Hi there, I ordered my Cooper S in January and it is at the dealership now!!! I am so excited. The salesperson called and wanted to know if I wanted to add the rock guard clear coat. I said no and of course the salesperson acted surprised.

Do you think that I will actually need it or do you think that this is just a way for them to make more money?

Hi,

It depends on where you drive and how you drive. Personally, I didn't get it, as the dealer also charges way too much IMO. I looked at an outside shop, and for the price the dealer was charging I could get the entire hood done.

I think it could be a good thing to have but not from the dealer. On my first mini, I didn't have many rock chips at all. But I know of some who swear by it.

I found with a partial bonnet rock guard that it is Murfys law. You get the rock chips where you don't have the guard. Or the rocks know you have the rock guard and avoid it on purpose. Dam those rocks.

If you plan on doing anything that resembles winterdriving, you will want the rockguard. I didn't get it at first, and I had rockchips after one week! Got it put on when the bonnet was resprayed; the newer "3M" one comes up 1/3 of the way on the bonnet, and seems to catch most rocks.

Look here, and you see they have full bonnet coverage if you want full protection.

Paint Protection for your Car (http://catalog.shadowtinting.com/partquery/search)

You can find the different kits available for your mini for comparison to others. I have not used them, so cannot comment on customer service or anything.

I had the 3M done at the dealership to get the 5 yr warranty on it... Sure, I could have got cheaper elsewhere but for my situation I wanted it all-in with the price tag.

-M

We're getting stone guard because a lot of the routes we commute on are under construction/expansion/repair, and there's often quite a bit of gravel or debris spraying about. Our cars took a beating a couple of years ago when they were re-paving a section of the QEW in Toronto.

We're getting it done at the dealership because we don't want to spend additional time after we take delivery getting things like tint and the stone guard done. Yes, we're paying a little more for the convenience, but we're okay with that.