[Shop] Colorado Clear Bra - Bad Install? What Would You Do?

youTINT · August 13, 2017

UPDATE: Colorado Clear Bra has reached out to me again, and we agreed to a resolution.

Hi, first off, I'm posting as a consumer. Also, I've posted my concerns on a few automotive forums but thought this would be a good place to gather some opinions too.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I posted on another forum inquiring about the quality of my roof wrap:

I've never gotten a roof wrap before so I was curious to see if it was done within acceptable limits. I was informed that the quality was subpar, especially at $500, confirming my hunch that something may have been off. Anyway, I returned to the shop and voiced my concerns. Before I explain further, I want to set up the initial story. I was seeking to have PPF and ceramic coating applied to my car before making my drive from Colorado to California due to finishing up school in Denver and moving back home, so I chose Colorado Clear Bra to do the job. I selected their 'Full Wrap Package' (Full Hood, Full Fenders, Front Bumper, Headlights, Sides Mirrors, A-pillars, Door Handles, Partial Roof Strip) and added Rockers and Rear Fender Flares. For all of this, I was quoted $2,500, which was not a bad price as a good amount of places in Colorado charge $3,000+ for this type of job. Also, I decided to add on Opti-Coat Pro+ since, why not, ceramic coating is all the rage right now, and what's another $1,200? And to round it all up, I tack on Opti-Glass Pro and Opti-Guard Fabric Coating on the 2 front seats. I mean...people are more than willing to pay $10,000+ ADM for the Civic Type R in California so I didn't see a big deal in dropping coin before driving about 1,000 miles back home to California. Also, I saw that they did wraps so the shop was willing to knock off $50 from the $500 roof wrap because I would swap out the Partial Roof Strip. Yup, if you're doing some mental math, I shelled out north of $4,000. So, they take my car for a week (a little long for this type of job but they inform me that they're a little backed up on projects and I want them to do a good job so no pressure) and I finally got my car back. Oh yeah...I was stoked! I've been driving around with Painter's Tape before that for nearly 2 weeks so I didn't drive the car much and getting your car back after one whole week is a great feeling. Things looked great, so I drive it home, and of course, spend some time with the CTR. Now, here is where I get back to the story. The shop owner told me to stop by before moving back to California to make sure everything is sitting right. Cool...I made an appointment a week out. Immediately, I noticed the roof wrap and that's when I took it to the forums. There were some problem areas that arose like grime accumulating at certain edges of the PPF and lifting. Therefore, I complied my concerns along with the roof wrap complaint. My appointment comes along and I express everything I've noticed so far. I leave my car for the day and get a call at the end telling me it's ready. The shop explains that 'to do the roof wrap the way I described' would cost an extra $200 since dropping the headliner to take off the shark fin antennae would be that much more work. Since I wasn't satisfied with the way they did it and weren't going to do it any other way, the shop kind of begrudgingly refunded my money saying 'we normally don't provide refunds since we already spent the labor/time and material to do the job but we'll do this for you'. Ok...well they cleaned up the problem areas I pointed out so I indicated it looks good and bounced since I had a lot to pack. I noticed that they didn't wash the car so I thought that was weird for a detail shop to skip on that, especially if they're checking for errors. Oh, and another thing, I complained about the door cups since they were just rectangular cuts of PPF and set only the top half of the door cups and nail marks were still reaching the bottom of the cups. I explained that my door cups on my past car followed the edge-to-edge curvature of the cups and if they can redo them. They just ended up making them more center...whatever I had things to pack and a move to plan, and I'm pretty sure I can get them under $100 back in California. So after a 1,000 mile journey, putting a few hundred miles running around in California, and 2 hand car washes...I'm at an impasse.

Driver's Side 1
Driver's Side 2
Driver's Side 3
Driver's Side 4
Driver's Side 5
Driver's Side 6
Driver's Side 7
Driver's Side 8
Passenger's Side 1
Passenger's Side 2
Passenger's Side 3
Passenger's Side 4
Passenger's Side 5
Front Portion of Hood
Front portion of rockers: Driver's Side vs. Passenger's Side

Even after their clean up, I'm still getting grime buildup and lift in the PPF on the rockers. Just to note: not all of the pictures are there to show the grime but to see where the dust meets the edge of the rockers and 'wavy' hand cuts. Also, I'm displaying a few grime buildup not along the rockers but to show there's collection in other areas of the car. Look: I had PPF before on my last car so grime buildup and lift is inevitable. And yes, certain areas that I show are OCD-like expectations, and I'm aware of that since I expect that to happen sooner rather than later and don't fault the shop for everything. However, this job is less than a month old, and for over $4,000, I was expecting a little more, you know? The rockers are just not cutting it, and I think the rear fender flares are arguable too. If you're wondering, yes, I already spoke to Colorado Clear Bra (mostly about the rockers), and the response is as expected: 1) we already fixed those areas, 2) you said everything was 'ok' when you left the shop the second time after everything was fixed, 3) since you already put quite of bit of miles on it, we don't know how/where it's been driven, 4) there's a possibility you ran it through an automated car wash that puts pressure on the PPF, 5) you've left CO so there's not much else we can do for you unless you want to drive/ship the car back and then we're more than happy to help you out, 6) refund ain't happening since we already refunded you for the roof wrap and we already put the labor/material/time for the PPF install, 7) we installed it as perfectly as possible. In the end, they suggested finding a Suntek dealer for a warranty claim, but other than that, it's on me now. I already talked to a few Suntek installers in SoCal, and one said they didn't understand why the rockers didn't have PPF going up to the edge behind the door and it seemed like the last shop wanted to save material on the rear fender flares so they had it cut up into pieces, and another SoCal shop stated it seemed like the initial shop got lost on how to install past the front fenders so it looked like they started cutting up pieces and slapped it on the CTR. So, what would you do? Am I being OCD/too much, or are my complaints warranted? Also, I'm starting to notice swirls on my B pillars even though Colorado Clear Bra had Opti-Coat applied to those areas...

