Headlight & Bonnet Protectors

[coastie]

We signed up for our car in March 2009 and picked it up in April 2009 with all the specs ordered being on the car except the ipod cable and headlight and bonnet protection which the salesperson said came with the car. Vehicle has had its 1500km service and I asked about the outstanding items. The dealer responded that the headlight and bonnet protectors haven't been made yet for the vehicle.

I eventually sorted the ipod cable but the headlight & bonnet protection has me stumped as I can't find anything on VWA website about them being an accessory. Did the MkV have them from VW or are they aftermarket?

[WEDEL.1]

Got ours from VW spare parts.

Maris

[coastie]

Latest news is that the dealer is awaiting for the plastic protectors to pass the ADR before they can be distributed in Australia. Surely our regulations aren't that pedantic. They are available in the Europe and they are after all designed for the vehicle by the vehicle manufacturer. This just seems to be an endless line of excuses. Bought the vehicle in March delivered in April so they have now had two months to get them.

[gerhard]

1500km service - what's that?

[coastie]

Post purchase dealer check

[mr gee]

Thats interesting as our local dealer told us the first service is at 15,000km or one year

[barges]

just picked up my new golf tdi comfortline this week and wanted to know where you can get aftermarket headlight covers. the dealer asked for $170 which i thought was a bit steep

hope you guys can help me out

[Corey_R]

You can actually get the 3M Paint Protection Film / Ventureshield Stoneguard applied to headlights as well! It's far cheaper than that, is more transparent (so it won't dim the light as much as regular headlight protectors) and is practically invisible so it won't make your car look uglier for having it installed!
Practically any film specialist will have kits available, or you could just get a cut and apply it yourself (and to other areas like door sills, mirror caps etc)

[triode12]

just picked up my new golf tdi comfortline this week and wanted to know where you can get aftermarket headlight covers. the dealer asked for $170 which i thought was a bit steep

hope you guys can help me out

Something cheaper and much better is to get your headlights covered with Ventureshield.

It shouldn't cost under $100 for the pair.

www.universalshield.com.au or www.ozicozi.com.au can apply it for you.

[Corey_R]

lol - we were obviously typing that up at the same time!

Though your middle line obviously is supposed to read "It should cost under" or "It shouldn't cost over" :P

Never matter, it's great advice! :D

[SpeedBird]

A couple of dealers in sydney I rang 3 weeks ago, quoted me $80-83 inc GST for a pair of them from the spare parts department.

So try ringing the spare parts up and ask then first before going for aftermarket ones.

[pologti18t]

Do you need headlight covers nowadays? The lenses are polycarbonate aren't they?

[Corey_R]

Yeah - they're no longer glass. They can still get small 'chips' in them though... but that's why you put on the Paint Protection Film :)

[craig_the_german]

Hi,
I've always fitted headlight (and bonnet) protectors to all of my cars and when the new Golf arrives I'll be fitting them as well. Where I live (semi rural), without headlight protectors I would have lost probably half a dozen lights as I am always being hit by rocks etc thrown up by cars coming in the opposite direction or from cars/trucks/4wds I am following.

If I lived in suburbia I would probably just put some of that protective film on them but I like the idea of having something more substantial infront of my lights.

[Corey_R]

Craig - I'd disagree. I do live in suburbia and my current Polo GTI has the 'paint protection' from the dealer and has the bonnet protector. Both were already in place when I purchased the car when it was ~8 months old. Bonnet protectors are largely useless as they don't protect what's above or below it. So the entire front bumper etc is unprotected, and the upper half of the bonnet is not protected, nor are the front guards.

The ONLY thing which protects all of these is Paint Protection Film.

Bonnet protectors also have the issues of 'carrying' dirt and leaves etc which can damage the paint, they vibrate and damage the paint, they make it harder to wash under them, which damages the paint.

So sure - a few years ago bonnet protectors were about all you could do to protect your car, but in the last few years, that has changed. Not looking at the recent developments in technology is only hurting yourself, AND your car :)

[Corey_R]

If I lived in suburbia I would probably just put some of that protective film on them but I like the idea of having something more substantial infront of my lights.

More substantial? That is exactly why you should be looking at paint protection film !

Take a shot gun, and shoot headlight/bonnet protectors and what would happen to them? If you think that they'd probably smash, you'd be correct.

Do the same to paint protection film, what happens? The film deforms, but holds the shotgun pellets.

So which one do you think provides more protection to your car?

Paint Protection Film is sometimes called helicopter tape. It is made of mylar (the same thing which is in the space shuttle tiles to protect it during re-entry of the earths atmosphere) and was developed during the Gulf War to protect the blades of helicopters from sandblast and damage. It has continued to be improved since that time.

So again, time goes on, new technologies arrive, and improvements are made all the time. Do some research before 'settling' for something which you're only contemplating because it's "just what I've always done" :)

[nau]

Do the same to paint protection film, what happens? The film deforms, but holds the shotgun pellets.
m really starting to think that u work in sales for Paint protection company :)

[Corey_R]

lol - nah - people tell me I should be in sales all the time. But I'm a engineer in the ICT industry.