinions. The one I believe is the best is the new 3M film. 2nd choice would be the Avery Top Coat film, followed by either Venture or Llumar.
The 3M film and the Avery Top coat film are the only 2 films that have a clear coat finish. This clear coat finish keeps the sand and oils from embedding into the film. The venture film and the Llumar film does not have this clear coat which in turn for me always gets cloudy with in 6-months to a year. There are special chemicals that you can use that I hear to make it clearer again, but not sure what exactly they are.
For the cleaner install and the best show look venture and Llumar looks awesome right after the install, due to the fact that they are a little thinner due to not having clear coat. This makes it easier to stretch and less chance of adhesive smear. Lasting longer than a year is unkown. Both films I have used and seen turn cloudy around the 6 month period.
3M and Avery which have the clear coat makes it a tad harder to install which can cause some imperfections and marks in the film especially on black. The film will and should def last longer with a better shine down the road. Smoother feel and easier to wax with clear coat.
Most expesive in rank is Llumar, 3M, Avery and the cheapest being Venture.
Bottom line, any film is better than none. Also make sure the film you get is backed up 100% from the installer. Then it really doesn't matter if it goes bad.
I also have a pic of a black 997 with the new film on it. Just send me an e-mail, I will send it to you.
Thanks.
Ryan