Hey Everyone, I just purchased a used SRT-6 Roadster in Sapphire Silver Blue. Its got almost 4k miles on it and I'm just looking to enjoy it for now before attempting any mods. I was wonder if anyone had bought third-party Extended warranties and which they recommend? I also want to get the 3M Clear guard stone chip protection. Anyone had that done and what did you think?

 

I did the Avery brand Clear bra protection on my red Crossfire (3M product is probably exactly the same). Does definitely prevent 99% of stone chips. A big one will still dent the front clip, and a few chips will still inflict damage to the paint right where the clear bra ends...the film gets to the edge of a panel to about 1/8 of an inch, but after enough miles a few stones will find those tiny little areas all across the front. I ended up with around 5 good chips right at the edges after 21k miles of freeway driving in Phoenix.

The film does slightly stain over time from dead bugs (every cleaner I tried made it worse), and the film adds a look of heavy orange peel to the paint (lots of people commented on that). Also, it slightly yellows over time, but probably only apparent on white cars...I didn't notice it on my red after 2 years. Another thing I noticed is that it looks as if it shrinked just a tiny little bit...noticed that all the edges pulled back maybe 1/32 of an inch everywhere, not really a big deal there.

Also, when you wax the car, wax will get into the edge of the bra, which adds up to 25 or 30 feet of perimeter that you will have to detail to get the wax out...or prevent wax from getting into that area when applying in the first place. Some have said that isn't a problem, apparently it depends on your wax brand and/or method of application and detailing. For me, it was a big issue...it was very apparent on the red.

Also, it is relatively expensive. I paid around $400 installed for the full kit, which covered 1/3 of the hood, both headlights, fog lamps, entire front end, and side view mirrors.

Overall, though, a very nice product.

 

i am a true believer in the clear bras... i will have one on every car i own.

but... pick an experienced installer.


some web sites to view...

xpel.com

invinca-shield.com

 

Hi Pelked,
Thanks for the information. Actually $400 installed sounds like a bargain! I got prices from an integrator in Northern Virginia on the 3M product to put on my Audi A8 and he wanted like $1,400!!. True, its a bigger car, but c'mon!

I will have to look into the Avery product.

Speaking of Stone chips... how good is the paint job on these cars? On my Audi, its amazing! It seems like its about 10 levels deep. On my Pontiac Vibe GT, it awful... like its only one layer.

 

I bought a third party extended warranty from Warranty Direct. Now I have 5 yrs/100K bumper to bumper coverage. I still have a long ways to go before I have to use it so i wouldn't necessarily be quick to recommend them.

Supposedly, you can take your car to any Chrysler dealer or other approved shops and all the dealer needs to do is call Warrantydirect for approval to begin work.

Cost of engine alone is somewhere in the $8-10K range. Figured i'd spend less on unnecessary mods (IMO) like illuminated sills and use the cash on ext. warranty instead which somewhat gives me a "peace of mind".

Haven't had any major problems with mine and i drive mine hard.

 

I have an alabaster roadster and there are a couple stone chips on my hood. They chipped the paint right off cause there is gray (silver) where the paint is off. They are where the clear bra wouldn't be protecting it anyway. A stone hit the plastic bumper and made a crack in it right by a fog light. I'm not sure if the 3M would have helped with that.

 

May I ask how much the 5yr/100k coverage cost?

 

The Crossfire paint is very nice. It has a pretty deep shine to it and doesn't have very much orange peel. I feel that it is fairly chip resistant.

Here are my subjective ratings on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best:

Shine 7/10
Orange peel 8/10 (hood and roof (horizontal surfaces) are almost perfect, and doors and fenders (vertical) are good).
Durability 6/10

I haven't owned a ton of cars, but from my limited experience I would say the paint is pretty darn good overall.

 

How much did you pay for the car, minus all the extended warranty additions ?

 

I have some SRT6 emblems if your interested!!

 

I paid $32,000 for it. I feel like I got a great deal, I've been very patient and trying for some time and pounce when the chance presented itself. The only option the car doesn't have is the NAV system, which is fine because the first thing I'm going to do is pull the head unit and drop a MP3 compatible system in there.

 

That is a very good deal gapcrossfire...around here they want that for limited convertibles so you got an excellent deal.

 

Trust me... I know! I jumped through many hoops to get the car and had to react quick. Hopefully it will inspire others to keep looking and find a good deal.

I had found several for just over $35k, but none in the color I like, so I was patient until the opportunity surfaced.