Used to have a colleague I worked with back in the 70's, he was an apprentice, he was under 20 years old and used to come to work in a old banger VW Beetle, however his parents were rich, his father had an Aston DB5.
One day the Beetle had a problem so his dad let him borrow his Aston for the day.
When the boss saw it parked in the works car park there was a fast investigation into whose it was, when he found out the lad got the sack as the boss only had a Jag and he didnt want anyone else in the company looking more well off than him, it wouldnt happen today, there would be discrimination and suing left right and centre.

Hmm... so that's where the German debadging came from...

My Freely bought from hamburg came with the 'SE TD4' on the right missing. Previous owner removed them, I guess.

Having read this thread, I'm tempted to take off the 'freelander 2' as well.

Is it pretty simple to take off without leaving a mark? I don't need an angle grinder, right?  2013 SE TD4 in Mauritius Blue [Written off]

Quote:

Is it pretty simple to take off without leaving a mark?

Past master wrote:

The German habit of "de-badging" (not de-bagging) was supposed to be a way of not appearing to have a better car than your boss. Sensitive about such things over there apparently, and more likely to happen, since most people don't have company cars.

dorsetfreelander wrote:

Companies like Ford and Vauxhall had models for every stage of your career at one time.

Yep too right

In the early [pre BMW] days of my sales 'career' the following applied.

Base - those that just came up from the lesser model ie Escort.
Corina L = Sales Rep
Cortina GL = Sales Manager
Cortina Ghia = General Manager

Directors were then on Granada's, model spec dependent on their seniority. FL2 now gone and have a couple of items left for sale:-

Brodit active iPhone holder + Brodit dash clip,
Bluetooth Music Streaming Module.

pab wrote:

Dead easy. Use something like dental floss or fine nylon line in a sawing motion to remove the lettering, then clean off the residue with whatever you have to hand - I used a bit of clay bar and a detailer spray. Final coat of wax and job done.

very hot water (not boiling) poured onto the letters and also hold a sponge against them to keep the water and the heat on them.
They'll then just simply peel off with little to no residue. Any gunk left comes off with WD40! Wash that off tho as not sure it would benefit your paintwork if it was left on!

dorsetfreelander wrote:

When I saw this thread I thought it was referring to badges like HSE, GS etc. A BMW dealer once told me that you can pay extra for the "Delete Badge" option so that no one knows whether you have a top spec one or not. However in the UK, people tend to pay the extra when they buy a bottom of the range model whilst in Germany it's generally the top spec ones that are debadged as they don't like to be seen to be showing off. Tells you something I suppose.

I'm shocked a dealer would charge you to remove the badges from a brand new car that you have ordered. I'd personally tell them to fuk off and would not use a dealer who would charge you for such a simple task. MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
MY15 Xenon Headlight Conversion

MY17 RRS SVR - Estoril Blue Cirrus/Ebony 🪣💺’s

english yeoman wrote:

very hot water (not boiling) poured onto the letters and also hold a sponge against them to keep the water and the heat on them.
They'll then just simply peel off with little to no residue. Any gunk left comes off with WD40! Wash that off tho as not sure it would benefit your paintwork if it was left on!

Or, just warm the badge with the wife's hairdryer  p****d off with a Digital Keyboard Warrior

Mav71 wrote:

dorsetfreelander wrote:

When I saw this thread I thought it was referring to badges like HSE, GS etc. A BMW dealer once told me that you can pay extra for the "Delete Badge" option so that no one knows whether you have a top spec one or not. However in the UK, people tend to pay the extra when they buy a bottom of the range model whilst in Germany it's generally the top spec ones that are debadged as they don't like to be seen to be showing off. Tells you something I suppose.

Manufacturers in the UK have never charged for de-badging a car. It has always been a no cost option. Well it has for the big four, Merc, Audi, BMW and VW.

ad210358 wrote:

english yeoman wrote:

very hot water (not boiling) poured onto the letters and also hold a sponge against them to keep the water and the heat on them.
They'll then just simply peel off with little to no residue. Any gunk left comes off with WD40! Wash that off tho as not sure it would benefit your paintwork if it was left on!

Or, just warm the badge with the wife's hairdryer

Hot air warms the glue and melts it, which can leave sticky residue behind, where as hot water doesn't  Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

english yeoman wrote:

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I have black & white limited edition on the back of mine.............

but then mine is Alaska White, with black bits and there cant be that many like mine, therefore its limited

Nothing wrong with a bit of badge engineering if it has a link to the car.

I have an HSE Luxury badge on mine. Technically it is, although the car is officially an HSE Lux, the V5 does actually state HSE Luxury. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........