To debadge or not to debadge?

I personally like the debadged look and IMO the caboose is much cleaner without the badges.

I asked one of my colleagues what he thought and he said "what is this The Fast and the Furious" so now I am second guessing. Is this a childish alteration? I am not looking to fool anyone into thinking the car is something that it is not.

Thoughts?

It looks lime a gray market car to me when it's debadged.

Originally Posted by Brooks Was Here

I personally like the debadged look and IMO the caboose is much cleaner without the badges.

I asked one of my colleagues what he thought and he said "what is this The Fast and the Furious" so now I am second guessing. Is this a childish alteration? I am not looking to fool anyone into thinking the car is something that it is not.

Thoughts?

I am on the fence as well, there are too many badges esp with the xdrive but then again I don't want to feel like a poser trying to make people think its an m5 or something

Debadging has looked good on every BMW I have ever seen. Can't think of one time where I saw a debadged car and thought 'wow, what a (insert defining word here)'.

I always debadge my cars.

Originally Posted by Brooks Was Here

I personally like the debadged look and IMO the caboose is much cleaner without the badges.

I asked one of my colleagues what he thought and he said "what is this The Fast and the Furious" so now I am second guessing. Is this a childish alteration? I am not looking to fool anyone into thinking the car is something that it is not.

Thoughts?

Difficult one. I never know what to think. If you've added 50 hp...that would help me with it. You can alway put them back I suppose.

I like the debadged looks and have done it on several cars. I think it is more important that you like how your car looks; much more so than how friends or strangers think how it looks.

Personally, I'm not a fan of de-badging. What's the point? The only thing on the back of your BMW is your model number. I don't think you'll remove the Roundel, right? The xDrive (I don't have xDrive) badges are on the side and are separate, so it's not like there is a cluster of "stuff". Your choice though, of course.

I have a de-badged 550i. In Europe, it's a factory option to have it delivered without the badge. I just really like the cleaner look.

Originally Posted by markl53

Personally, I'm not a fan of de-badging. What's the point? The only thing on the back of your BMM is your model number. I don't think you'll remove the Roundel, right? The xDrive (I don't have xDrive) badges are on the side and are separate, so it's not like there is a cluster of "stuff". Your choice though, of course.

The xDrive badge is now in the back, so the rear trunk lip looks like a kid with braces.

BTW, I like to use a plain body colored license plate frame and replace the blue on the Roundel to match the body color (or black in the case of a white car) to create a clean and simple look. A small amount of customization gives the car a look that is different from everyone else's. If you look at my sigpic, I replaced the oversized look-at-me chrome kidney grill with a nice body colored grill on my X5. A small change, but it cleaned up the front of the truck nicely.

Debadge IMO.

Every car I have ever owned has had this mod. Not childish or ghetto like "Fast and the Furious" at all. It actually looks cleaner. To pose as an M5 would be throwing on M5 badges; not removing whatever badge you have. I talked my wife into it on her 535i and she loves it. The roundel is enough for us.

European folks help me out: I seem to recall that most euro spec Mercedes and BMWs never including any badging , until recently. Yes?

How do you debadge it? Is it just glued, or what?

If I was speccing my car myself, I'd certainly have made it debadged (possible here) - but it was a stock unit from the 2012 left-over, for a price I couldn't resist

Piotr

Originally Posted by mryakanisachoad

European folks help me out: I seem to recall that most euro spec Mercedes and BMWs never including any badging , until recently. Yes?

Yes. Don't know why it changed.

Piotr

de-badge..love the clean look!

DE-badged my Z4 of the long sDrive 35i badges on the side under the Roundels and de badged the Z4 badge on the trunk. I love the clean look, and it is much easier to clean. For re sale They are very easy to put back on with 3m auto body tape.

Originally Posted by MoldCAD

How do you debadge it? Is it just glued, or what?

If I was speccing my car myself, I'd certainly have made it debadged (possible here) - but it was a stock unit from the 2012 left-over, for a price I couldn't resist

Piotr

I use dental floss, then GooGone, and then a quick shot of spray wax. Others have used a hairdryer to soften the glue.

Originally Posted by MoldCAD

How do you debadge it? Is it just glued, or what?

If I was speccing my car myself, I'd certainly have made it debadged (possible here) - but it was a stock unit from the 2012 left-over, for a price I couldn't resist

Piotr

It's double sided tape. But it's a thicker foam tape, if that makes sense.

What you are doing with the dental floss is essentially cutting the foam tape in half. The goo gone then removes the side stuck to the car.

I debadged because I like symmetry... Looks a lot cleaner and nicer.

To each his own. I personally don't like the look. But my opinion doesn't matter. I paid 70k for my 535. Someone might have paid 75k for a 528 with more options. Don't tell me what to do with my money and I won't tell you what to do with yours. Just a thought....

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Bimmer App

I recommend it. It looks so clean with everything removed. Also get rid of the dealer license plate frame and use a plain solid colored frame that matches your paint.

Originally Posted by markl53

The xDrive (I don't have xDrive) badges are on the side and are separate, so it's not like there is a cluster of "stuff". Your choice though, of course.

Newer models have the xDrive badge on the back now.

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

What you are doing with the dental floss is essentially cutting the foam tape in half. The goo gone then removes the side stuck to the car.

If you heat it up before using the floss, the tape usually peels off with the badge and there is no need for using goo gone, etc. I recommend using a hair blow dryer and going one letter at a time. Get it nice and soft by running the blow dryer over the letter for at least 2 minutes (three minutes works good) then use the floss to peel it off. Repeat for each individual piece.

Originally Posted by dunderhi

The xDrive badge is now in the back, so the rear trunk lip looks like a kid with braces.

BTW, I like to use a plain body colored license plate frame and replace the blue on the Roundel to match the body color (or black in the case of a white car) to create a clean and simple look. A small amount of customization gives the car a look that is different from everyone else's. If you look at my sigpic, I replaced the oversized look-at-me chrome kidney grill with a nice body colored grill on my X5. A small change, but it cleaned up the front of the truck nicely.

Your X5? I thought that was for Mrs D?

Originally Posted by miamiboyca

Your X5? I thought that was for Mrs D?

Currently our garage has her 335d and her X5M, so I'm claiming her truck until my 650 arrives Stateside. Sounds fair to me.

After you debadge the car, you will find out the numbers are made of cheap plastic.

You wouldn't pay for them, so why leave them on...

Debabge... cleaning and waxing much easier.