debadge car?

[teezee]

It would be great if BMW offered us the "badge delete" option like Porsche. Took off all my badges one day after Spartanburg pickup. Especially like the look of the trunk lid without the "Z4" badge. As for the "sdrive 30i", I just felt it was so out of place, distracting from the lines of the car.

I've also debadged my E46 touring too- no more snagging the wash mitt.

[warden]

I had my 35is debadged before delivery.

Looks much cleaner.

[flpnout]

When I was in Germany for 6 weeks for work. I noticed a lot of Mercedes and BMWs are debadged. I was told it was an option when buying the vehicle in EU. This is the first time I debadged any of my cars after my trip to Europe.

Next trip in July......Italy.

[Darbs330]

On a related topic,

I've debated debadging since I purchased my Z just about a year ago...

How long do you think I can wait before paint discoloration becomes an issue?

I know the clock is ticking... and I'd hate to take them off now, only to see a shadow of the badge left behind in the paint. Thoughts?

[HerrK]

Originally Posted by Darbs330

On a related topic,

I've debated debadging since I purchased my Z just about a year ago...

How long do you think I can wait before paint discoloration becomes an issue?

I know the clock is ticking... and I'd hate to take them off now, only to see a shadow of the badge left behind in the paint. Thoughts?

My son debadged his 2000 323ci with no noticeable paint fade. The newer water based environmentally friendly paint is probably not as durable, but I don't see any fading problem under 3-4 years old. Even the newer BMW's don't have the paint problems that some of the cheaper Jap car exhibit.

[Darbs330]

Thanks HerrK...

Perhaps this will be my weekend project!

I washed and polished the car yesterday and was just thinking how nice the lines would be without all those letters and numbers. (Not to mention, easier to polish.)

[STOOF]

If you have any slight fading you can usually polish it out.

[tranquility]

I personally never understood debadging. I know for other brands they want to hide the 'cheaper' version of their car and so they take off their trim badge. Other than marginally cleaner lines, I don't like the car being 'naked'. I love that our cars have 10 spinning propellers all around/inside the car.

[teezee]

For me, there was no intent to hide the fact that the car is a BMW- with roundels on front, back, each side, one on each wheel and one on the steering wheel, that's impossible, I just thought the chintzy plastic badges detracted from the lines of the car, and the Z4 logo placement looks like an afterthought. Chacun son gout !

[bmwmick]

I know those cheap looking letters and numbers will be removed from out Z4 as soon as it arrives. The Roundels stay!

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Originally Posted by Z_Victor1

Er..........
Um..........
I see ALL these vehicles with BMW badges still there....
I don't get it
If you are the sort of person who wants to do this, then do it properly.

All madness to me.......after all, who else de-badges cars?
Ferrari, Maserati, Bentley.....nope....
BMW......yes.....
Audi.....maybe
Merc.....yes

But on a much more serious note......WHY?!?!?

This is a very interesting conundrum...........
I put it to you, it is because the German manufacturers [god bless them] mostly have no names for their cars, they're all NUMBERS................

AND..............

REMEMBER this.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner

"I AM NOT A NUMBER, I AM A FREE MAN"

We (humans) don't like to be numbered......

Go on, tell me I'm off my head

I think the Germans mostly do it to hide the HP they have under the hood when they drive on the Autobahn You see then no one will challenge them since they keep them guessing ... my 2 cents.

[juhap]

Originally Posted by Constant.S

And one question: If your Z4 was a special edition (e.g the E89 Z4 Mille Miglia edition) would you still debadge it? I know some will say yes just for the sake of saying it but we all know the answer

Would the badges on the MM edition look any less ugly? No, so they would have to go. Period.

Car designers don't put badges (apart from the mandatory brand badge) in their drawings and there's a reason for that. If your car looks hideous to begin with then no amount of badges will change that one way or the other, but if it's a piece of art...

[Stick Shift]

We did it the hard way. My wife did $9K damage to the front end and when we had it repaired we omitted the badges.

[Vintage]

Stick Shift - similar event for us. My wife dinged the front end and I used the opportunity to upgrade to the iS front bumper.

[egtownsend]

Originally Posted by Chuck76

And then by surprise I saw a 335i (I think) with no badges and it bugged me that I didn't know what 3 series it was.

I had to take in the car later that week to my dealer and one of the sales guy said "nice 30i". It is a 35i btw.

What I had noticed is that there is not much difference between the looks for each series and what really distinguishes the model is the badge. I put them back on and decided not to touch them. I don't think there's many bmw drivers in the community that places fake badges. You'll never see someone who has a 3 series put a M badge on their trunk lid. I also never saw anyone who drove 328i and remove them because they have a smaller engine.

So these badges started to feel like a real distinguisher.

I think I agree. At least in Long Island the only BMWs I see debugged are 328i's; and I naturally assume that it's because they have the smaller engine. I get why they're doing it: they bought the car as a status symbol, and don't want people to know they didn't spring for as much as power as their body kit might suggest.

What I don't like is that my dealer stuck ANOTHER raised, chrome badge with the dealership name. I'll be removing that shortly...

[Dr Stig 2]

People obviously do it for different reasons.
I have the 35is and I took the badges off to make it easier to clean / wax, and because I prefer the clean look.
If it means the cops can't tell it's a fast car - bonus.
(I've been targeted in cars that were visibly identifiable as a hoon's car in the past)
This wasn't a motivator to debadge though.

[al1]

i took off the z4 badge at the back.. for some reason i though it was too big for a nice looking trunk like that.. i think it looks better and cleaner now

[HerrK]

Originally Posted by egtownsend

What I don't like is that my dealer stuck ANOTHER raised, chrome badge with the dealership name. I'll be removing that shortly...

I'd take it back to the dealer and tell him to remove the tag from your car in less he is wanting to pay some advertising fee.

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by HerrK

I'd take it back to the dealer and tell him to remove the tag from your car in less he is wanting to pay some advertising fee.

Exactly, that's gross the dealer put a tag on the actual car, usu they just have custom plate holders (which is fine by me). *That* tag I would most definitely remove, it's nasty!

[Dr Stig 2]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Exactly, that's gross the dealer put a tag on the actual car, usu they just have custom plate holders (which is fine by me). *That* tag I would most definitely remove, it's nasty!

I draw the line at the license plate surround.

I dont even let them put a sticker on the window.

IMO...

Let the art speak for itself.
It doesn't need a little label explaining itself to anyone.