So normally they dont do the cut out for the saab emblem but I had them do it because I just got a new emblem and it looks cool...plus it is my early X-mas present from my wife
And they cut it about 1/2 inch to low so the bra doesn't meet up with the edge of the hood. There is a strip that goes over the edge of the bra and under the hood that clips over it.. but it cannot be installed correctly because they messed up on the cut and it needs to be flush with the hood. I was 60 dollars with shipping and custom order.. and they had told me no returns on custom orders
I sent him pictures of the hood with a tape measure from the emblem to the edge of the hood prior to the order and he said its all cut by computer so it will be exactly right.... so it should be his mistake to cover and send me a new one.. as it was his incorrect cut.. not mine. I'm pretty pissed.
Yeah, it looks like the forward edge is an inch shy. I wanted to get one to hide the paint flaws on my old Volvo.
On a nice car, don't they often do more harm than good? Grit and stuff, salt and sand in the winter will get between the paint and bra and kind of scratch it. I've been fence sitting for years on this, in the case of the Volvo, it's to hide a problem respray that started peeling on the edge of the hood.
So I just got a hold of the boss and he was VERY VERY sorry and did agree it was their fault for not using the measurements I sent him correctly. I believe they are going to cut me a new one and let me keep the old one also. My hood has some pretty heavy rock damage on the front of it that you cant tell in my pictures because I dont have any close ups and I keep it super waxed. But.. it has really bad chipping.. These do not hurt the paint. You put spray wax down first and then apply the magnet and there is a strip (like a weather stripping thing) that locks around all the edges (but in this case I cant get it on because its cut too short). You remove the bra every 2 weeks pulling it from one edge to the other straight up and off.....clean under it, spray some wax and reapply. As long as you keep it clean and don't slide it around (which is pretty hard to do unless you slide it to take it off... it's rated for 145+ mph so it really is solid)
"I'll go ahead and cut a new bra and send it (minus the trim). It isn't necessary to return the one you have. I'm not sure what happened with the first one but I must have misread the measurements. I'll move the hole back 1/2 inch. It actually looks pretty good with the cut-out. Thanks.
"I'll go ahead and cut a new bra and send it (minus the trim). It isn't necessary to return the one you have. I'm not sure what happened with the first one but I must have misread the measurements. I'll move the hole back 1/2 inch. It actually looks pretty good with the cut-out. Thanks.
See, Bob at the company will take care you. I've been using a Magnetic bra on my 9-5 for sometime. I have no cutout but a bulge over the emblem. The bulge never bothered me that much and the protection is worth the bulge. I had thought of putting a Saab sticker on top of the bra but never got around to it. I must say it looks way cool with the cutout though. Only good thing I can say about covering my emblem is that it hasn't peeled (ha ha). I've had good luck with these bras on my wife's Mazda also and would recommend them to anyone. Let know how the new one looks and if Bob
can repeat it for others.
FWIW...these bras don't suffer the downside of a regular cloth bra.... they don't move around and dirt and grime doesn't get under them. I generally take mine off ever 6 months and clean and wax underneath. The very very top edge gets dirty over time and needs to be cleaned but it is only dirty...it does not grind down the paint. I'm at a loss as to how others drive around and seem to have no chips on their hoods. I generally get a chip as soon I buy a car and pull out of the parking lot...
Dang, a happy ending! Well, the bird isn't quite in hand yet but just hearing they are doing the right thing is refreshing. And it did look real nice aside from the error!
I kind of think it looks bad, I have not once seen that kind of thing in Europe, so it must be an american way of doing things. It would look a lot better if you just had the hood repainted, but that is my opinion.
See, Bob at the company will take care you. I've been using a Magnetic bra on my 9-5 for sometime. I have no cutout but a bulge over the emblem. The bulge never bothered me that much and the protection is worth the bulge. I had thought of putting a Saab sticker on top of the bra but never got around to it. I must say it looks way cool with the cutout though. Only good thing I can say about covering my emblem is that it hasn't peeled (ha ha). I've had good luck with these bras on my wife's Mazda also and would recommend them to anyone. Let know how the new one looks and if Bob
can repeat it for others.
FWIW...these bras don't suffer the downside of a regular cloth bra.... they don't move around and dirt and grime doesn't get under them. I generally take mine off ever 6 months and clean and wax underneath. The very very top edge gets dirty over time and needs to be cleaned but it is only dirty...it does not grind down the paint. I'm at a loss as to how others drive around and seem to have no chips on their hoods. I generally get a chip as soon I buy a car and pull out of the parking lot...
I live in New England... One trip on the highway in the winter after a repaint and the hood will be destroyed again. The reason it looks bad is because I don't have it fully installed. I didn't smooth it out or apply the stripping. I just threw it down for the picture to send the company. I got new new bra today and the cut out looks perfect. I haven't tried it yet because my car is at Conntech, but I'll put it on as soon as I get it back ^.^
Yea he said the cut out can be done for any car if you give him the measurements and photos
Post some pics when you get it installed, I'm debating getting one myself. Winter is coming and all the salt and gravel they drop on the roads here is brutal.
The point of it is still over my head.. if you're trying to stop chips in the paint, there's still the entire front of the car exposed, no? Is it because the hood is metal vs. the rest of the front bumper plastic?
Protect the metal hood, yes, that's why I chose this. The only other option was the plastic edge guard from Saab but I think this covers more of the hood.
The bumper is exposed. Only options for that as I see it are the
clear Xpel/3M film (expensive, for new bumpers?) or a full cloth bra (subject
to sand scratches etc).
My car was driven all highway miles by the previous owner. The front of the car is near perfect shape.. where as the front of the metal hood has TERRIBLE rock chips to the point where touch up paint was useless. I am a painter... so I will probably redo the hood at some point.. but I got this to hide the damage and prevent the paint from peeling a the damaged spots
RMinNJ do you get water down under the bra where it goes over the two line contours on the hood? On those two spots mine doesn't sit water tight and it gets under.
Well yes, where the hood lines contour some water and grime get underneath. This necessitates taking the bra off every so often and cleaning
underneath. It gets more contoured and tight as it gets older.
Yea I took it off today when i washed my car. The first time I installed it.. it took me about 15 minutes to get it perfect using a hair dryer and such. This time it took maybe 60 seconds to put back on because it retained the shapes.
Hey thanks a lot! It really does have it's fair share of door dents and scratches that don't show up in the pictures. Starting to get a little rust spot on the lower corner of the rear fender, but I fixed it with some sanding and paint. yea my hood was destroyed with rock chips.. but its odd that its just the hood front and not the rest of the car's front. Anyway, this was a quick and easy fix.
She certainly looks nice with a wash and some spray wax ^.^
How is your windshield? Mine is sandblasted, its horrible. I think highway driving is the cause of the rock chips to the hood, the majority of my 150K are highway.
Yes, my windshield is sandblasted and pitted also. This is an OEM replacement windshield with about 30 to 40000 miles on it.
I'm not sure if any of the aftermarkets are any better..I've read mixed reviews.
Every Saab I've owne has had windshields like this. I tried getting one replaced under warranty on my 9-3 and they looked at the glass headlights and said they were sandblasted also so it was the way I drive and they would not replace it.
If I ever saw a Saab with an non-sandblashed windshield I would know it was
replaced recently.
Replacing the windshield is one thing you will never regret. I bought mine with the sandblasted shield and had it replaced free under my insurance policy. Like a brand new car. We drove around and kept touching it to make sure it was there :cheesy:
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