Edited August 15, 2017 by youTINT

DynamicATL · August 13, 2017

Not sure why, but the photos are not working.

DynamicATL · August 13, 2017

I assume you have a Civic Type R since you mention it above. If so, I assume this is you...

youTINT · August 13, 2017

47 minutes ago, DynamicAppearance said:

Not sure why, but the photos are not working.

Fixed

39 minutes ago, DynamicAppearance said:

I assume you have a Civic Type R since you mention it above. If so, I assume this is you...

Yes, that's me

blackoutauto · August 14, 2017

Holy Jesus all the joining of ppf, wavy cut lines, hanging film, lifting edges?

We understand nobody is perfect but having to join pieces on a rocker panel that should be one piece is just plain cheap and ghetto.

Yes the lifting edges and dirt happens sometimes but it shouldn't be on everything. Anyone that pays me that much should expect the best service and installs. Not scraps to puzzle together a rocker panel

youTINT · August 14, 2017

2 hours ago, blackoutauto said:

Holy Jesus all the joining of ppf, wavy cut lines, hanging film, lifting edges?

We understand nobody is perfect but having to join pieces on a rocker panel that should be one piece is just plain cheap and ghetto.

Yes the lifting edges and dirt happens sometimes but it shouldn't be on everything. Anyone that pays me that much should expect the best service and installs. Not scraps to puzzle together a rocker panel

The thing is when I first picked up my car after the 1 week initial install period, they told me they had to do the rear fender flares in pieces. I didn't really question the rockers since I assumed the same. But that's the thing: how am I supposed to know what's feasible or not out of PPF? All I knew was that I wanted Suntek and Colorado Clear Bra had a good rating on Google and Yelp.

DynamicATL · August 14, 2017

It is strange that they bulk wrap PPF, but they leave so many exposed areas. The point of bulk wrapping is to make sure everything is properly wrapped and make it look like no PPF is there. I would contact Suntek to explain the situation along with showing them the photos to see if it can be covered under warranty. If so, they can point you to a shop near you that can help. Since it is a poor installation, it might not be covered since it is not the films fault..

Edited August 14, 2017 by DynamicAppearance

XPEL Jeff · August 14, 2017

That's not typical work for Colorado Clear Bra. I'm sure they'd want to make right on this, as it that work doesn't serve as a good advertisement for them. Call Kirby, he'll take care of you.

youTINT · August 14, 2017

1 hour ago, DynamicAppearance said:

It is strange that they bulk wrap PPF, but they leave so many exposed areas. The point of bulk wrapping is to make sure everything is properly wrapped and make it look like no PPF is there. I would contact Suntek to explain the situation along with showing them the photos to see if it can be covered under warranty. If so, they can point you to a shop near you that can help. Since it is a poor installation, it might not be covered since it is not the films fault..

I already had a shop here in CA call Suntek, and he informed me what we're all already thinking: it's not covered under warranty since it's not a film issue.

3 minutes ago, XPEL Jeff said:

That's not typical work for Colorado Clear Bra. I'm sure they'd want to make right on this, as it that work doesn't serve as a good advertisement for them. Call Kirby, he'll take care of you.

I already called Colorado Clear Bra, and although I did not talk to Kirby directly, the rep already laid out the shop's stance. Either they point me to their recommended Suntek installer in CA and *attempt* a warranty claim, or drive/ship the car back to them. Other than that, the rep indicated that there will be no more refunds issued or any other help provided.

pro-tect mobile · August 15, 2017

19 hours ago, XPEL Jeff said:

That's not typical work for Colorado Clear Bra. I'm sure they'd want to make right on this, as it that work doesn't serve as a good advertisement for them. Call Kirby, he'll take care of you.

Amazing to me they charge those prices in the first place... and then do that bad of work. That's a simple car to do and obviously they aren't too good at hand cutting... looking at the lines tells me that. I would be worried the paint under the edge of the film is cut. Any shop shouldn't let that out their door especially knowing the car is going out of state.

On a side note you cant go off of Yelp and Google reviews. We have an idiot here in the Dallas area making fake facebook profiles and he now has 247 5 star reviews in under a year. There is a serious lack of integrity on display but some people fall for those false reviews... then get burned. I would at a minimum recommend going and leaving that shop a 1 star review with your experience. Let bad work out your door and pay the consequences.

Edited August 15, 2017 by pro-tect mobile