Am I crazy for Considering Trading in for a 2017??

[Intuit]

Out of curiosity, how effective if at all, is "wrapping" against highway rock chips, and what are the drawbacks?

 

[Sil3nt611]

AGREED!

I try to take care of it, but I am NOT going to store it away for the winter, nor will I treat it like some rare multi-million buck hypercar (although they are more common than FiSTs in my area- LOL).
You can try to be as insanely maniacal about the aesthetic upkeep as (im)possible as that may be, but yes, unless you just do not drive the thing at all, it will NEVER stay showroom perfect.

I might store it for Winter if I lived in the North to avoid premature rust. But I live in Texas where we shut down with any snow on the ground. But yeah, i'd rather have a less than perfect car that I have fun with over a perfect car that sits in the garage.

Out of curiosity, how effective if at all, is "wrapping" against highway rock chips, and what are the drawbacks?

It seems to be pretty effective for the general rocks you'll encounter. larger rocks that are bad enough to damage a windshield pretty good may damage the clear bra as well. I have seen some that discolor over time. Not sure on the lifetime of them. When they are new you can't even tell they are installed. But for the amount of money they cost I can't justify it to save for a few rock chips.

 

[apex1]

I just bought my FiST a couple of months ago and the first thing I did was have a clear bra installed. Full bumper, full hood, mirrors and partial front fenders. This is my third car doing it. For me, it is worth the cost to avoid having a car full of paint chips. I have not had a single stone chip any place that has been covered with film on any car. I also installed Rally Armor mudflaps to protect the paint. Nothing is a 100% guarantee, but they sure help. I have known people with their paint all chipped up that regret not spending the money up front to prevent it.