The psychology of 'de-badging'

[DMN]

I debadged my Smart after the "S" fell off one day when cleaning it, "mart" just looks a little silly. To make matters worse, SWMBO managed to suck the S up with the hover and not tell me until the contents of the hover where long gone.

[Meltham Terrier]

This is why people de-badge, you can unstand when car manufactures take the piss.

[OldSkoolRS]

Tonsko said:

I took the G60 badges off my golf - then it just looked like a GTI with a bigger exhaust. It was sufficiently rare that I percieved a potential theft if it shouted about what it was. Of course, if you knew what you were looking at, it was instantly recognisable - left hand drive, chromolux glass etc. but it made me feel more comfortable about the situation.

Edited by Tonsko on Monday 11th November 13:56

Though nothing like as rare or desirable, I took the '3.0i' badge off my Z3 as I thought it might make it less likely to be bothered with since otherwise it looks exactly the same as the 1.9 version. I know it's hardly the most revered car on PH, but it has to live on my drive so I wanted as little attention as possible.

I know it has the 3 litre engine, but I don't have to advertise it, plus most people would view it as an old banger anyway since it doesn't have a 63 plate.

[KillerHERTZ]

I raise you:

[Sheeples]

When I bought my M3 it came with an Alpina badge and the M3 badge on the boot had been removed. I removed the Alpina badge and do not care in the slightest about the M3 badge. The Alpina badge was removed because it looked horrible and the car isn't an Alpina.

[Meltham Terrier]

KillerHERTZ said:

I raise you:

Ok I give in you win.

[Efbe]

Blown2CV said:

a lot is talked about those that upwards re-badge their cars to be something they are not e.g. BMW 330 to an M3, covering mercs in AMG badges and so on. However, a manufacturer sanctioned 'badge-mod' is to remove the standard badge entirely. You have to make a conscious choice to opt for no badge as it's not the default config setting. So, i wonder why people do this. Clearly there are 2 camps:

1. I've bought the top model but i don't want to be a dick about it, so i've removed the badge
2. I've bought the entry model and I am hoping people will think I've bought something better

For 1, it's still obvious to pretty much anyone that would even remotely care that you are indeed driving the super-amazing and expensive variant, so is this just the hipster choice... pretending to be down to earth and a man of the people when in fact you know people will realise what you're driving anyway, so what does this say about the driver? For 2, clearly this guy is almost as bad as the guy that whacks M-sport, AMG etc badges all over his C180 or 320d.

Personally I think i'd just leave it on there - it's what i bought.

what do PHers think?

OP do you leave the stickers you get on your laptop on from when you buy it?

do you leave the label on the apple whilst you eat it?

Have you never changed a thing about your house because that’s how it came and not to do so would be pretentious?

is it so hideous an idea that you may want to change something?

[CraigZR]

I see the GL and raise you the Evo 8

[Cool Mart]

I bought my E34 M5 in 1999 and it was debadged, however I decided I wanted to show off the fact I had an M5 if I'd paid all that money !

I took a trip to the local dealership and they gave me the appropriate badges at no cost after the technician came outside to verify it was a 'proper' M5. I wonder if that is still their policy.

[Matt UK]

They say a picture paints a thousand words...

[Shaw Tarse]

Matt UK said:

They say a picture paints a thousand words...

If that was OMG, I'd say is itGulzar?

[CraigyMc]

Blown2CV said:

1. I've bought the top model but i don't want to be a dick about it, so i've removed the badge
2. I've bought the entry model and I am hoping people will think I've bought something better

3a. I've bought a model in the middle of the range and I don't want a badge on the car as it's just something else that will eventually fall off anyway.
3b. I prefer a flat sheet of painted metal over a lump of plastic for cleaning reasons.

[Blown2CV]

interesting to see the emotion that gets attached to supposedly such simple or trivial things. On page 1 someone said i was overthinking it, yet in a few hours we've got 4 pages of debate, and it's even more detailed and nuanced than i thought! Also more than one poster has decided to lay into me despite me saying i would leave it standard... how dare i leave it standard what a dick i am!!

[Nedzilla]

A lot of GTR owners on the forum have removed the Nissan badge from the rear. It is the only Nissan badge on the car and the two reasons mainly quoted for doing so are to make the rear end look 'cleaner' and also,probably the main reason is that without the nissan badge many people not in the know may assume the car comes from a manufacturer a bit more exotic.

Personally i dont care that its a Datsun and think the rear end looks a bit odd without it.

[TheEnd]

Blown2CV said:

interesting to see the emotion that gets attached to supposedly such simple or trivial things. On page 1 someone said i was overthinking it, yet in a few hours we've got 4 pages of debate, and it's even more detailed and nuanced than i thought! Also more than one poster has decided to lay into me despite me saying i would leave it standard... how dare i leave it standard what a dick i am!!

You did call people who debadge cars hipsters, which is quite a strong insult.

[beko1987]

I de-badged the missus meriva because:

All the placca chrome had gone pitted and rubbish
The paintwork behind was ruined (the whole tailgate was) and I wanted to polish it all up, but my pads kept ripping on the badges
After doing around the badges, it then looked so st I had to remove them anyway

I did plan on putting them back on, but I must admit it does look better with them off. She's not convinced though, so when I have some spare pennies it'll all go back on again!

[Blown2CV]

TheEnd said:

Blown2CV said:

interesting to see the emotion that gets attached to supposedly such simple or trivial things. On page 1 someone said i was overthinking it, yet in a few hours we've got 4 pages of debate, and it's even more detailed and nuanced than i thought! Also more than one poster has decided to lay into me despite me saying i would leave it standard... how dare i leave it standard what a dick i am!!

You did call people who debadge cars hipsters, which is quite a strong insult.

if you actually read what i wrote, i only suggested this might be the case for the first example i used.

[k-ink]

Matt UK said:

They say a picture paints a thousand words...

^
This is a prime example why I will never own a car with a badge. Those type of people who crave the attention of branding are exceptionally shallow and have real personal issues. Still, it keeps the fake badge sellers and therapists busy.

[Tonsko]

k-ink said:

^
This is a prime example why I will never own a car with a badge. Those type of people who crave the attention of branding are exceptionally shallow and have real personal issues. Still, it keeps the fake badge sellers and therapists busy.

Just out of interest, which badge was on your 'XJR X300'?

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[k-ink]

I sold that car after two months. I just did not get on with such a huge car at all.

All my cars have been de-badged over the years. From new Lotus to old Alfas. Nothing has had them.